BetterBrand’s low-carb Better Bagel attracts retailer, investor attention

The bakery product has the same amount of net carbs as two banana slices.

Courtesy of BetterBrand

Food tech startup BetterBrand is off to an interesting beginning. Since CEO Aimee Yang founded it in 2019, it raised more than $1 million in a venture-led, pre-seed investment round (the first female-founded food tech leader to do so), and attracted some famous-name investors (including Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and actress Emmy Rossum). The company also unveiled its first product, the Better Bagel, a low-carb bakery product with the net carb equivalent of two banana slices.

To learn more about the company’s history so far, as well as what might be next, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery recently checked in with Yang.

Jenni Spinner: Could you please tell us about BetterBrand—who you are, what you make, and what sets you apart?

Aimee Yang, BetterBrand Aimee Yang: BetterBrand is a consumer food tech company leading innovation in the refined carbohydrate space to transform the most carb-heavy foods into the least and empowering a world where we have the freedom to indulge in the foods we crave without restriction, guilt, or compromise. We started by transforming the most carb-heavy food, a bagel, into “The Better Bagel”, with the net carb equivalent of two banana slices with 25g+ of plant-based protein, no added sugar, and a completely clean label, Non-GMO verified ingredient deck. Nothing on the market compares in terms of taste, macros, and experience.

JS: Please tell me about how the company got started, and how your own personal struggles to find foods you could eat and enjoy led to the launch.

AY: I started BetterBrand to address my own frustration with diet and healthy eating. Throughout my life, I’d always been stuck on a cycle between craving, self-deprivation, and guilt, which consumed so much of my mind space and was such a point of anxiety. I used to dream of a world where I could eat what I wanted without worrying about weight gain or adverse health issues; that is the world that BetterBrand is creating.

JS: Then, please tell us about the Better Bagel. Whatever you can tell us about how your product managed to balance low-carb, high-protein, clean-label, and plant-based with good taste would be much appreciated.

AY: Our hero product, The Better Bagel, has 90% fewer carbs and 250% more protein than the conventional bagel. It’s the protein equivalent of 4 eggs, the carb equivalent of two banana slices, and has no added sugar. Our entire ingredient profile is thoughtful and exciting, resulting in a non-GMO verified, plant-based and clean-label deck.

What we note as Grain-changing Technology allows us to replicate the viscoelastic properties of traditional wheat through a specialized and specific formulation and process.

JS: The company has experienced some notable growth since its launch in 2021. Can you share what you attribute that success to? Feel free to talk about the product quality/taste, marketing strategy, alignment with hot consumer trends, etc.

AY: What’s most exciting about the growth is that it's been for the most part organic, and we’ve gotten incredible feedback from consumers who have cited that Better has been life-changing for them. Taste is obviously the leading attribute, but we’re able to provide consumers with that feeling of “wait... how is this possible…” and then, once they taste the product, the reaction is almost magical, and we’re now in 1,000 of the right retail locations throughout the country, five months after our initial retail debut!

JS: Do you have any plans for the near future you could tell us about—new products, new flavors of existing products, further retail expansion, etc?

AY: Yes! We are entering a very exciting growth period, and are excited to announce over 10+ new SKUs this year. While we started with the Better Bagel, we are focused on tackling the market as a whole. Stay tuned because the next product launches in the pipeline will include new flavors and innovations that we’ll be debuting at this upcoming Expo West.

Jenni Spinner is the chief editor of Snack Food and Wholesale with more than 25 years of experience in business-to-business communications. She has written extensively about food production, safety and packaging; pharmaceutical drug development; concrete and masonry construction; and more. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Illinois. Jenni can be reached at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com.

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