KIND’s Kind of Innovation

From the start, KIND has been an innovator. When founder and CEO Daniel Lubetzky launched the product, transparency about ingredients was still in its infancy. The company was one the first to use transparent packaging and “clean” ingredient lists in the bar category.

Over the years, the brand has actively worked to expand the day parts and usage occasions for its products, and has released everything from breakfast bars and granola to high protein snack bars to pressed “fruit bites.”

Innovation extends to the brand’s packaging as well. Last year, KIND was the first national snack brand to publish the added sugar amounts on the nutrition labels of its entire portfolio.

Last week the brand’s non-profit arm, The KIND Foundation, tried to innovate socially, creating a program for its consumers called “Pop Your Bubble.” The application connects to consumers’ Facebook accounts, scans them and then matches the user with someone who is “different” from them based on key demographics like location and age. Pop Your Bubble also matches users that have historically liked and shared dissimilar content — including political stories and views.

In the more physical, product oriented realm, we had the chance to talk with KIND recently at Natural Products Expo West about the ways the company thinks about iterating innovation. For our interview with Jon Lesser, Senior Director of Marketing, check out the video below.