New Products Hits & Misses for 03/03/2010

Ratings Criteria

With over 50,000 products in the average supermarket, people don't have the time, or the money, to test every product on the shelves and with 15,000 new products every year consumers need to know what's out there!

So Phil does the testing and the tasting for you and gives the product a rating out of 100 so you know what you can expect when you try something new!

SupermarketGuru does not sell the foods we review, nor receive any compensation from the manufacturers for reviewing or rating them.

Phil taste-tests and judges each product based on the following 8 criteria:

(30 points) Taste: The most important attribute of any food
(20 points) Value: Is it worth it?
(15 points) Health: Based off the nutritional information, is it nutritionally balanced?
(15 points) Ingredients: What's in it, how natural is it?
(5 points) Preparation: When applicable, how accurate or good are the directions *
(5 points) Appearance: Is it appetizing and does it resemble its photo or description
(5 points) Packaging: Is it appropriate for the product and does it have any benefits such as resealability, added freshness, better storage, etc.
(5 Points) Sustainability: Is the packaging biodegradable, is it wasteful, is the company endeavoring to offset their carbon footprint?

* products that do not have any preparation will have the full value of these points included in their total score

Starkist Tuna Salad Sandwich-Ready Chunk Light

82

As I am sure you already know canned tuna fish is the number 1 selling fish in the country. A couple of years ago they started taking the fish out of the can and putting it in these pouches which I loved. The product tastes fresher and is certainly more convenient. Now Starkist goes one better and actually has already mixed Tuna Salad in a pouch. It comes in either Albacore or Chunk Light. I expected an overly mayonnaise-d, mediocre tuna and I was shocked; the flavor and the dressing are perfect. There is even relish mixed in. The only things that I do not like are the ingredients like micro-crystalline cellulose. You are paying a little more for convenience, this is really great to keep in your desk at work or take on a picnic. Retails for $1.37 – 1.69.

Starkist Co
800 252 1587
http://www.starkist.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Snikiddy Baked Fries Classic Ketchup Flavor

88

This product is a HIT! If you like potatoes and if you like ketchup this is for you. Snikiddy’s all natural, gluten and wheat free baked fries are a potato and cornmeal snack that is crispy and actually does taste like ketchup. While the name implies that the product is just for kids, do not be fooled – this has 50% less fat than typical potato chips, and a terrific crunch and mouth-feel. A perfect replacement for those greasy fries too. Retails for $1.59.

Snikiddy, LLC
866 892 5365
http://www.snikiddy.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Signature Flan Coffee Flavor

88

This product is a HIT! If you have always wanted to make your own flan, forget about it. WOW! This Signature brand flan is made from condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla, coffee and caramel, that’s it! Yes, just one of these is 340 calories, 12g of fat and 47g of sugars, but it is so worth it. The texture is creamy and the caramel that is on the bottom (and then when you flip it over and put it on a plate is on top), is exceptional. I just wish that it was a little less expensive; but it is an indulgence and not for every day. Retails for $2.99.

Signature Flan
817 932 9538
http://www.signatureflan.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Simply Asia Steamers Hunan Broccoli

77

As you know by now I love the steaming technology for making products in the microwave. I applaud Simply Asia’s attempt -- you take the spices, you pour it over the vegetables or meats that you put in this plastic bag that comes in a separate compartment in the pouch, you put the twist tie on it, you shake it all up, you poke 4 holes in the plastic and then just microwave. That is a lot of work. Frankly what I would rather see is this company get together with a frozen vegetables company and have the spices already mixed in steam-able bag. Having said that, the flavor of this Hunan Broccoli is very good. Having said that, there is 2400mg of sodium in this one package and the first ingredient is modified corn starch followed by a long list of other ingredients including MSG. Retails for $1.99.

Simply Asia Foods, LLC
800 967 8424
http://www.simplyasia.net

Scoring Breakdown:

Lucini Premium Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil EcoValue Box

96

This product is a HIT! You probably already know that Lucini Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of my favorites. Ever since I first tasted it I fell in love. I brought this on the Today Show, on The View and want everybody to enjoy what true olive oil is supposed to taste like. This is oil is made from 100% Italian olives versus most of the ‘Italian’ brands that use olives from Spain or elsewhere. Right on the front of the box it shows you the acidity level of.2 to .4%. To be designated as extra virgin the acidity has to be 1% or less, so this is way smoother. And talking about the box, finally someone has made an improvement over those gallon cans that our grandmothers used to buy. Just like boxes of wine there is an airtight, vacuum sealed bag in the box which keeps the oil fresh for up to 12 months, far more than an opened bottle would keep. This box is equivalent to 6 standard 16oz bottles. Retails for $49.99.

Lucini Italia Company
888 5 LUCINI
http://www.lucini.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Thank You

We hope you enjoyed this edition of

New Product
Hits and Misses

If you would like Phil to consider your new product for review, please send 4 samples of each flavor you to submit for review, with the suggested retail price and other product information. We regret that we can not review all products submitted. Please send to:

New Product Review
SupermarketGuru.com
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Santa Monica, CA 90405

Product reviews are conducted by randomly selecting one flavor of a product and taking into consideration the information available on the package itself as it would appear in the retail environment. Information contained in advertisements or on websites is not taken into account for evaluation or ratings.

Email danielle@supermarketguru.com with any questions and whenever possible please be environmentally friendly when packaging your products.