Another new item being launched next week is Fruit Explosion Trail Mix. Not only does this trail mix use the raw sunflower seeds that so many have requested, we also listened to requests for a trail mix without salt or chocolate. We’ve delivered with Fruit Explosion.

Simple and clean, this goodie is just raw sunflower seeds, diced dried apples and apple juice sweetened blueberries and cranberries. Throw it in lunches, backpacks, muffins, chocolate bark or your favorite plain cereal without adding additional sodium or refined sugar. Simply yummy!

Over the last couple of weeks I introduced you to 2 of our new products: Blueberry Maple Granola and Berry Delight Trail Mix. Now it’s time to introduce you to my new favorite, Cranberry Apple Granola.

I have to say, I’m not normally much of a fan of cranberry products. I could take them or leave them. Not so this little gem; I’ve been known to trample over employees to get to the test kitchen samples of our new Cranberry Apple Granola.

What makes this one so special? I think that it’s just a fantastic combination between the sweet softness of our diced apples with a bit of that cranberry tartness. We’ve added just a touch of green apple flavor which smells fabulous, especially just when you open the bag. I try not to go around with my head stuck in the bag though – not if I don’t want my employees to think I’ve gone over the edge (after they pick themselves up off the floor).

And of course, like all Nonuttin Natural Foods’ granolas, this granola is: peanut free, tree nut free, dairy free, egg free, sesame free, gluten free, sulphite free, wheat free, with a may contain soy label.

Whether you like your granola plain as a snack, with soymilk or your favorite yogurt/alternative, this granola is sure to become a staple in your house.

We’re putting the finishing touches on our new products that will be ready to launch in mid-February. So far, we’ve introduced 2 of those new products on our Facebook page. We will continue to give you sneak peaks at those products in the next couple of weeks but here is what we’ve shown so far:

Blueberry Maple Granola: With tender little blueberries and maple sugar, you’ll love the blend of 2 Canadian tastes!

Berry Delight Trail Mix: This is our new favorite and I have had to hide the samples. It has softy and yummy blueberries, cranberries, raw sunflower seeds and semi-sweet chocolate chips with just a touch of sea salt. Sunflower seeds are a new ingredient for us… but we had so many people asking for them that it was time to give them a try.

Watch our Facebook page as we update posts several times per week. Don’t forget to give us your feedback too.

It’s only been 16 days since the new year but once we opened back up on January 3, we’ve been moving forward on plans to expand the Nonuttin’ team. With 5 new products launching in February and more stores and clients finding Nonuttin’ products all over North America, it’s time to bring some more great staff into the fold.

As of today, we’d like to welcome Gloria who has accepted a position on the production team. They’re the ones who diligently mix, cut and package your favorite Nonuttin’ products. Since we make most of our products in small batches with many of the processes by hand, these people are carefully chosen to ensure the products we make are the best and safest we can deliver.

Coming soon is a new “voice” on the phone in our front office/customer service. Sheila has been doing a great job with help from a couple of us while the lines are ringing but it’s time for her to have some daily support to make sure that our customer service remains top notch. We can’t tell you who that person is just yet but we should be able to annouce the newest member of our team later this week.

We’re excited to be growing to serve you better!

Barry Callebaut USA has recalled Kroger Value brand semi-sweet chocolate chips after chips with dairy in them were mistakenly packed in the non-dairy/Kosher pareve packaging for Kroger. The recall notice may be seen at: http://usfoodsafety.com/02af0007.asp and the kosher alert for dairy can be seen at: http://www.ok.org/alerts.asp

I’m bringing this recall to your attention since you may be aware that Barry Callebaut is the manufacturer who produces our semi-sweet mini chocolate chips and 70% dark chocolate chunks in a peanut/nut free plant and on a dairy free line. Our chocolate is manufactured in the Quebec, Canada, plant however, not in the US and is not affected by this recall.

Further, we test every incoming ingredient for several allergens prior to releasing it into the manufacturing process, with dairy being one of the many tests we perform. If we were to discover dairy in any ingredient, it would be isolated in our warehouse and not be allowed into our production area. We would then work with the manufacturer to discover the source of the contamination problem before ordering any more ingredients from them.

If you have any questions, please let our team know at info@nonuttin.com or toll free: 1-866-714-5411.

We’re very lucky that our government in Canada is supportive of small businesses and provides favorable loan programs for the purchase of machinery. Because of a loan through our local Community Futures office, we were able to purchase “Bertha” our packaging machine that puts the packaging around all of our granola bars (we name all of our machinery, including Fabio, our heat shrinker).

