Limited Edition Foods

Today we continue to highlight the many limited edition pink products that are being released during the month of October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. October is usually a banner month for pink foods thanks to the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s amazing marketing machine.

This month General Mills partnered with comedienne Ellen DeGeneres to create PinkTogether.com, a breast cancer support community centered around My Space. General Mills also launched several pink packaging initiatives to highlight the company’s $2 million donation to breast cancer causes. The campaign concept is being called Pink for the Cure, and participating brands include Cheerios, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Progresso Soup, Hamburger Helper dinners, Green Giant vegetables, Pillsbury, and Total among others. General Mills also reached out to the NASCAR audience and painted its car pink, just like the folks behind the pink M&Ms.

Hershey’s has brought back the pink York Peppermint Pattie, the pink Nuggets, and the pink Hershey’s Kisses to show support for the cure in October. Hershey’s promises to make a $300,000 donation to The Young Survivor Coalition, an international organization.

Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Prezels have reshaped the classic snack into a ribbon for the month of October. Each of these limited edition pretzels will be shaped like an awareness ribbon, have a cinnamon flavor, and be covered with a white chocolate drizzle that has been made pink for the occasion. The pretzels are available locally for folks in Chicago, or in specialty “Twist for the Cause” packs that can be ordered online.

These are just a few of the plethora of pink products that are available this October. Did I miss your favorite? Leave a comment below and let me know.

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October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which always brings a landslide of pink themed products. Tasty Baking Company has joined the flurry, creating a limited edition TastyKake Strawberry Jelly Krimpet which is on the market for as long as supplies last.

The company will be donating ten percent of the profits from this limited edition version of the legendary Pennsylvania sponge cakes to breastcancer.org. Breastcancer.org is an online resource for women with breast cancer and their families, and as part of the partnership the boxes for the limited edition cakes will have information about breast cancer and breastcancer.org.

“Despite the widespread consumer awareness of breast cancer as an issue, the disease itself remains quite a confusing and scary experience for the people going through it,� according to Dr. Marisa Weiss. “The fundraising opportunity that Tastykake has created will have a significant, lasting impact on breastcancer.org and the millions of people who visit our site each year.�

The partnership with breastcancer.org is not the company’s only philanthropic endeavor, earlier this year the company introduced a limited edition lemon spongecake called Alex’s Lemon Krimpets. Fifty cents of the proceeds from the sale of each box of those lemon-jelly filled cakes went to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, an organization that raises money for pediatric oncology research.

TastyKake Strawberry Jelly Krimpets can be purchased in regional grocery stores or by the case from Tastykake.com. The Tasty Baking Company has over one hundred varieties of baked products, and sells them in larger quantities for corporate gifts or special events as well.

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Each October M&Ms brings back its Pink Promise M&Ms, one of the many products that appear this time of year in the national effort to promote breast cancer awareness and raise money for research funds.

Marketed as a special “Promise Blend” in the United States, the pink M&Ms feature the Susan B. Koman Foundation’s moving ribbon and the words “For the Cure.” The company has promised to donate at least $500,000, or ten percent of the profits from the Promise Blend M&Ms, to the Komen Foundation and its efforts. M&Ms is also temporarily painting its NASCAR vehicle pink to show support for the Komen Foundation and breast cancer awareness.

For each package of pink M&Ms purchased in Canada, fifty cents will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The company has donated $300,000 towards the Foundation in the past few years, and says it hopes to match that amount in 2007.

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Panera Bread Company is bringing back thier limited edition Pink Ribbon Bagel in honor of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The bagel is in the shape of an awareness ribbon and features cherry chips as well as real bits of cherries and cranberries. A portion of the sales of each bagel will go to breast cancer awareness and research, although the portion of profits and recipient charity varies depending on location. Some franchisees are supporting the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, while others are donating to hospitals, mammogram programs, and awareness organizations in their local areas. Customers can pre-order the bagels for their breakfasts, brunches, and other events by using a form available on the Panera website.

