steel cut oats, made from whole oat groats, are an excellent source of protein, soluble and insoluble fiber, and select vitamins and minerals.by anne marie mohan, senior editor organic steelcut oatmealenlargethe drawback of this type of oatmeal is its cooking time&mdashup to 30 minutes compared with the two to three minutes required for rolled or instant oatmeal. to provide consumers with a way to prepare steelcut oats in minimal time, tualatin, orbased pacific foods has developed readytoeat organic steelcut oatmeal in five varieties, packaged in a retort carton.&ldquopacific foods strives to provide products that nourish and increase access to healthy, wholesome foods for kids and families alike,&rdquo says pacific foods associate brand manager jen anderson. &ldquothe organic steelcut oatmeal was created to fuel consumers on busy mornings, providing them a breakfast solution that is packed with protein, fiber, and hearthealthy whole grains in less than two minutes. keeping in mind that consumers usually don&rsquot have the half hour or more it takes to prepare traditional steelcut oats on early mornings, pacific&rsquos readytoeat steelcut oatmeal is a pantry staple, onhand when needed.&rdquothe product, planned for launch in april 2015 as of presstime, is slowcooked in small batches, explains anderson. &ldquomaintaining the consistency and delicious heartiness of the steelcut oats was a critical factor,&rdquo she says. &ldquowe wanted to make sure that we maintained the heartiness of the steelcut oat without sacrificing texture.&rdquothe heatandeat product is then packaged in a 10oz tetra recart retortable carton from tetra pak constructed of three layers&mdashpaperboard, film, and aluminum&mdashthat seals in the liquid, protects the product from external moisture, and preserves the flavor and texture of the product.says anderson, &ldquoaside from the benefits of sustainability and recyclability, this packaging allowed us to take a traditional, timeconsuming breakfast item and deliver it to the consumer as a shelfstable pantry staple, fully cooked and ready to eat, with no additional ingredients needed.&rdquographics for the packaging were designed inhouse and were created to draw attention to the product&rsquos key point of difference its use of steelcut oats. &ldquothe food photography and the hierarchy of the product name are used to convey a difference in texture compared to traditional instant oatmeal,&rdquo anderson explains. &ldquoadditionally, pacific foods is focused on creating nourishing foods, so fiber, protein, and whole grains were brought to the forefront to elevate nutritional attributes. we utilized the back of the package to spark creative ideas on how to boost nutrition at breakfast, specifically showcasing the pairing of oatmeal with pacific&rsquos nondairy beverages to achieve the benefits of higher protein.&rdquowhile the product has not yet been launched, anderson says there is a lot of buzz around heatandeat oatmeal, given the growth trends in hot and customizable breakfast options as well as increases in onthego and deskbased breakfasts. &ldquoconsumer research has shown us that the product attributes&mdashfor example, protein levels, hearthealthy whole grains&mdashare top of mind for our target consumers, and the percentage of consumers who felt our product met or exceeded their expectations has met our internal benchmarks.&rdquopacific foods&rsquo organic steelcut oatmeal will be available at natural and conventional grocers nationwide for 2.99 per carton. 
