Although it sells cream cheese in standard plastic tubs, it made quite a break from tradition earlier this year when it introduced 5-oz Ready Fresh cream cheese snack formulations in an aluminum can more reminiscent of those used to dispense whipped cream.
“Everybody sells cream cheese in a plastic tub, as do we,” explains Jim Clark, the company’s national sales manager. “But we wanted to do something different and come out with a unique approach.” The company launched the product in the Milwaukee area this spring in regular, strawberry, and a combination of honey and chives. Suggested retail price is $2.99.
Old Fashioned Foods fills the rich, creamy product on modified equipment it uses for spray cheese spreads. “We don’t have any problem with the thick cream cheese—it squirts out of the container quite easily, says Clark. Details on the can, nozzle, and cap were considered proprietary, although a peek inside the cap revealed a crown-shaped mold mark that appears to be from Crown (www.crowncork.com).
“It’s been very well received so far,” says Clark. “And we have interest from customers on the East and West coasts, as well as in the middle of the country, so we expect it to be out pretty much nationwide within about a year.” The Food Marketing Institute, Clark adds, “voted Ready Fresh the best new product in the dairy category.”
