Tweet
Rise of the Buffalo....
Yummy 
Mass....quantities....for....lunch
USA Today article....
Mass....quantities....for....lunch
USA Today article....
Spicy buffalo flavors stampede into gobs of new food products
Buffalo flavor is hotter than hot.
The move towards the spicy, hot pepper-laden flavoring that first took root years ago in Buffalo, N.Y., on chicken wings is now showing up in gobs of other new products at fast food joints and grocery stores.
Subway rolled-out a Buffalo Chicken sub last week. Wendy's recently introduced Bold Buffalo Boneless Wings. Procter & Gamble recently extended Buffalo flavoring to more Pringles chips, and Kraft is in the mix with a Buffalo-style pizza for its South Beach Living line of low-calorie foods.
Last year, a record 47 new products with the term "Buffalo" in their names showed up in the nation's supermarkets, reports Datamonitor, the research specialist. An additional 28 more hit the shelves this year through mid-September.
Key to the growth in popularity of Buffalo flavoring: It has lots of flavor and almost no nutritional negatives. The flavoring isn't high in fat, sodium or calories. It's often used to give otherwise bland do-gooder products a needed an extra kick.
"It's good for taking consumers' minds and taste buds off the fact that some products may be cutting fat, calories and even portion sizes," says Tom Vierhile, director of product launch analytics at Datamonitor.
The aging population is another big driver, says Tony Pace, who oversees Subway's consumer marketing arm. "Aging palates like spicier stuff."
It's no coincidence that more Buffalo products are arriving as the weather cools. "People like fuller-flavored stuff this time of year," says Pace at Subway, whose limited-time Buffalo Chicken Sandwich is selling for $5 as a foot long.
Among other big names in the Buffalo stampede:
• Wendy's. The fast food chain began selling Bold Buffalo Boneless Wings over the summer, and sales were so good the first week, "It set a record for company restaurants," says spokesman Denny Lynch.
• P&G. The original Buffalo-flavored Pringles proved so popular that P&G is launching a second product, says Bryan Hamilton, Pringles brand manager for North America. Rolling out now are Buffalo-flavored Pringles Bold Bites, a thicker crisp than the Buffalo flavored Pringles Extreme introduced several years ago.
• Kraft. The nation's biggest food maker added Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza in its South Beach Living diet line last year.
• Campbell's. The most popular Web recipe in January for Campbell's was its Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip giving a Buffalo spin to the company's Swanson Premium Chicken. The recipe grew so popular — with 300,000 unique visitors in three months — that it now has its own website: http://www.buffalochickendip.com.
Buffalo flavor is hotter than hot.
The move towards the spicy, hot pepper-laden flavoring that first took root years ago in Buffalo, N.Y., on chicken wings is now showing up in gobs of other new products at fast food joints and grocery stores.
Subway rolled-out a Buffalo Chicken sub last week. Wendy's recently introduced Bold Buffalo Boneless Wings. Procter & Gamble recently extended Buffalo flavoring to more Pringles chips, and Kraft is in the mix with a Buffalo-style pizza for its South Beach Living line of low-calorie foods.
Last year, a record 47 new products with the term "Buffalo" in their names showed up in the nation's supermarkets, reports Datamonitor, the research specialist. An additional 28 more hit the shelves this year through mid-September.
Key to the growth in popularity of Buffalo flavoring: It has lots of flavor and almost no nutritional negatives. The flavoring isn't high in fat, sodium or calories. It's often used to give otherwise bland do-gooder products a needed an extra kick.
"It's good for taking consumers' minds and taste buds off the fact that some products may be cutting fat, calories and even portion sizes," says Tom Vierhile, director of product launch analytics at Datamonitor.
The aging population is another big driver, says Tony Pace, who oversees Subway's consumer marketing arm. "Aging palates like spicier stuff."
It's no coincidence that more Buffalo products are arriving as the weather cools. "People like fuller-flavored stuff this time of year," says Pace at Subway, whose limited-time Buffalo Chicken Sandwich is selling for $5 as a foot long.
Among other big names in the Buffalo stampede:
• Wendy's. The fast food chain began selling Bold Buffalo Boneless Wings over the summer, and sales were so good the first week, "It set a record for company restaurants," says spokesman Denny Lynch.
• P&G. The original Buffalo-flavored Pringles proved so popular that P&G is launching a second product, says Bryan Hamilton, Pringles brand manager for North America. Rolling out now are Buffalo-flavored Pringles Bold Bites, a thicker crisp than the Buffalo flavored Pringles Extreme introduced several years ago.
• Kraft. The nation's biggest food maker added Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza in its South Beach Living diet line last year.
• Campbell's. The most popular Web recipe in January for Campbell's was its Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip giving a Buffalo spin to the company's Swanson Premium Chicken. The recipe grew so popular — with 300,000 unique visitors in three months — that it now has its own website: http://www.buffalochickendip.com.