The Simply Good Foods Company (Simply Good Foods) is a consumer packaged food and beverage company.
The company offers a variety of convenient, great-tasting, better-for-you snacks and meal replacements, and other product offerings. The product portfolio the company develops, markets and sells primarily consists of protein bars, ready-to-drink (‘RTD’) shakes, sweet and salty snacks and confectionery products marketed under the Quest, Atkins, and OWYN brand names. Simply Good Foods is poised to...
The Simply Good Foods Company (Simply Good Foods) is a consumer packaged food and beverage company.
The company offers a variety of convenient, great-tasting, better-for-you snacks and meal replacements, and other product offerings. The product portfolio the company develops, markets and sells primarily consists of protein bars, ready-to-drink (‘RTD’) shakes, sweet and salty snacks and confectionery products marketed under the Quest, Atkins, and OWYN brand names. Simply Good Foods is poised to expand its wellness platform through innovation and organic growth along with acquisition opportunities in the nutritional snacking space.
The company’s nutritious snacking platform consists of brands that specialize in providing products for consumers that follow certain nutritional philosophies and health-and-wellness trends: Quest for consumers seeking a variety of protein-rich foods and beverages that also limit sugars and simple carbohydrates, Atkins for those following a low-carbohydrate lifestyle or seeking to manage weight or blood sugar levels, and OWYN for consumers seeking protein-rich beverages that are plant-based and tested for the top nine allergens that also limit sugars and simple carbohydrates. The company distributes its products in major retail channels, primarily in North America, including grocery, club, and mass merchandise, as well as through e-commerce, convenience, specialty, and other channels. The company’s portfolio of nutritious snacking brands gives the company a strong platform with which to introduce new products, expand distribution, and attract new consumers to the company’s products.
The company’s emphasis on product formats such as its protein bars, cookies, chips and salty snacks, confections, RTD shakes, and protein powders positions the company to fill important needs for consumers. Several existing and emerging consumer trends within the U.S. food and beverage industry will continue to drive both the growth of the nutritional snacking category and increase the demand for the company’s product offerings.
With the company’s Quest brand, the company strives to offer an attractive line up of protein bars, cookies, protein chips and salty snacks, RTD shakes, and confections, which target these existing and emerging consumer trends. With the company’s Atkins brand, the company strives to offer a compelling line of protein bars, RTD shakes, cookies, protein chips and salty snacks, and confections. With the company’s OWYN brand, the company strives to offer RTD shakes and protein powders that are plant-based and tested for the top nine allergens in a variety of protein levels. The company’s sales, marketing, and research and development capabilities enable the company to distribute products to a national customer base across a spectrum of retail channels, including the mass merchandise, grocery, drug, club stores, e-commerce, and small format retail such as convenience stores and gas stations.
The company acquired Only What You Need, Inc. in June 2024. The company refers to the acquisition of Only What You Need, Inc. as the ‘OWYN Acquisition’.
Strategies
The company’s strategies are to innovate and expand the portfolio of product offerings to meet consumer demand for higher protein products and new product forms; leverage platform to expand in attractive food and snacking categories; expand distribution in white space opportunities; and continue the company’s marketing efforts and strategies to both increase household penetration and reach consumers beyond the company’s core historic buyers.
Products
Core Quest Products
The company’s core Quest brand products consist of protein bars, cookies, muffins, brownies, salty snacks and confections.
Protein Bars. To keep on-the-go consumers energized and fueled, the company’s Quest bars offer a convenient and effective solution, providing consumers with protein, fiber and a delicious taste.
Bake Shop. Quest’s cookies, muffins, and brownies sold under the Quest Bake Shop banner are convenient sources of high-protein combined with low net carbs and low-sugar.
Salty Snacks. Quest’s protein chips and crackers line quickly became a high-selling product offering an attractive nutrition profile when compared to conventional chip and cracker products.
Confections. Quest’s confections include peanut butter cups, ‘fudgey’ brownie, ‘gooey’ caramel candy bites, chocolatey coated peanut candies and ‘coconutty’ caramel candy bars sold in a variety of packaging.
Core Atkins Products
The company’s core Atkins brand products consist of protein bars, RTD shakes, confections, and cookies.
Protein Bars. To keep on-the-go consumers energized and fueled, the company’s Atkins bars offer a convenient and effective solution, providing consumers with protein, fiber and a delicious taste.
RTD Shakes. The company’s rich and creamy Atkins RTD shakes contain 10 to 30 grams of protein, as well as other important vitamins and minerals.
Confections. The company’s Atkins Endulge line, which is designed to satisfy consumers’ sweet cravings, and which the company calls Treats, consists of delicious desserts without all the added sugar providing consumers with the option to indulge.
Cookies. Atkins’ cookie products are a convenient source of high-protein combined with low net carbs and low-sugar.
Recipes. While provided free of charge, the company also offers over 1,600 protein-rich, low-carbohydrate and low-sugar recipes designed to help consumers achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle, while still enjoying delicious food.
Core OWYN Products
RTD Shakes and Powders. The company’s OWYN RTD shakes and powders are plant-based, contain 20 to 32 grams of protein, and do not contain gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, tree nuts, are low in sugar, and contain prebiotic fiber.
