Mmmly Reflects On First Year Lessons Ahead Of Nationwide Roll Out

After completing its first year on the market, better-for-you cookie maker Mmmly is tightening up its sales strategy and refining its product with a new plant-based formulation and “stronger” packaging as it targets growth opportunities with high-end natural grocers.

“The six months that we spent putting the product out on the market was exactly what so many books tell you to do,” said Nicholas Naclerio, Mmmly founder and CEO. “And we’ve learned a lot. We learned that we have an awesome product that is really different from anything else in the category. We also learned about a few things that we need to change.”

Beginning as a prebiotic, low-sugar, fiber-dense cookie, Mmmly’s initial packaging featured a litany of callouts for its functional and diet-related attributes, but has been revamped to be “less of an art form and stronger for retail performance,” according to Naclerio.

“We’ve cleaned up a lot of the messaging so we’ve removed a lot of the icons,” he said. “We don’t need to be something for everyone. All of our consumers, and those that are more educated and know what they’re looking for, will look at the back of the panel.”

Previously, Mmmly’s ingredients panel featured monk fruit and eggs, both of which have been dropped from its new formulation that is set to roll out at the end of the week. The updated package also showcases its low-glycemic apple-based sweetener, gut-boosting functional benefits and plant-based positioning and includes food imagery on the front.

The new packaging and recipe is aimed at helping Mmmly continue to drive measurable returns both on-shelf and online. Naclerio acknowledged that the brand learned it couldn’t “try to be everything at once” after making a quick pivot into retail by targeting small independent grocers across the Northeast in its first six months.

The brand is now refining that strategy once again and shifting focus to larger retail accounts where it can “gain more traction.” Mmmly is set to nearly double its door count over the next month, adding 163 Fresh Market locations, as well as going chainwide with Erewhon, Foxtrot and Fresh & Co. The brand is also launching nationwide on Gopuff’s new better-for-you snack set, initially at 120 locations with plans to grow to 260 points of distribution by the end of the year. The brand has shut down its own ecommerce platform for the time being, instead utilizing Amazon to maintain sales in the channel while it works to redesign and relaunch its own online store.

As it looks to continue driving growth, Mmmly expanded its team with two new hires including a Sales Manager and VP of Growth. At the end of the month it will also open up a seed funding round in addition to launching a crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder. Naclerio noted that he also learned that you should aim to raise “30 to 50% more money than you think you need,” and believes tapping into the brand’s community for capital will help accelerate its goal of reaching an $8.5 million valuation by the end of the year.

In order to support that goal and its growing distribution footprint, Mmmly has onboarded a new co-packer and worked to lower its price point. A 6-count box of cookies in 2-packs cost $6.49, but Naclerio noted they will be available for $5.99 at select retailers.

“[The price] ​​is a little bit above what our competitors are at but we’re also a vegan prebiotic cookie that has the same nutrition facts as an RX Bar or a KIND bar, but better,” said Naclerio. “No one really has what we have so we’ll see how the market responds. Plus the 8.5% inflation is working to our benefit to an extent as well.”