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The all-day snacking trend was already driving growth. But new plant-based offerings are taking the segment to the next level.

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The refrigerated dips (+13.7%), flavored spreads/ hummus (+3.5%) and sauces/salsa (+17.5%) segments all registered strong gains during the 12 weeks ended Sept. 6, according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI (iriworldwide.com).

Lakeview Farms expands its new plant-based Fresh Provisions lineup with a group of chunky Salsa Fresca.

However, a closer look at the data indicates new plant-based alternatives are driving a lot of the growth. According to the Plant Based Foods Association, dollar sales of plant-based spreads, dips, sour cream and sauces shot up 53.7% in 2019, making it one of the fastest growing plant-based categories in the market.

“Plant-based dips have grown significantly over the past two to three years and are now a $50 million segment within the refrigerated dips and spreads category,” confirms Greg Klein, CMO at Delphos, Ohio-based Lakeview Farms (lakeviewfarms.com), which debuted a plant-based collection of its own under the Fresh Provisions label in August. Made from fava beans, white beans and chickpeas, the dairy-free, non-GMO lineup includes three “mainstream” savory dip flavors for seamless swapping (Classic Ranch, Dill Pickle and French Onion) and two sweet fruit dip flavors (Chocolate and Caramel).

Last month, Lakeview expanded the Fresh Provisions collection with a group of chunky Salsas Fresca. Made in small batches with freshly cut Roma tomatoes, onions, jalapeno and Serrano chiles, the group includes Original Mild, Original Medium, Black Bean Corn and Mango Peach.

“We’ve seen particularly strong growth in dip/ spread products like queso, salsa and protein dips that, under normal circumstances, consumers would enjoy at their favorite Mexican restaurant but can’t right now due to the pandemic,” says Klein. In fact, Lakeview recently expanded its Rojo’s (rojossalsa.com) line of authentic Mexican salsas and dips with a new Mexican Style Street Corn Dip offered in a microwaveable container for easy heating.

There’s also been a lot of activity in the guac segment recently. The newest offering comes from Orange, Calif.- based MegaMex Foods, which just launched a line of refrigerated guacamole under its Herdez brand. Made with only seven ingredients and no preservatives or artificial flavors, the traditional-style guac comes in both Mild and Spicy flavors and three different sizes.

DAIRY-FREE SPREADS GAIN GROUND

On the spreads side of the category, Chicago-based Bel Brands USA (boursin.com), recently rolled out its first plant-based offering as well: Boursin Dairy-Free cheese spread alternative. Offered in “fan favorite” Garlic & Herbs flavor, the non-GMO spread answers the need for both lactose-free and plant-based options, says a spokesperson.

Another new plant-based spread comes from Kingston, N.Y.-based Treeline Cheese (treelinecheese.com), which uses traditional dairy cheese-making methods to create cultured cashew-based cream cheeses. Available flavors include Plain, Chive & Onion and Strawberry.

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