A Brand Born on the Farm, Grows Into a National Success

The Nothing But the Fruit brand (NBTF) was born on the farm—literally. In fact, it’s a brand that enables a nationwide co-op of 905 small family farms to get the natural goodness of their homegrown fruits to an ever-demanding public who’s seeking better-for-you snacks.

NBTF’s first product, Real Fruit Bites, is a more wholesome take on conventional fruit snacks that too often contain added sugar, fillers and sulfates. The NBTF Fruit Bites are flavorful, mini-square-shaped snacks made of nothing more than pure fruit and good-for-you inclusions like chia seeds. This line of Real Fruit Bites was launched nationally at Starbucks and 2,000 retail locations, including Meijer and Target.

Seed has been working closely with the NBTF team from the very beginning—helping position the new brand, getting first-hand consumer learning about how the product compares to other better-for-you snacks, designing product packaging, innovating new products and supporting meetings with retailers.

Most recently, NBTF and Seed have worked together to define a new one-of-a-kind product called, Fruit Jerky. It’s a fun snack that features real pressed fruit, plant-based protein and exciting combinations of sweet and savory ingredients, that are right in line with the desires of today’s better-for-you snackers.

Regarding the new snack, Joe Del Regno, President of NBTF told NOSH in October, “We always ask the question ‘how might we?’” Adding, “This is the perfect storm of multiple major trends. You can’t go to a trade show and not stumble across one brand after another of artisanal meat jerky, so that’s a hot trend. And, then you have the vegan trend… and gluten-free… and plant-based protein.”

The packaging design for this new product has already been a win, appearing on The Dieline (the most visited packaging design website in the world) and Packaging of the World. Based on that success, the Fruit Jerky design has served as the basis for refreshing the NBTF brand and all of its products.

The “modern art” design was created to evoke the irregular shape of the jerky product form, the confluence of multiple sensory experiences from fruit, spices and simple ingredients. “Our design set out to convey the vibrancy found in a rainbow of real fruit and natural ingredients,” said Jeff Johns, Seed Strategy Creative Director and Designer. The design also included a see-through window so that consumers could quickly identify with the product and get a sense of realness. NBTF Brand Manager, Erika Jubenville is particularly pleased with the design because she believes, “It will stand out and appeal to the young, millennial consumer who may already be buying the Fruit Bites for their kids, but also wants a more adult snack for themselves.”

Seed is proud to be working with NBTF and their small family farm co-op, where 100% of the profits go right back to the farms. Their passion has fueled ours and we think that a lot of people will be passionate about these great tasting NBTF snacks, too!

Varieties include: Concord Strawberry Ginger & Coconut, Salted Watermelon Jalapeno & Chia and Mango Chili Lime & Pepitas.

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