KIND, maker of healthful and delicious snacks, earlier this month announced that it is reducing added sugar across its original Fruit & Nut bar portfolio. This effort, which started in late 2014, is part of KIND's brand promise to offer wholesome and tasty snack choices.
Starting in late spring, select KIND Fruit & Nut bars like Apple Cinnamon & Pecan and Almonds & Apricots in Yogurt, will contain between 15 and 50 percent less added sugar, compared to the prior recipes. The recipe update will be made to seven flavors across KIND's Fruit & Nut Bar portfolio.
This reduction was accomplished by identifying ways to lower sugar without compromising taste, such as swapping sweetened fruit with unsweetened fruit and reducing added sugar in certain ingredients like yogurt coatings. The result allows the flavor from the fruit, such as apricot and apple, and the nuts to take center stage. Like all KIND snacks, Fruit & Nut Bars contain no artificial sweeteners and no added sugar alcohols.
"At KIND we're constantly challenging ourselves to do better. Last year our team revisited the line that started it all for KIND, our Fruit & Nut Bars, looking for ways to keep improving on a snack that was already packed with wholesome, delicious ingredients," said KIND CEO and Founder Daniel Lubetzky. "I'm so proud of our team. For us, this is much more than a recipe update, it's about honoring our history and continuing to fulfill our brand promise of making snacks that are both nutritious and great-tasting."
Revisiting the Bar That Started It All
First introduced when the brand launched in 2004, KIND's Fruit & Nut line disrupted the snack bar category with its recognizable and nutrient-dense ingredients like premium nuts and pieces of fruit, made visible through transparent packaging.
"Eating sugar in excess, as many Americans currently do, is unhealthy, particularly when it is in the form of added sugar or artificial sweeteners versus the naturally-occurring sugar that you find in fruit," said David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, Director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and Senior Nutrition Advisor to KIND. "I've been a longtime advocate of KIND snacks because they contain wholesome ingredients like fruit, nuts and seeds and never use artificial sweeteners or added sugar alcohols."
The number one ingredient in all KIND Fruit & Nut Bars are nuts, and the bars have a low glycemic index. Low Glycemic foods generally help maintain blood sugar levels that are already in the normal range.
Ongoing Focus on Nutritious Snacks
Lowering the added sugar in KIND Fruit & Nut Bars is the latest in KIND's ongoing effort to create snacks that are both wholesome and delicious:
- In 2012, KIND introduced the best-selling line KIND Nuts & Spices, whole nut snack bars flavored with delicious spices for a seemingly indulgent taste – and have 5g of sugar or less, which is 50 percent less sugar per bar compared to the average nutrition bar
- In 2014, KIND debuted STRONG & KIND®, its bold, savory snack line featuring 10g of protein and containing no more than 6g of sugar per bar
- Also in 2014, the company expanded its line of KIND Healthy Grains® Clusters, adding two options with 6g of sugar or less, Raspberry Clusters with Chia Seeds (5g of sugar per 1/2 cup serving) and Banana Nut Clusters (6g of sugar per 1/2 cup serving)
KIND is also taking an active voice in public policy by helping to advance better practices within the food industry to improve public health. This includes supporting a proposal from the Food and Drug Administration to include added sugars on the Nutrition Facts Panel, so that it will be easier for people to understand the amount of added sugar in the foods that they eat.
