#263 - When Cookies Aren't Just Cookies - with Fields Good and Cognizin

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Ashley Fields and Kim Anderson, co-founders of Fields Good, and Katie Emerson of Kyowa Hakko USA (the makers of Cognizin) to unpack how a new functional cookie brand is trying to prove that healthy and heavenly don't have to be a trade-off.

Ashley Fields grew up as a self-described "nepo baker," the daughter of the founders behind the classic Fields cookie brand. She met co-founder Kim Anderson as roommates at Stanford, and together they spent 18 months developing Fields Good's line of functional cookies, including a protein peanut butter cookie, an oatmeal raisin sleep cookie, and a mocha dark chocolate focus cookie featuring Cognizin Citicoline. Katie Emerson, senior manager of scientific and regulatory affairs at Kyowa Hakko USA and a registered dietitian, brings the ingredient supplier's perspective on why branded functional ingredients are becoming mainstream.

Daniel, Ashley, Kim, and Katie dig into why functional foods and brain health ingredients are having a moment, how Fields Good flipped the usual "function first" formulation model to prioritize taste, and what actually goes into a brand's decision to feature a branded ingredient like Cognizin front and center on packaging.

Listen in as they discuss:

• Why functional foods and brain health ingredients are becoming mainstream, and what's driving the shift
• How Cognizin Citicoline compares to more familiar functional ingredients like protein and creatine
• Why Fields Good flipped the typical formulation model to prioritize taste first, function second
• The 18-month, thousands-of-pounds-of-dough journey to get the cookies right
• How Fields Good matched each cookie's flavor profile to its functional goal, from mocha for focus to oatmeal raisin for sleep
• What "permissible indulgence" means as an emerging subcategory in snacking
• How Fields Good approaches packaging and branding to feel trustworthy without feeling overly clinical
• What the shopper journey looks like across DTC and the brand's upcoming retail expansion
• The brand trust factors that go into choosing a branded ingredient like Cognizin over a generic alternative
• What's next for Fields Good and where brain health-focused products may be headed

Interested in learning more about the science behind Cognizin? Head to www.cognizin.com to learn more.

Episode Links:

• Kim Anderson LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kimmieanderson
• Ashley Fields LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/msfields
• Fields Good LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fieldsgood
• Fields Good Website: www.fieldsgood.co
• Fields Good Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieldsgoodco/
• Katie Emerson LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/katie-m-emerson
• Kyowa Hakko USA LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/kyowa-hakko-usa
• Cognizin Website: www.Cognizin.com
• Cognizing Instagram: @cognizinciticoline  

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• Episode music by Super Fantastics