Posted on December 13, 2017 by Retail News Editor

KIND kick-starts a conversation on what it takes to overcome the divisions that have torn America apart

Healthy snack company convenes filmmakers, thought leaders and the general public to capture the difference between being nice and being kind
Three-time Academy Award winning cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, lends his creative take in powerful video

NEW YORK, 2017-Dec-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — With the launch of a powerful video that explores the courage it takes to be kind towards strangers, KIND seeks to kindle a conversation about what it will take to overcome the divisions that have torn our country apart.

The video release, in conjunction with a nationwide contest, is part of KIND’s effort to explore the difference between being “nice” and being “kind” – an oft overlooked distinction that has tangible implications on how we act towards one another.

“We’ve all been overwhelmed by the historic rifts tearing our country apart. The empathy and respect that are part of America’s DNA and part of what make our country so exceptional cannot be taken for granted,” said Daniel Lubetzky, Founder & CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks. “For years, KIND has explored how difficult it is to step out of one’s comfort zone and practice kindness – especially towards someone with whom you disagree. Now, more than ever, that extra effort is required to rediscover our shared humanity and tackle challenges related to misunderstanding and intolerance.”

To kick-start a conversation around the topic, KIND has released a storytelling series that illuminates this distinction and plays up the following themes:

Nice is polite but not always what we need to hear. Kind is honest and stands its ground.
Nice can be passive. Kind requires action and courage.
Nice doesn’t add to problems. Kind solves them.
Nice is something you say. Kind is something you do.
Nice doesn’t bully. Kind stands up to stop the bullying.

The latest video in the series was directed by Emmanuel Lubezki, three-time Academy Award winning cinematographer of Birdman, Gravity and The Revenant, with co-director Chris Wilcha. Titled “More Than Nice,” the piece visually captures Emmanuel’s personal interpretation of kindness through the eyes of volunteers who leave jugs of water across the US-Mexico border. The humanitarian group’s intention is to prevent suffering and death of migrants. The issue hits home not only for Emmanuel, but also for Daniel, his cousin: both are Jewish-Mexican immigrants and proud citizens of the United States who have used their respective platforms to connect people, expand understanding and strengthen communities.

“I was struck not just by the incredible courage but also by the tremendous empathy that these volunteers had, going out of their way to protect the well-being of fellow human beings they may never meet,” said Emmanuel Lubezki. “There is no sacrifice in nice, but being kind requires it. In the video, we attempt to portray the human element of such a polarizing issue in a way that transcends politics and reminds us all of the frailty of the human body and the invincibility of the human spirit.”

The other videos – including a study on the motivations of a war veteran and firefighter who dedicates his free time to help children that are burn victims – juxtapose nice and kind in a myriad of both practical and aspirational ways, but all circle around the same core beliefs.

KIND is inviting people to share their own take on the difference between nice and kind by submitting a written essay, photo or video. A panel of judges, made up of entrepreneurs, creative story tellers, journalists and activists, will select three winners. Those judges include:

Joel Fields – Executive Producer & Showrunner of The Americans
Alli Maloney – News & Politics Editor at Teen Vogue
Jeff Weiner – CEO of LinkedIn
David Isay – Founder of StoryCorps
Arianna Huffington – Founder and CEO at Thrive Global
Sophie Elgort – Photographer and Co-Founder of Through Our Lens

Winners will receive $25,000 to donate to the charity of their choice, along with cash prizes and photography/videography gear to help fund their next creative project. To learn more or enter the contest, visit www.kindsnacks.com/morekind.

About KIND Healthy Snacks

Since its founding in 2004, KIND® has been on a mission to make the world a little kinder one snack and one act at a time. KIND was born out of its founder’s desire to create a snack that was healthy and tasty, wholesome and convenient. What began as a line of premium Fruit & Nut bars sparked the creation of an entirely new healthier snacking category. Today, KIND has a family of snacks that offer solutions for a variety of different occasions.

Its recipes include nutrient-dense, simple and premium ingredients like whole nuts, seeds, whole grains, and pieces of fruit. All of its snacks are gluten free and do not contain genetically engineered ingredients.

Since day one, kindness has been at the core of its business. KIND was founded with a social mission, called the KIND Movement, which celebrates and inspires kindness through acts big and small. Today, the Movement is brought to life through both the brand and The KIND Foundation. To learn more about KIND and to join our Movement, visit kindsnacks.com.

