Founded by lifelong candy fan Katie after a colon cancer scare prompted her to rethink sugar and fiber, Harken Sweets makes date-caramel candy bars that recreate old-school treats with plant-based ingredients. Its bars are naturally sweetened with dates, contain no added sugar, and pack 14 grams of prebiotic fiber, offering a gut-friendly take on familiar chocolate-candy flavors.
Non-GMO
Compliance program
Fair Trade
Compliance program
Woman-Owned
Compliance program
GiganticGigantic makes Candy Deluxe, a line of mini candy bars pairing Italian dark chocolate with brown-sugar caramel for a less-sweet, grown-up take on the classic treat. The small startup uses real organic sugar instead of artificial sweeteners, and its vegan bars are designed as a compact hit of flavor rather than an oversized confection. Its chocolate is organic and Fairtrade certified, while its palm oil carries Palm Done Right certification.
Rip Van IncRip Van makes lower-sugar sweet snacks, beginning with Dutch stroopwafels and expanding into wafers, cookies and confections. Co-founders Rip Pruisken and Marco De Leon started the company in 2010 by baking hundreds of stroopwafels by hand in a Brown University dorm room, drawing on Pruisken’s Dutch coffee-and-waffle ritual. Today, Rip Van’s treats use real ingredients and prebiotic fiber, with the brand available in more than 20,000 stores across the country.
JECA Natural Foods CorporationJECA Natural Foods Corporation makes artisan nutrition bars designed to provide clean, convenient energy with globally inspired flavor. Founded by Ree Dolnick after she began making all-natural bars in her kitchen, the company grew from her experience as a mother, cancer researcher, and sous-chef and was named after her daughter. JECA’s bars are plant-based and naturally gluten-free, with a focus on simple, wholesome ingredients.ORCHARD PARK, NY
JunebarMade in Rochester, Junebar bakes and packages refrigerated snack bars from 100% whole-food ingredients. Founded from a personal search for better digestive health, the company developed its bars with a plant-based chef and a registered dietitian, using ingredients such as sweet potatoes, black beans and dates without additives, preservatives or gluten. Junebar sources ingredients from Upstate New York farms whenever possible and describes its products as so natural they need refrigeration.