Sweet Nothings Moves Beyond Frozen With Nut Butter Bites

Two years after the launch of its spoonable frozen smoothie cups, Sweet Nothings is trying something new for its second line. The brand introduced Superfood Nut Butter Bites last week, representing both an expansion into shelf-stable snacks and a push into ecommerce as it seeks to prove that it can be dynamic across categories and channels.

The new bites, consisting of an outer shell of oats and dates with a nut butter filling, are available in two varieties: Banana Chip with Peanut Butter and Apple Cinnamon with Peanut Butter. The latter was created in partnership with social media influencer and cookbook author Rachel Mansfield, who will also serve as an integral part of the product’s marketing campaign. The bites are available now in 12-count packages of two-bite packs for $29.99 via the brand’s website, before a planned expansion to other online retailers and eventually brick-and-mortar stores.

Co-founded by Beth Porter and Jake Kneller in 2019, Sweet Nothings’s flagship product is frozen Spoonable Smoothies. The cups are sold in retailers such as Kroger, Gelson’s, Ralphs and Erewhon at an MSRP of $2.99. Though the product had a large foodservice presence pre-pandemic, since the onset of COVID the company has turned its attention to online retailers and delivery services.

Launching Superfood Nut Butter Bites is “opportunistic,” Kneller said, and stems from conversations with its retail partners about expanding beyond frozen. However, he noted that the bites, inspired by a recipe Porter had been making for her family for years, utilize similar ingredients (such as organic fruits, nuts and seeds) and builds on its brand ethos to be both “craveable and convenient.”

“It really comes down to what we want to be as a brand long term, and that is a brand that across the aisles, consumers associate with not compromising on taste or on health,” Kneller said. “To be able to expand [with a] shelf-stable line that hits on our core principles, has tons of overlap and ingredients, shows that as a company and as a brand, we’re not just a single product line.”

Starting in frozen was difficult as a new brand, but left the duo with a greater confidence level about expansion, Porter said. Still, the new product line was not without its own set of challenges, Kneller added, with a longer than expected development due to difficulties in finding a co-packer with the right machinery to manufacture the line at scale.

Now, with a co-packer locked in and a product line that’s much simpler to ship, Sweet Nothings hopes to be able to grow its direct-to-consumer sales. The line debuted exclusively on the brand’s website last week, and Kneller said customers who buy the product will receive an email with a survey to share their thoughts as well as a preview of new flavors in the pipeline. This is a new strategy for the brand, as wholesale is the lion’s share of the frozen business, Kneller said.

“We’re a pretty data driven team, and this will allow us a lot more ability to listen to those dedicated core D2C customers,” Kneller said. “People are willing to tell brands what they want and why if brands are willing to listen.”

Despite the expansion into shelf-stable, Sweet Nothings isn’t turning its back on frozen, according to Kneller, with new products and flavors slated to launch in 2022. The through line for the brand with all launches will continue to be organic products with simple ingredient decks and no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, attributes that Kneller noted are part of its mission to make it easier for consumers to “eat more of what they need and less of what they don’t.”

“It’s become clear that this isn’t just a brand that’s resonating because of the current product line, but because of what we could be across categories to these customers in our community as well,” Kneller said.