New Kids On The Block: Why CPG Entrepreneurs Are Gravitating Towards Puffed And Extruded Snacks
HIPPEAS, the brainchild of Italian entrepreneur Livio Bisterzo, and PeaTos created by Nick Desai have separately entered the market over the recent years and reported exponential growth. “We are growing [by] triple digits annually and our growth has accelerated,” Desai wrote me via email, noting PeaTos is their newest brand and product line under the Snack It Forward umbrella.
He said the company is on a mission to upgrade America’s favorite snacks by replacing the traditional base of corn, a major ingredient found in several mainstream puffed snacks such as Cheetos and Funyuns, with peas. “This space has been dominated by Cheetos and other old school brands for too long,” Desai added. “We need fresh ideas and varieties within products that provide the familiar indulgence that people crave, but also some of the attributes that the ‘better-for-you’ category brings to the snack foods industry.”
PeaTos, which are currently available in more than 4,700 retailers across the U.S., including Kroger, Safeway, as well as on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, are also gluten-free and are made without artificial ingredients.