Better health and wellness are the primary drivers among today’s consumers – an idea that was further amplified during COVID, as people began focusing more than ever on food quality and nutrition.
“We all witnessed how the pandemic turned the food industry upside down overnight,” says Prime Planet’s Marie Gonzalez, “but now we are seeing that many of those changes are here to stay.” Gonzalez is head of Business Development for Miami-based Prime Planet, purveyors of all-natural green plantain chips, or Tostones.
Several studies are now showing how lockdown measures caused lasting behavioral changes in relation to food selection and consumption – and how consumers continue to choose healthy and sustainable diets. These new habits also include eating more varied foods – especially when it comes to snack products.
Prime Planet is way ahead of the curve as its wide variety of “better for you” Tostones snacks have long been a favorite among health-conscious shoppers.
“And now, as the brand moves further into the mainstream American snack market, Prime Planet is aligning with a growing number of national distributors and retail food chains looking to meet the new demand for healthier snack options,” she says.
“Of course it also helps that our chips are truly delicious – and come in four unique flavors,” stresses Gonzalez, including Original, Sweet Chili, Lime, and Habenaro.
Here’s the rundown on the top nutritional qualities of Prime Planet Tostones that stand out most to health-conscious shoppers all across the U.S.
No Preservatives
Foods on the market that contain the most preservatives are processed, packaged foods like crackers, cereals, breads, and snacks. Preservatives are added to food to fight spoilage caused by bacteria, molds, fungus, and yeast – whereby keeping food fresher for longer periods of time.
Sounds good, right. Well, there’s more to the story. One of the most harmful effects of preservatives in food items is their ability to transform into carcinogen agents. Sustained and excessive consumption of artificial preservatives can also weaken heart tissues, which is especially dangerous for the aged people.
No bueno, says Prime Planet. We can live without that!
Low Sodium
Sodium is an important mineral that performs many essential functions in your body. But like many things, too much can bring on too many problems. Excess salt in a diet is often troublesome for people with conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and kidney disease.
Many unhealthy foods are extremely high in sodium. Fast food, packaged items, and many popular snack foods are not only loaded with salt but also tend to be high in unhealthy fats and calories.
It’s good to have options – and Prime Planet is the healthier one.
No Added Sugars
Prime Planet can make the claim that its products have “no added sugars.” In other words, our chips are not processed with any sugar or sugar-containing ingredients.
While naturally occurring sugar in fruits and vegetables is part of a healthy diet, added sugar in soft drinks, snacks, and processed foods should be consumed at a minimum. Products without added sugar can of course contain naturally occurring sugar, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing – it’s the way we consume it that can be detrimental to our health.
The benefit of less added sugar is that it may help stop weight gain and fat buildup linked to heart disease. The benefit also is our chips taste great without it.
No Dairy
Flavored chips – the flavoring that is often added to chips – can contain lactose and other milk ingredients including lactose, casein, and whey. Prime Planet chips do not.
Our delicious chips are a perfect choice for snackers who have made the decision to eliminate or reduce dairy from their diets. We don’t actually need dairy – it’s not the magical answer to strong bones. In fact, less dairy can actually help people achieve weight loss, clear up their skin, and help digestion.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t drink milk, of course. We’re simply suggesting if you’re trying to stay away from dairy, now you have more reason to eat more of our chips!
No nuts
Avoiding nuts means more than just not eating them. It also means not eating any foods that might contain tree nuts or peanuts as ingredients. What’s the best way to be sure a food is nut free? Read the label!
Food labels can help consumers with food allergies to avoid foods or ingredients that they or their family members are allergic to. In fact, federal law requires that the labels of most packaged foods marketed in the U.S. disclose – in simple-to-understand terms – when they are made with a “major food allergen.”
So here’s something else that’s simple-to-understand: Tostones are nut free! Period.
No cholesterol
Since the ‘90s, food manufacturers have been required to provide information on certain nutrients of greatest public concern. As a result, cholesterol is required under the Nutrition Facts panel of food labels, so you can make informed decisions on the snack products you consume.
Your body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells, but high levels of cholesterol can cause the development of fatty deposits in your blood vessels making it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Hello heart disease!
Some people can handle more cholesterol than others. Some have trouble with it. Prime Planet plays it safe – with no cholesterol at all. Hello healthier chip!
0g Trans Fat
Trans fat is considered the worst type of fat you can eat. Also called trans-fatty acids, it can raise your “bad” cholesterol while also lowering your “good” cholesterol. Sounds like a formula for trouble, especially since a diet laden with trans fat increases your risk of heart disease, the leading killer of adults.
The most commonly eaten form of trans fat is in processed foods like crackers, cookies, cakes, and other baked goods – and some snack foods. Count Prime Planet among the growing list of responsible manufacturers that have voluntarily reduced or removed trans-fat from their products.
We’ve got the right formula: 0g Trans Fat.
Kosher
The K, circled K, and the circled U are all meant to indicate a product is kosher. You’ll see on the front of every package of Prime Planet Tostones that we’ve met the standards to carry the circled U.
That’s a big deal because this registered mark can only be used with the permission of its owner, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America – the undisputed heavyweight of kosher-certifying organizations.
A product is “kosher” if a rabbi determines and certifies that it meets the requirements of Jewish dietary law. A snack chip is “great” if it’s made by Prime Planet.
Certified Delicious
In the snack world, food safety and hygiene are also more important than ever. Prime Planet Fresh is way ahead of the curve here too, holding multiple U.S. State and Federal certifications that ensure customer satisfaction. For more on this front, please view our previous blog entitled, “Prime Planet Tostones are Certified to Make you Feel Good About Snacking.”