A sustainable food & drink startup has developed what it claims are the “world’s first” wrapper-free snack bars and protein bars.
Called One Good Thing, it has created an edible film coating for the bars – made from beeswax and other natural ingredients – which “dries hard enough to hold and protect the contents but is thin and soft enough to chew easily”, it claims.
The edible, waterproof coating acts as a replacement to a traditional plastic or paper wrapper. As a result, the bars can be rinsed under the tap and bitten into, “just like eating an apple”.
Underneath the coating, each bar features an edible rice paper label featuring the brand’s logo and the relevant variant description.
The bars, which each weigh in at 39g, are available to order (in cardboard boxes of six and 12 bars) direct-to-consumer from OGT’s webstore.
They are made from raw, cold-pressed, low-carbon ingredients.
The standard snack bars are available in seven different variants, including Mango & Passionfruit, Strawberries & Cream, Rhubarb & Custard and Cherry Bakewell.
There are also seven protein bar variants available, including Apple & Cinnamon, Sticky Ginger, Berry Burst and Butterscotch. Each provides 7g protein per serve.
Snack bars are priced at £2.20 per unit on one-time purchases, or for £1.54 when users sign up for a subscription.
Protein bars, meanwhile, are priced at £2.50 per unit for a one-time purchase and £1.75 on subscription.
The innovation was the result of three years’ development.
“The idea for OGT came to me when I was out cycling and saw the sheer volume of snack wrappers,” said co-founder Mike Bedford.
“Developing the product was the easy bit for me, but building a consumer brand is another thing. That’s why I’ve focused on building a brilliant team that can help launch OGT as a completely new and innovative snacking concept.”
Kieran Stanbridge, former global head of PR & community at petcare brand YuMove, joined OGT as CCO last December and was appointed CEO in July.
Stanbridge told The Grocer he was eyeing a retail launch for the brand, but first: “We’ve got to educate consumers about the safety of our all-natural ingredients.
“Apples in stores generally aren’t in plastic… and people will pick them up, not even give them a wash and eat them. But as soon as it’s a snack bar, they think: ‘How’s that hygienic?’”
Over the coming months, OTG would aim to explain the science of its bars to shoppers and reassure them “this is a really safe, innovative, new way of snacking”, Stanbridge added.
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