With a clean-label, gluten-free crunch that holds from first bite to last, Salad Sprinkles is carving out space in the salad toppings category – transitioning from a DTC launch to retail distribution while eyeing “big crouton” market share, according to the company.
Two years ago, Jordan Wannemacher and Blakely Bar Lev set out to solve a salad problem they kept encountering in restaurants: crunchy toasted breadcrumbs that did not translate well to home kitchens.
“We were dirtying up a pan. We were burning our bread crumbs. We started looking for something in a store that was similar to it, and we couldn’t find anything like it, so we decided to make it for ourselves,” Wannemacher explained during the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City last month.
Enter Salad Sprinkles – a gluten-free, vegan, rice-flour-based topping positioned to rival traditional croutons, with a clean label, long shelf life and a crisp texture.
Advice from founders to founders
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From breadcrumbs to rice flour: A product pivot with broader appeal
Initially, the product launched as a toasted breadcrumb topping.
“We started out as a toasted bread crumb and realized it had a lot of food waste and kind of got mushy in the bowl, so we pivoted to rice flour, which gives it this nice, crispy, crunch that stays the whole time in your salad. It doesn’t get mushy, and it allowed us to open up to a gluten free audience, which is great,” Wannemacher explained.
After landing the texture, the next focus was on flavor. Salad Sprinkles comes in three flavors: Chili Crisp, Classic Herb and Maple Sea Salt.
“Since we are taking on big crouton,” Wannemacher said they intended to create spicy, savory and sweet flavors to give consumers variety in their at-home cooking.
Testing the market: DTC, Amazon and indie retail
Salad Sprinkles launched in 2024 with a hybrid channel approach where the founders tapped their network, like a friend who was a buyer for Mollie Stones in the San Francisco Bay Area who provided a “blueprint” for their next steps to launch, Wannemacher explained.
The product’s lightweight, shelf-stable format made it ideal for e-commerce, she added.
“Our first viral moment was on TikTok. We started selling out on TikTok shop and DTC, and that really helped us learn who our customer was,” followed by an Amazon launch earlier this summer, she said.
Indie retailers are also part of Salad Sprinkles’ retail strategy, including the popular New York City retailer Pop Up Grocer, which is known for new product discovery.
Funding growth while keeping operations lean
The brand began with self-funding, which included “lots of credit cards” and dipping into savings, in addition to a launching a friends and family round. Both founders kept their day jobs while adding funds to keep Salad Sprinkles in business, Wannemacher noted.
“We have a few fractional employees who have really helped fill in the gaps where our experience in terms of like operations and finance,” she added.
Now, the company is seeking outside capital for its first seed round to support marketing efforts, Wannemacher said.
Founder takeaway: Focus on the next tree
Wannemacher advised emerging brands to “focus on the next tree, because if you’re looking at the whole forest, of all there is to do, there’s always more work to be done.”
She added that taking aspects of the business “day by day” by breaking up tasks to avoid getting overwhelmed has been a helpful approach for Salad Sprinkles’ operations.
