“We want to be THE more natural and better alternative in the snack market”

Interview with Katharina Staudacher

Katharina Staudacher and Verena Ballhaus-Riegler worked on a successful rebranding for foodloose during last year

foodloose was founded by Katharina Staudacher and Verena Ballhaus-Riegler in 2010. Since then, they have revolutionized the snack market with their organic snacks. Following rebranding, a new nut bar came on the market, along with fruit hearts and a spread. European Business spoke with Ms. Staudacher about the rebranding and the features of the new products.

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European Business: Since your rebranding, the brand name foodloose is much more clearly at the fore. What is this concept about?

Katharina Staudacher: We’ve grown quite a lot in recent years. As a result, we had the feeling that the brand had changed over the years and that the packaging didn’t quite fit anymore. For that reason, we went back to our mission: We want to be THE more natural and better alternative in the snack market. To pursue this goal, we wanted to make our brand name clear so that we can establish a real umbrella brand. The problem with our previous design was simply that consumers may have known our bars, but they didn’t really know the brand name foodloose. That’s going to change!

"I believe you can’t really compare our products with Haribo and Nutella. We aspire to launch 100% natural products." Katharina Staudacher

European Business: Your new products include fruit hearts and a spread. How do your products differ from major brands like Haribo and Nutella?

Katharina Staudacher: I believe you can’t really compare our products with Haribo and Nutella. We aspire to launch 100% natural products. That’s why our fruit hearts are 97.5% real fruit. The remaining 2.5% is - apart from pectine - rice flour, which we need to separate the hearts. We don’t use any added refined sugar, gelatine, flavours or colouring. Moreover, our products are certified organic, always vegan and gluten free. The fruit hearts also have a social component: We donate 0.05 EUR per bag sold to the organization Nestwärme e.V., a nationwide relief network for families with seriously ill or handicapped children.

European Business: In the meantime, you sell nine different nut bars. How long does it take for the idea to become a bar and for the product to reach the market?

Katharina Staudacher: It really varies. But generally speaking it takes at least one year for a new product to be launched. We’re also very meticulous in our product development so that we really always try to create the absolute best flavour composition. That can take a while sometimes.

Interview: Vera Gaidies | Photos: foodloose

Read our first interview with Katharina Staudaucher here.