Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I N O. X X S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P T inned fish is all the rage, as 160,000 followers of @tinned_ fish_reviews on Instagram can attest. e account features taste vignettes by a bearded British bloke in a Shriner- style tasseled fez. In one reel, he takes several mouthfuls of Alalunga in salsa verde he likens to "some kind of delicious soup." He also dives into spicy herring, makes a red mess with Mexican sardines and pits cod liver against monkfish liver in a flavor face-off that's hilariously offal. In Maine, the fixation on newfan- gled snacks is sparking a wave of start- ups seeking to make their mark in the $173 billion U.S. snacks market. From the canned to the crunchy, many are targeting health-conscious consumers with unusual ingredients, flavors and textures in playful packages that appeal to young adults. Inside Singing Pastures' bright, yel- low, orange and pink pouches, for exam- ple, is a new line of meat sticks hitting the shelves this month at Renys stores and Hannaford supermarkets. Designed with Gen Z and millennial consumers in mind, the retro-meets-modern bags contain three types of pork and beef sticks. ey're boosted with bone broth and collagen to stand out in the $3 bil- lion meat-stick industry long dominated by Conagra Brands' Slim Jim's and other male-focused brands. "Everyone's buying meat sticks," says Holly Arbuckle, CEO of the Newcastle-based business she and her husband, John — a ninth-generation farmer from Illinois — have turned into a $1 million national brand in less than a decade. "Historically women were like, get a granola bar and go to your aerobic exercise. Now it's like, eat protein and you need to start lifting weights. e whole cultural mindset has shifted." In a state known for its agriculture and culinary offerings, Singing Pastures is among startups hungering to shake up healthy snacks. Others include Harvest Maine in Yarmouth and Brunswick, Maine Canned Fish in Topsham and Maine Crisp, a Waterville-based maker of gluten-free crisps and crackers. e grab-and-go boom is also fueling new retail ventures. 'Snackification' takes hold e U.S. snacks market, estimated at $173 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $194 billion by 2030, registering a com- pound annual growth rate of just over 2%, according to global market research firm MarkNtel Advisors. Researchers attribute the momentum to an evolving lifestyle where consumers are replacing full meals with bite-sized nutrition. The Instagram account @tinned_fish_reviews has more than 160,000 followers. S C R E E N S H O T S / I N S TA G R A M S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 5 10 P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Startups aim to take a bite out of $173 billion US market B y R e n e e C o r d e s Erika Colby, left, and Joshua Scherz of Maine Canned Fish, holding mackerel and Bangs Island Mussels at the Topsham facility. F O C U S snack snack snack snack attack attack attack attack

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