O’Dang Spreads With Walmart; Cado Grows Avocado Ice Cream’s Shelf Presence

What do hummus and avocado ice cream have in common? Aside from fitting into New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s diet, both are products from brands that have seen distribution gains in recent months.

With products ranging from fun to functional, here is the latest in natural food distribution news.

Whole Foods, Gelson’s Fresh Thyme Add Avocado Ice Cream Maker Cado

You don’t have to live in the Northeast to eat like Brady: Cado — makers of the avocado-based, dairy-free ice cream that was served during the quarterback’s 40th birthday party — has added a slew of retailers over the last month.

Whole Foods Market’s Southern Pacific region is bringing on the brand as part of its May reset. The company has also been added to shelves at Bristol Farms, Gelson’s, Jewel-Osco, Fresh Thyme Farmers Markets, and select King Soopers locations. This brings Cado’s total store count to over 700 stores, with a notable growth in the Midwest specifically.

In addition to new stores, Cado has four new flavors slated to debut later this year, according to the company. This growth comes at a time when interest in both avocados and ice cream is at an all-time high.

O’DANG Brings Hummus Dressings to Walmart Nationwide

O’DANG, the maker of premium hummus and hummus dressings, announced earlier this month expanded nationwide distribution of its line of hummus dressings into nearly 2,000 Walmart stores by the end of March.

“We are thrilled that Walmart [was] our launch partner for O’DANG Hummus dressings,” Jesse Wolfe, founder and CEO of O’DANG Hummus, said in a statement. “Thanks to Walmart, shoppers across the nation can enjoy our dang delicious and healthy hummus dressings.”

Walmart will sell six of the brand’s 12-ounce flavors: ranch, buffalo ranch, honey mustard, caesar, roasted red pepper and greek tzatziki. The retailer news follows O’DANG’s new “hummus for all” branding initiative, which aims to “bring hummus to new categories, new occasions of use, and all members of the family,“ according to Wolfe. Product packaging now features “Jesse, the Head Chickpea,” a cartoon brand mascot who is featured in a number of storytelling roles that vary for each flavor.

Roli Roti’s Butcher’s Bone Broth Expands to NorCal Safeways

Oakland-based Roli Roti is deepening the presence of its food-truck inspired Butcher’s Bone Broth across California.

Butcher’s Bone Broth will now be sold in Safeway meat departments all over northern California. The first retail product by Roli Roti, a company that began as a gourmet rotisserie food truck in 2003, was already available in grocery stores throughout northern California, but founder Thomas Odermatt said the leap to Safeway represents a milestone for its retail business.

“As the middle of the traditional grocery store continues to shrink and shoppers gravitate to the perimeters, where fresh and non-frozen ingredients are on display, Butcher’s Bone Broth being showcased among produce and fresh meat frames it as both a high quality cooking ingredient and a premium drinkable bone broth, ready to conveniently serve out of the bottle,” Odermatt said.

My / Mo Brings Mochi to Walmart

Only a year after its initial launch, mochi ice cream brand My / Mo Mochi announced that it will hit shelves in select Walmart locations across the country starting in April, increasing the brand’s total distribution to over 9,000 stores.

“We have had a hugely positive first year, with an overwhelming response from consumers,” Craig Berger, CEO of My/Mo said in a statement. “We are thrilled to continue to answer consumer demands by making our product even more accessible through this expansion into Walmart.”

The placement in Walmart is part of the brand’s ongoing efforts to make mochi more accessible to more consumers. In December, My/Mo announced the launch of a new non-dairy and vegan line, and their entrance into the pint category. Earlier today, the company announced its expansion into the Canadian market beginning in early April.

Other notable distribution news includes:

  • The Modern Pop Announces New Flavors and Stores: California-based popsicle maker The Modern Pop expects to see some fruitful sales gains with the addition of over 2,000 new doors since January with retailers such as Wegmans, Publix, Harris Teeter, Ralph’s and Safeway. This brings the brand’s total store count to approximately 3,000 doors nationally. And store count isn’t the only thing growing. The company recently added three new flavors to its lineup: tropical, mango and fruit punch.
  • CVS Expands Better-For-You Lineup With Hippeas: CVS’s new “beacon” stores, a subset of stores that have been newly remodeled and feature better-for-you food and drink options, will be stocked with a selection of Hippeas, according to the chickpea puff brand. The beacon stores, via Google technology, issue a bluetooth signal to wake up specific apps on a user’s smartphone based on the user’s location, and push out coupons, product recommendations and sale announcements. Aside from being a part of CVS’s test store offerings, Hippeas also recently was added to select Kroger and Publix locations.
  • Modern Pod’s Hummus Pods Go National: Modern Pod’s place-and-bake hummus pods can now be found in over 2,500 retail locations across the country thanks to its recent distribution expansions. New retailers include Whole Foods, Hannaford, and Earth Fare. The Modern Pod also recently earned Non-GMO Project Verification for its top flavors, and hired a new general manager, Levon Kurkjian.
  • Comvita Brings Manuka Honey to Club: Comvita, a registered licensee of the UMF Honey Association, has moved from an ecommerce play into brick and mortar retailers. The high grade honey supplier became available in over 200 Costco store locations in the US earlier this year. Before entering Costco, Comvita Manuka Honey was exclusively sold direct through its own website and Amazon.