NEW YORK — “Why boil your pasta when you can munch on it as a crunchy snack?” is the question Chef Lauryn Bodden, founder of S’Noods, is answering with her gluten-free noodle chips.

Bodden’s passion for food started at an early age. In high school, she tried to get her parents to let her attend culinary school, but eventually chose to attend college. During that time, Bodden interned abroad in London, where she completed a research grant on the food systems in the United Kingdom versus the United States.

“Long story short, I moved to New York right after college because I wanted to work in food, and I didn’t really know what that looked like,” Bodden said. “I ended up working every job from PR to social marketing, to working the restaurant line, and I eventually went to culinary school.”

Chef Lauryn Bodden, founder of S'Noods. Photo: Rana Düzyol

After working in recipe development and as a food editor, Bodden competed in the Netflix show “Snack vs Chef,” where 12 chefs channel their inner food scientist to re-create classic snacks for a $50,000 prize.

Fast-forward eight episodes, and Bodden was crowned the winner, securing the cash prize with the first iteration of what would become S’Noods.

 “Today, I never thought that I would be making a CPG snack, by any means,” she said. “But it was after that show, I kind of saw how S’Noods resonated with not only the judges, and everyone was just so excited about the prospect of this.

“It was also this culmination of everything I’ve done in my career in this new venture.”

The line features three varieties: cavatappi carbonara, rigatoni basil pomodoro, and spicy miso ramen.

The chips aren’t made the same way. Both the cavatappi and the rigatoni crackers are shaped, then air-popped, whereas the ramen starts as a dough that is then baked.

“Since the pandemic, everyone was snacking,” Bodden said. “I mean, people are snacking three times a day now, and more and more. It didn’t seem crazy to turn this dish (pasta) into a small-sized snack.”

 Data from the market research company Mintel shows that 95% of US adults snack at least once a day, with 70% snacking two or more times, according to the company’s “Snacking motivations and attitudes” report. The report also showed those who snack four or more times, known as “super snackers,” also is on the rise.

Bodden is targeting certain markets like college campuses, concentrated metropolitan areas and festivals. And a surprise audience has emerged that Bodden didn’t expect — hikers.

“I didn’t set out to make this healthy focused snack,” she said. “Obviously, we don’t want it to be something that is just terrible for you by any means, but it’s really great that we’ve worked really hard to home in on the nutritionals, so that it is this snack that you can take with you on adventures, as well.”

The crackers are formulated from a combination of rice, potato and chickpea flour, and are gluten-free. They are also non-GMO, air-popped and baked, and feature 2 grams of protein, 3.5 grams of fat and 120 calories per serving.Photo: Rana Düzyol

The product is available for direct-to-consumer purchase through the company’s website, and as of Feb. 6, the product is available in over 50 retailers nationwide, like Chicago-based Foxtrot. S’Noods was one of Foxtrot’s 2023 Up & Comer finalists.

This year, Bodden is excited to home in on brand awareness, connecting with her snacking community and extending the company’s retail footprint, and of course, plan for more pasta.

“It’s really exciting that, even though we’re more chip-focused right now, we can definitely do some puffs, like a gnocchi puff would be really awesome,” she said. “Maybe some peanut pad Thai situation… There are so many things that I can’t wait.”

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