Alpina Avena, a traditional, creamy, oat-based dairy beverage, has been a staple in many Latin American homes for centuries.
In recent years, Latin American foods have increasingly grown in popularity across the Americas as consumers look for new and exciting flavors. This widespread trend, along with consumers' continued interest in convenient and healthy meal options, has led Alpina Foods to expand its Alpina Avena line of oat smoothies. This month, the company is introducing new packaging and flavors of the 18-year-old product line.
Alpina's recipe follows the generations-old tradition of El Espinal, a region in the company's home country of Colombia. As Bogota resident Damaris Suta reminisced, "When I was a kid, we went to the market in Espinal to drink cold oatmeal. That is a tradition, you drink it cold and it is a great refreshment."
Alpina began manufacturing Avena in Colombia in 1996. The first mass-produced oatmeal drink, Avena quickly became a top-selling brand of oat-based drinks in Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and widely accepted across Central America. The traditional beverage is a family staple, with parents and children alike drinking Avena as part of a healthy diet to their kids for generations. With 170 calories, five grams of protein, and 15% of an adult's recommended daily allowance of calcium per serving, Alpina Avena is a delicious recipe that satisfies hunger on-the-go or at home.
"Alpina Foods brings nearly 75 years' worth of dairy experience to our operations here in the U.S.," said Gustavo Badino, Alpina Foods' general manager. "But we also bring an unparalleled understanding of Latin American flavors and traditions, and we're excited to bring them together to offer an expanded line of Alpina Avena to consumers nationwide."
Avena's new packaging, shelf-stable tetra packs, incorporates bold colors that stand out in-store. The design highlights the flavors, and in a nod to its heritage, all Alpina Avena packaging features one side in English, the other in Spanish.
Alpina Avena is available in original, light and cinnamon, as well as new flavors dulce de leche, strawberry, and chocolate. All flavors are available in 8.4-ounce (250 mL) tetra packs, and original and cinnamon are also available in a 32-ounce size. Avena is sold in select regional and independent retailers including WalMart, Winn Dixie and Publix in South Florida; Fiesta Markets in Houston; Western Beef in New York/New Jersey; and nationwide in independent retailers as well as select WalMart, Stop & Shop, and ShopRite stores.
