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In 2022, Katie Lefkowitz turned a conundrum into a business idea.
Snickers fanatics reimagine their love of sweets. Since her health checkup in 2018, she has been eating less sweets.
“It was like my world was turned upside down,” she told Food Dive.
Now, six years later, Lefkowitz’s candy bar brand Harken Sweets is now available in retail stores nationwide. The brand officially launched in March 2022, with initial distribution via its website, ShopRite, Fairway, Gourmet Garage, and PopUp Grocer. On April 1, the company announced a major retail sale, launching in 3,500 Walmart stores nationwide.
This week, the company expanded its retail strategy by opening 1,000 additional stores on August 27, including HyVee, The Fresh Market, Albertsons, United Supermarkets, Market Street and Better Health Market.
Harken has grown 50 percent quarter over quarter, and Lefkowitz said the recent expansion into retail fits with her desire to make the bar more accessible and available to a broader and more diverse consumer base. Don't shop at fancy grocery stores.
According to Innova Consumer snack trends, A third of consumers worldwide reported an increase in their consumption of healthy snacks over the past year.
Special materials, Contains dates and prebioticsAs more and more consumers purchase food products that are marketed as health foods, they are driving the ingredients market. Without having to miss out on your favorite foods and snacks.
From healthy pizza to candy
At the time of her diagnosis in 2018, Lefkowitz was working in biopharmaceuticals at Boston Consulting Group, and as she brought drugs to market to treat chronic diseases, Lefkowitz realized how much of a role diet could play in overall health. “That’s how I found myself in the better food space,” she said.
Following my time at BCG, Levkowitz became chief operating officer of Caulipower, a brand focused on incorporating ingredients like cauliflower into fan favorites like pizza and chicken nuggets.
When Levkowitz was told he needed to eat more fiber in his diet, he realized he could no longer eat his favorite cookies.
In her search for alternatives, she began testing recipes on herself and found proof of concept on TikTok. Many creators have customized their own bars using the recognized ones. Healthy ingredients and mix-ins.
Levkowitz left Coalpower in December 2021 to start his own business.
“For them, it was about infusing cauliflower and other superfoods into comfort foods like pizza. So a lot of that inspired them to take oats and dates and infuse them into comfort foods like chocolate candies,” Lefkowitz said.
The name Lefkowitz's candy bar comes from the idea that it would bring back memories of the “good old days.” You can eat all your favorite candies and foods without feeling guilty.
Position on nutrition
These bars contain ingredients like dates, prebiotic tapioca, taro, oats, and fair trade cocoa powder.
This recipe started out as the Lefkowitz family's date caramel recipe, and has since expanded to include other specialty ingredients.
The company sells the product in three varieties: the Crunchy One features the brand’s signature date caramel and pretzel pieces and is covered in oat milk-based chocolate; the Gooey One includes a date caramel with a nougat layer and is covered in oat milk-based chocolate; and the Nutty One is the same as the gooey product but with peanut pieces.
“Oats are another superfood ingredient that we include in all of our products, and the great thing about it is that we can make our chocolate plant-based. Another interesting one that we’ve been using is tocopherol, which is a great source of fibre.”
Due to his experience at Caulipower, Lefkowitz is a member of Harken's Placement within space.
The decision to distribute through Walmart was made with the goal of creating a product. You need to sell to as many consumers as possible, not just high-end retailers like niche specialty stores.
Levkowitz said what sets Hacken Sweets apart from the competition is its ingredients and the quality of those ingredients.
“The market has evolved since the early days when it was just Snickers and Kit Kats, and then you start seeing more natural brands like Unreal and Little Secrets. What they did was really significant: They removed the corn syrup from the original product and really cleaned up the ingredients, but they didn’t necessarily change the macronutrient profile in a big way,” Lefkowitz said. “And that’s where Haken comes in.”
