New Look, New Recipes, a New Dawn
There aren’t many positives associated with lockdown and yet it provided Juliette and I with the invaluable ‘thinking time’ we needed to revisit our brand with fresh eyes, embracing all the many fantastic things that editors, bloggers and consumers have constantly fed back to us about our deliciously distinct snacks range, whilst acknowledging the small number of recurring ‘what if’ suggestions that kept bubbling to the surface.
It’s fair to say that as outsiders to the artisan food community, Juliette & I have never been afraid to listen to feedback or learn and adapt; it was simply the small matter finding sufficient ‘breathing space’ to put various helpful ‘tweaking’ suggestions in motion.
It was back in 2018 that the idea of moreish baked snacks, bursting with goodness first came to light, when it dawned on us that it was our ‘bridesmaid’ seedy snacks and not our illustrious vegan soups that were making all the running.
Initially this revelation took us a little by surprise, but like many flexible entrepreneurs before us, we brushed ourselves down, replotted our course and thanked our lucky stars for such a game-changing moment of clarity.
Initial reactions to our NEW Seed Snacks were upbeat and inspiring and listings in Ocado, Planet Organic & As Nature Intended quickly followed. It was clear from the various ‘early doors’ exhibition tastings, award nominations and early buyer discussions we attended that we were onto something special! Elsewhere, too many vegan snacks were promising the earth yet falling flat on their faces, bigging up their bold health & wellness claims whilst politely overlooking the fact that their recipes were often awash with over-processed, ultra-palatable ingredients and excessive amounts of salt, sugar and ‘bad’ fats.
It goes without saying that seeds have long been admired as a positive source of ‘nutritional empowerment’ and yet before Seed Snacks, no-one had got their heads around how seeds could make the most of their light crunchy personas and far-reaching flavours.
And yet, for all our good intentions, when we looked back at our work to date it became all too clear that we were unwittingly working against ourselves.
Initially we’d been far too rigid regarding our interpretation of what constituted the perfect, nutritionally empowered snack. We certainly ticked every box in terms of our gluten-free, good gut health and vegan friendly goals but had conversely created something a little to niche in its appeal.
Our determination to create the perfect environmentally-friendly pouch had created a package so crinkly that it often looked a little forlorn and unloved on shelf. If that wasn’t bad enough, our quest to tell consumers just how good our snacks had also resulted in our packaging looking a little too cluttered & confusing for its own good.
We’d also overlooked the fact that the nation’s blossoming paleo community, who would have a natural affinity to our wholesome snacks were being unwittingly put off by the discreet yet very real presence of sunflower oil.
We also realised that by making our snacks a little smaller yet thicker, that we’d secure more snacks per pouch, a truly resounding crunch and less breakages.
A NEW DAWN
So here we are several months down the line with a bold new look, better looking recyclable pouches and a small number of sympathetic recipe enhancements that makes us as proud as punch. The very essence of our original idea remains clear as day for all to see AND YET thanks to our invaluable Lockdown re-evaluation working alongside fantastic bakery and design partners, we’re now the proud custodians of a crunchier, well-rounded vegan snack that exceeds even our wildest dreams.
