PepsiCo buys startup Bare Foods, maker of Non-GMO fruit and vegetable snacks

PepsiCo Inc. announced on Friday that it is buying San Francisco-based startup Bare Foods Co., a maker of Non-GMO fruit and vegetable snacks, as the global food and beverage company looks to expand its offerings of healthier foods. The terms of deals weren’t disclosed.  The transaction will expand the company’s snacking portfolio and further deliver on its Performance with Purpose vision to offer consumers more positive nutrition options. When completed, the deal will integrate PepsiCo’s Lays and Doritos snacks with a San Francisco-based startup that sells baked fruit and vegetable chips.

Bare Snacks (Bare Foods Co.), originally know as Bare Fruit, was wounded by Eric Strandberg in 2004. Bare Foods has been providing healthy snacks for more then ten years. As the leading apple chip brand Bare takes pride in offering the highest quality products. Since 2013 Bare has been one of the fastest growing healthy snack brands in the U.S. Bare Foods products are Non-GMO Project verified and come with clean labels. Bare Foods’ makes crunchy fruit and vegetable assortments resonate well with current consumer preference.

“For nearly a dozen years, PepsiCo has been committed to Performance with Purpose, our vision of making more nutritious products, while also reducing added sugars, salt, and saturated fat. Bare Snacks fits perfectly within that vision,” said Indra Nooyi, chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. “The Bare Snacks leadership team has done an outstanding job building a top-tier organization and a strong brand with authentic roots, and I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Bare Snacks to the PepsiCo family.”

Bare Snacks was founded in 2001 by a family-owned organic apple farm in Washington, that began selling packaged baked apple chips in local farmers’ markets. Under its current leadership team, it has expanded steadily to become the leader in apple, banana and coconut snacks. It has recently expanded into vegetable chips and offers the industry’s broadest assortment of baked crunchy fruit and vegetable chips. Bare products are made from simple ingredients that are baked, not fried. They are Non GMO Project verified, feature clean labels and are sold online and in natural and conventional retail channels across the United States.

“We are thrilled to work with the PepsiCo team to further our mission of bringing simplicity to snacking,” said Santosh Padki, CEO of Bare Foods. “With a shared passion for crunchy, better-for-you snacks, PepsiCo is the right partner to help bring our simply baked fruit and vegetable snacks to even more consumers across the world and continue to grow our brand.”

Upon closing, Bare Snacks will continue to operate independently from its headquarters in San Francisco with its leadership reporting into Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo.

“Bare premium baked fruit and vegetable chips are an exciting expansion of Frito-Lay’s better-for-you snack offerings,” said Vivek Sankaran, president and chief operating officer for Frito-Lay North America. “While we will continue to offer the current Bare Snacks product line, we look forward to working with the Bare Snacks team to deliver new, innovative options, and ultimately expanded distribution, to meet the ever-growing consumer demands for authentic and nutritious snacks.”