KIND Disrupts Frozen Breakfast Category

Making its debut in the freezer aisle, KIND Healthy Snacks’ new KIND FROZEN Smoothie Bowls are poised to untap the potential of the better-for-you frozen breakfast category.

Many shoppers are hitting the frozen food aisle in their search for items with a longer shelf life during the pandemic. In 2020, frozen food sales grew in both dollars (up 21%) and units (up 13.3%), with nearly all types of frozen foods seeing double-digit sales increases, according to the "Power of Frozen 2021" report from the American Frozen Food Institute and FMI — the Food Industry Association.

The health-and-wellness craze has also infiltrated the frozen food aisle. Frozen food consumers are most likely to be interested in “real” ingredients, followed by fresh frozen and the absence of artificial colors. This is where KIND looking to make its mark.  

"Since day one, KIND has been committed to upholding our brand promise — to create innovative premium foods that are both healthy and tasty," said Daniel Lubetzky, founder and executive chairman of New-York based KIND. "While this category is new for us, it's consistent with how we've always entered new aisles — with an eye to elevate people's overall experience while adhering to our KIND Promise."

KIND’s first-ever frozen breakfast snack offering addresses the growing $3.7 billion frozen breakfast category, which has increased 7% year over year. Given that 85% of breakfast occasions now take place in the home, according to The NPD Group research, KIND's Smoothie Bowls can provide more at-home options for the increasingly homebound consumer who is looking to avoid the refined flours and animal proteins typically found in the frozen food breakfast aisle.

KIND FROZEN Smoothie Bowls feature a fruit and almond milk base and are topped with creamy nut butter and crunchy granola. With no more than 9 grams of added sugar and 7 to 8 grams protein, the bowls are ready to enjoy straight from the freezer. The flavors are Almond + Mango Pineapple Passion Fruit, Almond + Triple Berry Açaí, Almond + Chocolate Banana, and Almond + Peach Kiwi Greens.

Lubetzky added: "While we're best known for nutrition bars most often consumed on the go, we're continuing to prioritize innovation that cuts across categories and dayparts. We've all been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and the KIND Promise plays well within this evolving category where yogurt, smoothies, granola and other better-for-you options have come into favor with increasingly health-conscious consumers." 

The new breakfast bowls build on the success of KIND's current at-home breakfast offering: KIND Granola. In 2020, KIND Granola grew 22%, outpacing the category by 4%, and gained the most market share. The healthy snack leader also introduced a new subline, KIND Probiotic Clusters, and developed bulk-pack sizes for the growing demand of best-selling flavors Peanut Butter Whole Grain Clusters, and Oats & Honey Granola with Toasted Coconut.

Additionally, KIND recently acquired Nature’s Bakery to help make wholesome snacking even more readily accessible. Nature's Bakery's soft-baked, nut-free items were seen as differentiated and complementary offerings to KIND's existing family of more than 100 snacks, whose first ingredient is a nutritionally dense food such as whole nuts, whole grains or whole fruit.

KIND North America was acquired by McLean, Virginia-based Mars Inc. in November 2020. The deal came three years after Mars took a minority stake in the company. Mars employs 133,000 associates across its expanding brand portfolio, attaining $40 billion in annual sales.