Customers in the Chicago, Illinois area can now find four flavors of Yappah on Amazon Fresh. The Midwestern city made sense for a wider launch as Tyson’s hometown and as ‘the epicenter of food innovation,’ a Tyson spokesperson told BakeryandSnacks.
The move to e-commerce was ‘a natural next step’ after initially launching on crowdsourcing platform IndieGogo last year, the company said. Yappah has also been available through Kickstarter, a larger and ‘more socially conscious’ platform.
“It was a great channel for testing, since consumers on the platform are known as being early adopters,” said the spokesperson.
“We wanted to connect directly with these passionate, engaged consumers in order to validate the product concept.”
Yappah is the first snack brand to emerge from the company’s innovation lab in Chicago. The success on the crowdfunding platforms ‘validated user interest in the brand,’ while supporting a good cause: Tyson donated net funds to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
The company would not divulge products on the docket from the Innovation Lab but did confirm that it would follow the same test-and-validate approach on crowdfunding platforms.
One can of Yappah chips – available in flavors such as Celery Mojo, Carrot Curry, IPA White Cheddar and Shandy Beer – packs 8g to 10g of protein per serving.