Traditional candy bars have a LOT of sugar. And, while it may not be great for our health, most of us still believe that our taste buds prefer that level of sweetness. But what if the optimal level of sweetness were actually way more subtle than we thought, and required only a small amount of sugar? Joining us today is Stu Davidoff, Founder of Gigantic Candy Bars, to talk about his mission to create a better ‘sorta sweet’ candy bar with less junk and more fun. He tells us about the formulation process behind their products, how they hit the perfect level of sweetness, and their commitment to sourcing better, healthier, and more ethical ingredients. We get into the typical junk you can expect to find in most candy bars, why most people don’t even notice his products have less sugar, and the instrumental lessons he’s learned after three years on the market. If you want to learn more about how to find that sweet spot, whether it’s in business or with candy bars, be sure to tune in!
Key Points From This Episode:
- The story behind the founding of Gigantic Candy Bars.
- What inspired Stu to create his ‘sorta sweet’ candy bars.
- How they found the perfect level of sweetness for their products.
- Why most people don’t notice the reduced sugar in Gigantic products.
- The excessive amount of sugar (and other junk) found in most candy bars.
- Why Stu chose to prioritize non-GMO ingredients.
- Entrenched supply chain issues within the cocoa industry.
- Gigantic’s commitment to sourcing only fair trade cocoa.
- Their decision to only use plant-based, vegan ingredients.
- How they formulated vegan caramel for their candy bars.
- Other iterations on the traditional candy bar, and why Stu found them lacking.
- Ways that brands mislead consumers about the sugar contents of their products.
- Instrumental lessons Stu has learned after three years on the market.
- We end with our set of rapid-fire questions for Stu!
Read the transcript and find links from the episode at Brands for a Better World.
The Brands for a Better World podcast (formerly Evolve CPG) is hosted by Gage Mitchell, founder (CEO) and Creative Director at Modern Species, a sustainable brand design agency helping better-for-the-world brand launch, evolve, and grow to scale their impact.