Vitamin Shoppe rolls out new pea protein chips by i won! nationwide

27-Jun-2016 - Last updated on 28-Jun-2016 at 15:35 GMT

With 20 grams of pea protein a pack, i won! chips are poised to sweep a nation of consumers lured by a plant-based diet and an active lifestyle.

“We wanted to use organic pea protein as we believe we can reach a larger consumer market since there's a lot of active and health conscious consumers who don't, or would rather not eat whey or milk based products,” founder and CEO of i won! chips Mark Samuel told FoodNavigator-USA.

The brand was launched at the end of 2015, and after several trade show appearances, is now launching all five flavors of its chips at 800 Vitamin Shoppe stores nationwide.

Targeting the fitness crowd

“Our goal is to build one of the first organic and non-GMO high protein snack companies,” said Samuel. “For our launch, we wanted to start in a retailer that we loved, and Vitamin Shoppe is one of those retailers. They'll be able to get our organic protein chips to those living a healthy lifestyle, since most to all of their buyers are just that.”

Samuel has experience serving this consumer segment. In 2012, he founded the bag brand Fitmark, which markets itself as “creatively designed bags for fitness, sport, and workout.”

According to Samuel, Vitamin Shoppe is the perfect place to find early adaptors of a product like his. “We know that once those customers try our product, word will get out that we have the best protein chips on the market, and from there, we'll look at considering our next opportunity,” he said.

To indulge and to satiate

The five flavors that are launching first are Sriracha, Ranch, BBQ, Sea Salt, and Cinnamon French Toast. Samuel contends that his chips not only are the best tasting for the protein chip category, but also that its “the only one at 20g of protein per single serve bag, using organic certified and non-GMO ingredients.”

Samuel said that the chips are intended to be an alternative to people growing tired of relying on bars or shakes for their non-meat protein intake.

Each packet is 1.85 oz, which he said was more than the average bag of single-serve chips. The crispy, triangular chips are mainly made out of organic pea protein, organic potato flakes, organic rice flour, and organic oat fiber.

“Our target market is anyone living a healthy and active lifestyle. Whether someone works out, or is simply health conscious, our organic protein chips are for them,” he added.