The Story of Sahale Snacks

Culinary excellence meets on-the-go convenience with Sahale Snacks’ portable line of bean, nut and fruit mixes ready to fuel your next adventure.

By Taylor Hugo

In 2003, best friends, and future Sahale Snacks’ founders were preparing to summit the active stratovolcano Mount Rainier in Washington State. Avid hikers and self-proclaimed “foodies,” the two packed their rucksacks with crampons, carabiners, rope—all your typical climbing gear—plus some wine, snacks and a baguette.

“Their guide told them, ‘What are you guys doing? You can’t take that up there,’” says Julia Danicic, who works in project management for Sahale Snacks. Instead, they had to settle for basic trail mixes to fuel their journey, but when they summited, something was missing. “They remember thinking,” Danicic adds, “‘This would’ve been such a better experience if we could have a cuisine or some sort of food brought into this.’”

The next day, the Sahale Snacks’ founders got to work in the kitchen, striving to create a portable snack reminiscent of elevated culinary experiences. They released their first product—Valdosta Pecans, boasting a flavor profile of orange zest, sweet cranberries and black pepper—under the brand name Sahale Snacks, an homage to Sahale Park in Washington State’s North Cascades National Park.

“We understood the importance of plant protein from a health perspective. It’s an affordable, nutritious and natural option to meet consumers’ needs...”

- Julia Danicic

Since then, the offerings from Sahale Snacks—which was acquired by The J.M. Smucker Company in 2014—have expanded to include cashews, almonds, peanuts and pistachios in the form of Glazed Mixes, Trail Mixes, Coconut Snack Mixes and the Bean + Nut line, combining plant protein sources with crunchy textures and savory spices.

“We understood the importance of plant protein from a health perspective. It’s an affordable, nutritious and natural option to meet consumers’ needs. All the items we saw in the marketplace, however, were a bit uninspired, so we looked again to cultural traditions and our favorite culinary meals, and brought them together in a really beyond-ordinary way,” says Danicic, pointing to flavors like Sea Salt, Asian Sesame Edamame and White Cheddar + Black Pepper.

Developing treats that tantalize our taste buds is only half the mission of Sahale Snacks: The brand also strives to give back to the community through partnerships with the Black Pepper Farming Project—which trains economically disadvantaged, minority farmers in Vietnam to grow and sell black pepper plants for profit—and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuel–based electricity.