Ingredient selection is more critical than ever. Innova Market Insights’ #1 trend for 2025, “Ingredients and Beyond,” points to the rising demand for ingredients that check all the boxes for function, taste and nutrition. By focusing on value-adding ingredients, brands can develop products that keep pace with shifting expectations.

Almond ingredients are a reliable cornerstone of CPG innovation, offering unmatched versatility, nutritional benefits and clean-label credentials that help emerging brands build products consumers love. From dairy-free drinks to indulgent treats and snacks for personalized health, almonds fuel creativity and meet a wide range of new product development needs. 

The founders of NUFS and Undressed Snacks recently shared their experiences and advice for fellow entrepreneurs. Read on for practical insights and lessons, and discover how these founders are navigating product development, trends and growth in the CPG space.

Personal Stories Drive Innovation

For NUFS co-founders Kristine and Jessica Tran, inspiration came from their father’s 2012 diabetes diagnosis. Testing gluten-free options, they discovered regular flour spiked blood sugar quickly, while almond flour provided superior nutrition while maintaining crispiness. This became their premium cracker brand positioned as “delicious by choice, gluten-free by chance.”

Anne Klassman of Undressed, a snacking salad bar brand, took a different approach: “We wanted ingredients you’d find in a fresh salad. Almonds are our number one ingredient, offering that much desired crunch that helps break up textures.”

Why Almonds Work

Both founders emphasize almonds’ nutritional and functional benefits. One serving of almonds has 6g of protein, 4g of fiber, 13g of “good” unsaturated fat (with only 1g of saturated fat)—as well as being an excellent source of vitamin E and magnesium. “And the almond is a very good carrier for other flavors – it’s very neutral,” notes Kristine.

This versatility allows NUFS to showcase high-quality ingredients that pair well with almond flour. “We don’t use natural flavors. We use real high quality cayenne pepper, chili pepper, dried onions, dried garlic,” Kristine explains. “Almonds are a great vessel for these inclusions – keeping full flavor, not masking anything.”

For Undressed, almonds provide the perfect textural element. “The texture, no matter how you chop or slice an almond, is a welcome surprise as you’re enjoying a salad,” explains Anne. “That’s no different in Undressed bars. Maybe an Undressed customer won’t love the idea of eating kale, but they’ll love the idea of getting that nice crunch in our bars.”

Anne continues: “Each of our three flavors – the berry balsamic, sesame ginger, southwest – they’re all savory based with almonds, grains, and greens in each of them, but they all offer a different flavor experience. Almonds help us maintain diverse flavors because of their versatility.”

Market Positioning

Premium Strategy: Market dynamics are changing how customers evaluate their purchases. Customers seem to be more willing to pay a premium for a product that delivers real, whole, healthy ingredients. “A strangely positive externality of some of the logistics and supply chain challenges we’ve seen in the past five years is the compression between junk food and healthy food,” explains Kristine. “Before, the premium for healthier food was so large that people would think, ‘I don’t want it’. And now, we’d say 25% of people we talk to are like, wait a second, I should be buying a healthier item if I am going to pay a premium.”

Differentiation: Undressed deliberately avoids protein powders, positioning as a savory alternative to the sweet bars that dominate the market. “We made a very deliberate decision to not include protein powders or isolates in our bars,” Anne explains. “Our customers choose Undressed as a savory snacking alternative to the sugar-laden protein powder bars that often include chocolate and monopolize the bar market. Almonds help us remain a premium choice without compromising on our values or flavors. Our customers feel that and appreciate that.”

Key Trends

Low Glycemic Focus: NUFS is seeing increased consumer awareness beyond “low sugar” to actual blood sugar impact. Almonds’ balanced fiber and protein content targets satiety – supporting the brand’s philosophy of providing “just enough” to satisfy without excess.

Educated Consumers: Today’s shoppers evaluate products holistically, not just individual ingredients. “The most fascinating and humbling thing that we’re seeing right now is how educated consumers are – and they’re extra curious,” observes Kristine. “It’s no longer single ingredients that consumers are looking for in their products, but they’re looking at the products as a whole and how they work together. We feel that almond flour is the glue that helps bring our products together for our customers.”

Almonds: An Irreplaceable Ingredient

Both brands agree almonds deliver flavor without compromise – and can’t imagine their product lines without them.

NUFS receives feedback like: “Every time I’m in Whole Foods, I pick up a couple of boxes. I wish you had larger quantities.” Undressed consistently delights first-time buyers with their savory approach – and that’s a reaction that never gets stale!

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For brands interested in almonds, consider the Almond Board of California as a top resource for technical, nutrition, sustainability information and more. Now, food brands that use almond ingredients can reach out to ABC to coordinate a free 1-hour consultation with CPG expert and Barney Butter founder, Jennifer Barney— available to the first four brands to get in touch. Contact ABC

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