INNOVATION STORIES
Charles & Alice sought to create a convenient, ‘free-from’ snack with clinically proven immune support that would appeal to kids and their parents.
Charles & Alice is the number-one French-based manufacturer of healthy fruit- and vegetable-based snacks. Fruit Friends Fortified Fruit Pouches with Wellmune® enables Charles & Alice to expand its manufacturing to include immunity fruit pouches for the US market.
The challenge.
Charles & Alice sought to create healthy snack options that appeal to both parents and children by providing the immune health parents want for their kids in a fun, kid-oriented functional snack free from added sugars.
The journey.
Parents are always looking for ways to keep their kids healthy. And kids want delicious, easy-to-consume foods that seem like a treat. Seeing a need to appeal to the demands of both parents and kids, Charles & Alice chose to include a clinically proven functional ingredient to provide the immune support parents want for their kids in a format kids love.
Formulating with Wellmune® allowed Charles & Alice to create a market-leading fruit pouch fortified with immune-health benefits perfect for snacktime or kids’ lunchboxes. Citing Wellmune’s research that supports positive effects on the immune health of children, the company selected it for their product. Support from the brand’s regulatory, R&D and sales teams made Wellmune the perfect fit for an immune-supporting snack that meets the demands of parents and kids.
Because Wellmune is backed by research and has GRAS status in the U.S. and novel food approval in Europe and China, it was a logical choice for the inclusion of natural, safe and clinically proven immune health benefits.
“Wellmune’s scientific backing for immune support enabled us to create a market-leading product that appeals to both parents and kids. Fruit Friends Fortified Fruit Pouches with Wellmune is a breakthrough innovation that is on-trend and will create new growth opportunities for retailers.
- Joe Gordon, VP of Sales, Charles & Alice North America
The solution.
Fruit Friends Fortified Fruit Pouches with Wellmune feature licensed characters kids love, from kid-friendly movies like Frozen 2, The Incredibles, and Marvel’s Avengers, and are:
- All-natural
- Organic
- Non-GMO
- Free from added sweeteners or preservatives
- Low-calorie (45 calories per pouch)
Fruit Friends are available in convenient boxes of 12 in these flavors:
- Orchard Apple
- Strawberry Patch
- Tropical Mango
“Fruit Friends are a convenient way for children to share a daily nutritious snack with their favorite movie friends at school and at home.
- Evan Eckman, VP of Marketing, Charles & Alice North America
The results.
- Fruit Friends pouches provide support for kids’ immunity in a convenient, appealing format.
- The inclusion of Wellmune allowed Charles & Alice to grow its healthful product line in the US. Fruit Friends Fortified Fruit Pouches with Wellmune joins Charles & Alice’s other beneficial fruit pouches in an expanding line of kids’ functional snacks.
- Leveraging the trend toward better-for-you products, innovating with Wellmune has allowed Charles & Alice to create a product that appeals to both children and their parents, and increases retailers’ healthy snack offerings.
- Available in select US grocery stores.