Baking & Snack - March 2019 - 122

NEW PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

KEEPING PEOPLE IN
Kakookies were created to sustain and satisfy consumers with active lifestyles.

Kakookies' Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chip flavor
appeals to busy families.
Kakookies

After she discovered her daughter's collegiate cycling
team was stopping at fast food restaurants before racing
60 to 80 miles, Sue Kakuk, owner of Minneapolis-based
Kakookies and a Pillsbury Bake-Off competition finalist,
created a nutritional energy cookie to replace these meals.
The recipe soon became popular among her friends and
acquaintances, and in 2014, Kakookies was established.
It started as a small-scale operation, but the formulation's evolution continued in order to seek out the right
consumer base. With the demand for gluten-free and
plant-based, Ms. Kakuk experimented with gluten-free
flour and vegan egg/dairy replacements. "But I questioned, 'Are rice flour, potato starch and gums or the
processed egg and margarine replacements really providing the nutrients that I originally set out to make
these cookies with?' " she recalled. "I wasn't convinced
that it was." Her next move was removing the flour and
filler ingredients and creating a recipe that had a snack
bar's nutritional qualities but tasted like the dessert - a
"cookie reimagined."
The No. 1 ingredient in Kakookies is oats. They also
include coconut oil, chia seeds and nuts. Additionally,
the company developed a nut-free option called
Boundary Waters Blueberry that replaces the allergen
with sunflower seeds. All Kakookies products are vegan
and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and soy-free.
Before this year, Kakookies' assortments - Almond
Cranberry, Cashew Blonde, Dark Chocolate Cranberry
and Boundary Waters Blueberry - were a little out of
the ordinary for cookies. But in recognizing the protein

122 Baking & Snack March 2019 / www.bakingandsnack.com

value of peanut butter and the growing number of busy
families interested in the products, Ms. Kakuk decided
it was time for a classic flavor combination. The Peanut
Butter Chocolate Chip cookie features 5 g protein and
is 1.41 oz and 200 Cal. Sold to distributors and small
wholesale accounts, the cookies can also be found on
www.kakookies.com and Amazon.
The Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookie launched at
the same time as the company's new shelf-ready box design. Decorated with a bicycle, airplane, tent and soccer
ball, the packaging is representative of the brand's vision
to distribute nutritional products made for people who
keep moving, from on-the-go families to athletes and
outdoor enthusiasts.
To emphasize its active lifestyle vision and nutritious
ingredients, the company travels to various fitness events
and celebrates certain days in the year with special deals.
On Jan. 24, it celebrated National Peanut Butter Day,
which coincided with the debut of the Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chip variety. And every year Kakookies highlights National Chia Day on March 23. "It's a good way
to focus on the ingredients that are in our cookies and
provide some education on it," Ms. Kakuk said.
Kakookies' reach is extending as more consumers
seek new diets or desire an energy source from a snack.
"It's the concept of being able to make nutritious foods
enjoyable, more than just providing healthier calories,"
Ms. Kakuk said. "You can be satisfied and sustain your energy. There's no reason we can't have a cookie and eat it, too."
- Karlee Renkoski

http://www.kakookies.com http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - March 2019

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