How OWL FOOD Uses Honey to Fuel Functional…

In a crowded category of energy bars and functional snacks, OWL FOOD stands out with a commitment to clean, whole food ingredients—and honey plays a starring role. Founded by outdoor enthusiast Allison Wright, OWL FOOD was born from the need for nourishing, on-the-go products made with integrity. In this interview, Allison shares how honey helps OWL achieve its signature texture, shelf life and flavor, while also supporting the brand’s mission of transparency and sustainability.

What gap do you fill in the energy bar/snack bar space when formulating your products?
OWL Bars were designed by a desire for healthy, great tasting convenient snacks to eat with my on-the-go active lifestyle. As an avid outdoors person, I knew I needed protein, carbs, fats and sugars to help fuel my activity with long lasting sustained energy. The gap we are filling is to provide high-quality, wholesome snacks made with integrity and intention. We source only gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, nutrient-dense, whole food ingredients. We minimally process our bars and do not use fillers, additives or preservatives.

Why did you choose honey?

So many reasons! One: It is readily available. Our beekeeper has hives along the Connecticut River right next to our facility. Two: It’s a natural sweetener (not lab derived, highly processed). I knew I wanted to use a natural sweetener that wasn’t refined. Three: It’s a great binder without adding moisture, so it helps achieve a great shelf life.

What varietal do you work with?
I have selected a spring linden honey for the flavor profile and aroma. This varietal had the most balanced flavor.

What functions does honey serve in your formulation beyond sweetness?

Texture: Our energy bars have a soft texture created by the blend of honey with nut butter. Binding: We blend honey and nut butter to our oats, nuts, fruits, and seeds and that keeps the bars from being too crumbly or dry.

Shelf Life: I like to think of honey as a natural preservative because it never goes bad, so by using honey in our recipes we are confident with labelling our product with a seven-month shelf life. I think honey is a benefit in product development because of its predictability of shelf life and binding.

I am more inclined toward expanding our portfolio with honey-based recipes because I can develop the recipes quicker, meaning I have more experience/knowledge of how it will react in my recipes, with other ingredients and long-term flavor maintenance.

Are there any technical considerations in working with honey at your production scale?
We’ve gotten smarter about how we handle the honey in production: moving away from small jars (lots of packaging to deal with) and toward 60-pound pails (heavy but more sustainable). We’ve moved away from hand ladling (time consuming, messy) and toward a honey bottler to dispense honey (keeps the honey hive temperature and dispenses cleanly). Simply changing the temperature has allowed me to cut back on the amount of honey in the recipe, which helps with the reduction of sugar intake (keeping my health-conscious customers happy).

How do you decide what flavor combinations make it onto the final lineup?

A lot of trial and error! We develop a concept and make very small batches to start, then taste and review before taking it to the next stage. Lots of trials with friends, neighbors, family with feedback required! Sometimes we make 20 iterations of a recipe and decide not to pursue it. Others are clear winners and when I’m in the kitchen, if we get excited about a new flavor, then we launch it to share our excitement with our community. We feel our excitement is contagious, and our customers can share in the discovery of new flavors.

How does honey help you tell your brand story to consumers?
We make the topic of natural sweetener a conversation piece. We highlight it and promote it as a benefit and something that differentiates us from the competition, along with our other attributes: gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, no palm oil. We want to remain as close to nature with our ingredient sourcing, and honey is a no-brainer. We are proud to use honey in our recipes and feel our customers appreciate that simplicity and integrity. We adopt the “you are what you eat” mentality and choose ingredients that support a clean, healthy, natural and active lifestyle. My recipes are made with honey, and I will not compromise that! It is part of our story, and honey is here to stay!

To stay connected with OWL, follow https://www.facebook.com/OWLEnergyBars/ or @owlenergy.