We’re no newbies when it comes to making innovative snacks. In 2014, we won the BC Food Processors Association’s Product of the Year for Coconut Chips (Bronze). In 2015 we were awarded Silver for Veggie Clusters. And in 2016 our Coconut Clusters took home bronze. We even won the BCFPA Sustainability Award in 2017!
What we haven’t talked about before, is the highly exciting ‘Dragon’s Den’ style Product of the Year pitch event. We arrived about an hour before our time slot to meet with the other nominees and check out their cool new products. Then we had a few mins to convince the judges why our Organic Sesame Snack is pretty darn awesome.
Luanne represented us this year, and after the pitch, had the opportunity to be interviewed by the BCFPA team. Here’s how it went:
Q: What makes you passionate?
LS: I am passionate about good food and food that’s good for the earth. That’s why I work with Hippie Snacks because I feel good about what we’re offering. It tastes great and it makes people feel like they’re doing good things for their body as well as the planet.
Q: What sets the Sesame Snack apart?
LS: What sets our product apart is that they’re made with real ingredients that taste great. We use organic ingredients, we use only non-GMO ingredients and plant-based ingredients that are dense in nutrients.
Q: Were there challenges in creating the Sesame Snack?
LS: The biggest challenge was how to create it in-house because it’s manufactured completely different than the traditional sesame snap bar. Because our product is made with much less sugar, it couldn’t be made with a brittle process, so we had to do a lot of research and trial and error to find out how we could make it in-house, as well as how we could scale up when we increased volume.
Q: We all wanna know… How did the presentation go?
LS: The presentation was a lot of fun! A little nerve wracking, but it was amazing being able to showcase our brand new products, and the judges were interested.
Q: And those ‘Dragons’… what were they like?
LS: They were attentive, took a lot of pictures of the product, and asked a lot of good questions. They also seemed like they were very engaged!
Q: Nerve-wracking, much?
LS: Yes, I was definitely a little nervous, but I was able to represent the products in a good way that showcased how great they really are!
Q: Closing thoughts – What do you hope the future of the food industry will look like?
LS: We would like to see—and we’re starting to see—more people choosing food that’s better for them. Millennials are much more engaged in getting proper nutrition and they have such a high interest in that. It’s so great to see the market is moving that way. I would like to see natural food products become mainstream as opposed to an alternative.
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