Progressive Grocer – May 2025 | Read Full Article
Because we are intrepid grocery consumers as well as dedicated grocery industry editors, judging the products for our annual Editors’ Picks program is always a joy. This year – the 21st iteration of the program – has proved particularly interesting, however, as we witnessed the further migration of functional foods into the mainstream.
Among the products that wowed us were sweet potato fries featuring superfoods, caffeine-infused dark chocolate, probiotic soda, overnight protein oats, herbal tea with biotin, a high-fiber fruit bar, raw snacking granola, a juice shot formulated to improve sleep quality, various products marketed as allergen-free, healthy hydration beverages, protein tortilla chips, and even mac and cheese, to name just a few. These products didn’t stop at functionality, though; many featured such indulgent flavors as Mango Cardamom, Vanilla Almond, Tart Cherry and, perhaps most mouthwatering, Cherry Berry Chocolate Chunk.
Speaking of flavors, trending hot honey – probably the most popular of the wave of “swicy” products now inundating store shelves – made a notable showing among the products we selected, along with “everything” seasoning, which is decidedly not just for bagels anymore. Clues to future flavors that consumers will embrace came in such creative forms as a cotton candy-flavored energy drink and sea salt honey, the latter offered as a product that does double duty as a gourmet recipe ingredient and workout fuel.
Additionally, organic and natural products, premium offerings, better-for-you versions of stalwart snacks, convenience and ease of use, global cuisines, inventive private label items at value prices, and eco-friendliness in production and packaging continued to be well represented among the products we considered, as well as our eventual picks.
We invite you to sample the below 2025 Editors’ Picks, accompanied by their suggested retail prices and packaging sizes.
Diestel Frozen Primal Blend Ground Turkey
$12.95 per 14-ounce package
Made with only pasture-raised turkey, turkey heart and turkey liver, this product signals a resurgence in demand for organ meat, and the ongoing clamor for convenient, flavorful proteins. It’s billed as nutrient-dense, with high levels of B vitamins, iron, zinc and vitamin A, and as sustainable thanks to its regenerative certification and blend that contains no artificial ingredients, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, growth stimulants or fillers. Fittingly, the product was launched shortly after Thanksgiving, once shoppers had tried the brand’s regenerative whole turkeys for the holidays and during the clean-eating month of January. Since that time, the item has seen incremental growth.
