Kind moves into four new categories in ‘biggest innovation expansion ever’

The company’s joint venture with confectionery giant Mars in 2017, followed by its first ever acquisition – of Creative Snacks in October last year – has spurred the move into four new categories.

The plant-based Kind Frozen Bars are made with a creamy nut base in place of ice cream (to keep the sugar content low), layered with dark chocolate. The company unveiled the frozen bar last year – sold exclusively through Walmart – to test the market before the larger rollout.

The Kind Nut Butter Bar is the brand’s first refrigerated nut butter protein bar, which took Kind around 2½ years to develop. The bars use either peanut or almond butter as their base and come in four flavours.

The snack mix platform – featuring grain-free versions of Kind bars – is divided into two sub-categories: Kind Nut & Fruit Clusters and Kind Nut & Seed Clusters.

Finally, Kind Bark will be found in the chocolate aisle, and contain nuts and 55% cacao dark chocolate. Although the bark was in the works before Kind’s partnership with Mars, the chocolate giant helped Kind “execute better and faster,”​ said Daniel Lubetzky, founder and executive chairman of Kind.

Like the frozen bars, Kind initially tested the bark through a small roll-out in natural food grocery stores.

Elevating consumers’ experience

“Since day one, Kind has been obsessed with upholding our brand promise – to create innovative, premium foods that are both healthy and tasty,” ​said Lubetzky.

“While these categories are new for us, each is consistent with how we’ve always entered new categories – with an eye to creatively elevate people’s overall experience.”​

The new products go on sale in selected outlets across the US this month.

Kind – founded in 2004 – has built itself into the fourth-largest US snack manufacturer by positioning its nut bars as a healthier option to traditional granola or energy bars.

Euromonitor estimates that it held a 10.4% share of the snack bar sector in 2019.

In accordance with the ‘Kind promise’, all its products – including the new creations – contain ingredients that are nutrient dense, that you can see and pronounce.

Lubetzky said the company is actively looking for more acquisitions that fit with its ethos.