Company: Kazoo Snacks
Website: https://kazoosnacks.com/
Introduced: September 2021
Distribution: National
Suggested Retail Price: $4.99
Product Snapshot: The newest innovation to join the upcycled food movement, Kazoo Snacks—the first water-saving tortilla brand—is enabling consumers to snack with an upside. Every bag of Kazoo Tortilla Chips is made using 40 percent upcycled corn germ, repurposed from the Nation's massive corn starch industry which produces germ as a by-product. Reclaiming and upcycling reduces Kazoo's water footprint by at least 20 gallons of water per bag. Providing all the taste, with none of the waste, this is guilt-free, sustainable snacking that makes an impact!
Traditional tortilla chip companies use 100 percent virgin growth corn. Conversely, Kazoo Snacks, is working to ensure all that's harvested for food ends up feeding people. Using corn primarily harvested from generational farms in Iowa, Kazoo Snacks' proprietary manufacturing process allows it to reclaim and upcycle corn germ that would have otherwise gone to animal feed. Doing so, enables the company to get more out of each corn harvest, which saves water like crazy.
"Kazoo Snacks exists to provide consumers with great tasting snacks, that also save water," explained company founder, Joshua Death. "In 2020 alone, the U.S. consumed 1 million tons of tortilla chips. It currently takes 180 billion gallons of water to grow enough corn to meet this demand—with not a single drop of water spared. That's a whole lot of corn, and even more water! The Kazoo approach would save 57 billion gallons of U.S. freshwater per year." For this reason, Kazoo Snacks is on a mission to conserve 1 billion gallons of fresh water by 2025.
As sustainable as they are nutritious, Kazoo Snacks' tortilla chips are available in Restaurant Style, Bite-sized, and Lime Zest varieties—all of which are vegan, kosher, and gluten-free. At 140 calories per serving, each handful of Kazoo's tortilla chips is chock-full of fiber, calcium, potassium and 100 percent natural ingredients.
Kazoo Snacks is available to purchase at an SRP of $4.99 per 11-ounce bag at Hyvee and Market of Choice. Starting this fall, Kazoo will also be available in Whole Foods Northern California and soon, Amazon.
