LesserEvil, the better-for-you snack brand, announced it has acquired a majority stake in Portland, Maine-based R.E.D.D. Bar. With the acquisition, LesserEvil will take over the production for R.E.D.D. at LesserEvil’s Danbury, Connecticut, facility beginning this summer. This milestone will lead to subtle updates to the current R.E.D.D. line’s taste, ingredients, texture and packaging as LesserEvil integrates the bars into its broader portfolio of snacks. The R.E.D.D. team will also be incorporated into the LesserEvil family.
“Given LesserEvil’s focus on functional snacking, the bar category is the next natural progression for the brand,” said Charles Coristine, CEO of LesserEvil. “Like LesserEvil, R.E.D.D. prioritizes high-quality, clean ingredients with health benefits. R.E.D.D.'s proven track record for making delicious, functional bars and its strong retailer relationships, coupled with LesserEvil’s expertise in operations and expanded production capabilities, will allow us to combine our resources in a way that enables us to grow faster and smarter together.
“R.E.D.D.’s founder, Alden Blease, will be a particularly great addition when it comes to innovating new ingredients and form factors,” added Coristine.
Founded in 2010, R.E.D.D. has built a growing business on its five-SKU line of plant-protein based bars. Each bar contains a 10g blend of pea, pumpkin seed and hemp proteins, and 10-13g of plant fiber, providing both prebiotics and probiotics in each gut-health supporting serving. In addition, each bar is sweetened with monk fruit keeping the sugar content below 5g per bar.
“We’re excited to work together with LesserEvil to create plant-powered, gut-friendly energy bars that meet the better-for-you standards that both of our brands are known for,” said Dan Nordstrom, R.E.D.D. board chair. “LesserEvil has been a leader in natural snacking for years, and with the brand’s excellent operations and strong relationships in the space, we knew it would be the perfect home for R.E.D.D.”
LesserEvil’s acquisition of R.E.D.D. follows a year of massive expansion for the brand, including the recent launch of its Clean Oil Crew campaign. The brand also launched new sustainable product innovations like its Sun Poppers and entered into another new snack category with its PeaNOTs.