Contact:

Kristi Kleila
KIND Healthy Snacks
O: (212) 616-3006, ext. 115
kkleila@kindsnacks.com

Source: KIND Healthy Snacks

Posted on December 1, 2017 by Retail News Editor

Mars will take a minority stake in healthy snacking leader KIND

KIND will remain independent and led by Founder & CEO Daniel Lubetzky, with Mars taking a minority stake in the company
Partnership will bring KIND’s products and promise to more consumers globally, allowing the company to scale its social impact work
Partnership will strengthen Mars’ reach and commitment to the growing healthy snacks category

NEW YORK, NY and MCLEAN, VA, 2017-Dec-01 — /EPR Retail News/ — kind (KIND) a healthy snacking leader, and mars, incorporated, a family-owned global pet care, confectionery and food business, today (November 29, 2017) announced a strategic partnership whereby Mars will take a minority stake in KIND. As part of the agreement, the two companies will partner to grow KIND’s product offerings and business globally, utilizing each other’s strengths.

The partnership will allow KIND to continue to drive positive change in the food industry while fulfilling – on a worldwide scale – its kind promise, a set of nutrition principles that have guided the company’s innovation since its founding. KIND will provide Mars with a pioneering and trusted brand to anchor a newly formed global health and wellness platform, while Mars will provide KIND with its proven international model to expand into new markets. KIND will continue to operate independently, led by its majority stakeholders, founder Daniel Lubetzky and the KIND team, with its existing headquarters in New York, NY. As part of the agreement, Mars will lead the growth of the business outside the U.S. and Canada, partnering with KIND in accordance with the KIND Promise.

The partnership will enable KIND to accelerate its dual mission to make its healthy and tasty foods available to more people across the globe and make the world a little kinder through meaningful social impact initiatives. It will also enable KIND to expand into new categories.

“When we introduced our first whole nut & fruit bar in 2004, we set out on an ambitious mission to do things differently and challenge false compromises by offering snacks that were healthy and tasty as well as wholesome and convenient. It’s been exciting to see the reach and impact of our mission, and with our partnership with Mars, we’re looking forward to continuing on this journey as we empower more people to make healthy eating decisions across the globe. We remain fully committed to our guiding principles, including our commitment to always use a nutritious food as the first and predominant ingredient in every food product,” said Daniel Lubetzky, Founder and CEO of KIND. “We’re proud to partner with Mars, a family-owned, principles-driven company with a proven track record of holding a long-term view, and look forward to working with them to make this a better world for future generations.”

“This is a partnership built on mutual admiration and a shared vision for growth,” said Grant F. Reid, CEO and President of Mars. “We believe there is tremendous opportunity to build on the success of KIND’s product portfolio in new markets. As we continue to expand our business and broaden our portfolio to address evolving consumer needs, we’re delighted to partner with a respected leader in the health & wellness space.”

Every day millions of people do the KIND thing for their bodies by eating KIND’s snacks. As KIND continues to expand, it will fulfill its KIND Promise by:

Always using a nutritious food as the first and predominant ingredient in every food product;
Never using artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols;
Using as little sugar as possible while achieving great taste;
Creating foods that are both healthy and tasty;
Being transparent about everything from ingredients to labeling;
Crafting foods made with minimally processed, real ingredients; and
Treating its foods and people with integrity.

The partnership will also empower KIND to scale its social mission and fulfill its vision to use business as a vehicle for social change. In that spirit, Daniel Lubetzky plans to donate $25 million to The KIND Foundation, a separate philanthropic entity that aims to foster kinder and more empathetic communities.

To learn more, visit www.kindsnacks.com/partnership.

Advisors

BDT & Company and Centerview Partners served as KIND’s financial advisors, and Goodwin Procter LLP acted as KIND’s legal advisor.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as Mars’ financial advisor, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as Mars’ legal advisor.

About KIND

About Mars

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on facebook, twitter, linkedin, instagram and youtube.

About the KIND Foundation

The KIND Foundation is a philanthropic entity established by KIND. Its mission, which is to foster kinder and more empathetic communities, is brought to life through a variety of programming meant to celebrate and inspire positive action. The Foundation recently announced a $20 million multi-year initiative called empatico. An online learning tool that connects kids worldwide and helps them develop skills like curiosity and kindness, Empatico endeavors to reach more than one million students by the end of 2020. To learn more, visit kindsnacks.com/foundation.