Because of that loan a few years ago, we were chosen to be showcased in a series of successful business videos put together by Community Futures BC. That video is now available for viewing on YouTube at: Nonuttin’ Foods on YouTube. Check it out to find out a little bit more about our family business.

This Nonuttin’ chocolate sale won’t be found anywhere but on Nonuttin’ social media: our enewsletter, our blog and our Facebook page. And it’s only on until December 15 at 9 pm PST.

For every 3 pouches of our 70% Dark Chocolate Chunks OR every 3 pouches of our Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips you’ll get 1 FREE.

Put in 4 of one product to the cart and 1 will automatically be updated to a free item. Put in 8; get 2 free, and so on. Products are not mix and match for the free item (i.e 2 pouches of chunks, 1 pouch of chips).

There is NO limit on how many free pouches you can get so now is the time to stock up for your baking. Our chocolate freezes beautifully in its sealed pouch too and can be frozen for up to 2 years (even though we bet you won’t be able to keep your hands off for that long).

Go Shopping Now: www.nonuttin.com/shop or www.nonuttin.ca

2 other products that we have chosen to discontinue are the diced dried apples and the cherry fruit snacks in pouches.
While these will still both be ingredients in other products, you will no longer be able to buy them separately. As we make room for 5 new products coming in the new year, we needed to remove the products from our inventory that are selling the least.

No date has been set for exactly when these products will be gone as we are simply allowing our current packaging to run out and not purchasing any more. So be sure to buy what you want now because once the packaging is gone, so are these two products.

If you’ve been on the website in the last couple of days, you will see that we will be discontinuing the Vanilla Caramel Granola Clusters in the 30 gram packs in the new year.

Why are we discontinuing this item?

Before July, all granola products in both the US and Canada (bars, granola, granola clusters) had sesame warnings on them as a “may contain”. This was because while we are a sesame free facility, the crisp rice that we were using as an ingredient had sesame on the line where it is made and so cross contamination was a possibility.

In July, we changed all of our US granola bars and granola pouches and the Canadian granola pouches to a new formula with a new crisp rice that has no sesame potential cross contamination. The Canadian granola bars will be moving to that new formula at the end of January as well, meaning that all Nonuttin’ products EXCEPT for the 30 gram vanilla caramel granola clusters will be sesame free.

Rather than cause confusion as to what may have potential sesame cross contamination, we will discontinue the 30 gram vanilla caramel granola clusters, completely remove the old crisp rice from the facility and truly be able to say with certainty that every Nonuttin’ product is sesame free.

While we can appreciate that those who love the little 30 gram packs will miss them, it is a priority with us that there is no confusion as to our sesame status, especially as it is a Canadian top 10 allergen and those with sesame allergy are growing in number in both Canada and the USA.

Many changes have taken place at Nonuttin’ Foods and those include changes to our best selling vanilla caramel and vanilla cinnamon granolas.  While it’s important that you check ingredients every time you order to be sure you choices are good for you, here are some highlights:

Pouches of granola are no longer called granola clusters, you’ll note that they are called “granola” instead.  Why?  In hot conditions (either in transit or in the store environment), our granola clusters had a tendency to lump into a large granola clump at the bottom of the bag.  Nonuttin’ “granola clumps” was not exactly what we were going for so we wanted to ensure that all customers were getting a more consistent product, no matter what the conditions.  Therefore, the pouches of granola “clusters” are now a different consistency with a more blended granola of very small clusters, whole grain oats and crunchy rice.  These granolas are now more suitable for sprinkling on yogurt/soygurt, berries, apple crisp and more plus being great with steamed or cold milk added on top.

Those who love the clusters can still get their fix in our 30 g snack pack of vanilla caramel granola clusters.

The Nonuttin’ pouches of granola are now sesame free both in Canada and the US.   Please note that the 30 g snack pack of granolas still has sesame as a potential cross-contaminant from the facility where that particular crisp rice ingredient is made.  Please see our allergen declarations for more details.

Could your school, camp, or local grocery use Nonuttin’ granolas?  We sell Nonuttin’ vanilla caramel and vanilla cinnamon granola as bulk (4.5 kg/9.9 lb) ingredients for applications such as breakfast cereal, yogurt parfaits or snack packs.  One school even orders our granolas to turn into their own in-house granola bars. 

We do only sell these to approved foodservice institutions and businesses (sorry to those of you with teenagers eating you out of house and home) but those businesess or institutions who are interested can contact our team at wholesale@nonuttin.com.