Page 11 - Food&Drink September 2019

When nutrition is chief
Created by a quartet of wellbeing buffs, Chief Nutrition is aiming for global domination with its range of health bars. By Samantha Schelling.
LIBBY and Justin Babet’s lives revolve around wellbeing. The couple own and run two fitness studios, while health journalist Libby was also a trainer for Channel TEN’s The Biggest Loser.
The couple saw a gap in the snack bar market when they could not find a bar that met their health ideals of no fillers, sugars or preservatives, but still tasted good. So, they decided to make their own.
Five years ago they joined forces with nutritionist and exercise physiologist Veronika Larisova, and Brock Hatton, founder of health-food distribution company This Natural Life. The team began experimenting with a snack bar that fitted their ideal as “unashamed health freaks” – a product where “even the small print meant it was good for you”.
Justin Babet says, “It started as a side project. We were very focused on getting our products right for the first three years. Then, two years ago, we felt we were ready to scale, so I sold my tech business and went full-time, along with Brock.”
That first product was Chief Bar, a savoury meat bar in two flavours, Beef & Chilli and Lamb & Rosemary. Along with grass-fed meat, the bars contain some herbs, nuts and “a tiny bit of dried fruit”.
Babet says, “We're targeting those who want to eat high quality, real-food snacks when they're on the move, doing things like hiking, trail running, rock climbing, snowboarding, surfing and so on.
“Our meat bars are a savoury option, so they're perfect for anyone on the road. We
personally take them wherever we travel, and I always keep a few in my glove box for when I don't have time for lunch.”
On the back of the meat bars’ success, the fledgling company launched a four SKU range of Chief Collagen bars: Cashew Shortbread, Hazelnut Brownie, Peanut Butter and Lemon Tart.
“Our collagen bars are great for anyone, but collagen has been shown to improve tendons, joints and muscle recovery, so they’re particularly great for runners and athletes.”
Libby Babet describes the collagen bar as tasting “like a really indulgent biscuit”. “The shortbread ones actually taste like shortbread. These are great to fill the void when you are travelling or out and about and you feel like those snacky, sweet things, but don’t really want something sweet,” she says.
GROWTH IN A RAPIDLY CHANING MARKET
Market analysts Modor Intelligence says the Australian snack bar market is expected to reach US$760 million by 2024, with a CAGR of 4.38 per cent between 2019 and 2024. Its Australia Snack Bar Market Growth, Trends, And Forecast (2019 - 2024) Report found consumer preference for clean label ingredients was high.
As consumers become more health conscious they are looking for alternatives to conventional snack foods like chips and chocolate. It is an exciting opportunity for manufacturers of nutritious snack bars to step in, but only if they can differentiate themselves from other brands, it said.
“ The team began experimenting with a snack bar that fitted their ideal as ‘unashamed health freaks’ – where even the small print meant it was good for you.”
Chief mirrors the predictions, with the company growing 800 per cent in two years. It is now launching its third product range, Beauty Food. It also includes collagen and will be sold through existing channels.
The Beauty Food bars are a “front-end product that’s strongly differentiated to help us cut through in a crowded market”, Lindy Babet said.
Babet said Beauty Food bites were designed for “busy women who are trying to be good, but don’t always have time to snack on something healthy. They taste like a naughty biscuit and really fill you up and stop your cravings”, she said.
LEFT: The Beauty Food Bar is the third in Chief’s range of good-for-you bars. ABOVE: Co-founder Libby Babet set about creating a snack food that was good for you inside and out.
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | September 2019 | Food&Drink business | 11
RISING STAR
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