KIND Healthy Snacks

KIND Healthy Snacks
Private
Industry Snack Foods
Founded 2004
Founder Daniel Lubetzky
Headquarters New York, NY, U.S.
Products Snack Bars, Granola Bars, Granola
Website www.kindsnacks.com

KIND Healthy Snacks (KIND) is a natural foods company based in New York, New York. The brand was introduced in 2004 by Daniel Lubetzky. The company manufactures six product lines made from whole ingredients.

Company Culture

KIND's culture focuses on transparency, creativity and open communication. The KIND Headquarters office is equipped with a wellness room, an unlimited supply of KIND snacks at their Bar Bar, plus their team members receive a free shipment of snacks every month to help inspire others to commit kind acts.[1] The company now has nearly five hundred employees. [2]

Products: Snack Bars, Granola Bars, Granola

KIND currently offers six lines: KIND Fruit & Nut, KIND PLUS, KIND Nuts & Spices, KIND Healthy Grains Bars, KIND Healthy Grains Clusters and STRONG & KIND. KIND also offers Fruit & Nut and PLUS varieties in smaller, 100 calorie-range portions with KIND minis.

Introduced in 2004, KIND Fruit & Nut is currently available in the following nine flavors:

In 2008 KIND launched KIND PLUS, a line of whole nut and fruit bars with an "added nutritional boost".[3] KIND PLUS is available in the following seven flavors.

In 2010, KIND launched smaller portioned, 100 calorie-range KIND minis, currently available in four flavors:

In 2011, KIND launched a line of KIND Healthy Grains Clusters granola, made from a unique blend of five super grains. Currently available in eight flavors:

2012 brought in KIND Nuts & Spices, made with whole nuts flavored with delicious spices that contain 5g of sugar or less, per bar. Currently available in eight flavors:

In 2013 KIND launched a line of KIND Healthy Grains granola bars, available in five flavors:

In 2014, KIND launched its first ever savory snack line, STRONG & KIND, which delivers 10 grams of soy-and-whey free protein. Currently available in five flavors:

Each KIND bar is gluten-free, non-GMO, trans fat-free, low GI, and low in sodium. NOTE: The KIND products are not certified non-GMO.

Nutrition Facts

All KIND bars are gluten-free, non-GMO and low in sodium. Currently their KIND Healthy Grains and KIND Healthy Grains Clusters are certified by the NON-GMO Project;[4] all other products are currently in the process of becoming NON-GMO Project Verified.

All KIND range between 180-210 calories and deliver a balance of healthy fats and protein. The KIND Healthy Grains bars are 140-150 calories with at least 18 grams of whole gains per bar. STRONG & KIND bars are all 230 calories each with 10 grams of protein. All bars are considered a good source of fiber.

The FDA submitted a warning letter to the company in April 2015, which stated that four of its products did not meet the requirements to be labeled as “healthy.”[5] The KIND bars specified by the FDA were: Kind Fruit & Nut Almond & Apricot, Kind Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut, Kind Plus Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein, and Kind Plus Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants.[6]

History

The path to KIND began in 1994 with PeaceWorks Inc., an innovative not-ONLY-for-profit business aimed at fostering joint business ventures between neighboring citizens in conflict regions worldwide. After several successful PeaceWorks ventures, company founder Daniel Lubetzky eventually conceived KIND in 2004.[7][8] KIND was very successful in reaching one million dollars of sales in only the first year. Today, KIND Healthy Snack Bars are sold at more than 50 big chain stores in the United States.[9]

Awards

Since its inception, KIND has received a number of awards and distinctions from both media and the natural foods industry, including the following:

KIND Movement

Through the The KIND Movement, KIND aims to make the world a little kinder by inspiring unexpected acts of kindness. In the spirit of this movement, in 2009, KIND launched Do the KIND Thing, an evolving platform that empowers people to turn KIND acts into support for causes.[18] To date, the KIND Movement has inspired thousands of kind acts around the world and has been recognized by Time magazine as a "New Way to Make a Difference".[19]

References

  1. ↑ ""The 44 Healthiest Companies to Work For in America", Greatest, 2014.". Greatest. 2014-10-30.
  2. ↑ "The amazing story behind that kind bar you are eating, 2015". USA Today. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Kind Plus Bars". Progressive Grocer. 2008-06-01.
  4. ↑ "KIND Healthy Snacks.". NON-GMO Project. 2015-01-01.
  5. ↑ Wheeler, Lydia. "FDA tells KINDSnacks to remove 'healthy' from label". The Hill. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. ↑ LUPKIN, SYDNEY. "Some KIND Bars Not So Healthy, FDA Says". ABC News. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Way I Work: Daniel Lubetzky of KIND". Inc. Magazine. 2010-01-12.
  8. ↑ "Holding fast to a mission, even now". Crain's New York Business. 2008-12-15.
  9. ↑ Kind Healthy Snacks Goes From Small to Big." Bloomberg Business. 2013-02-21.
  10. ↑ "Healthiest Packaged Foods 2011". Prevention Magazine. February 2011.
  11. ↑ "2010 Men's Health Nutrition Awards: Best Breakfast Bar". Men's Health Magazine. October 2010.
  12. ↑ "125 Best Packaged Foods for Women". Women's Health. October 2010.
  13. ↑ "The Envelope Please... The Entrepreneur of 2010 Awards". Entrepreneur Magazine. January 2011.
  14. ↑ "KIND Mango Macadamia wins Best New Product Natural Product Expo East". KIND Healthy Snacks News Release. 2008-10-21.
  15. ↑ "NAFST 2006 Product Awards Competition" (PDF). SpecialtyFood.com. 2006-06-23.
  16. ↑ "Editor’s Picks 2009". Progressive Grocer. 2009-10-01.
  17. ↑ "100 Best Convenience Foods". Good Housekeeping. 2009-02-01.
  18. ↑ "Depending on the KIND-ness of Strangers". The New York Times. 2010-06-12.
  19. ↑ Caplan, Jeremy (2009-09-10). "New Ways to Make a Difference". Time.

External links