SnackWell's was an American brand of foods that was introduced in 1992. Its products used to include fat-free
cookies
A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...
of a variety of flavors including
creme,
shortbread
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part sugar, white sugar, two parts butter and three to four parts plain flour, plain wheat flour. Shortbread does not contain leavening, such as baking powder or bakin ...
, and
devil's food cake
Devil's food cake is a moist, rich chocolate layer cake.
Because of differing recipes and changing ingredient availability over the 20th century, it is difficult to precisely qualify what distinguishes devil's food from the more standard chocol ...
. Previously a
Nabisco
Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Nabisco' ...
brand, it was later sold to
Back to Nature Foods
B&G Foods, Inc. is an American branded foods holding company based in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company was formed in 1996 to acquire Bloch & Guggenheimer, a Manhattan-based producer of pickles, relish and condiments which had been founded in ...
. In 2022, the SnackWell's brand was retired.
History
Under Nabisco
SnackWell's products were marketed as fat-free and thus healthier snacks, as the U.S. dietary guidelines of the early 1990s advocated a reduction in the consumption of fats. In an ironic and unintended consequence, SnackWell's products were an example of foods that had a higher carbohydrate count and were later cited as a likely contributor to the obesity epidemic of the 1990s and beyond.
The
Snackwell Effect was named for the tendency to consume greater quantities of an item or service deemed morally superior, such as a putatively healthier cookie, or more energy-efficient lighting.
SnackWells were developed by Nabisco's principal
food scientist
Food science (or bromatology) is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing ...
,
Sam Porcello
Samuel J. Porcello ( – May 12, 2012) was an American food scientist who worked at Nabisco for 34 years. He is particularly noted for his work on the modern Oreo cookie. Porcello held five patents directly related to the Oreo. In particular, Porc ...
.
Back to Nature
SnackWell's branded products were made by Back to Nature Foods in
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...
. In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, SnackWell's potato chips and crackers were available.
In August 2017, it was reported that
B&G Foods Inc. had agreed to buy SnackWells cookies and Back to Nature granola for $162.5 million. As of May 2019, SnackWells Devil's Food Cookie Cakes were no longer "fat free" as they contained 3 grams of fat per serving and they were advertised as having an improved formula.
See also
*
SnackWell effect
References
External links
*
Brand name cookies
Nabisco brands
Products introduced in 1992
Products and services discontinued in 2022
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