Novus extends Winky into protein-forward refrigerated desserts

Novus Foods is pushing Winky deeper into the refrigerated dessert set with a protein-forward line that puts 10g protein and no added sugar into a format long defined by comfort, not credentials. The move reframes a mainstream gelatin brand as a functional dessert platform, a sign that protein is no longer confined to shakes, bars, or meal-replacement lanes.

That strategy fits the company Novus has been building since it formed through the merger of Lakeview Farms and noosa yoghurt and officially rebranded from Lakeview Farms on July 1, 2025. Novus has said it wants to be a leading consumer packaged goods company for the refrigerated perimeter, and it has been explicit about bringing true innovation to refrigerated categories. Winky gives that ambition a familiar starting point: a brand already sitting in refrigerated dessert cases with gelatin snacks, parfaits, and sugar-free offerings.

The architecture matters. Novus already describes Winky as economical, tasty, portable, gluten free, and low in sodium, with products that are often low fat, fat free, low calorie, or sugar free. In other words, the brand was already positioned around lighter-for-you convenience before protein entered the picture. Novus also pushed Winky into a more playful, family-friendly lane in 2025 with a back-to-school partnership tied to PAW Patrol, showing that the brand has been used to sell occasions as much as it sells product.

The protein pudding line sharpens that positioning. By foregrounding 10g protein and no added sugar, Winky is aiming squarely at the overlap between indulgence and utility, where refrigerated desserts can feel like a treat without abandoning nutritional signaling. That is the bridge category Novus appears to be chasing: familiar enough for mainstream shoppers, but upgraded enough to stand apart in a crowded fridge set.

The broader market backdrop helps explain the bet. Cargill reported that 61% of Americans increased their protein intake in 2024, up from 48% in 2019. IFIC’s 2025 survey found that a high-protein diet was the most common diet Americans followed in the past year, while ADM’s 2025 research found that 63% of consumers say taste and nutrition are equally important. Those numbers point to a shopper who wants permission to indulge, not a trade-off.

Protein is spreading well beyond bars and shakes, and refrigerated desserts are one of the clearest tests of how far that shift can go. If Winky can keep its dessert identity intact while giving shoppers a protein payoff, Novus could help define how legacy comfort brands stretch into the functional aisle without losing the pleasure that made them matter in the first place.