Snack for a Cause With Impact Snacks’ Plant-Based Bars

Younger generations—and, of course, the scientists—have made their feelings on climate change very clear: it’s real. Studies show younger age groups are growing increasingly more concerned with the state of the planet. While making an impact seems overwhelming, there are ways each of us can work toward environmental sustainability, starting with the food we eat.

Impact Snacks, a plant-based food company in Boston, has revolutionized the snack bar. Not only are the pocket-sized snacks made with 100 percent whole foods that are healthier for the environment—and our bodies—every step of the production process aims to create a more sustainable planet.

Business partners Nick Oliveri and Corey Nobile founded Impact Snacks in 2016 when they were in high school. Their mission was to create a snack that is equally as good for people as it is for the planet.

“After years of trial and error, we have created what is now a nutritionally-packed, plant-based snack,” Oliveri told LIVEKINDLY. To deliver on that promise, Oliveri was conscious of building a credible brand with experts at the top. For example, the Chief Product Officer, Dr. Matthew Philips, is a practicing neurosurgeon who worked with the company to, “include ingredients that have holistic health benefits for the mind, body, and gut,” Oliveri said.

Good for People

The superfood bars are available in two flavors: Iced Caramel Latte and Double Chocolate Brownie.

The co-founders said they chose pea protein because it compliments many of the bars’ superfood ingredients. These include kale, maca, and monk fruit. “Pea protein is a clean, lean, iron-rich, plant-based alternative that is far less wasteful and leads to zero animal life suffering,” Nobile explained.

Each superfood bar contains six grams of prebiotic fiber, which helps to promote overall digestive health.

“Our prebiotic fiber aids probiotic cultures in the gut and benefits good bacteria for healthier digestion. We have good fats from our almonds and cashews—aiding good cholesterol—with good protein and dietary fiber content for lean muscle growth and fat loss, while also feeling satiated,” Nobile added.

But the superfood bars also feature another key ingredient: mushrooms. In addition to including an appropriate balance of macronutrients—proteins, fats, and carbs—the superfood bars contain Lion’s Mane, a nootropic mushroom. Studies have shown that the white fungi has a number of health benefits. These include easing anxiety and depression, improving brain function, and repairing nerve damage.

Good for the Planet

In addition to being healthy for consumers, Impact Snacks’ superfood bars promote sustainability. 

“As a company, Impact Snacks is willing to sacrifice anything in order to be at the forefront of environmental protections,” Oliveri said. “This feeds our philosophy that everything we produce and provide should be a net-positive for the environment.”

Impact Snacks uses home-compostable, certified marine-biodegradable wrappers that Oliveri says costs less than petroleum-based plastics. And he hopes to set an example for others to follow.

“We’re pioneering zero-waste materials because we want companies to ditch their linear methods of extraction in favor of a circular economy that feeds back into the environment,” he said.

The company says each of its superfood bars produces 0.38 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to help offset this, Impact Snacks reclaims more than 2.5 times that amount—or one pound—by developing and investing in renewable energy projects. The co-founders say their first project is a solar farm in Jackson, Tennessee.

Fighting for a Sustainable Future

Impact Snacks launched on Kickstarter on August 26. The company offers people an opportunity to make a positive impact by giving them a choice at checkout. Customers can choose tree planting and carbon reclamation as easy-to-buy add-ons. This allows them to amplify their impact even more.

Customers can earn carbon credits with each purchase. They can invest these into renewable energy projects, donate to nonprofits, or use to buy more sustainable products.

“In these experiences, people get to choose not only the bars they would like but also the impact they’d like to see in the world,” Nobile said.

The company’s website shows consumers exactly how their purchases create change. “No matter how a consumer chooses to become a net positive for the environment, each portion of their footprint added to their Impact Story—if they subscribe—will be visualized and quantified in a way that relates to everyday life,” Oliveri said. He explained this will be done “in terms of relatable metrics like phones charged, houses powered, barrels of oil saved, and miles driven in a standard car.”

Nobile added: “We help them create, track and share that positive impact so they can inspire others to do the same.”

To learn more about Impact Snacks, visit the Kickstarter or website, or follow on social media.

This is a sponsored post.