There are a number of notable bar brands offering an elevated nutrition profile balanced with taste. Nature’s Bakery is one of those producers—their line of bars features figs, an ingredient offering natural sweetness, high fiber content, and a number of minerals, in addition to a favorable sustainability profile

According to the company, most of the world is well familiar with figs, but U.S. consumers barely know the fruit, but the company is seeking to close that knowledge gap with its snack bars. To learn more about the brand, the company’s mission, and the benefits of being fig-friendly, Snack Bar & Wholesale Bakery connected with Ben Auber, head of procurement at Nature’s Bakery.

Jenni Spinner: Could you please share a little bit about the history of Nature’s Bakery, from its launch to the early days, and how it's grown in the dozen years since it got started?

Ben Auber: When the recession hit, Nature’s Bakery’s founders set out to make better-for-you snacking available to everyone—they wanted to challenge the snack bar industry to make premium products without the premium price. In 2011, they turned their dream into reality and launched Nature’s Bakery with a mission to make delicious, wholesome, and accessibly priced snacks for the whole family. These founding principles still guide the Nature’s Bakery of today.

Since 2011, Nature’s Bakery has soft-baked the goodness of real ingredients into snacks that are plant-based, dairy-free, nut-free, and Non-GMO Project Verified. Today, our products are sold nationally at 100,000 stores including Target, Walmart, and Costco. Nature’s Bakery is one of the fastest-growing snack brands in the category and is part of KIND, a healthy snacking leader, and the Mars family of companies, to accelerate the growth of our healthier snacking platform and achieve our mission to nourish families and enable them to thrive.

JS: Please tell us a bit about figs and why they’re your main ingredient of choice.

BA: Nature’s Bakery exists to enable families to thrive, one snack at a time. This starts with sourcing nutritious ingredients, like figs, a fruit that has nourished families for thousands of years. Figs are a celebrated superfruit that are enjoyed around the world, yet they’re a lesser-known ingredient and fruit in the US. Considering this, Nature’s Bakery is proud to spotlight this special ingredient that’s at the heart of our best-selling Fig Bars. In the last five years alone, the brand has baked over 3 billion Fig Bars and produced over 100 million pounds of fig paste since 2011.

JS: Specifically, could you talk about the sustainability of fig growing and processing? 

BA: Figs are as good for the planet as they are for people: Nature’s Bakery’s primary supplier uses drip irrigation and processes figs on solar lines for less energy. They also utilize the whole fig during the production process to avoid waste. Figs also thrive without the use of herbicides. 

JS: There are a number of regions around the globe that food firms could source figs from. Please tell us about your Smyrna figs and why they stand out.

BA: Smyrna figs from the Aydin region of Turkey, historically known as Smyrna. They are naturally sweet with a soft, chewy texture. Figs thrive in warm climates but produce their best fruit in Mediterranean climates with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Smyrna figs uniquely provide excellent taste, texture, and quality.

JS: What sets Nature’s Bakery apart from other food firms in the spaces you’re playing?

BA: Nature’s Bakery holds a unique space in pantries because we offer snacks the whole family can enjoy. Our better-for-you snacks offer the goodness of real and recognizable ingredients that are also delicious, so there is no compromise on taste for consumers. Wholesome win-win!

JS: Could you please share a little more detail about the products Nature’s Bakery offers?

BA: Nature’s Bakery believes everyone deserves better-for-you food that tastes great and makes you feel good. Our bakeries make soft-baked goodness using real, wholesome ingredients in convenient, on-the-go snacks for on-the-go families. All Nature’s Bakery bars are plant-based, dairy-free, nut-free, Non-GMO Project Verified, and made with real fruit and wholesome grains (even their Double Chocolate Brownie is made with delicious dates). We also bake a variety of Gluten Free Fig Bars.

JS: What do you have planned for the future—if you have any new products, plans to expand your retail reach, sights set on new facilities, etc., feel free to share.

BA: Nature’s Bakery is growing and has exciting news to share in the near future around expansion plans and new products we're baking up to make healthier snacking an easy and accessible choice for families.