With full control over production, a built-in network of creator-partners, and a clear point of differentiation in the chip aisle, start-up potato chip brand Snackish is attempting to redefine a legacy category with a better-for-you twist.
After building SmartSweets into a $360 million exit, Founder Tara Bosch returns to the snack aisle with a new mission to reinvent a better-for-you potato chip.
Bosch’s Snackish brand is a “next-generation salty snack brand with a simple message: Eat Chips Every Day,” which launched this month at Target stores in the US and simultaneously at Loblaws and Whole Foods Markets in Canada. But unlike SmartSweets, which targeted sugar reduction, Snackish reimagines what a better-for-you potato chip can be.
Rebuilding the potato chip
Bosch’s brands have always started with a deeply personal “why,” she explained. When she created SmartSweets, it was her shared love of candy with her grandmother that inspired her to consider a sugar-free version of classic confectionery. The impetus behind Snackish was her daughter’s love of potato chips.
“[Potato chips] either didn’t taste great or didn’t make you feel great,” she said.
Snackish positions itself as a daily “feel good chip” formulated to deliver both taste and functional benefits.
Each bag contains 3 grams of fiber from cassava, 8 grams of potato protein, and is made with avocado oil. The product lineup includes five flavors: BBQ Bash, Salt Kissed, Pickle Punch, Jalapeño Kick and Vinegar Rush.
Building the ‘snacktory’
When it came to manufacturing a functional potato chip, Bosh discovered a lack of production capabilities that required the brand to rethink production entirely.
Traditional chips are sliced potatoes that are fried, while chips with added protein typically use baked formats, Bosch explained.
“There was really no one in the entire world that was innovating on the potato chip itself,” she said.
Snackish is entirely self-funded, with Bosch reinvesting proceeds from the SmartSweets sale into the business. With that funding, Snackish built its own vertically integrated 65,000-square-foot “Snacktory” in Atlanta.
Self-funded growth and shared ownership
Beyond funding, Bosch has emphasized employee ownership across the company. Every team member – referred to internally as the “Snack Pack” – holds equity, she said.
“Every single Snack Pack member … has a meaningful equity,“ she said. “I’m really passionate about having the people that are building the company being really the ones that are having their lives changed from it.”
The company is also women-led, reflecting Bosch’s broader goal of creating more inclusive ownership structures in her companies.
“I’m really passionate about making space for other women … to have a seat at the table,” she said.
Creators as owners, not just marketers
Where influencers are traditionally part of a brand’s marketing strategy, Snackish integrates creators as equity-holding partners into the company.
Creators including Kat Stickler and Mikayla Matthews of reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives joined early as owners and advisors, Bosh said.
She described them as “functioning as a true extension of the team,” pointing to the trust they’ve built with their audiences as a key driver of early traction.
Snackish’s blended strategy has also helped drive content creation and brand awareness from day one, she added.
Retail strategy that starts with the consumer
Snackish launched across the US and Canada – a move shaped by Bosch’s learnings and relationships from SmartSweets.
“The blessing of SmartSweets was just the credibility and people willing to have conversations,” she said, noting that she entered that business without any industry connections.
For Snackish, she identified the brand’s core consumer to build distribution to match demand.
“Our core consumer, she’s on her phon e… and we want to surprise and delight her rather than frustrate her when she wants to drive to her local Target and be able to pick up Snackish,” Bosch said.
From there, retailer partnerships were chosen based on where and how that consumer already shops, with the goal to “make it frictionless for her to find Snackish,” Bosch said, pointing to Target in the US and Loblaws and Whole Foods Markets in Canada as natural fits.
Retailers, Bosch said, aligned with Snackish’s category vision.
“They were seeing the same insight and white space that I had identified” where both the brand and retailers could co-build the category.
At its core, however, the brand’s strategy remains rooted in product experience where “taste is queen,” she emphasized.
For Bosch, Snackish is more than improving potato chips – it’s about reshaping the everyday snack.
