Awakened Foods merger to take bite out of US$110B healthy snacks market

From left: Dustin Finkel (CEO) and Jeff Schmidgall (COO) of Awakened Foods.

10 Mar 2021 --- Ka-Pop! Snacks, makers of ancient grain popped chips, and Bubba’s Fine Foods, makers of paleo and keto-friendly snacks and granola, are merging to form Awakened Foods.

The new holding company for the brands will compete in the fast-growing healthy snacks market, worth US$110 billion globally and the US$38 billion global cereal/granola market.

“The combination of two companies at this early trajectory is extraordinary,” says Dustin Finkel, CEO of Awakened Foods and founder/former CEO of Ka-Pop! Snacks.

“This merger allows us to simultaneously accelerate our top and bottom line, building on an already strong gross margin foundation and 2020 growth rates of over 200 percent.”

Jeff Schmidgall, COO of Awakened Foods and former CEO/founder of Bubba’s Fine Foods adds: “Leveraging new capital and manufacturing infrastructure built over the last six years at Bubba’s Fine Foods, Awakened Foods is ready to take on the meteoric growth of our branded businesses.”

The merger will simultaneously apply decades of Bubba’s Fine Foods’ experience in manufacturing to fast-track the company’s private label and co-manufacturing division, Awakened Food Crafters.

Finkel adds that both he and Schmidgall have overcome mental and physical health challenges by committing to clean eating and a healthy lifestyle.

In turn, their products are positioned to “bring joy back to healthy eating.”

Awakened Food Crafters will comprise the company’s private label and co-manufacturing division for the two brands.Demand for health
COVID-19 has accelerated demand for nutritional foods, as health has become top of mind for consumers.

However, some experts warn that snacks from health haloed ingredients like pulses could contain high levels of sodium, posing risks to health.

This week UK lobby group Action on Salt published a report demonstrating that over half of health-positioned snacks were high in salt.

At the same time, snacking levels have risen in regions such as Germany, while consumers have stayed more at home during the pandemic.

Expansion into healthy snacks
Around the world, F&B giants are expanding their reach into healthy snacking, as the category gains more traction.

Hershey recently announced investments in the better-for-you chocolate confectionery space, which it estimates to be worth US$1.3 billion.

Meanwhile, Arla spotlighted huge opportunities in healthy snacking in China, with products featuring milk proteins.

Tailored to me
Further in this space, NPD is appealing to different lifestyles such as the keto community.

Last January, Kashi unveiled a keto-friendly, high-protein breakfast cereal containing plant-based protein from pea, lentil and chickpea flour, while General Mills released a keto-friendly yogurt last September.

Snacks have also seen innovation in functionality, such as VK Energy's bar line launched last August, which delivers a “super-dose” of vitamin B12.

Kirin Holdings also recently announced new products coming to the Japanese market, including its beta-lactolin ingredient in yogurt and milk products for enhanced memory that declines due to age.

By Missy Green

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