Dive Brief:
- RXBar now sells pouches of clean-label “No B.S.” granola. The Kellogg-owned better-for-you snack brand’s new offering comes in Original, Chocolate and Peanut Butter flavors.
- The snacking brand’s granola is made up of “light, crispy clusters” of oats, nuts and other ingredients. Each serving has 10 grams of protein.
- The latest RXBar offering comes as better-for-you granola pouches from a variety of brands hit store shelves. Mars-owned Kind launched a similar snacking granola product earlier this month.
Dive Insight:
As consumers look for better-for-you snacks, several brands are introducing healthier granola clusters. The granola clusters are a portable snack that can give a consumer a touch of sweetness and energy, but can also become a topping for things like yogurt or ice cream, or be poured into a bowl to be enjoyed for breakfast.
RXBar is bringing its own branding and spin to this category, putting many of its ingredients on the front of the package so consumers know exactly what they’re getting. In the press release announcing the launch, Senior Brand Manager Eileen Flaherty said the product features an “unbeatable crunch, flavor and texture that will fuel fans’ active lifestyles.”
RXBar, which got its start as a protein bar brand that listed “No B.S.” among its front-of-pack clean label ingredients, has branched out to other categories in the nutrition, snacking and breakfast space after Kellogg bought the brand in 2017. The brand’s healthy and clean label ethos spread to oatmeal cups, a cereal, nut butter and breakfast bars.
While granola clusters have been a snacking form around for a while, the space seems to be getting more crowded as different players are bringing their branding to it. It’s the product form that gave better-for-you breakfast brand Purely Elizabeth its start and that Bear Naked, a brand acquired by Kellogg in 2007, brought to the forefront. As more consumers are looking for healthy snacks on-the-go or smaller versions of products they love, it makes sense for this format to be getting new life.
Along with the new clusters, RXBar is also announcing a formal entry into a category it’s played in for a while: Craft limited-edition products. The brand has always added unique flavors to commemorate seasons or holidays, like a Chocolate Raspberry bar to celebrate Valentine’s Day. RXBar is calling its new entry Craft Batch, and it features an annual launch featuring “elevated flavors” based on consumer trends and fan feedback. The Craft Batch pick for 2023 is Strawberry, which the brand said was born out of the desire for more healthy lifestyle food choices to feature the taste of the popular berry.
Craft Batch takes something that RXBar had been doing well and gives it more of a commoditized branding. Consumers are more likely to notice the limited edition bar as something special, while RXBar can reduce the number of limited-time varieties it produces, helping save costs associated with manufacturing and formulation changes.
