On-the-go functionality: Snack brands like Mood Bars blend brain-boosting benefits, convenience

“The reality of the increasing health challenges many consumers face is driving them to look to food to support their health journey from prevention to care. While the idea of food as medicine is not necessarily new, we have seen shifts in consumer knowledge around the functional benefits of certain foods and ingredients, in many cases driven by social media trends,” Sherry Frey, VP of total wellness at NielsenIQ (NIQ), told FoodNavigator-USA.

She added, “The CPG industry has responded with new innovations to support consumers, with some of the trending areas around weight, digestive health, brain health, immunity and even sleep.”

Functional trends lay the groundwork for mood-support snacks

Increasingly, consumers are seeking a range of mood-boosting ingredients, including adaptogens and nootropics like ashwagandha, lion's mane, L-theanine and turkey tail.

Ashwagandha received more than 170,000 mentions on TikTok, more mentions than on-trend flavors like dragon fruit and yuzu, with 127,000 and 51,000 mentions, respectively, according to NIQ data for the year ending April 20. 

Mood Bars uses clean-label, functional ingredients to boost moods

Plant-based snack bar newcomer Mood Bars is leaning into mood-support benefits for its three products: nourish, awaken and soothe. Reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist Carly Snyder launched Mood Bars earlier this year via the brand’s website after she was inspired by her work with patients.  

“The idea behind Mood Bars came in part from the fact that I talked to a lot of patients, and they said they had what they called ‘panic attacks’ at 4 pm. ... They were not having panic attacks. They were actually hypoglycemic when I found out what they were eating and when. But at the time, I had nothing to offer as a suggestion for something they could eat that could help them feel better, keep their sugar a little stable [and] help their mood,” Snyder told FoodNavigator-USA.

Snyder worked with a food scientist to develop Mood Bar to formulate products with clean and functional ingredients, using dates as a base for the bar.

“I [told] my food scientist that I wanted to understand every ingredient in every bar. I did not want anything that was ambiguous, or I had never heard of. It was really important that they were real whole foods, and that everything had a purpose in [the product]. There were no fillers,” Snyder noted.

For instance, soothe features ashwagandha for anti-anxiety benefits, and awake is formulated with green tea and chocolate for energy and antioxidant benefits. Additionally, Mood Bars’ nourish bar includes pumpkin seeds and hemp — two ingredients NIQ signaled as being on the rise. Pumpkin seeds can improve sleep habits and promote heart health, while hemp seeds are whole proteins and can promote satiety.

“[Mood Bars] really helps to calm your anxiety and reduce the feeling of irritability, without making you tired or without making you feel like it is time for a nap. It is really nice to feel as if you can very intentionally reduce that feeling and instead feel good, feel baseline and feel like you are in control of things,” Snyder said.

Mood-boosting snack bar category grows as more brands enter segment

Other functional snack bars like MOSH and Mindright, similarly are marketing mood-boosting benefits and convenience with their ranges of products.

MOSH bars​ are formulated with Cognizin Citicoline — an ingredient designed to support focus, attention and memory — and lion's mane and ashwagandha for mood-boosting benefits. Mindright snack bars are formulated with coffee fruit extract from CognatiQ, MCT oil by MCT Smart and Marine Magnesium from Aquamin, supporting focus, improving mental clarity and energy, and providing a calming effect, respectively, according to their websites.