Magic Spoon scoops up Albertsons, Kroger, Walmart shelf space
Magic Spoon's core flavors — Fruity, Frosted, Cinnamon, and Cocoa — also will be available at additional Target locations. In its first foray into the retail space, Magic Spoon hit select Target stores in June 2022, followed by a partnership with Sprouts in September.
As Magic Spoon looks to the year ahead, the brand is addressing many of the challenges the larger food and beverage industry is facing – from economic concerns of consumers to funding — while continuing to innovate its product portfolio, Magic Spoon Co-Founder and CEO Gabi Lewis told FoodNavigator-USA.
Breaking out of DTC, into store shelves
While both sides of the business will remain crucial to the Magic Spoon’s growth moving forward, Lewis noted that expanding into retail was always a part of the plan.
For Magic Spoon, DTC just "happened to be the place where we initially sold our cereal to customers," and "the plan was always to eventually enable people to find Magic Spoon everywhere they buy and consume cereal," he said.
"The classic DTC model was to create a slightly upgraded product – perhaps with more convenience or better branding," like in the case of cheaper DTC razors, Lewis said. For Magic Spoon, the DTC model also was about, "[reimaging] cereal entirely with completely differentiated ingredients and macronutrients," he said.
Consumers feel the pinch but still focusing on health
As consumers look to stretch their dollars, many are opting for cheaper alternatives like private label offerings. While Magic Spoon is keeping an “eye on” this trend, it doesn’t see consumers replacing Magic Spoon for cheaper cereal alternatives, according to Lewis.
“While it’s true Magic Spoon is more expensive than other cereals, we find that most of our customers aren’t actually doing that comparison. Instead, they’re substituting Magic Spoon for other healthy items like protein bars, green juices, Greek yogurts, and so on.”
Lewis also noted that consumers intentionally are making “meaningful changes with their product choices,” opting for healthier and more nutritious products. To meet more health-conscious consumers, Magic Spoon “[isn’t] exclusively targeting the natural food channels,” as this week’s announcement demonstrated, he added.
“I think that’s one of the larger trends: that health and nutrition trends that were previously viewed as ‘niche’ – whether its gluten-free, keto, or high protein – are increasingly mainstream.”
A flavorful future for Magic Spoon
In the year ahead, Magic Spoon plans to create a more independent business, Lewis said. Having completed a round of series B funding, Magic Spoon is positioned "well to now focus on building a lasting sustainable business, rather than one that has to have future funding always top of mind," he added.
This will continue include flavor innovation, such as permanently adding its Birthday Cake flavor to its product portfolio after introducing it as a limited time offering.
“Flavor innovation continues to be a big part of the Magic Spoon strategy. As a digital-first brand, we are able to quickly iterate on new flavor formats, using our customers as a testing ground for what will make it into our permanent product line-up and what might work well in national retail.”
