From the Ground Up Team Launches Gen-Z Focused You Need This Snack
The team behind family-focused snack brand From the Ground Up is launching a new sister brand called You Need This aimed at catering to a more mainstream, Gen-Z audience and adding incremental revenue.
“You Need This allows us to expand and grow our Powered by Real Food From The Ground Up portfolio,” said Deb Holt, CMO at the brands’ parent company (Powered by) Real Food From the Ground Up (PBRFFTGU). “From our bright and bold packaging and our product innovation to our cheeky brand name, we’re creating a new, incremental platform and dialogue with our consumers far beyond snacks.”
You Need This has launched in Sprouts and Publix, with Amazon and Fresh Thyme following in the upcoming weeks. The initial portfolio includes Sea Salt, Ranch and Nacho tortilla chips; Sea Salt and Ranch Veggie Straws; and Cinnamon Churro Puffs, priced matched to From the Ground Up at $3.50 to $3.99 per bag.
Sold in 20,000 doors, From the Ground Up’s core lineup currently includes potato chips, pretzels and crackers, stalks, and tortillas chips. The brand’s grain-free tortilla chips, which were a limited release in Sam’s Club, and Butternut Squash Stalks will be transitioned over to You Need This, Holt said. The company declined to share where the brand’s products are sold, but a website locator indicates it is being carried at Publix, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Kroger banners, Walmart and Thrive Market, among others.
A key point of differentiation between From the Ground Up and You Need This lies in the marketing of their health attributes, Holt added. While From the Ground Up products are grain-free, the emphasis is on their hidden vegetables. Meanwhile, though You Need This has the same vegetables in their ingredient decks, the messaging is about being grain-free.
“The broader consumer wants a more mainstream snack..but they [also] want some of the other benefits,” Holt said. “There will always be a nod to vegetables, but we’re not leading with vegetables [with] You Need This. Real Food From the Ground Up was launched as a cauliflower snack…some people get distracted by a vegetable first.”
The brand currently holds the trademark for a wide range of CPG products including beverages, snack products, desserts, alcoholic beverages and jerky. Holt would not comment as to what products the company would launch next, but said it plans to expand beyond its current lineup in the near future.
Research Group Freedonia Focus Reports projects that U.S. sales of salty snacks will see annual sales gains of 3.2% through 2025, according to a December 2021 report.
“Salty snacks rank as one of the few core snack categories to experience recent growth in value terms, registering relatively steady gains until 2020 despite competition from other snack products,” the report noted. “Opportunities in the category will come from products marketed as more indulgent, healthier-for-you, or offering elevated experiences with different shapes and textures. Challenges will come from other snack foods featuring healthier, more nutritious profiles, or more unique attributes.
The company also applied for the trademark to include a You Need This NFT; however, PBFTGU executives declined to comment about a potential NFT project.
The launch of You Need This comes as PBFTGU has seen ownership changes over the past year. Operating company and investment firm Halen Brands, which was backed by Clearlake Capital, helped launch the line and previously listed From the Ground Up as a portfolio company. However, the Halen website is now offline and Halen CEO Jason Cohen’s LinkedIn profile indicates all Halen portfolio companies were “successfully sold” earlier in 2022.
When asked about a possible change in shareholders, PBFTGU declined to comment but noted that CEO and president Aaron Greenwald and COO Vincent James, both of whom also co-founded the company in 2017, are still leading PBFTGU alongside Holt, with Jesse Thelen joining as chief customer officer in August.
