The promotional campaign for California walnuts in the UK continues into its fourth year, offering the UK a consistently high-quality, versatile, great-tasting ‘super nut’. 

California walnuts received the ‘Best Superfood’ Gold Award in The Healthy Food & Drink Awards 2019. Recent highlights include retail promotions with retailers such as Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury, Home Bargains and Costco as well as trade advertising and PR.

One of the key objectives of the UK consumer campaign involves supporting health research, publicising the numerous health benefits of California walnuts.

Peter Meadows from The Garden Marketing & PR, the trade representative for California Walnuts in the UK, says: “Our goal is to convey to the UK trade that California walnuts offer a number of attributes, over other origins – great taste, consistency, outstanding food safety, ideal for flavouring and texture profiles, always high quality and available all year.

“California walnuts are extremely flexible and can enhance both the taste and texture and of course the nutritional profile of a wide range of products.” 

In terms of health benefits, California Walnuts’ research resulted in the *EU confirming the claim that ‘a handful of walnuts a day (30 grams) can have a positive effect on the elasticity of the blood vessels and so can help with keeping the cardiovascular system healthy. 

Meanwhile as part of the California Walnut Commission’s (CWC) active export marketing programmes, a number of initiatives continue to inspire and encourage the UK food industry to use more California walnuts.

Walnut-based products in the market

With the UK seen as a market for innovation, and as overall demand for nuts continues to grow in the UK, more walnut-based products are being launched.

In the UK there has been a development on nut butters using California Walnuts, which helps expand the use and perception of the product to both trade and consumers. 

The CWC has been working closely with Bnutz, an artisan nut butter producer based in Surrey, creating a product that uses California Walnuts as one of the core ingredients. Bnutz only uses premium organic ingredients, which are ethically sourced and free from, palm oil, preservatives and refined sugar. They take pride to expertly roast and meticulously grind the ingredients to ensure customers experience the taste through the smoothness of the nut butter.

 “The new product, ‘Espresso Nut Butter – Made with California Walnuts’, has a rich dark chocolate taste with subtle caramel sweetness, soft fruit undertones and contains the creaminess of the California Walnuts offering a truly unique flavour. 

Also, in mainland Europe some headway has been made in developing nut butters with leading manufacturers on an industrial basis, as well as walnuts integrated into cheeses, yoghurts, chocolates and other confectionery items. In addition, cereal manufacturers are also interested in increasing their mixes and nutritional profiles with California Walnuts. 

There are also a range of cereal bar manufacturers now using California Walnuts in the UK. Nestlé SA recently announced the development of a dairy-free drink using walnuts and blueberries.

Iain Forbes from The Garden Marketing & PR, the trade representative for California Walnuts in the UK, says, “We are actively working with retailers to launch new walnut-based products in the UK. Currently there are active campaigns running with most of the leading retailers in the UK. As we move through 2020 our aim is to inform consumers that there are a variety of ways to use California Walnuts, in addition to snacks and in baking, the more ‘traditional’ uses for the product”. 

Why California Walnuts?

The central valley in California provide ideal conditions to sustainably grow superior walnuts. Walnuts from California are generally lighter in colour and have a sweet-mild taste with a soft creamy texture, which makes them a versatile ingredient for flavour profiles, and texture in recipes as well as processed products. 

Despite the recent challenging global situation, the California walnut industry, continues its commitment to producing high-quality, nutritious and safe walnuts for consumers worldwide. The California Walnut Industry has earned a reputation for producing high quality walnuts while maintaining an exceptional food safety record for a century. California Walnuts are grown, harvested, and processed following strict Federal and State food safety regulations. Our finished product often exceeds quality standards set by the USDA. 

California Walnuts have tremendous versatility and can be used in a variety of ways – for recipe ideas and inspiration visit californiawalnuts.co.uk.

To receive details on future California Walnut stories and trade initiatives, sign up for the UK newsletter www.californiawalnuts.uk/trade-contact.

*EFSA approved health claim / As part of a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle