Hillshire Snacking Brand Tap's TV's Andy Cohen to Lauch Hillshire Snacking

TV host Andy Cohen joined fellow food aficionados to launch Snack Week, a week-long celebration of snacking and the launch pad for the Hillshire Snacking brand of premium snacks.

Snack Week kicked off with a VIP launch event, co-hosted by Cohen and other culinary experts, including chef Dale Talde of “Talde” restaurants, New York mixologist Julie Reiner and two top food bloggers. The event united the experts to help launch the Hillshire Snacking brand and highlighted curated pairings and snack ideas using the products, all coming to life in a series of videos to be released during Snack Week.

“Being a foodie and living in a city with an amazing food culture has elevated my snacking game,” says Cohen. “I’ve spent enough time around food and the culinary world to know when I spot a trend. The Hillshire Snacking brand is a game-changer.” 

Snacking has grown to be an American way of life, with 95 percent of Americans snacking throughout the day and 48 percent snacking twice a day. This growth is tied to a change in the consumer definition of snacking as well as increased demand for high protein snacking options, officials say. Hillshire Snacking brand is a new snacking brand that delivers portioned protein snacks for a new, elevated on-the-go eating experience to satisfy a more sophisticated food palate, officials add.

“Just as Restaurant Week celebrates culinary experiences, Snack Week celebrates the snacking experience and the elevated role snacking plays in people’s lives,” says Megan Huddleston, director of marketing for the Hillshire Snacking brand. “Snacking is no longer an afterthought. It’s an opportunity to go on a 15-minute culinary adventure, and Hillshire Snacking products set a new bar with interesting flavor pairings and quality ingredients you’d never expect from a packaged snack. We created Snack Week to celebrate how the boundaries of food culture have expanded to include snacks.”

Videos capturing the results of the snack collaborations will be released on hillshiresnacking.com and via the brand’s Facebook and Instagram channels starting February 1, the beginning of National Snack Food Month.

The Hillshire Snacking product line of new snacks includes Hillshire Snacking Small Plates and Hillshire Snacking Grilled Chicken Bites, designed to be enjoyed on the go while still satisfying a foodie palate. Containing 15 grams or more of protein per serving, the single-serving snack offerings are available in nine varieties across two product lines, as described by Hillshire officials:

Hillshire Snacking Small Plates – Four flavorful combinations of air-dried salame, natural cheese and toasted rounds with a touch of sea salt, including:

Italian Dry Salame with Natural Gouda Cheese

Genoa Salame with Natural White Cheddar Cheese

Wine Infused Salame with Natural White Cheddar Cheese

Hot Calabrese Salame with Natural Gouda Cheese

Hillshire Snacking Grilled Chicken Bites – Made with all natural, minimally processed chicken breast bites, this gluten-free snack offers five unique dipping sauce options including:

Teriyaki

Honey Mustard

Spicy Chipotle BBQ

Mango Habanero

Sweet Chili

Hillshire Snacking products are available at grocery stores nationwide. Suggested retail price for Small Plates is $2.99; Grilled Chicken Bites is $2.49.