SAN FRANCISCO -- Coconut seems to be a flavor consumers either love ... or not.
There must be a lot of coconut lovers out there, because more manufacturers are launching coconut snacks. Not just coconut, but organic coconut.
Bare Snacks, San Francisco-based maker of baked fruit snacks including coconut chips, has expanded its coconut line in two ways. It now offers organic coconut chips, and it has introduced two new flavors: sweet ginger and coffee bean.
Meanwhile, neighbor Clif Bar, with headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., has introduced Nut-Butter Filled bars, also organic and also including a Coconut Almond Butter flavor. Other flavors of the nut-butter-filled energy bars are peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter and chocolate hazelnut butter.
Both companies say the products are non-GMO and USDA-certified organic. Bare Snacks also are gluten-free, and Clif bars are low-glycemic for prolonged levels of energy.
Coconut has been around as a "good-for-you" food for a few years, especially coconut waters and coconut-milk yogurt and ice cream. But other coconut snacks are showing up on store shelves.
What makes coconut so popular in today's health-craze world of snacks? It contains a saturated fat called lauric acid that's easier to digest and boosts metabolism. Coconut also is high in fiber and includes nutrients like manganese and potassium.
Other companies offering coconut chips include Creative Snacks Co. of Greensboro, N.C., and Dang Foods of Berkeley, Calif. Dang expanded its flavor line of coconut chips last year, adding chili lime and savory bacon.
Phoney Baloney's, also based in California, created coconut bacon chips while its founders were operating a vegan sandwich counter in a gym in Irvine, Calif. Now it offers a dozen recipes on its website that feature the coconut bacon.
Will coconut be as prevalent in the world of snacks as the ever-popular pumpkin-spice flavor? It's a matter of taste.
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