"Over the past five years plant-based has gone wild," says Dream Pops co-founder and CEO David Greenfeld.
The LA-based company was established fin 2016, when free-from trends, certainly in confectionery, were on the fringes of consumer preferences. From the beginning Dream Pops has offered a line of products made with 100% plant-based ingredients and free from dairy, gluten, and soy.
Greenfeld, says its new shelf-stable confectionery category will maintain similar nutrition profiles to its core frozen concoctions and will made with coconut sugar and other better-for-you, plant-based ingredients.
The company is strategically equipped for the move into the confectionery aisles with a huge social media following (nearly five million likes on TikTok) that has seen its top-line sales rise by 300% in the past year.
Greenfeld says it will continue capitalizing on the indulgent and nostalgic treats category, making it a stronger rival against the established confectionery heavyweights.
An increasing number of American consumers are craving traditional sweet treats without all the junk, like artificial flavours, corn syrup, and sugar -- David Greenfeld, Dream Pops co-founder and CEO
“Our 100% plant-based and better-for-you treats are here to stay, and we can’t wait for consumers globally to discover our brand and add them to their daily dessert routine,” Greenfeld says.
“An increasing number of American consumers are craving traditional sweet treats without all the junk, like artificial flavours, corn syrup, and sugar, driving a number of emerging brands to reinvent classic items, such as KitKat and Peanut Butter Cups, with a health and wellness twist. Dream Pops is thrilled to be part of this movement to help everyday shoppers eat better without sacrificing on taste.”
The category expansion comes on the heels of Dream Pops’ recent successful $6mfunding round, contributed by a list of notable institutional investors, CPG entrepreneurs, celebrities, and athletes.
“In this round, we were eager to bring together a multi-faceted group of investors, entrepreneurs and institutions that believes in funding a challenger brand that can offer the same indulgent products as confectionery heavyweights, but with 100% plant-based and better-for-you ingredients,” says Greenfeld.
The $210.3bn global confectionery market is expanding rapidly, and is expected to reach $270.5bn in sales by 2027, registering a CAGR of 3.6% during the forecast period, according to Allied Market Research.
Greenfeld says he believes Dream Pops will be uniquely positioned to compete in this fast-growing sector, even as the sugar reduction trend marches on.
“We are targeting American cult classic treats and re-imagining them with clean and better-for-you, plant-based ingredients. We are also using this capital to double down on our manufacturing, launch new frozen and non-frozen innovations, scale DTC, and build our team.”
According to Greenfeld, Dream Pops' 'geodesic' shape (made with liquid nitrogen and a proprietary mould) sets the brand apart from a sea of sameness in the frozen desserts’ aisle.
Challenger brand
"Copackers couldn’t do it, so we had to find a new way to manufacture ice cream because all the technology for popsicles has been the same for the past half a century. There are very few food and beverage products that you know what they are out without their packaging," Greenfeld adds.
The company extended the same branding strategy to its packaging by using a zip-top pouch instead of a corrugated box. Retailers have responded positively to the brand, which is now distributed in over 3,500 doors in the US and over 1,000 doors in Canada. The brand recently gained Whole Foods Market Global authorization, expanding its retail presence in North America.
"Frozen retail real estate is really hard to break into, and the sales cycles are often 12 months when you have to convince a retailer to bet on you," notes Greenfeld.
Dream Pops will also reach broader health-conscious audiences as it plans to add more than 1,000 retail stores in the future, and has received Whole Foods Market Global authorization, which will make Dream Pops Bites available across the world over the next 12 months.
- Listen to the full interview with Greenfeld in our latest podcast.
- Additional source foodnavigator-usa.com
