Goya Touts Better-For-You Product Line
Goya Foods is perhaps best known for its pan-Hispanic food items, but the Jersey City, N.J.-based company also wants to provide healthier choices for the many consumers who enjoy its products.
“The Goya Better For You product line is a list of delicious Goya cultural foods with lower sodium, sugar, saturated fats and/or lower-calorie options,” says Meriterese Racanelli, R&D food scientist/nutritionist at the CPG powerhouse. “Goya Better For You products meet strict guidelines set by government health agencies, national health organizations, and health initiatives such as [the] CDC National Sodium Reduction Initiative, USDA ChooseMyPlate.gov and others. With proper portion sizes, these products can be a beneficial part of a nutritious diet for people looking to help reduce their risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and more.”
Racanelli further notes that the line’s brochure “also highlights those items that meet the FDA Gluten-Free Rules and Regulations of less than 20 ppm gluten or no possible cross-contamination with gluten.”
Perfect Pairings
To promote the items, which now include new zero-calorie sparkling waters featuring the essences of tropical fruits, Racanelli has “expanded partnerships with the USDA MyPlate program. Each year throughout the U.S.A., we’re helping stores and community programs have access to things such as culturally specific Goya MyPlate recipes, the Goya Better For You Product Brochure, and educational handout materials that support the MyPlate and government health organizations goals for lower sodium, sugar and saturated fats. I’ve also created partnerships with hospitals, faith-based organizations, state health departments, [the] Fiesta In America Philippines store program; the Bodega Association of America, [the] NY REACH Healthier Bodega Program, [the] HSBC Bank Healthier Living on a Budget program and other partnerships. These partnerships provide educational workshops, sampling, cooking demonstrations, MyPlate recipes, educational materials and details about the Goya Better For You products to grocery store managers, staff, cooks and consumers.”
Asked about the best way to position such products, Racanelli suggests that grocers “include food pairings based upon ethnic heritage, like the long-standing pairings of cooked rice and beans or lentils. Studies have shown that pairing a legume with rice can help prevent blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. These pairings, along with portion control and meal timing, can be very helpful for people with diabetes.”
Next on the horizon for the Goya Better For You product line are a Low Sodium Black Bean Rice Mix and a Low Sodium Red Bean Rice Mix. “These can be great pairings with Goya Low Sodium canned beans,” recommends Racanelli. “Together, they make quick, convenient ways for consumers to have delicious healthier cultural foods in today’s fast-paced and hectic schedules.”
What’s more, the health benefits of such products can stave off future problems, she believes.
“Excessive sodium intake is a global health crisis according to the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control,” explains Racanelli. “The negative health effects of excessive sodium intake in a person’s diet can affect more than just high blood pressure. Consuming excessive sodium can contribute to heart attack, stroke, diabetes, brain and bone issues, and kidney diseases, which is the latest projected epidemic by health professionals and government health agencies. So the Goya Better For You products [are] poised to help consumers meet government health guidelines to help reduce the next wave of health issues, while at the same time allowing consumers to enjoy delicious cultural foods.”
That last point is particularly important in encouraging Latinos and others to eat more healthfully while continuing to savor traditional cuisines.
“Consumer nutrition and food needs are not one size fits all,” asserts Racanelli. “Ethnic-heritage foods can be beneficial and helpful when it comes to so-called wellness solutions.”