Local snack entrepreneur Sydney Chasin doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. She received 11 rejection emails from healthy supermarket chain Sprouts before finally getting a yes. Now, her San Diego-based company’s healthy take on a Cheetos puff is available at Sprouts’ nearly 400 locations nationwide. It’s part of the stores' “New For You” section, which features up-and-coming brands with innovative health food products.
They’re baked — not fried — using avocado oil instead of any seed oils. Chasin said the snacks have no GMOs, nothing artificial and are free from most allergens, but do contain some dairy. Similar to other grocery store chips, a 3-ounce bag at Sprouts costs $4.99. For the young entrepreneur, finally getting her snack on store shelves across the country was a huge win. But, it required a big business pivot from pops to puffs to make it possible.