LIBERTY, N.Y. — Down deep, there’s a little rebel in almost all of us. Maybe it involves questioning conventional wisdom, popular culture, established authority or even, as small as it may seem, the type of snacks we eat.
For too long, consumers have put up with more nutritious snacks that taste, well, extremely “healthy” or simply don’t seem better-for-you after reading the Nutrition Facts Panel on the back of the package. That’s why Liberty-based BFY Brands last year launched Our Little Rebellion, a new brand identity for its PopCorners, Bean Crisps and just-introduced Protein Crisps.
Together, the brand plans to touch any hot button that’s pushing both current and future interest in healthy snacking, including gluten-free, plant-based protein, high fiber, probiotic, clean label, added fruit, locally sourced and Non-GMO Project verified, just to name a few.
But there’s just one bigger point of differentiation. It’s the patented technology and versatile process that allows the company to create crispy, wholesome-ingredient puffed snacks. The single- and double-compression processes can deliver snacks with just 2 grams of fat, no artificial ingredients and a fraction of the calories of conventionally fried ones. Additionally, die-induced embossments provide the ridges that offer visual and textural cues. Even their shapes mimic traditional snacks, such as triangular as in corn tortilla chips, oval-shaped such as potato chips or a square-like appearance as with crackers or pita chips.
“Our Little Rebellion is a rebellion against the assumption that snacks that are better for you and better for the world don’t taste good,” noted Gunther Brinkman, vice-president, contract manufacturing, for Ideal Snacks, a business unit of BFY Brands. “We disagree with that premise.”
In fact, on www.ourlittlerebellion.com and through Facebook and other social media outlets, the company urges consumers to “join the rebellion” with a bold call to action. As with most rebellions, however, the petition to embrace the brand’s “rebelicious” cause didn’t begin in the confines of a corporate office but from the power of the people surveyed in search of a better brand identity, said Paul Nardone, chief executive officer of BFY Brands.
“The whole notion of a snack rebellion or a snack revolution really came from our consumers once they understood what these products were and how they were made,” he recalled. “Their reaction was, ‘Wow, you’re really doing it so differently than the pack.’ They called it ‘a rebellion’ from the industry, so we thought Our Little Rebellion was an appropriate name.”
