TBH (To Be Honest), a new sustainability-focused snacking brand that promises more protein and hazelnut than Nutella, and is made without palm oil, will officially launch online via DTC in November.
The venture-backed startup is the latest creation of ‘Stranger Things’ lead actor Noah Schnapp, and its launch coincides with the completion of filming of the sensational science fiction’s fourth season.
In an exclusive Zoom interview with me recently, Schnapp said the product idea stemmed from his love for Nutella, and his passion for health and sustainability through entrepreneurship. He teamed up with Umana Venture Studios about two years ago to create a healthy alternative to the traditional hazelnut chocolate spread after realizing that harvesting palm oil is a leading cause of deforestation and habitat destruction.
“Transparency is definitely a major part of TBH,” Schnapp said, “and this is super important for Gen Z [consumers] as I’ve noticed they like voting with their dollars. They want products that are better for you and better for the planet.”
TBH’s ingredients are vegan, and each serving contains 6g of protein, 14g of net carbs, and 50% less sugar than the category leader, while delivering a similar taste and texture, according to the company’s CEO Elena Guberman.
Guberman told me sustainability is the pillar of the brand, and it sources UTZ-certified cocoa that also helps boost the product’s chocolate taste, and uses 100% recycled materials for its packaging.
Building A Trustworthy Platform Brand
The hazelnut spread, which will also be available through subscription online and major retailers in 2022, is the first product under TBH – a platform where the founding team hopes to incubate more snacking products in the future.
“I envision [TBH] to have a family of products that people can reply on for more than just a hazelnut spread,” Schnapp said. It will evolve to become a brand that consumers trust in benefiting their health and the environment.
This brand proposition will help TBH draw further support from ESG-focused institutional investors once it’s ready for fundraising, Bá Minuzzi, CEO and founder of Umana Venture Studios, believes.
“There are many great VCs and impact investors, and the more they can back our journey, the better we will be,” Bá said. “We do prefer to work with value-aligned investors. [TBH] is the first brand we're doing with an influential voice like Noah, and he has been phenomenal to work with.”
Nut-Based Spread Market Growth
TBH resonates with several recently launched brands that are also reinventing the classic hazelnut spread with better ingredients, including low-sugar, palm oil-free Gooey Snacks launched by Starday Foods, and gluten-free enhanced nut butter Drip developed by functional cookie dough startup Deux.
The increasingly competitive category, driven by consumers seeking for various healthy options of spreads, anticipates to grow at a 7% CAGR in sales between 2020 and 2025, ResearchAndMarkets predicts.
While hazelnut spreads is the second largest among all nut-based spreads in terms of revenue after almond spreads, it is the fastest growing segment.
The market research firm also showed the global nut-based spread market is “highly concentrated” with only a few players accounting for more than 60% of the total share, including JM Smucker’s, Kraft, ConAgra
