Amid the imminent New Year as throngs will collectively commit to eating more nutritiously, whether as part of a weight-loss resolution endeavor or to enjoy a healthier lifestyle overall, one company—Garden Lites—has set its sights on helping folks achieve those goals—one tasty veggie at a time. This decidedly plant-forward firm is downright braggadocios about its brand purpose: “to make surprisingly delicious veggie-rich foods so people can incorporate more veggies into their diet.”

Photo Courtesy of Garden Lites

As a means toward this end, Garden Lites recently debuted its new breakfast category frittata line helping consumers easily add vegetables to their morning diet via low calorie, high protein, and highly flavorful prepared food options. The timely new line launch coincides with a brand refresh bolstering its unequivocal positioning on plant-based food preparation: overtly eschewing food science in favor of a culinary approach utilizing produce in its natural form to proffer “surprisingly delicious and nutritionally smart, vegetable-oriented foods.”

Sharon Palmer, an award-winning Registered Dietician Nutritionist and well-reputed expert on plant-powered food and nutrition, applauds Garden Lites’ focus on fitting vegetables into a range of products, highlighting that “the vegetables are identifiable and recognizable.”

“You can see carrots, broccoli and spinach, for example, in the products, and they fit into healthful categories of the diet,” Palmer said. “They provide ways to fit vegetables into all meal occasions, and they are vegetarian. [Garden Lites] have been open and honest from the beginning that their mission is to help people fit in more vegetables into their diets …”

Garden Lites’ vegetarian frittatas, available in Spinach Egg White and Veggie Bacon & Potato Frittata varieties (with the “bacon” made from Pinto Beans), are a noteworthy complement to the award-winning company’s other sweet and savory products, including their popular Superfood Veggie Cakes and Superfood Mac and Cheese. In fact, while the brand was already established in the breakfast space with items like veggie-packed muffins and waffle varieties, the frittata line launch is helping reinforce the company’s standing as an innovative leader in the frozen food category. Additionally to this newly introduced line being packed with non-altered veggies like spinach, red bell peppers and cauliflower, the frittatas are gluten, soy, peanut and tree nut free; non-GMO and kosher.

So certain are they of their vegetable-driven victuals resonating in today’s health-minded marketplace, Garden Lites’ new tag line “Veggies Made Great” is now prominently emblazoned in bright green on its product packaging. Plus, the new design also boldly highlights and asserts veggies as the No. 1 ingredient, furthering the company’s mandate of making scrumptious, veggie-laden frozen food something grocery consumers regularly seek out.

“This dynamic new Garden Lites packaging is a radical change sure to scream from the frozen food aisle as to why to purchase,” says Andy Reichgut, Garden Lites’ Executive Vice President.

Palmer also advocated Garden Lites brand refresh and approach to fitting into consumers’ daily lives, noting, “I like the clean packaging and that they focus on delicious, comfort food recipes, but in a more healthful version. So, basically, they are meeting consumers’ needs in a healthful way. They are good for the whole family, too. I appreciate that they use the slogan, ‘Veggies Made Great,’ which resonates with people. And it’s important to point out the prominence of ingredients and clean lists.”

Overall, the strong new branding undertaken by Garden Lites has given the company a fresher face and clear-cut mission, and the new frittata products—now available in Stop & Shop, Giant Landover, Publix and select Costco stores—are further energizing the lauded lineup.

When asked her opinion on what’s needed to help the food industry and consumer marketplace at large become more vegetable-centric, Palmer recommends creativity and transparency. “I think one strategy is to make food products that include a variety of whole plants, but in a global, interesting, delicious format,” she said. “Keep it real, where you can see all of those delicious plant foods right there in the open.” Recommendations that indubitably mesh with Garden Lites’ own efforts.

“Finding new ways to provide healthful whole plant foods in attractive formats will be successful,” Palmer added. “People want healthy, interesting, global, delicious, but they also want to be satisfied.”

Satisfied and satiated indeed.

***Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided at no cost and/or arranged to accommodate this review, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way as per the disclosure policy on our “Legal” page***