Product Review: RIND Snacks

By Kaylee Franklin

I’ve always been on the hunt for some healthy alternative snacks. They're hard to come by and finding one that has clear, understandable, and excellent branding while also tasting good is a rare variety.

‍RIND Snacks is of the rare variety. RIND is a functional snack brand in the better-for-you CPG space that offers a line of unique whole fruit snacks that maximize nutrition and minimize food waste—called RIND due to their skin-on-fruit method, where they leave the skin of the fruit (otherwise known as the rind) on, they are paving the way for the dried fruit world. 

In Episode 107, Lee sat down with Founder and CEO of RIND, Matt Weiss, to share with us his story of growing up in Miami, to starting his first company right before the .com bubble burst, to working in finance for nearly 20 years before starting RIND in 2017. He talked about the art of asking good questions, how attending Expo West inspired him to start RIND, and why he believes no one is born an entrepreneur.

I haven’t had dried fruit in years, probably since I was a kid, and the first dried fruit I had was an apple. I always knew you could dry it in other ways, but it wasn’t something I sought out to have. Until recently when I became obsessed with dried bananas one of my close friends was making. It was crispy, sweet, and felt healthier than any regular chip. 

I decided to start seeking out some options, and that's when I landed on RIND. I live in North West Florida so as you can imagine, our prominent grocery store is Publix, being that their native to Florida. I took a different route and chose to finally try my local Fresh Market. The best way to explain that store is a smaller grade to everybody’s favorite Whole Foods.

I explored Fresh Market and began in the snack aisle. I recognized a lot of the brands and even saw some dried fruit but none of them were standing out to me. So, I decided to head to the fruit and veggies section. Low and behold, they had a dried fruit section, and with RIND’s beautiful packaging of bright colors, easy-to-read labels, and the fruits being visible on the bag, I was drawn to them! 

At my store, they only had four of their chewy versions of dried fruit in the flavors of Straw-Peary, Orchard, Tangy Kiwi, and Tropical. Each bag contains three different dried fruits in it, and I opted for trying Straw-Peary, Orchard, and Tangy Kiwi only because the Tropical pack contains pineapple and I am unfortunately allergic. Of the flavors they didn’t have at the store, their online offerings have Peach Chips, Orange Chips, Apple Chips, Kiwi Chips, and more chewy versions in Island, Coco-Melon, and Coconut Crisps, all of which can be purchased on their website. Some of the best things about RIND are that they have more vitamins, more fiber, more antioxidants, no added sugars, and are zero waste! 

The first bag I was excited to try was the Straw-Peary, a mix of sweet strawberry, bosc pear, and  red apple. These three happen to be my favorite fruit so I had high hopes. 

I’ve never had chewy dried fruit before so that was something to get used to, but overall I really enjoyed this flavor combo. I like the sweetness, the texture was good, and I liked that there were no added sugars and four grams of fibers.

Next up is Tangy Kiwi, which has a tart and a tang to it. I’ll admit, I was nervous to try this one. Especially when I pulled one out of the bag and saw what they looked like dried…it honestly freaked me out a little bit.

After trying one, I didn’t love them. It's definitely a bold flavor and not one of my linkin. My roommate on the other hand loved them! She liked that it offered the tart and tangy twist to it, and said that it reminded her a little bit of a Sour Patch Kid, but healthier!

Hoping for redemption, I tried the Orchard. A combination of sweet persimmons, tangy peaches, and chewy apples. I was excited to try this one because peaches are in the top five of being one of my favorite fruits, and I have never had a persimmon. If you listened to Matt Weiss’ episode, you would have learned that dried persimmons are one of the main reasons why he started RIND. I felt like this pack would be the greatest there is. 

Of the three, I saved the best for last. The persimmon goes well with the peach and apple, and although peaches are a summer fruit, I feel like this bag and the flavors scream autumn. It makes me want to curl up by a warm fire and some blankets and just chow down on my Orchard RINDS!

When looking at the price ranges, Fresh Market had them selling for $5.99 each, which I think is pretty reasonable being that fruit can be expensive, and you're paying for a better quality snack over a bag of Doritos. 

When it comes to purchasing online they have a few different options. You can get a pack of 3, 6, 12, or 24 of one flavor, ranging from $19.99-$119.99. Or, you could opt for their three different variety packs of a Chips 6-Pack, the Super Variety 8-Pack,  or the Chewy & Chips 12-Pack. If you’re looking to try just a little bit of everything, I’d get the Super Variety. I personally would love to try their chips! Especially the Peach Chips!

If you’re a fruit lover like me, and on the hunt for a healthier alternative snack, RIND should be your very next purchase!

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