Bengaluru-based Smart Cookie, founded in 2021 by Nithya Sunil, is gearing up for significant growth.
Nithya Sunil, the face behind Smart Cookie, shared her ambitious plans, emphasizing the brand’s commitment to health and quality. “We’ve raised about 40 lakhs from the Startup India Seed Fund. Currently, we have 8 to 10 products that we’ve nutrition-tested and consumer-tested, ready to be sold,” Nithya explained. The brand plans to start sales through its website, Amazon, and niche healthy marketplaces, targeting consumers who prioritize plant-based, gluten-free options with healthier sugar alternatives.
So far, since the consumers have started working on their health, Smart Cookie has carved a niche with its innovative approach to traditional bakery products.
Nithya elaborated on their product strategy, saying, “Innovation is at the core of what we do. We aim to break the monotony of eating the same bars and makhana every day.”
Smart Cookie’s product lineup includes unique cookies & bars made with clean, understandable ingredients.
“We have four SKUs in cookies. They include peanut butter almond, green tea dark chocolate, banana dark chocolate & superseed and all contain real ingredients,” she said.
The brand’s current audience primarily includes health-conscious individuals aged 25 to 45, particularly young parents making healthy choices for their families.
“When you go to a supermarket, you’re often reading labels with ingredients you can’t understand. We wanted to change that by creating products with recognizable, healthy ingredients. All our packages are front labelled ensuring transparency of ingredients and calorific values,” Nithya noted.
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Planning to enter premium offline
Looking ahead, Nithya is focused on expanding Smart Cookie’s market presence, with finding distribution points particularly in airports and corporate spaces. “We are looking at doing small offline stores, maybe shop-in-shop models, and exploring the possibility of setting up kiosks at airports,” she said.
According to her, the high footfall and premium pricing opportunities at airports make them an attractive venue for the brand, as there is always need for food.
“When I was at the Mumbai airport, I saw constant demand for food, more so due to flight delays. And they are willing to pay a premium for convenience,” she observed. This insight fuelled her interest in airport kiosks as a strategic distribution point.
Code for Cracking Corporates
In addition to retail expansion, Smart Cookie is also eyeing corporate collaborations to offer healthier snack options in workplaces, Nithya reveals.
“We’re experimenting with a dry fruit company to see if we can piggyback alongside their products into corporate spaces,” she said.
Going ahead, Smart Cookie is set for the upcoming festive season with some new product launches. “We just finished working on our next range of products which include bars, brownies and low carb tea cakes. Our brownies had a great response through the sampling activity and a slice has just about 100 calories,” she stated.
The brand has been offering samples for free for their new items in Bengaluru for the past month, which have received a positive response.
Nithya’s vision for Smart Cookie is clear: to innovate and provide healthier snack alternatives without compromising on taste. “We want to keep our products gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. Our goal is to offer bakery products that are healthier than the average cookie but still delicious,” she concluded.