Mmmly: The Newest Plant-Based, Functional Cookie Brand

Mmmly, a new cookie brand based in Westchester, New York, is on a mission to change cookies for the better. Unlike most cookie brands that focus on flavor over nutrition, Mmmly aimed to use clean and functional ingredients in its plant-based, organic, keto and gluten-free cookies. The brand features innovative ingredients including tigernut flour, root vegetables, fruits, prebiotic fibers and healthy fats — ingredients not traditionally found in cookies.

Mmmly will be sold direct to consumer (DTC) from the company’s website and comes in four flavors: chocolate chip, blueberry shortbread dark, sweet almond and banana chocolate chip. Each serving contains five to six grams of prebiotic fiber, 4 grams of net carbohydrates and only 2 grams of added sugar. The non-GMO cookies are also grain-, wheat- and cane sugar-free.

Functional Cookie Category

Over the last decade, more and more brands have entered the functional food category by turning existing, relatively unhealthy foods into fortified foods with beneficial ingredients. Increasingly, the category is turning sweet as consumers seek products that allow them to satisfy their sweet tooth without the guilt.

Mmmly is not the first cookie brand to enter the space. The Cookie Department, a functional cookie brand founded back in 2009, sells individually-packaged cookies with clean and fortified ingredients. The brand has a variety of flavors with different functions, including Awaken Baked, a coffee-infused chocolate cookie, Tough Cookie, a whey-protein packed peanut butter toffee cookie and Great Full, an antioxidant cookie with sweet potato and cranberry oatmeal.

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Uplift Food’s Gut Happy Cookies take the better-for-you claim even further by promoting its cookies as “good for you.” Introduced in April 2020, the prebiotic-packed sandwich cookie line was formulated by a renowned dietician and would later catch the eye of Mondelez International’s business segment, SnackFutures, which provided the brand with its first investment.

The functional cookie category has even expanded to include cookie dough. In October, 2020, Deux Foods released a line of functional cookie dough called DEUX, enhanced with vitamins, collagens and protein. The vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO cookie dough can be eaten raw or baked into cookies, but one jar will set a consumer back $15.

Where Mmmly Fits Into the Category

To appeal to the highest number of people, it seems functional cookies are just as much about what they don’t contain as what they do. The biggest challenge when formulating these recipes is factoring in taste. Mmmly, playfully named for its “100 percent Mmm Guarantee,” was founded by Nick Naclerio, a Michelin-Star trained chef, so it’s safe to say that taste was a consideration in product development.

While the brand isn’t exactly reinventing the cookie, nor the functional cookie, it is hoping to change the way consumers think about the foods they eat. And since its cookies contain clean, functional ingredients, they can also be eaten at any time of day. Mmmly aimed to answer the age-old question, “why can’t food be healthy and delicious?”

“I’m excited to share the foods you love that can now be enjoyed throughout the day,” Naclerio said in a press release. “Mmmly’s redefining the sugary cookie category by creating functional and purposeful treats that are lower in sugar and includes prebiotic fiber that provides gut health and fuel for your brain.”