The California Walnut Commission (CWC) recently attended the Sweets & Snacks Expo where we talked to several food manufacturers about why they use walnuts. One such conversation was with Cindy Poiesz of Supernola, who was excited, like the rest of us, to return to in-person events. After the show was over, we continued our conversation about Supernola’s goals, renewed trade show spirit and why walnuts make for a flavorful cluster formula.
CWC: What were some of your goals in exhibiting at Sweets & Snacks?
Poiesz: Sweets & Snacks is always a great show for us! We were so happy it was on again and to see everyone. I definitely loved it in Indianapolis last year for a change of pace, but Chicago was so much fun. Our goal was to meet with retailers that we had recently expanded to and to follow up. We also wanted to share our private label and co-manufacturing capabilities, so we loved sharing the fact that we have clusters. That was definitely of interest to a lot of people; that was our goal, and that was quite the success.
CWC: Why use walnuts in your product formulation?
Poiesz: We have walnuts in all of our products, and Banana Nut and Dark Chocolate are two fan favorites.
CWC: Those definitely are two great traditional flavor pairings.
Poiesz: The bananas are organic fair trade, so it’s definitely the top of the food chain there, and they’re hand peeled in our facility north of Milwaukee. We use low-temp dehydration, and we soak the walnuts for at least 12 hours, which gives you a nice, hollow crunch. That low-temp dehydration really gives the walnuts a great crunch.
CWC: Can you speak to the sourcing of the walnuts?
Poiesz: With all of our ingredients we want to make sure we source them domestically, and we do that from one California farm. We have a commitment to supporting as much as possible U.S.-based agriculture and trying to limit our carbon footprint, as well as being centrally located in the Midwest by design.
For more information, visit eatsupernola.com.
