Brendan Roantree has spent nearly 30 years in the confectionary business as the founder of Zed Candy, but now he is pursuing a radically different objective in the same business as managing director of healthy snacks maker Supernature.
Having made his name selling bubblegum, jelly beans, hard candy and chews with Zed Candy, Roantree is now aiming to get Supernature's six dairy-, gluten- and processed sugar-free snacks into the hands of punters attending the Taste of Dublin next month.
The company was founded by Roantree's wife Noele McEvoy in 2018 after she began making her healthier snacks to combat her eczema, which had become so severe that her doctor was recommending higher and higher doses of cortisone steroids to combat the symptoms.
"In the end we took her to a kinesiologist who recommended she come off all processed sugar, white flour, and when she was going to parties, she just felt like a bit of a nuisance, so Noelle started baking products for herself," Roantree explained.
"That's kind of how Supernature began, because she goes to parties and brings Noele's chocolates with her, which were made from just a few simple ingredients. I've been in the confectionery industry for 30 years, and when I saw them I thought it was amazing how you could make a product that tastes so good from so few ingredients."
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Supernature made its first sale in August 2019, and ran into Covid-19 a few months later, at which point the firm had secured listings with both Dunnes Stores and Tesco, and it has since gone on to graduate from Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and Teagasc's Food Works accelerator for high-potential food and drink start-ups.
The firm is now redesigning its packaging and branding ahead of a proposed relaunch in September as it aims to secure distribution for the Irish market and begins preparations to launch properly in the UK and Germany next year.
"Our new packaging is probably clearer because the key selling proposition is that it's made from just four ingredients, and they're all dairy-free, gluten-free, processed sugar-free, so for anyone who wants the chocolate hit without the sugar rush, just clean ingredients," Roantree said.
"We make our ingredient listings, so you can read it without your glasses because the chocolate is made with three ingredients and then we just add roasted nuts. We make the product ourselves, and we ensure the product is produced without any processing aids.
"A lot of packaging, you'll read the ingredient listing, if you pick a Reese's there'll be at least 15 ingredients on it, many of which you won't know what they mean. Most chocolate has flavour multipliers and high levels of sugar, at least 50% of the product is sugar, whereas we have half the sugar of a normal chocolate bar, and it's made with coconut sugar.
"We've been to the plantation, we've seen how it's processed, so our products are less sweet, lower in sugar, and made from just four pure ingredients."
The six Supernature products -- chocolate peanut butter cups, chocolate hazelnut clusters, almond clusters, hazelnut butter cups, chocolate-coated almonds and hazelnuts, and raspberry chocolate raisins -- are produced in the Netherlands, and the company currently exports to the UK, Finland, Bahrain and Romania, where it is listed in over 200 grocery stores.
The focus for now though is Taste of Dublin and convincing consumers that there is no "taste penalty" as there is with many healthy snack products.
Supernature is coming off "a great reaction" at Wellfest, where its target market of health and fitness-conscious customers were out in droves, and Roantree is sure Taste will be the same audience, but the opportunity will be larger.
Supernature will be at Taste 2022 June 16 - 19, located at the Artisan Producers Row in front of the band stage. Tickets for the Iveagh Garden event can be found HERE.
Photo: Supernature founders Noelle McEvory (centre) and Brendan Roantree (right).
