KIND Snacks Is Focusing On Sustainable Almond Farming With Its New Initiative
Sustainability has long been an overlooked quality in the snack world. Single-use plastic wrappers, ingredients pumped full of GMOs. Most consumers weren't even thinking of the impact their favorite snack had on the environment until the pandemic gave us all time to reflect on our purchasing habits. Now, consumers and brands alike are working to refocus their vision on a more sustainable future.
One of the many healthy and sustainable snack brands giving rise to an environmentally conscious future is KIND Snacks. The brand has been on the market since 2004 and offers more than 80 snack options to its customers–from its indulgent caramel almond & sea salt bars to refreshing fruit bites. (And who can forget its limited-edition cashew & ginger spice bar?)
While the brand has always made it a mission to include whole ingredients in its food, minus all the artificial bits, it's also always had a huge focus on sustainability. For just one example, KIND Snacks pledged last year to source all of its almonds from bee-friendly farms by 2025. The pledge requires the brand to source from certified bee-friendly farms, ensures farmers reserve land for pollinators to build habitats, and eliminates the use of some harmful pesticides. Now, KIND is taking its initiative a step further by focusing even more of its resources on sustainable almond farming.
The KIND Almond Acres Initiative
KIND Snacks just launched a three-year long project dubbed the KIND Almond Acres Initiative to expand the company's knowledge of sustainable almond sourcing. The goal is to learn how the brand can source 100% of its almonds from regenerative farms by 2030. Done in partnership with agri-business company olam food ingredients, the project involves the introduction of new technologies to farms across California (which houses 80% of the world's almonds). Scientists will collect data to determine what combination of bee-friendly practices will best help the environment. Some of the new technologies include preserving water using subsurface irrigation, utilizing cover crops to help build up resilience of the soil, and testing different composts. The initiative will hopefully help support pollinator populations and revive the health of soil.
To help connect consumers to the project, KIND has created a Snapchat lens that lets users take a peek into the brand's regenerative agriculture plans. The brand will also post updates to its website. "We believe it is our responsibility to lead the almond industry towards a kinder way to grow almonds, and we are so proud and excited to be the brand paving the way," Chief Marketing Officer at KIND Kelly Solomon shared in a press release.
Almonds are the number one ingredient in over forty-five KIND Snack products and millions of pounds of almonds are used in its products every year. This new project is hopefully just one step toward a more sustainable future for KIND and beyond.