Munk Pack wins 2017 ‘Best Healthy School Snacks’ contest

Voting recently concluded for the annual Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery “Best Healthy School Snacks” contest, highlighting new snacks and baked goods particularly suited to meeting the nutritional needs—and taste preferences—of today’s youth.

This year, Munk Pack’s line of Protein Cookies line took away top honors. The soft-baked cookies have 18 grams of plant protein and are a “good source” of fiber, with 6 grams of fiber per cookie. They’re also non-GMO, gluten-free and vegan. They do not contain sugar alcohols, trans fats, dairy, soy or eggs.

Four varieties are available: Coconut White Chocolate Macadamia, Double Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin Spice. The company notes that the ingredient makeup includes a nutritious blend of nuts, grains and brown rice protein that provides a complete amino acid profile that is “clean and easy to digest.”

While the company’s name ties to its playful use of a chipmunk in its logo, the cookies also use monk fruit extract as a sweetener. Three of the four cookies also use decaffeinated green tea extract in the ingredient mix.

The co-founders of the Munk Pack, Michelle and Tobias Glienke, left their positions in corporate law and finance to pursue their passion of creating innovative snacks suited to today’s on-the-go lifestyles. Their goal was to create “real food that was minimally processed, without the additives and fillers you find in most snacks.” They started offering their products at farmers’ markets and have now expanded to national retail distribution. The company is based in Greenwich, CT.

In addition to the Protein Cookies line, Munk Pack also offers Fruit Squeeze snacks, pouch products suited to all ages, in Apple Quinoa Cinnamon, Blueberry Acai Flax, Raspberry Coconut, Peach Chia Vanilla and Maple Pear Quinoa.

Later this month, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery will publish an exclusive Q&A with Michelle and Tobias Glienke to provide some insight into this winning product and their overall company philosophy.

Douglas J. Peckenpaugh is Group Publisher of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, Dairy Foods, The National Provisioner, and Packaging Strategies for BNP Media. He has nearly three decades of publishing experience following the food industry from farm to fork, covering agriculture, ingredient processing, retail grocery branding, foodservice menu development, and food product R&D and manufacturing. He serves in leadership roles at his local suburban Chicago food pantry and church. Doug studied Professional and Creative Writing at Purdue University.

This webinar will examine variables factoring into nutritionally improved candy sales, including ingredients, label claims, and alternative sugars. Better-for-you options remain top of mind for consumers who are searching for indulgences, but in a healthier format.