The pink breast cancer bagel has been an annual event since 2001. The idea was developed by Sue Stees, a breast cancer survivor and Panera Bread franchisee with nineteen cafe locations in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

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Wild Turkey has introduced a limited edition bourbon called American Spirit that is 100 proof and aged fifteen years. The company created a special bottle for the premium bourbon, which was crafted at bond proof a classic distilling method that increases taste and purity.

“The name ‘American Spirit’ seemed to suggest itself,” adds Eddie Russell, the Wild Turkey distiller who invented this bourbon with his father, master distiller Jimmy Russell. “Bourbon is a true American innovation, recognized by the U.S. Congress, and embodies the character and determination of our forefathers. We at Wild Turkey(R) Bourbon hope to continue to represent those American values as our products are enjoyed around the globe.”

Only 24,000 bottles were created, each with a wood cork and gold leaf to emphasize the unique logo design. The bourbon was introduced in September, also known as National Bourbon Heritage Month. Each bottle comes in a commemorative wooden box.

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Sunday, October 14 is National Dessert Day in the United States, and what better way to celebrate than by serving up a decadent dessert with your Sunday meal?

The Limited Edition Carmalized Pear and Toasted Almond ice cream from Haagan Dazs should inspire plenty of dessert ideas, or Elementary Chef has an easy recipe for a Mocha Brownie Torte.

Or you can have a celebration two-fer and simultaneously celebrate National Cookie Month, which is going on the entire month of October. Elementary Chef has a recipe for cookies that only requires three ingredients, or you can make ice cream sandwiches using some of Chips Ahoy!’s limited edition cookies.

Or you can simply make fun cookies, either as preparations for your Halloween party or just to enjoy at home. For a plethora of cookie recipes, including the recipe for the adorable Black Cat Cookies on a Stick shown above, check out CookieMadness.com.

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Sierra Nevada has finally released its annual celebration ale to the public. Appropriately named Anniversary Ale, the limited edition beer is an IPA (India Pale Ale) made from the same Cascade hops that Sierra Nevada uses in its signature Pale Ale.

The Anniversary Ale has 5.9 percent alcohol and has received good reviewers from the folks over at BeerAdvocate.com. Some reviewers complain about the beer’s lack of foam, while others have an aversion to its odor, but most reviewers agree the beer tastes great. Personally I found the flavor overwhelming, and the sweet finish reminded me a bit too much of caramel coloring … but I tend to like lighter beers.

If you are interested in finding some Anniversary Ale you need to do your research with haste. The beer has been on the market since July, but we saw it for the first time in Kansas City last weekend. Chances are good it is fading out of the marketplace, as the Sierra Nevada brewery has completed its Anniversary Ale run and is now “harvesting” its Harvest Ale.

Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale is another limited edition beer that was formerly only available at the Sierra Nevada brewery and is being bottled for the first time this year. The beer started as an experiment in “fresh hops” and was originally made with hops that had been harvested locally, that same day. The brewery describes the process as more art than science, and one that they have refined over the past eleven years. This brew is also getting rave reviews, and will only be available in stores for a limited time only.

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Haagan-Dazs has introduced a decadent and elegant limited edition ice cream for the autumn season. Their Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan flavor was invited by Leslie Zoerb of Buffalo, New York, the 2007 winner of Scoop: Haagan-Dazs’ Flavor Search contest.

The ice cream will feature toasted pecans in pear ice cream, and was selected as the best submission out of over 5,000 ice cream recipe entries including the top ten finalist flavors Blueberry Belgian Waffle, Bittersweet Chocolate Pistachio, Cafe Mocha Biscotti Crunch, Coco y Cacao, Coffee Cake Crumble, Ginger Cashew Crunch, Lemon Pudding Cake, Lilikoi Butter with Macadamia Nuts, and Zinfully Chocolate.

Leslie’s winning recipe was honored by the City of New York, which renamed the city “The Big Pear” for one day on September 21, 2007. The Haagan-Dazs Flavor Search contest is conducted in cooperation with Gourmet magazine, whose chefs serve as judges and also contribute tips for creating amazing homemade ice creams to the Haagan-Dazs website. Last year’s winner, Sticky Toffee Pudding, was so popular that Haagan-Dazs promoted it from a limited edition item to a permanent product in the Haagan-Dazs flavor line. The contest is part of Haagan-Dazs efforts to engage consumers in an interactive experience that increases their enthusiasm for Haagan-Dazs as well as their brand loyalty.

