Native Snacks expands retail footprint by 1,500%

By Gill Hyslop

- Last updated on GMT

Native Snacks' packs of Popped Lotus Seeds have been given a bolder, brighter design to pop out on shelf. Pic: Native Snacks
Native Snacks' packs of Popped Lotus Seeds have been given a bolder, brighter design to pop out on shelf. Pic: Native Snacks

Related tags Native Snacks lotus seeds better-for-you India Snacks vegan Non gmo Clean label

Native Snacks will increase its distribution network in the UK by an impressive 1,500% after securing listings with Sainsbury’s, Holland & Barret online and Ocado for its range of better-for-you Popped Lotus Seeds.

The better-for-you London-based snack producer has embarked on an aggressive strategy to become a serious player in the mainstream savoury snacks area, undergoing a rebrand and appointing Burts Snacks alum Simon Knight as its commercial director on a consultancy basis to provide strategic guidance to drive sales.

Knight – who has almost 30 years’ experience in the FMCG industry – previously worked at Burts Snacks as sales and marketing director.

According to Native Snacks, the rebrand creates a consistent identity across all consumer touchpoints and included a bolder design and brighter colours to ‘encapsulate the energy of street food’ and improve its on-shelf presence.

The new listings will also enable it to meet the burgeoning demand for innovative bagged snacks, a category that has seen an increase of 27.5% year-on-year and is currently valued at more than £77m.

Native Snacks Sea Salt & Vinegar and Sweet Chilli Popped Lotus Seeds will now be available at 550 Sainsbury’s Local stores nationwide, while its Sea Salt & Vinegar, Sweet Chilli and Sea Salt & Pepper variants will be stocked by Holland & Barrett online and Ocado at an RRP of £1.10 for a 20g pack.

“Native Snacks’ 1,500% increase in distribution, its rebrand and its appointment of Simon Knight is enabling the business to rival mainstream players in the snack category,”​ said Charlie Bowker, cofound of Native Snacks.

“Our mission is to harness the power of street food in every one of our packs of Super Street Snacks. We use unique base ingredients that are super good for you and pair them with flavours that are right up consumers’ street, such as Sweet Chilli or Sea Salt & Vinegar. The new pack designs and brand world are bolder, livelier and really encapsulate the energy of street food.”

Native Snacks’ Popped Lotus Seeds are roasted – not fried – and contain under 90 calories a pack and 60% less fat than regular potato crisps. The snacks are protein rich, vegan and low GI, with no artificial ingredients, preservatives. They are also free of allergens, gluten, palm oil, MSG and GMOs.

Giving back

Popped lotus seeds come from the lotus flower grown in Bihar, a state in eastern India. They are a much loved street snack by locals, known as ‘phool makhana’. The seeds are dried in the sun and then naturally popped.

Native Snacks passion is in promoting the sustainable management of fields in wetlands, where the lotus crops are grown and encourages the use of poly-culture crops to increase biodiversity in its lotus flower ponds. This helps sustain a natural ecosystem and so not only is it good for the ponds, but also good for the farmers, allowing them the opportunity to profit from other crops and fish. The lotus seeds are heat-popped with bio-fuels, such as old corn husks, to ensure the popping is as sustainable and as kind to the planet as possible.

Native Snacks are then roasted and seasoned in the UK.

The brand also believes that snacks should not only taste good, but should do good, and donates 1p to Action Against Hunger from every pack sold.

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