Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere. Some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can’t write about everything that we get pitched, so here are some leftovers pulled from our inboxes.
Kellanova makes Rice Krispies Treats salty
Sweet and salty tastes dominate the candy scene, from salted chocolate bars to saltwater taffy. A popular snack brand is bringing the flavor combination to its latest product line.
Kellanova announced the launch of Rice Krispies Treats Bliss, a version of the marshmallow snacks containing chewy chocolate or caramel chunks and candied, salted pretzels. The confections arrive in two varieties: Chocolate Sea Salt Pretzel and Caramel Sea Salt Pretzel.
The brand said it realized the product had the potential to resonate with shoppers because it was inspired by consumers adding their own toppings to the treats.
“The new Rice Krispies Treats Bliss flavors reimagine our bars as a canvas for gourmet topping combinations,” Danielle Rappaport, the brand director for the snack, said in a statement. “More and more, we’re seeing fans elevate their Rice Krispies Treats bars at home with over-the-top mix-ins, from candy to pretzels.”
Rice Krispies Treats Bliss bars will be available in stores starting in April, with more flavors in the works.
Since spinning off into a snacking-only company in 2023, Kellanova has leaned into its household name brands to launch new products to better compete with companies such as Mondelēz International and Hershey. Earlier this year, Kellanova signed a licensing deal with Golden West Food Group to bring the flavor of Rice Krispies Treats to ice cream products.
—Chris Casey
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Courtesy of Sargento
Sargento partners with Mondelēz, McCormick & Co. on cheese dishes
Cheesemaker Sargento is partnering with the big cheese. Actually, two of them.
The Wisconsin-based dairy company is collaborating with McCormick & Co. on three shredded cheese offerings: Frank’s RedHot Original with white cheddar, colby-jack and natural American cheeses; Cholula combined with queso, quesadilla and asadero cheeses; and crushed red pepper with low moisture part-skim mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Sargento also is rolling out Sargento Shareables, a portable ready-to-serve cheese and cracker tray, as part of its ongoing partnership with Mondelēz International.
Shareables combine Sargento’s cheeses with Mondelēz’s crackers. The snacking options are: Cheddar and colby-Jack with Ritz, white cheddar and gouda with Triscuit, and pepper jack and monterey jack paired with Ritz. This collaboration brings Sargento into the cracker aisle for the first time.
Mondelēz and Sargento have worked together before, including the launch of Cheese Bakes crackers earlier this year.
“Innovation is how we began in 1953,” Louie Gentine, Sargento’s third-generation chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Now, in 2025, we have developed three new products that will resonate with consumers looking for new flavors and snack options, while at the same time, grow the natural cheese category.”
Sargento, a family-owned cheese maker with nearly $2 billion in annual sales, has been tied to a few innovations that are now common within the food industry.
Two years after its founding, it developed a way to vacuum seal cheese in plastic. It not only allowed larger blocks of the product to last longer in the marketplace but eventually led to the sale of sliced cheese. Sargento also claims to have introduced prepackaged shredded cheese in 1958.
—Christopher Doering
