Sunsweet Makes Cranberries and Berry Blends "Amaz!ngly Snackable™"

YUBA CITY, Calif., Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The same intense flavor and added sugar that makes dried cranberries and other dried berries a favorite accent to salads, muffins and more also make them too sugary and sweet as a snack food–until now. Studies confirm more than half of Americans snack two to three times per day. But what Americans choose to snack on isn't necessarily the best option. Sunsweet, a leading marketer of dried plums, specialty dried fruits and fruit juices, bolsters its snacks by offering consumers less sugar and fewer calories with its two Amazingly Snackable^TM new products: Amazin^TM Berry Blend and Amazin^TM Cranberries.   

Both of these blends include Plum Amazins^TM diced plums, which help reduce overall sugar content and boost nutrition. Also exciting to note, recent research suggests dried plums may keep bones strong by preventing bone mineral loss, which can lead to osteoporosis.[i] Dried plums contain many compounds that can contribute to bone health and probably act synergistically, including potassium, copper, boron and vitamin K.[ii]

Sunsweet's Amazin Berry Blend offers better nutrition than other berry blends with less sugar and fewer calories. It combines Plum Amazins diced plums, cranberries, blueberries and cherries to create a great tasting sweet-and-tart blend. Sunsweet looks forward to expanding into the quickly growing berry blend category and offering a healthier, snackable option for berry fans. "Consumers continue to seek convenient snacks that also offer nutritional value. Our new Amazin products provide healthy snack options with less sugar and fewer calories for increasingly health-minded consumers," said Dane Lance, president of Sunsweet Growers, Inc. 

With its Amazin Cranberries, Sunsweet will step into the popular cranberry market. Cranberries have grown consistently at 30% over the last three years. Amazin Cranberries offer 23% less sugar and 12% fewer calories than standard cranberry-only options. The sweet Plum Amazins diced plums serve as a great complement to the tart albeit popular cranberries, resulting in truly Amazin Cranberries, which are great for snacking, used as a topping, or baking.

If you're looking for a truly indulgent treat, look no further than PlumSweets^TM, chocolate-covered Plum Amazins diced plums, which has proven to be a popular treat for consumers. Capitalizing on the decadent nature of the product, Sunsweet has redesigned its packaging with a fresh new look and feel. Got a sweet tooth? Dig in to PlumSweets, a nice alternative to satisfy that sweet craving.

The Amazin Berry Blend and Amazin Cranberries are now both available to consumers in retail locations. The decadent chocolate covered plums, PlumSweets, will be in a newly designed package available to consumers in April 2013.

Look for Amazin recipes for snackers and home chefs alike at http://www.plumamazins.com/?page=recipes.

About SUNSWEET 
Sunsweet Growers Inc., established in 1917, has more than 95 years of experience and heritage in producing the highest quality dried fruits. The Yuba City, Calif.-based cooperative of 300 grower/members is the worldwide leader in prunes and related products. Most recently, the product portfolio has been expanded to include a full line of dried fruit snacks and juices, all designed to fit today's need for healthy and convenient food choices.

[i] Shirin Hooshmand, Sheau C. Chai, Raz L. Saadat, Mark E. Payton, Kenneth Brummel-Smith, Bahram H. Arjmandi. Comparative effects of dried plum and dried apple on bone in postmenopausal women. British Journal of Nutrition, 2011; 1 DOI: 10.1017/S000711451100119X
[ii] Arjmandi et al., J Food Nutr Disor 2012, 1:2

SOURCE Sunsweet