Elmhurst 1925 brings its clean labels to sour cream

Dive Brief:

• Elmhurst 1925, the Elma, New York-based plant-based beverage maker is making its way into more categories with the launch of its sour cream pouch product. The pouch is available online and in some Publix locations with more retailers to follow. 
• The dairy-free sour cream alternative is a move by the company to expand from a dairy-beverage company to a plant-based food company, it said. 
• Elmhurst’s sour cream is crafted with oatmilk, hemp protein, among other ingredients without any added gums or filler ingredients and emulsifiers, zero sodium, and no cholesterol.

Dive Insight:

Like all of its products, Elmhurst uses its patent protected “HydroRelease” method which “separates the components of a nut, grain or seed before reassembling them as a creamy, beverage-ready emulsion, maintaining the full nutrition of the source ingredient without added gums or emulsifiers,” by just adding water, the company said. 

Since its founding in 2017, Elmhurst has launched plant milks as well as coffee creamers, barista blends, and seasonal offerings like its Oatnog. 

“Stepping into the dairy-free food category feels like a logical move for Elmhurst, after we perfected delicious and nutritious plant milks and creamers made with only the simplest ingredients” said Heba Mahmoud, senior director of brand marketing at Elmhurst. 

More consumers have been demanding cleaner labels in their plant-based products. Oatly, the oat based beverage giant, innovated with its first new product launches in five years — Unsweetened and Super Basic Oatmilk — which both aim to cater to these types of consumers. 

Mahmoud said Elmhurst’s mission is to raise the bar in every category by “providing consumers with the cleanest, most nutritious and delicious plant-based alternatives.” 

According to Elmhurst, this is the first plant-based sour cream packaged in a pouch on the market, providing customers with a mess-free and easy way to add it to dishes.