Chickpea Puffs Replace Cheese Puffs in an Era of Healthy Consumers

A new series of nutrient-packed chickpea products are getting creative when it comes to satisfying the guilty pleasures of health-conscious consumers, as snacking brand Biena launches Chickpea Puffs.

The company’s founder and CEO of the better-for-you snack-line, Poorvi Patodia claims that this new product will serve nutritional health benefits to cheese puff lovers without sacrificing the flavor.

“Taste is the real reason we created this line. I have two growing kids who love cheese puffs and I found that other options don’t taste great or don’t offer real nutrition,” says Patodia. “So I made it my mission to remake cheese puffs the Biena way – putting taste at the forefront and using only clean, nutritious ingredients. The end result is delicious and offers so much more in terms of nourishment for the body. And snackers of all ages love them!”

Although this isn’t the first health-based food company to fulfill consumers salty snack cravings, Biena states their powdered puffs contain 40 percent fewer carbs than their alternative counterparts and hold seven grams of protein thanks to its legume rich ingredients of chickpea and lentils.

The flavors come in Aged-White Cheddar, Vegan Ranch, and Blazin hot. Despite the usual notion of chip-like ingredients carrying artificial additives for seasoning and dying, the fiber-based snacks-line says real fruits and vegetables are used for food coloring, further differentiating their product from other snacks in the food retail industry.

Health and convenience are two of the main factors that inspired the creating of the Chickpea Puffs snack-line. Patodia says these snacks were created to meet the needs of two particular groups, parents looking to feed their kids and young adults who are always on the go.

“We’re always listening to our customers and considering the entire snacking experience as we create new product innovations,” adds Patodia. “We hold ourselves to what we call the 3 Standards of Goodness – delicious, nutritious and clean ingredients. It’s very hard to create snacks that meet all three, but that’s how food should be! Snackers are going to eat these puffs for the taste alone, but get so much more nutritional value in the process.”

The first launch of this plant-based protein snack dates all the way back to 2012 when it was solely dedicated to roasted chickpeas. Since then the company has expanded its tastes and textures to encompass savory chip-like flavors including sea salt, barbeque, and habanero as well as dabbling among consumers sweet side with a line of dark chocolate thin mint chickpeas.

The Chickpea Puffs will be available to order through their website or on Amazon this April, and in-store purchases can be made at Whole Foods this coming September.

As the company works towards expanding its line of protein enriched plant-based snacks, they are also reinventing their brand advertising to make clean ingredients more prominent on their packaging.

As consumer trends evolve, the plant-based protein space is gaining significant traction with the general public, as has been demonstrated by the recent release of several plant-based burgers. Similarly, the better-for-you snack industry is unraveling at a rapid pace, and its relevance is making the industry more competitive than ever before.