Marketing, Advertising and Consumer Outreach
The company’s marketing efforts are designed to increase consumer awareness of and demand for the company’s products. The company employs a broad mix of marketing, including coupons, product sampling, consumer and trade events, advertising (television, online and print) and recipe and food plans, to target the company’s consumers. The company also uses online resources, including social media sites, to communicate with consumers and build interest in the company’s brands. The company’s advertising and use of online resources are aimed at increasing consumer preference and usage of its brands. The company’s trade promotions focus on obtaining retail feature and display support, achieving optimum retail product prices and securing retail shelf space. The company uses coupons (freestanding insert newspaper, store register, on-pack and online coupons) to help stimulate product trial and repeat purchases by providing consumers with economic incentives. The mix of these marketing activities varies among the company’s brands.
As part of the company’s advocacy on the advantages of a protein-rich, low-carbohydrate, low-sugar dietary approach, and with respect to the company’s OWYN brand, plant-based, diary free and allergen sensitive, the company has devoted portions of its respective brand websites and social media to promote consumer education, engagement, and dialogue about the benefits of the company’s nutritional approaches and how the company’s products can fit within those approaches. The company’s sales and marketing team gathers information and feedback from consumers and retailers to enable the company to better meet changing consumer needs. An effective marketing tool is to share educational information through the company’s brand websites to explain each brand’s approach to nutrition and the nutritional qualities of the company’s products. The company also provides access to consumer service representatives to answer questions and educate consumers on nutrition, new products and developments. As part of this approach, over time, for those consumers who have elected to use weight management medications to pursue their weight management goals the company expects to develop and enhance its marketing messages regarding how the company’s products can be used to meet their snacking use occasions and be complementary to their use of medication for weight management to achieve and maintain their weight management goals.
For the company’s brands, in order to facilitate awareness and knowledge of the health benefits of a low-carbohydrate, low-sugar and protein-rich eating approach, whether dairy or plant-based, the company has established a variety of marketing and advertising strategies to connect with consumers, including digital marketing and social media platforms, television broadcast and streaming advertising, as well as celebrity and social media influencer endorsements.
The company has built large consumer followings for its brands.
Retailers
The company has a wide variety of customers across the mass, food, club, drug, and e-commerce channels. A substantial majority of the company’s sales are generated from a limited number of retailers. Sales to the company’s largest retailer, Walmart Inc., represented approximately 31% of consolidated sales in the year ended August 31, 2024 (fiscal year 2024), of which approximately 23% was through their mass retail channel and approximately 8% was through their Sam’s club and e-commerce channels. Sales to the company’s next largest retailer, Amazon, represented approximately 18% of consolidated sales in fiscal year 2024. In addition, the company maintains ‘at will’ contracts with these retailers, which do not require recurring or minimum purchase amounts of the company’s products.
E-Commerce
The company intends to ensure that its consumers may access its brand in the way that best suits their lifestyles by offering online ordering of the company’s products. The company sells its products on questnutrition.com, Atkins.com, liveowyn.com, Amazon.com and the e-commerce platforms of the company’s brick-and-mortar customers, which all deliver its products directly to the location designated by the consumer.
Segments
During the fifty-two weeks ended August 27, 2022, the company substantially completed its efforts to fully integrate the company’s operations and organization structure after the Quest Acquisition. The company aligned the nature of its production processes, and the methods used to distribute products to customers for the Quest and Atkins brands. Following the OWYN Acquisition, the company's operations are organized into two operating segments, Quest and Atkins, and OWYN, which are aggregated into one reporting segment due to similar financial, economic and operating characteristics. The operating segments are also similar in the following areas: (a) the nature of the products; (b) the nature of the production processes; (c) the methods used to distribute products to customers; (d) the type of customer for the products; and (e) the nature of the regulatory environment. The company also designed its organizational structure to support entity-wide business functions across brands, products, customers, and geographic regions. As a result, during the fifty-three weeks ended August 31, 2024, the company determined its operations are organized into two operating segments, which were aggregated into one reporting segment due to similar financial, economic and operating characteristics.
Regulation and Compliance
Along with contract manufacturers, brokers, distributors, ingredients and packaging suppliers, Simply Good Foods is primarily subject to laws and regulations in the United States promulgated by federal, state and local government authorities. In the United States, the federal agencies governing the manufacture, distribution and advertising of products include, among others, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (‘FDA’), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in addition to similar state and local agencies.
As a manufacturer and distributor of food products, the company is subject to several food-related regulations, including the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA.
The company is subject to the Food Safety Modernization Act, which, among other things, mandates that the FDA adopt preventative controls to be implemented by food facilities in order to minimize or prevent hazards to food safety. The company is subject to numerous other federal, state and local regulations involving such matters as the licensing and registration of manufacturing facilities, enforcement by government health agencies of standards for the company’s products, inspection of its facilities and regulation of the company’s trade practices in connection with the sale of food products.
The company is subject to various state and federal environmental laws, regulations and directives, including the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended.
Research and Development
The company’s total research and development expenses were $5.4 million for the fifty-three weeks ended August 31, 2024.
History
The Simply Good Foods Company was founded in 2017. The company was incorporated in 2017.