‘There’s never been a better time to push the message that healthy can equal delicious’: Start-up aims to disrupt snacking sector with low-fat, low-salt crisp

19-Feb-2021 - Last updated on 19-Feb-2021 at 14:55 GMT

Mindful Snacker promises a potato crisp with significantly lower fat and salt-content. Image: Getty/Danilin

Challenger brand Mindful Snacker is promising to make 2021 ‘the year of healthy snacking’ and ‘clean comfort food’.

Backed by venture specialist Pilot Lite, which recently partnered with Diageo to create Pulpex, a sustainable packaging technology company making bottles for PepsiCo and Unilever, the snack start-up will launch next month offering solutions for the health-conscious consumer.

The first product will be a potato crisp boasting significantly lower salt, fat and calorie content. The crisps will be made with ‘ground-breaking technology’ which the brand vows will ‘change the way we talk about and consume crisps forever’.

To make the Simply Roasted crisp, the brand uses a patented technology that cost over £20 million to develop over a 10-year period, explained Mindful Snacker CEO Tara Quick.

“Our multi-stage preparation and cooking process allows us to roast our potato slices, so they taste exactly like a fried potato crisp – yet with far less fat, salt or calories,” she said.

'We hope to become known as the world’s first truly better-for-you potato crisp': Mindful Snacker CEO Tara Quick

‘Environmentally cleaner and more energy efficient’

The brand chose the Lady Amarilla potato variety, grown locally for its factory in Norfolk. After slicing, they are coated with natural seasonings using premium real ingredients and HOSO oil. The crisps have 50% less fat than average fried crisps, and are much lower in salt, with only 0.58g per 100g, the company claims.

Under the traffic light system in the UK, Simply Roasted comes in on ‘green’ for saturated fat and sugar and on the border of ‘green’ and ‘amber’ for salt content.

“Calorie-wise, we'll be coming in at under 100 calories for our impulse bag. Compared to the way traditional crisps are produced, the Simply Roasted method is environmentally cleaner and more energy efficient. Our process uses 25% less energy than the traditional frying process,” Quick told this publication.

The challenger brand aims to capitalise on growing demand for healthy snacking options among COVID-hit consumers, she added.

“At the moment, snacking occasions are at an all-time high due to the amount of time we are spending at home, so the customer base is widening naturally right now. This is a premium product, so we are targeting ‘foodies’ and those with a health-conscious mindset.”

RRP for the product will £1.19p for an impulse bag (21.5g) and £2.29 for a sharer bag (122g).

Led by an all-female team with more than 20 years of experience in the snacking category, it includes Marketing Director Ruth Fittock (formerly of Popchips) and Trade Lead Nat Cooper (previously with Vita Coco).

“We have had a lot of success with fellow challenger brands in the wholesale and convenience sector, and we’re excited about the relationships we are currently developing here,” said Quick.

‘The world’s first truly better-for-you potato crisp’

The company has a number of launches planned for 2021, including a range of plant-based dips and a number of additional on-trend flavours for Simply Roasted crisps that will join the portfolio.

“We hope to become known as the world’s first truly better-for-you potato crisp. We have the capacity to scale to accommodate orders from larger supermarkets due to the production capabilities of our factory in Norfolk,” Quick added.

“Never has there been a better time to be bold and brave and to push the boundaries on the traditional mindset that food is either delicious or healthy, but not both together.”