Highlights From McLane's 2019 National Trade Show

SAN ANTONIO — McLane Co. Inc. highlighted its three pillars of technology, private label brand CVP and the McLane Kitchen foodservice solution during its 2019 National Trade Show, held Aug. 21-22 at the Henry B González Convention Center in San Antonio. This year's show theme was "Sales Fiesta."

More than 40 new CVP private label brand products were featured on the show floor, including Work Fare safety gear, Road Tech phone accessories and electronics, health and beauty products and four new flavors of Beau Dacious dog treats — which retailers may see more demand for, as pet care product sales to convenience store customers have risen in recent years, according to a company representative. The convenience distributor also previewed new CVP packaging with a more premium image.

New offerings from McLane Kitchen include turnkey soups, roller grill jalapeno western omelets, salads with protein, and custom parfaits. Its Fly Guys pizza brand marked its first anniversary and a year of positive reception, according to the company. While it can fit any-size retailer, Fly Guys is particularly well suited to c-stores with smaller footprints.

McLane's coffee supplier Java City displayed a new small footprint, bean-to-cup machine by Bunn, which it expects to be a major trend for the hot beverages category. 

And in recognition of a major trend spreading across the retail industry, McLane dedicated an entire aisle of this year's show solely to CBD (cannabidiol) suppliers and their product offerings, which included ingestible gels and capsules, lotions and balms, transdermal patches and more. Some representatives displayed detailed packaging information and scanable QR codes to demonstrate full Food and Drug Administration compliance.

Meanwhile, candy and snack trends included bold and spicy flavors, indulgent flavor variants of existing brands, and shelf-stable, better-for-you products.

EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS

Notable new products exhibited at the show included:

Barcel USA — The maker of the Takis brand is bringing other snack favorites from Mexico to Hispanic markets in the United States. Items on the lineup include Juicee Gummee candy, Panditas gummy bears and more.

Del Monte — Snack-size Fruit Crunch Parfaits, Fruit Naturals and Fruit & Chia offer easy-to-eat nutrition in small portions with a shelf life up to 10 months.

General Mills — Chex Mix MAX'D presents a new spin on the classic snack mix. Spicy Dill and Buffalo Ranch varieties meet consumer demand for blasts of bold, spicy flavor.

Mars Wrigley Confectionery — Coming in 2020, yogurt-coated Skittles Dips will be available in a sharing-size package, the company revealed.

Perfetti Van Melle — Its new Mentos Chewy & Fresh brand extension offers a softer bite and will become available in small-bucket packaging starting in November.