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Hain Celestial’s Garden Veggie brand is taking aim at the $9 billion tortilla chip category with a better-for-you offering the company says is missing from the marketplace.
The tortilla chip market grew double digits in 2023, according to Spins data provided by Hain. But only 8% of that segment is considered healthy, largely coming from what a top Hain executive called “very serious and adult-focused” diet options like Keto and low-calorie. At the same time, more well-known brands, such as PepsiCo’s Doritos and Tostitos, lack the healthier attributes many people seek. Most shoppers view them as an indulgent snack.
The absence of a better-for-you option that can play in both mainstream and specialty channels provided the opening for Hain to launch its Garden Veggie’s Flavor Burst tortilla chip. The snack will initially be available in two flavors, Zesty Ranch and Nacho Cheese.
“The ability to offer an item in this segment, which doesn't really exist today, that is truly parent-approved and kid-loved is exciting for us and has the potential to be a great launch,” Melinda Goldstein, chief marketing officer at Hain Celestial, said in an interview.
Hain, with nearly $2 billion in annual sales, has been moving aggressively under CEO Wendy Davidson to innovate and expand its reach beyond big-box stores and health and wellness retailers as consumers look for healthier items they can eat and drink on the go. It is targeting colleges, hospitals, airports, hotels, convenience stores and other locations as potential growth opportunities.
The tortilla chip is the first major innovation under that new strategy.
“We need to prove that we can grow and build brands, and we need to prove that we can navigate external macro-environment factors and control our destiny,” Davidson told Food Dive in an interview last year. Consumers and retailers love our “purpose-driven brands and they want us to be successful, but they feel like, and to be honest, internally we feel like, we’ve fallen short of our own expectations of what the potential of our portfolio is.”
Garden Veggie launched in 2008 with its straw-shaped offering. It has been a popular source of innovation for Hain during the last decade, expanding into chips in 2014 and puffs in 2021, among other areas.
Garden Veggie is the largest snacking brand in Hain’s portfolio — which also includes Terra chips, Greek Gods yogurt and Parm Crisps — with sales jumping 13% for the 12 weeks ending Oct. 8, according to Spins and Circana, due largely to strength in club stores and e-commerce.