When Arielle Levy was a child, she typically got here dwelling from college to seek out her mother, Diana Levy, within the kitchen taking part in with chocolate.
“She made chocolate-covered Oreos, chocolate-covered apples, then moved into chocolate-covered truffles,” Arielle advised The FruitGuys. “For some time, she constructed objects in chocolate, like chocolate excessive heels!”
Arielle had no method of realizing that these kitchen experiments would lead Diana to start out Undercover Snacks—the household enterprise the place Arielle now works as a regional gross sales supervisor. Undercover makes distinctive gluten-free and nut-free snacks, like crispy quinoa discs coated in darkish chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint items.
Undercover founder Diana Levy
Undercover’s founding was a rollercoaster journey that took Diana from New Jersey to 30,000 ft within the sky. However it began with one thing a lot nearer to dwelling: a medical prognosis.
Going Gluten-Free & Founding Undercover
In 2016, Diana Levy was operating a tiny chocolate enterprise out of her home in Quick Hills, New Jersey, making treats for pals and some retailers. Between batches, she experimented, hoping to create a singular, better-for-you chocolate snack that she might promote to grocery shops.
Then, Arielle and one other of Diana’s three daughters have been identified with celiac illness and needed to lower gluten from their diets. That impressed her to mix chocolate with different gluten-free and allergy-friendly elements to make snacks her daughters might eat.
The Levy household, left to proper: Arielle’s youthful sisters, Michael, Diana, Arielle.
After nearly a yr of trial and error, she landed on a mix all three women cherished: discs of crispy puffed quinoa coated in chocolate and topped with easy elements like sea salt or dried fruit.
“Considered one of my sisters doesn’t have any allergic reactions, so my mother thought, ‘If she needs this snack as a lot as different snacks she will have already got, then it should be actually, actually good,” Arielle mentioned. “And that’s what occurred.”
That recipe turned the launchpad for Undercover Snacks. The title and brand (a spy’s hat, glasses, and mustache) come straight from these authentic elements: The wholesome quinoa “disguised” by decadent chocolate.
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Quinoa Crisps: From Concept to Actuality
After the crisps have been family-approved, it was time for the subsequent step: Shifting Undercover’s operation out of Diana’s kitchen.
“Mother thought it will be no downside in any respect to discover a producer—however then she realized no tools in the marketplace would be capable of produce the product she wished with out including additional sugar or glucose to bind the chocolate to the quinoa,” Arielle mentioned.
That was a dealbreaker for Diana, who was dedicated to creating a easy snack with simply three elements. So, she determined to do issues the great distance. She began touring to equipment tradeshows and assembly with manufacturing line engineers. If she couldn’t discover what she wanted, she’d construct it!
The Transfer to Mass Manufacturing
Fortunately, Diana’s husband, Michael Levy, had expertise working in finance for meals business firms. In 2018, he joined Diana because the chairman of Undercover to assist her scale up the manufacturing of her gluten-free and nut-free snacks.
Diana and Michael bought a producing line and began constructing an eco-friendly manufacturing unit in East Hanover, New Jersey, simply quarter-hour from their dwelling. The constructing runs on solar energy and may churn out 1000’s of quinoa crisps each hour.
Getting the manufacturing unit up and operating was an enormous endeavor. However that well-known quote from Discipline of Desires (“When you construct it, they may come”) turned out to be true for Undercover. The elevated manufacturing capability helped Diana’s firm land partnerships with giant retailers—and even be a focus for an airline.
Taking Off: Snacking within the Air and the Workplace
When you’ve flown on United Airways since 2023, you might need seen one thing new on the snack cart: Undercover’s quinoa crisps. When Arielle flies United, seeing them looks like a pleasant wave from her household.
The Levy household on a climbing journey.
“It’s slightly factor, however I at all times discover it very cool once I stroll up the aircraft and see everyone’s Undercover wrappers on their chairs,” she mentioned. “… Manufacturing for United has utterly reshaped the whole lot.”
Diana advised The FruitGuys that when United linked with Undercover, they wished “a unprecedented quantity” of snacks. Undercover had simply put in a brand new manufacturing line, however it wasn’t fairly sufficient to maintain up. So, Diana and Michael expanded the manufacturing unit and, as Arielle put it, “instantly made it work.”
“United has been a terrific associate for Undercover!” Diana mentioned.
Now, Undercover is making waves in workplaces in addition to within the sky. In 2024, the Levy household partnered with The FruitGuys’ snack program to carry their treats on to employees.
Undercover Snacks’ gluten-free and nut-free snacks commonly seem in The FruitGuys’ Considerate Snack Bins. This December, we’re excited to characteristic its Darkish Chocolate + Peppermint quinoa crisps as our vacation Snack of the Month. You’ll find that festive taste in every of our snack packing containers till the brand new yr, or order in bulk to your workplace vacation celebrations.
Enjoyable Flavors & Considerate Substances
Darkish Chocolate + Peppermint isn’t Undercover’s solely enjoyable taste. The corporate makes quinoa crisps dipped in each milk and darkish chocolate, and so they come sprinkled with all types of toppings, together with blended berries, blueberries, and cherries.
The throughline of each taste is simplicity. Every snack has easy-to-understand, eco-friendly elements, together with Rainforest Alliance Licensed chocolate. The Levys work immediately with quinoa and cocoa farmers to supply their elements at any time when doable. In addition they clear their manufacturing traces between making milk chocolate and darkish chocolate merchandise to maintain their darkish chocolate crisps free from milk proteins.
“We’re freed from most allergens and our darkish chocolate flavors are plant-based,” Arielle defined, including that Undercover hopes to earn vegan certification for its darkish chocolate crisps sooner or later.
A Ladies-Owned Household Enterprise
The partnership with United Airways helped Undercover Snacks develop rapidly, however it’s nonetheless a household enterprise at coronary heart.
“Individuals assume we’re this big model due to the large distribution that we now have, however it’s actually not that massive internally,” Arielle mentioned, referring to the corporate’s gross sales and advertising group.
Arielle works from Manhattan as a regional gross sales supervisor, however she commutes to the manufacturing unit two or three days per week. She advised The FruitGuys that throughout the Christmas holidays, the manufacturing unit runs on a smaller crew to verify as many workers can take break day as doable. At instances, the entire Levy household jumps in to run the manufacturing line, scrambling to do the work of a number of individuals without delay.
“We’re there and we make it enjoyable,” Arielle mentioned. “It’s like this wild, loopy, chaotic curler coaster.”
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