By kids, for kids: how I created SNACKZILLA along with my kids

I’m a mum of two boys aged 10 and 8 who like many kids their age, both love snacks. Back in 2017, I found I was struggling to find snacks for them that were not packed full of sugar. They had grown out of the healthy baby and toddler brands, but there was nothing that appealed to them that wasn’t junk. So, realising there was a gap in the market, I decided to do something about it.

When you create a new product, knowing your target audience is key, and luckily for me, I had access to a bundle of them!

I had a recipe in mind – an oat cookie that my Great Grandmother used to make. I took that recipe and worked with nutritionists and developers to help me make it healthier. It took a lot of trial and error, but my boys and their friends were there through the whole process. As well as being taste tasters, they came up with the name and helped create the characters on the packaging. It was so important that SNACKZILLA had the cool factor that would appeal to primary age kids and stand out from the crowd.

Of course, my kids weren’t my only sounding boards as I built the brand. We did a lot of consumer research across a variety of target demographics. First, I roped in my friends to conduct a SurveyMonkey questionnaire – with a prize as an incentive. Then, using published research documents (that you can find for free in the British Library), we did face-to-face consumer research to verify our findings. We went to the Midlands, away from our home in London, talking to mums from two different income groups. All of this gave us a rich picture of the audience we would be going for, pointing us in the right direction for our brand and product strategy. 

Back to my family; it has been a joy to work with the boys on this. It was great to get their voice and opinion on a brand that was aimed at kids just like them. But also, they are learning about entrepreneurship, finance, marketing and more. It will set them up well for the future.

Hopefully building a brand with kids at its core sets us apart from the corporate biscuit giants. Customers can see that we speak to them with authenticity – and research shows that consumers are four to six times more likely to buy from and champion brands with a strong purpose.

Our big exciting news is that SNACKZILLA is now available in 70 Sainsbury’s stores across the UK. It’s a trial listing, so I’ve got to prove over the next few months that parents are genuinely looking for lower sugar snacks for their kids.

Here’s where you can help. Pop into Sainsbury’s and give SNACKZILLA a go. Tell us what you think - I’d love to get your feedback on our cookies. Plus, if you send us a picture of your receipt, we’ll send you a taster pack of our other delicious flavours for you to try, free of charge! You can find out which stores are stocking SNACKZILLA on our website – snackzilla.co.uk.

We hope you’ll love SNACKZILLA, the healthier cookie that’s by kids, for kids.

Marieke Syed, SNACKZILLA

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