Contact:

Brunswick Group
Jayne Rosefield
312-800-8120

Blake Sonnenshein
212-333-3810

KIND

Drew Nannis
202-236-7016

Source: KIND

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Retail News Editor

Feed the Truth: A new independent organization to improve public health guidance and information offered to Americans

With a pledge of $25 million, Daniel Lubetzky seeks to offset self-serving industry agendas at the expense of public good
Lubetzky will remove himself and his company completely from its operation to ensure transparency and eliminate bias

NEW YORK, NY, 2017-Feb-17 — /EPR Retail News/ — Daniel Lubetzky, the Founder and CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks (KIND), today (February 15, 2017) announced the launch of Feed the Truth. Established as an independent organization, Feed the Truth will seek to improve public health by making truth, transparency and integrity the foremost values in today’s food system.

To ensure Feed the Truth’s independence from KIND, Lubetzky will remove himself entirely from all activities and governance of the new organization. He has assembled three unaffiliated public health advocates whose sole role is to nominate Feed the Truth’s Board of Directors. The advisors, all of whom have offered their expertise voluntarily and are not being paid for their involvement, include:

Deb Eschmeyer, former Executive Director of Let’s Move! and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy at The White House

Michael Jacobson, PhD, Co-Founder and President of the Center for Science in the Public Interest

Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University

Feed the Truth will ensure science overrules special interests by revealing and counteracting the food industry’s undue influence in shaping nutrition policy and ability to disseminate biased science, among other activities that are detrimental to public health. While specific programming will be decided by an Executive Director that will be appointed by the Board of Directors, activities could potentially include grants to support investigative journalism, consumer education campaigns and educational briefings to policymakers and influencers.

“In establishing Feed the Truth, my intent is to elevate reputable science, bolster the voices of the nutrition community, and improve the guidance and information offered to Americans,” Lubetzky said. “As a business owner, I understand the importance of prioritizing your bottom line, but it’s equally as important to consider how you can succeed while also thinking about the long-term impact on the community.”

Lubetzky’s journey to create Feed the Truth began in 2004 when his frustration with a lack of wholesome, nutritious snacks in the marketplace led him to launch KIND. What began as a line of whole nut & fruit bars sparked the creation of an entirely new healthy snacking category and gave Lubetzky a window into long-held industry operating procedures that often benefited companies financially at the expense of public health.

In May 2015, KIND faced a public confrontation with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) over the company’s usage of the term “healthy” as a nutrient content claim on its packaging. The FDA’s guidance – which was established over 20 years ago – limited total fat intake, regardless of source or type, and prevented demonstrably nutritious foods like nuts, salmon and avocado from being labeled as “healthy.” After months of exploration and discovery, KIND filed a Citizen Petition, with the support of leading nutrition and public health experts, requesting the agency update the regulation to be consistent with modern nutrition science.

By September 2016, the FDA announced it would begin the process of revising this regulation and offered a sensible interim solution – both of which incorporated KIND’s recommendations. That same month, a JAMA Internal Medicine report found that in the 1960s the Sugar Association funded scientific studies to diminish findings that linked sugar consumption to poor heart health. Instead, the Association used industry-funded research to vilify fats – an act that would go on to directly inform the government’s dietary guidance, spur a surge of low-fat, high-sugar products, and ultimately, distort consumer perception of all dietary fat.

“We’re eager for Feed the Truth to step in and hold all of us in the food community accountable for what we say and claim,” said Lubetzky. “While this ‘Big Sugar’ revelation underscored the need to provide more tools to public advocates, it doesn’t mean that ‘fat’ or ‘protein’ should now be evangelized. Feed the Truth’s independent Board of Directors, once established, will seek to ensure consumers have access to unbiased nutrition information.”

“This commitment could have a salutary effect on educating the public about nutrition and cleaning up deceitful marketing practices,” said Michael Jacobson.

Lubetzky’s donor advised fund has made an initial contribution of $5 million to Feed the Truth. Lubetzky intends to fund an additional $20 million over the next ten years.

To learn more and get involved visit FeedtheTruth.org.

Contact:

Email – customerservice@kindsnacks.com
Phone – +1 855.884.KIND (5463)

Source: KIND