Flatbreads and geometry

At the Fancy Food show in Chicago last month, along with Lithuanian liquors, Japanese pine needle juice and all manner of "healthy" dark chocolate, were homely flatbreads.

Why are they popular these days?

The answer offered by an enthusiastic flatbread puveyer was that they're "not the circles and squares that everyone's so tired of." I wondered if rectangles could possibly be so much more appealing a form. He said, "No, they get broken up--into sharp angles and uneven shapes. That's what makes them interesting."

I thought of Cheetos, which get their appeal from weird shapes--and that was the only thing that made me keep from raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Ian's Natural Foods

Keep your eye on this dynamic, young company. They have switched their focus to kids. With antibiotic-free, gluten-free nuggets and chocolate chip buttons, they're poised to meet a big need. Their bright yellow packages and a new character (why an otter?) should convince kids that they provide "for me" food. And parents will show little price resistance.

Even their marketing director, Claire, is a human dynamo. She was a fellow-speaker at the Kids Marketing Mega Event.

I put my chips on this square.

Slice of Pie

This week, a new product caught my eye. A freezer package containing two slices of key lime pie. Nice!

Hot pie, no leftovers. A novel interpretation of the portion-pack trend.