“We saw an opportunity to bring high value nutritional ingredients to other categories outside of the bar space,” said RXBar's founder Peter Rahal.
“We’re excited to be building a platform of better-for-you snacks. Consumer trends I’ve seen are continued snackification and flavor innovation.”
The line includes peanut butter, honey cinnamon peanut butter and vanilla almond butter, with additional varieties planned for later release.
Similar to the company's snack bar range, the nut butters include ingredients like egg whites and dates, which “differentiate our products," said Rahal.
A single-serve pouch contains only 180 carlories and 9 g of protein.
The products are currently available online and on Amazon at a RRP of $1.39-$12.99, and will hit retail shelves soon.
On the up
Nut butter has grown in prominence and today are taking up more space in the snacking market, according to Mintel.
The market researcher forecast sales in the nut-based spreads and sweet spreads category to increase by 65% between w013 to 2018, reaching sales of $6.5bn by the end of this year.
“I see the nut butter category continuing to expand as a standalone product but also as an inclusion in other products,” said Rahal.
"Consumers are on the go more ... and we want to provide convenient and healthy snack options to meet their needs.”
Kellogg involvement
However, he noted the new line was not inspired by Kellogg.
“The nut butters have been on the RXBar horizon for quite some time even before the acquisition,” said Rahal.
However, Rahal said the acquisition by Kellogg in October last year did give the company access to technical expertise, R&D, legal counsel and knowledge of international regulations.
New footprint
RXBar is moving into bigger headquarters in Wells Street in Chicago in April, to cope with growing demand.
“We’ll occupy the entire building – nine floors,” said Rose Montag, RXBar's senior communications associate.
Rahal also noted the company will be expanding it global footprint, and will enter the Canadian and UK markets with RXBar nutrition bars later this year.
“These are two different markets for us, but we think our products will be well received,” he said.