Fruit + fiber + probiotics: General Mills unveils Doolies snacks for kids

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Doolies bites and fruit-filled bars are launching on Amazon at $14.99 for a pack of 10. Image credit: General Mills

Doolies – the latest innovation to emerge from General Mills’ G-Works corporate venture studio – is a fruit- and fiber-packed snack for young kids designed to “help your kid go #2 with ease.”

G-Works - which deploys a “test and learn model to validate new business opportunities with an entrepreneurial mindset" - recently launched ‘animal-free dairy’ brand Bold Cultr.

Its second brand – Doolies - is aimed squarely at kids, and is launching on Amazon.

Based on the insight that almost a third of children in the US suffer from occasional constipation, Doolies bars and bites combine psyllium husk fiber,* inulin, Kerry’s shelf-stable probiotic BC30 (which supports digestive and immune health), and fruits such as prunes, pears, and apples. The bites (80 calories) contain 3g fiber, while the fruit bars (100 calories) contain 5g fiber.

The snacks have been extensively tested on kids, said Michael Skinner, who co-founded Doolies with Rachel Crow and Glory Alcantara.

Pleasing kids, particularly picky eaters, is no easy task as many parents would attest. That’s why we conducted many taste tests and efficacy studies to ensure our product would strike that right balance between functionality and taste appeal.”

*According to the FDA, Psyllium husk, as a source of soluble fiber, meets the definition of dietary fiber based on its effect of reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, although it is probably best known as the active ingredient in Metamucil, a fiber supplement that reduces constipation (Psyllium absorbs water to form a gel-like substance that helps to propel feces through the intestinal tract). Read more HERE.

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Doolies apple cashew fruit & nut bites:

Ingredients: Date paste, cashew butter, prunes, pears, sorbitol, dried apple, psyllium, water, pectin, inulin, calcium chloride, cultures (Bacillus Coagulans GBI-30), natural flavor.

Nutrition Facts 22g serving:  80 calories, 7g sugar (naturally occurring), 3g fiber, 1g protein

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Doolies strawberry fruit-filled bars:

Ingredients: Filling (apples, prunes, tapioca syrup, inulin, glycerin, water, dried apples, strawberries, natural flavor, rice starch, pectin, ascorbic acid). Whole wheat flour, palm oil, sorbitol, pear powder, inulin, psyllium, honey, brown sugar, egg white, cultures (Bacillus Coagulans GBI-30), pectin, baking soda, salt, dextrose, calcium chloride, vanilla extract.

Nutrition Facts 31g bar:  100 calories, 6g sugar, 5g fiber, 1g protein

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Interested in Feeding the Gut Microbiome?

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Watch our FREE webinar, Feeding the Gut Microbiome: from pre-, pro-, and postbiotics to resistant starch, on demand by registering HERE.

Over 2.5 hours, we’ve cover:

·      Fermented foods and probiotics: What’s the take home message for consumers? 

·      ‘Live and active cultures’ seal on yogurt labels: What does it mean? 

·      What are postbiotics?

·      Beyond digestive and immune health, where are some of the emerging growth areas for probiotics? 

·      Is all fiber prebiotic? And are all prebiotics fibers? (Spoiler alert: No, and No) 

·      How advanced is consumer understanding of prebiotics?

·      How do you talk about resistant starch to consumers?

·      What’s the best overall dietary pattern for a healthy microbiome (and how do you define a healthy microbiome)?