PepsiCo has acquired US-based maker of baked fruit and vegetable crisps Bare Snacks (Bare Foods Co), as it further expands its snacking portfolio.
Owning brands such as Mountain Dew, Tropicana and AMP Energy, PepsiCo has been relying on growth in its snack business to make up for struggling soda sales. In its most recent quarterly results, sales in its North America beverage unit fell by 1% as consumers shift towards healthier drinks.
Founded in 2001 by a family-owned organic apple farm in Washington, Bare Snacks began selling packaged baked apple chips in local farmers’ markets. PepsiCo claimed that under its current leadership team, the brand has expanded steadily to become the leader in apple, banana and coconut snacks.
Bare Snacks has recently expanded into vegetable chips and its products are made from ingredients that are baked, not fried.
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said: “For nearly a dozen years, PepsiCo has been committed to Performance with Purpose, our vision of making more nutritious products, while also reducing added sugars, salt, and saturated fat. Bare Snacks fits perfectly within that vision.
“The Bare Snacks leadership team has done an outstanding job building a top-tier organisation and a strong brand with authentic roots, and I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Bare Snacks to the PepsiCo family.”
Bare Snacks CEO Santosh Padki added: “We are thrilled to work with the PepsiCo team to further our mission of bringing simplicity to snacking. With a shared passion for crunchy, better-for-you snacks, PepsiCo is the right partner to help bring our simply baked fruit and vegetable snacks to even more consumers across the world and continue to grow our brand.”
Upon closing, Bare Snacks will continue to operate independently from its headquarters in San Francisco with its leadership reporting into Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo.
Frito-Lay North America CEO Vivek Sankaran said: “Bare premium baked fruit and vegetable chips are an exciting expansion of Frito-Lay’s better-for-you snack offerings.
“While we will continue to offer the current Bare Snacks product line, we look forward to working with the Bare Snacks team to deliver new, innovative options, and ultimately expanded distribution, to meet the ever-growing consumer demands for authentic and nutritious snacks.”
Earlier this year, PepsiCo’s Naked Juice brand released its first range of chilled snack bars, the first products it has produced outside of the premium juice and smoothie sector.
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