Editor's Choice: Funley's Delicious

They’re just regular humans with big mouths, just like you and I. That’s a slogan the husband-wife team over at Funley’s Delicious feels strongly about. They’re a passionate duo who take their enthusiasm for good and good-for-you food and shout about it from the mountain top that is their brand.

The Funley’s Delicious Snack Sets that landed on my desk told a story with a cast of talented characters including Millie, Moe and Lucy Funley that represented the enthusiasm and quirkiness of the brand perfectly. There’s no clip art or stock images on their packaging, it’s genuine characters that attracted and retained my attention before I even tried the snacks—a major point of sale for customers walking past a specialty food store shelf.

Inside the bag, though, Funley’s Delicious includes 100-percent natural ingredients, with no trans fat, no preservatives, no high-fructose corn syrup—no artificial anything. Their Super Crackers, available in Cheddar, Cornbread, Ranch and Pizza—I tried the Cheddar—boast the ability to hide superfoods such as broccoli in the bite-size pieces. They were delicious and flavorful, and the taste of cheddar hid any reminder that vegetables were a prominent ingredient—something I’d imagine a major selling point for parents. Their Wholly Granolly Clusters in Double Chocolate Chip, Wild Apple Berry and Peanut Butter are also crunchy, whole grain snacks and a great source of Vitamin D, Calcium and Iron.

“We have a passion to spread good things out into the world in the form of fun experiences, great quality natural products, and initiatives that effect positive change in our world,” says Ashley and Shawn, founders of Funley’s. “We all need it. We are all connected on this planet and that means we are all one big family”

All of the snack packs are designed with the Funley’s characters and have this uncanny ability to portray their farm-to-table, all-natural brand in a way that significantly differentiates Funley’s from competitors. The solution to grabbing the customer’s attention will always be to tell a story. Often times the audience that brands are engaging in snacks goes beyond the parent or purchaser—it must resonate with children. Funley’s promotes the power of superfoods, yet refuses to brand these products with the boring, brown-paper labels so common with all-natural organic companies.

In the end, their crackers, granola and cookie cluster snacks are bite-size perfection, capturing my attention with flavor and branding. So go ahead, be a big mouth and shout about Funley’s from your storefront. 

-Megan

Editor's Choice: Justin's Peanut Butter Cups

When I was asked if I could take my little nephew out for trick or treating a few weeks ago, I couldn't have jumped higher at the chance. Not only was it a great excuse to dress up in costume (which I did, as Chewbacca from Star Wars), but it brought back great memories of sifting through a pillowcase of candy, looking for the "good stuff."

In my day, the "good stuff" was any kind of king-size candy bar. After looking through my nephew's haul at the end of the night, it was pretty evident that his total volume of "good stuff" was way larger than what it used to be when I was a kid. Thankfully, my nephew is a kind, sharing sort of fellow, and as he sat surrounded by his candy treasures, he granted me permission to partake from his sweet stockpile.

I have a crippling weakness for peanut butter, so I was intrigued by the clean, white packaging of some Justin's Peanut Butter Cups that some unknown neighbor was kind enough to introduce into our lives. I popped the packaging open, and we both had one. The results were unanimous: this was the most delicious peanut butter and chocolate item possible.

To make the deal even sweeter, each individually-wrapped Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup is 100 percent organic, vegan and Rainforest Alliance certified. The company uses only the highest quality organic and fair-trade peanut butter in their products.

The company also works hard to lessen their environmental footprint. All of their cartons, boxes and caddies are made with wind power, while all packaging cardboard is made with 100 percent recycled paper. All ingredients are sourced as locally and sustainably as possible. For example, they get the nuts for their peanut butter from Georgia, not China, using local ingredients to support local economies and lower their carbon footprint.

Their peanut butter cups come in Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate. Retailers can order them in packs of 12. These would be great items to stick by the register almost anywhere. Learn how to order some for your store, or check out their other peanut butter-related products at Justin's.com.

-Marc

Editor's Choice: Lake Champlain Chocolates

You know something is good when it arrives at our office and disappears within minutes of being opened. The wrappers are soon discovered by employees who weren't around when the package came in the mail, and they can do nothing but sadly comment, "Wait, there was chocolate here? It's gone already?!" Such is the case with the new line of organic chocolate bars from Lake Champlain Chocolates.

With 10 chocolate bars and five varieties of bite-size squares, the line includes a flavor for nearly every occasion: Peruvian Dark, Cherries & Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Sea Salt & Almonds, Spicy Aztec, Crunchy Granola, Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter and Creamy Coconut. The bars are packaged in vibrant designs, which will really grab customers' attention.

Peanut Butter was the first bar I targeted, and I was not disappointed. Made with creamy organic peanut butter, the result is a powerful taste that melts in your mouth and is near impossible not to enjoy. Peanut butter and chocolate is a pretty unbeatable combo, and this particular bar would be right up there with the tastiest I've ever experienced. Best in Show!

I wasn't sure what to expect from Crunchy Granola, but I was instantly surprised (and pleasantly so) with the trace of cinnamon. The bits of oats and raisins combined well, and I happily welcomed this new chocolate flavor combination to my chocolate-eating repertoire. I was for some reason taken aback by the creaminess of the Creamy Coconut bar - even though it was clearly stated in the name. Pairing that flavor burst with dark chocolate was highly agreeable. There was no chance I wasn't going to like Sea Salt & Almonds - I love almonds and chocolate almost as much as peanut butter, and I really enjoyed the extra something that sea salt added to the overall impression.

All in all, this is a great new line of chocolates from a Vermont-based company that's been producing quality treats since 1983. Not to mention the fact that all of their products will be made with fair trade certified chocolate by 2014. Do your taste buds a favor and head on over to their website to pick some up for your store, or for yourself.

-Marc Kozak (mkozak@talcott.com)