The Kernel

Innovation at LesserEvil

When it comes to creating new snacks, we like to think of ourselves as a constant work in progress. Of the many advantages that come with owning our own factory, which include having more control over our ingredients and sustainable practices, LesserEvil’s unique ability to innovate is a great one. When we have an idea for a new product or flavor that we would like to make a reality, we jump on it!

So, where do these ideas come from? One route to innovation is leveling up snacks that people already love by making them cleaner and even tastier. We look at the ingredients in conventional snacks and identify ways to make them not just healthier, but accessible to people with a wide array of dietary needs. For us, that means replacing grains, refined salts and sugars, and vegetable oils with foods from our toolbox of clean ingredients.

For puffed snacks, which require a starch to go through our extruder, cassava root is our favorite base, since it’s an easily digestible starch that doesn’t cause the same inflammation that other grains cause. For sweeteners, we love organic coconut sugar and dark chocolate, and Himalayan pink is our go-to for salt. For fats, we choose organic, unrefined, extra virgin oils such as coconut, avocado, and olive. We also love grass-fed organic clarified butter (ghee). Whatever the final product is, we always begin with clean, basic building blocks to create snacks that leave people feeling good.

Another road to innovation is the inspiration we get from our own lives and experiences. Here’s an example: many of us at LesserEvil have families with young kids. When we were looking for snacks to give our toddlers, we found that almost all of them were packed with ingredients such as potato starch, rice flour, and vegetable oil. It made us want to create a cleaner alternative that we’d be more excited to give our kids. That’s how we came up with Lil’ Puffs, our grain-free toddler snacks!

One current focus of ours when it comes to innovation is finding alternative plant-based protein sources. In creating Lil’ Puffs, we discovered a great protein option was upcycled watermelon and pumpkin seeds. We plan to keep exploring the world of plant-based protein, both because we take pride in our large selection of vegan-friendly snacks, but also as a more sustainable option than animal-based proteins.

We like to push boundaries to bring our customers snacks they’re excited about with unexpected ingredients that make them feel great. We love to spark delight and keep people wondering what’s going to come next. Innovation doesn’t just keep us at the top of our game…it makes life more fun!