Most of our customers and fans have likely noticed a pattern in our snack marketplace: they’ve never heard of most of the brands.

There’s a reason for that. And it’s not that we hate big companies.

It’s also not that large corporations never make #actuallyhealthy products. It’s just…rare. According to one study, at least 70% are unhealthy.

There are reasons for this. It’s cheaper to use sweeteners, oils, and other additives rather than real-food ingredients like, say, blueberries. These additives also extend shelf lives of foods, making them more profitable to stock in stores. Supposedly, they also improve taste, though we’d prefer a real blueberry any day. For an interesting deep-dive on this topic, read Sugar, Salt, Fat, which posits that we’ve been trained to prefer these artificial tastes.

Thankfully, boutique, smaller businesses don’t grapple with the same problems as their corporate overlords.

Cost is a consideration for every business, of course, but smaller companies can prioritize quality and health. Customers interested these elements are willing to pay for the quality, especially when the taste is as good or better than the mass-produced options.

And while many brands aim to grow and scale, million-dollar acquisitions often degrade the quality of otherwise-perfect snacks.

However, a select few companies have maintained the integrity their ingredients. Staying true to their roots, these brands are great candidates for the airfare marketplace.

We already have partnerships with a few better-known snack makers like Seapoint Farms and Mary’s Gone Crackers. And today, we’re excited to add three new brands to the group, each with a high-quality, tasty option for your next order. Check them out below.

We hope to join them in the million-dollar, high-integrity club someday soon.

LÄRABAR Peanut Butter Cookie Bar

Even those of us who haven’t tried a LÄRABAR have likely seen them. The brand was started by Lara Merriken in her Denver kitchen in 2000. Frustrated with the junk-filled snacks widely available, it occurred to Lara on a hike that she could make something better. And she did.

Lara sold her company to food giant General Mills (of Cheerios, Betty Crocker, and Chex Mix fame) in 2008 for a reported $55 million.

Thankfully, the corporate takeover didn’t turn these bars into less healthy versions of themselves. They maintain their conspicuously few, real, plant-based ingredients years later.

Note that not all the LÄRABAR flavors meet our ingredient agreements. Some chocolate flavors include sweetened chocolate chips, for example.

We started by adding our favorite flavor, the three-ingredient thriller: Peanut Butter Cookie. It’s great way to satisfy our peanut butter craving without succumbing to the entire 3,000-calorie jar.

Wonderful No-Shell Pistachios

These really live up to their name.

The Wonderful Company is privately owned by a large business. It is, according to Forbes, the largest agricultural company in the world, worth a modest $5 billion.

Stewart and Lynda Resnick started growing and harvesting pistachios and almonds in California's Central Valley in 1989. Even on their path growing it into the world’s largest vertically integrated pistachio and almond grower and processor, Wonderful has maintained the snacks’ taste and quality. Many versions of pistachios are not #actuallyhealthy, but this single-serving, “roasted and salted” flavor is…wonderful.

As a warning, these are difficult to stop eating. Thankfully, we have you covered with this one-serving size. It’s a much better option than the 800-calorie bag available at most airports, which can take mere minutes to scarf down before realizing it.

Bare Fuji & Reds Apple Chips

Bare Snacks is another pervasive brand that sticks to its #actuallyhealthy approach. As the name implies, the ingredients are sparse: in this case, just apples. And they’re baked nicely to form a lovely, fruity crunch.

Bare (originally Bare Fruit) was started in 2001 in Northern Washington by Eric Strandberg and Jeff Oberfelder, two farm owners who started drying their apples to enjoy them year-round. Realizing how good they were, the Bare boys took them to a farmer’s market, and things started to take off.

Bare was purchased by PepsiCo in 2018 for a reported $200 million. Again, Bare has, for the most part, maintained its health-focused mission.

The new Bare snack in our marketplace is rare because it's a single serving. Instead of the huge bag for $9 at the airport, grab them here.