Dive Brief:
- Snack-maker Kind is planning to reduce the amount of added sugar in several varieties of its Kind Fruit & Nut bars.
- Starting in spring 2016, select varieties of Kind Fruit & Nut bars, such as apple cinnamon and pecan, and almonds and apricots in yogurt, will debut with between 15% and 50% less added sugar than current levels. In total, Kind will change the recipes for seven flavors across its Fruit & Nut bar portfolio.
- The trick for Kind is balancing less added sugar without compromising taste, which Kind said it will do by switching out sweetened fruit with unsweetened fruit and limiting added sugar in ingredients.
Dive Insight:
The recipe changes come not long after the FDA announced a proposal that would require including added sugars on the Nutrition Facts Panel, plus proposing to include the added sugars percent daily value. Kind supports this proposal as it's planning these changes.
Earlier this year, the FDA targeted Kind for its "healthy", with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition saying certain Kind snack bar varieties have too much saturated fat to be considered healthy. Kind argued the saturated fats, which are nutritious, came from the nuts used in the snack bars and that "There is an overwhelming body of scientific evidence supporting that nuts are wholesome, nutritious and healthful," according to a statement from company spokesman Joe Cohen.