Snacklins is one of the new products that will feature tonight on ABC’s Shark Tank. The food startup was co-founded in 2015 by food fans Samy Kobrosly and his pal Logan McGear.
According to ABC, Snacklins is a health snack product and a vegan alternative to pork rinds. Although Kobrosly, a Muslim American from Rockville, Maryland, is better known as the local radio personality Samy K on The Kane Show, he is a food science enthusiast.
His pal McGear is an executive chef at the barbecue restaurant Smoke & Barrel that also offers innovative vegan dishes.
Before he invented Snacklins with Kobrosly, McGear was already known for creating vegan alternatives to meat products, such as vegan spare ribs, veggie chili, and vegan wings.
The idea of Snacklins started off as a joke about “gluten-free vegan pork rinds.”
Samy Kobrosly described himself as a Muslim who had never eaten pork rind in his life. So when he and McGear began R&D on the idea of vegan pork rinds, he started buying real pork rinds for the first time. He researched how they were made and how he could replicate their texture and flavor using dehydrated mushrooms, onions, and yucca.
After some experimentation, the friends ended up creating a recipe for “gluten-free vegan pork rinds,” made from dehydrated mushrooms, onions, and yucca, with spices and sea salt.
A serving of Snacklins has only 30 calories and a whole bag has only 80 calories. This explains why the creators describe their healthy snack product as a “delicious, guilt-free crunch.” Snacklins are low in salt and fat, have no trans fat, and are “gluten-free, certified non-GMO, and paleo-friendly.”
The product is offered in three flavors — Barbeque Seasoned, Chesapeake Bay, and Miso Ginger.
Barbeque is based on the seasoning that includes cumin and paprika, while Chesapeake Bay is inspired by Mid-Atlantic Old Bay seasoning. Miso Ginger is inspired by Asian seasoning based on red miso and ginger.
Snacklins opened a new factory in the D.C. region (Rockville, Maryland) in June 2019.
Snacklins are available at 7-Eleven stores across the country and at Walmart. You can also obtain Snacklins from the product’s website store or on Amazon at $14.99 per pack of 6.
Shark Tank airs Sundays at 9/8c on ABC.