COVID-19 has upset the apple cart when it comes to food trends, and Good to Go bars is hoping its four new decadent flavour offerings resonate as it copes with shifting consumer demand.

Alexandria Mottley, brand manager at Riverside Natural Foods, says COVID-19 has been a challenge to the healthy snack category, even as snacking overall has increased. She says the four new flavours reflect the demand for more indulgent and decadent treats during the pandemic and new chocolate and dessert-themed flavour profiles tap into those cravings as people abandon their diets.

“People are not on the go, and ours is a brand for busy people who need a healthy snack,” Mottley says. “We have seen a dip [in sales] as many people have also fallen off their keto diets and are not shopping the aisle as much.” She also says that the bar is not a cheap option, but more of a premium product.

Good to Go’s focus has moved to online advertising, though it is now looking at grocery pickup and having product sampled at cashier level to increase trial at retail. It is also exploring smaller sample sizes and closed package options for the future, but those are not on the table yet at major retailers.

“We have education-based demos, but we are hopeful that this can resume within the next few months. In the meantime, we are doing subscription boxes and direct to retailer samples through grocery pickup or in store at the cashier level,” she says.

Good to Go worked with Concrete, a Toronto-based creative agency to develop the design aesthetic, which features large prominent branding of the logo and has a light, energetic vibrancy that reflects what Mottley calls a “no-nonsense, clean and to the point brand” in terms of keto, sugar, and fibre callouts. In an extremely competitive landscape, Good to Go differentiates by being more inline with keto trends than being overly high in protein or linking itself to live fitness classes or extreme sports competitions.

The new flavours, like its other SKUs, are going to be in mainstream banners as well as natural food stores. And Mottley says the company is leveraging its connections formed through its MadeGood brand to get Good to Go into market and aid in distribution.

When the brand first launched in 2019, messaging was more heavily focused on being keto certified. But since competitors like Good Fats have begun making keto claims, it has had to pivot to tout taste and texture as well.

The messaging surrounds guilt-free experience and the desire for good taste, while accommodating consumers looking for fibre and plant-based fat-rich foods that are low in carbs and sugar. The brand is also promoting that it’s proudly made in Canada (the manufacturing facility is in Vaughan).

“We are not in the niche bucket of keto, but our low carb low sugar can resonate more broadly,” Mottley says. The target demo, which she says is about 70% female and 35 and under, is a more the everyday consumer who is busy but looking to make healthier choices and incorporate some new fitness regimens.

And each day in July, Good to Go will release a brand new low-impact activity on its Instagram and Facebook stories. For every share and mention of the “#LetsGoGTG” hashtag, it will donate a portion of the proceeds to the YMCA to support health and fitness youth programs, kids camps, and healthy community initiatives. Participants will also be entered to win a weekly grand summer prize package of bars.

The link between on-the-go snacks and exercise is hardly new, and competitors like Clif Bar have gone after fitness buffs through boxing events and sponsoring mountain bike races. The “Let’s Go” campaign is about inspiring healthy lifestyles and meeting the needs of a consumer that’s looking to reduce sugar and start with more modest fitness goals. The YMCA’s ethos of getting all Canadians to lead healthier lives, ties back to Good to Go’s own brand proposition.

My Why Agency and the brand’s internal team handled the YMCA creative.