For more information on the Scoop: Haagan-Dazs Flavor Search contest check out this finalists’ blog about his experiences with the Scoop judging and related publicity whirlwind. His Coco y Cacao made the final three but was not selected for ultimate ice cream glory. Still, he got a great trip to Bakersfield, California out of it!

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Skittles has issued another limited edition, this one in a black package and with the ambitious name Skittles Unlimited. According to obsessive candy wrapper collector Brad Kent, this is the Canadian version of the Skittles Carnival Edition that has been out in the United States for several months now.

Jummy at Life Tips Daily found one of the black packages and reports that she liked them quite a bit. The five flavors in Skittles Unlimited are green slushy, candy apple, cotton candy, bubble gum, and red licorice. This flavor combination is the exact same as the brightly packaged United States version, but while the Australian version looks the same as the Skittles released in the States the name and several of the flavors are different. In Australia this edition is called Showtime Skittles and featured the flavors bubble gum, pop corn, fairy floss, toffee apple and jam donut (fairy floss is the Aussie term for cotton candy).

Skittles is known for making very successful varieties of the basic five flavored candies that made the brand famous. Previous variations and limited editions of Skittles versions have included Sour Skittles, Smoothie Mix Skittles (featuring flavors such as peach pear, mixed berry, orange mango, lemon berry and of course strawberry banana), Ice Cream Skittles (featuring chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, caramel ripple, and orange vanilla Skittles), and two mint versions of Skittles (the first version featured spearmint and wintergreen flavors, followed later by a mixture that included “cool mint,” peppermint, spearmint, and “sweetmint”).

Skittles has also been known to take successful limited edition varieties and turn them into products that are regular features of the Skittles line. The Skittles website now shows Carnival Skittles Gum as a non-limited product. The five flavors in Carnival Skittles gum will be Candy Apple, Cotton Candy, Berry-Go-Round, Pink Lemonade, and Gum Ball. No word yet on if Skittles Unlimited or Skittles Showtime will be made into gum as well.

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the month always brings a feast of limited edition food products. Over the next few weeks the blog will feature pink bagels, pink chocolate products, pink pastries, as October always offers a veritable plethora of pink items designed to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

But October is not just Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is Domestic Violence Awareness Month as well. Domestic violence is also a huge killer of women, but its purple pride is less trendy (and less profitable) than the pink packaging that dominates the shelves this time of year. This is a shame, because as important as it is to support breast cancer research we cannot forget that domestic violence is quietly devastating women every day:

One in three women has been the victim of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or husband.

A third of the women in America admit that they have been physically or sexually assaulted by a husband or a boyfriend in their lifetimes.

At least three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day.

Children who witness violent acts between their parents are much more likely to grow up to become abusive themselves.

Domestic violence costs the economy over $5 billion dollars every year in health care costs, lost productivity and missed work, and related expenses.

Men are not immune from violence: twenty five percent of the victims of domestic violence are male.

Domestic violence is a devastating epidemic and silence is its friend. Many of the bloggers around the 451 Press network are taking time to promote domestic violence awareness during this first week in October. April has some compelling posts over on Her Daily News, while Susan at Home Computer Talk has a list of online resources for victims or people wanting to learn more about the issues. Beth at Astrology Explored has written about how to recognize the signs that someone is a violent individual and the manipulative traits of an abusive personality.

KD at WatchingCSI.com was kind enough to showcase CSI’s partnership with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a national organization that works with abused and neglected children in foster care.

If you are interested in helping with the issue of domestic violence in a hands on manner, becoming a CASA is an invaluable way to help children who have been removed from violent homes. CASA volunteers get extensive training before they are assigned specific cases by juvenile judges, and they work alongside the attorneys and social workers involved in the case to investigate the child’s situation and make recommendations about what is in the best interests of the child.

If you are interested in learning more about CASA please go to NationalCASA.org or contact the CASA office in your area.

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