And now the fruit snacks are a source of much-needed sustenance for those on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19 too.
Annies has teamed up with 12 other brands and industry partners to donate more than $250,000 worth of products as part of 2,000-3,000 care packages for healthcare workers across New Zealand.
With Annies classified as an essential business during COVID-19, the company is still able to operate and supply New Zealand with its products. Fans of the real fruit snacks also have reason to smile thanks to Annies adding three new items to its line-up this month – Annies Fruit Strips, Fruit Flats and a first for New Zealand – Fruit Jerky.
Bonnie Slade, Annies Global Sales Manager, has found that Annies evokes happy memories for many lovers of the pure fruit products.
“It always astounds me how many people know the brand from their childhood,” she says.
Slade’s mother Ruth encountered Annies after moving back to New Zealand from Perth when Slade was a child. Having noticed a lifestyle shift where people were becoming more conscious of what they were feeding their children, Ruth sought out products like Annies with no added sugar and natural ingredients.
Slade has fond memories of being given sheets of Annies fruit leather to snack on as a child during car trips to see her grandparents in Blenheim, or when her family would travel down to the Sounds for summer holidays.
“That would be a highlight of the trip, the Annies bars,” she says.
“I remember having great fun unrolling the fruit leather sheets and eating them in the back of the car – they used to be big sheets rolled up in Glad wrap. My brother was much better at making his last – I would eat mine so quickly.”
With Slade now giving her own children Annies snacks, the products have passed through three generations in her family.
Slade’s daughter Willa says she loves Annies because “they taste like fruit”, and she even believes the snacks taste “better than chocolate”.
“She thinks it’s a treat and I know she’s not eating a whole bunch of preservatives, numbers, additives, concentrates etc.,” says Slade. “They give her great energy.”
Slade says she loves what Annies stands for, and that the products continue to be enjoyed across generations.
“I think it’s really heartening to have that memory of a product, especially a New Zealand brand that’s still made in New Zealand as well.”
There’s no guilt involved with giving Annies to kids for a sweet treat – Annies products contain no more than three natural ingredients and are made with 100% pure fruit.
The snacks are also vegan friendly, gluten free and allergen free.
Annies was started as a business 33 years ago, in 1987. In 2014 Maori Food & Beverage company Kono became the owners of the business and left the recipes unchanged.
“People want to know what’s in their food, and Annies is seriously one of the only foods that I know that you can pick up and flick over to look at the ingredients and understand every single word on the back,” says Slade.
“It’s just really simple, good for you food.”
For more information and to have Annies sent straight to your home to enjoy, visit Annies.co.nz
