A South Jersey snack food company and co-manufacturing operation is undertaking big expansion plans and will debut a renovated storefront in June before dropping a slate of new brands and products in September. Those changes come as the company continues to undergo renovations at its Pennsauken manufacturing facility, with the first phase set for completion this summer.
Sparrow’s Gourmet Snacks will open a 1,200-square-foot retail shop at 10 Mechanic St. in Haddonfield next month, following a nearly $1 million overhaul of the space that included expanding into an outdoor area. The shop, previously used for production, includes an innovation kitchen and will bring the company’s store count to two. Sparrow’s other location opened in December at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.
The brand is known for its gluten-free, all-natural popcorns and fairy floss, more commonly known as cotton candy. In addition to its own products, the store sells other gluten- and peanut-free goods.
Sparrow’s launched in 2021 shortly after its co-founder Ryan Sparrow exited his previous business endeavor. He sold Illinois-based Urban Farmer, a company that creates vegetable-infused crusts, in 2020 to a private equity firm for an undisclosed sum.
Sparrow – who launched this endeavor alongside his wife Michelle – has a long history of success in the food industry. Prior to Urban Farmer, he created and ran a company called Handi-Pak Foods, which focused on fresh cut produce and the trays retailers sell them on. The company was acquired by Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. in 1999 for an undisclosed sum and for a time Sparrow worked for Del Monte on its fresh cut fruit program. He was subsequently tapped by other major brands like Dole and Chiquita.
Along the way, the Sparrows relocated to South Jersey and have called the region home for more than 17 years.
Michelle Sparrow – a nurse by training who worked in the University of Pennsylvania Health System for a decade, including serving as associate chief operating officer in radiation oncology before retiring in 2020 – worked alongside such food business endeavors over the years. The name for Urban Farmer was a nod to her family’s former cabbage farm in Chicago.
While popcorn is a departure from those other segments, it is something of a passion for the Sparrow family. Ryan Sparrow paid his way through Purdue University by running a popcorn stand throughout high school and while at the university. “That's kind of my Indiana roots there,” he said.
The business has become a true family venture – their daughter Abigail worked on many of the popcorn flavor profiles alongside her mother. Those include classic options like the best-selling Fresh Buttered Popcorn to more unique ones like Dill Pickle, Buffalo Blue Cheese, Truffle Parm and Philly Pop, a blend that’s sweet and spicy “just like Philly,” Michelle Sparrow said.
The popcorn comes in two sizes. Small sizes sell for $4 or $4.50, while large sizes are $13 or $14. An array of chocolate popcorns are also available in addition to fairy floss, which comes in more than a dozen flavors.
Sparrow’s is primarily a retail-focused business, with 70% of sales coming from its stores and 30% from e-commerce.
Like Ryan Sparrow’s connection to popcorn, the brand is a nod to nostalgia. It comes through in everything from the vintage 1906 wagon they use for events and parties to the aesthetic of the packaging, to the fairy floss. The sugary concoction went under that moniker when it was first introduced at the World’s Fair more than a century ago and they liked the name. Like the original, their version eschews additives or fillers.
“Our brand represents us,” said Michelle Sparrow. “We're kind of nostalgic, traditional, but we have this innovative flair and so our food actually sort of represents who we are.”
While Sparrow’s – which is self-funded – has quickly gained traction in Greater Philadelphia, the family is now looking to grow into a “house of brands,” Michelle Sparrow said. This September at the Expo East natural products show in Philadelphia, they plan to introduce three new brands which will carry different names. One will be Little Brown Bird Bakery and another Snackle, which will be targeted toward school-aged children. A third brand will be announced in time.
They expect those new brands will appeal to different consumers, with a grab-and-go concept geared toward professionals, while a consumer packaged goods segment will attract more parents and families looking to stock up on easy options for snacks or additions to breakfast and lunch.
Each will fall under the same parent company, Little Brown Bird, which also encompasses Sparrow’s Gourmet Snacks. Sparrow’s Gourmet Snacks will stock the new brands at its stores.
While they have not yet publicly shared details about those brands, the Sparrows said they will extend beyond the snack segment to include the likes of heat-and-eat and ready-to-eat items that are all-natural and gluten-free.
Little Brown Bird also has a co-manufacturing arm which today accounts for about 50% of their contract business. The family bought a 13,500-square-foot warehouse in Pennsauken last year and is undertaking two phases of renovations so that it can grow the segment. The first and more expansive phase is expected to be completed in July. The second will commence shortly thereafter.
Their combined investment in the factory is expected to be around $2 million.
“We're putting a lot of capital into it to get it up to the standards that we want to have for the different food safety audits that we need to pass to get into the club stores and grocery stores that we're looking at,” said Ryan Sparrow.
Their goal is to grow co-manufacturing to 70% of business in time.
They have differentiated their manufacturing by not doing toll manufacturing, nor do they have a minimum order quantity. They also offer advising services to early stage startups.
As with their own brands, the manufacturing facility is gluten-free and focuses on products made with natural ingredients, “which means no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, limited preservatives, and no artificial preservatives,” Michelle Sparrow said, noting that many of the companies they manufacture for are local.
Part of Little Brown Bird’s goal is also to provide jobs and opportunities to the community. To that end, the company launched a partnership with UrbanPromise in Camden. The nonprofit provides programming and experiential learning opportunities for students with the goal of helping them go on to higher education. About 87% of its students go on to college or vocational training, and the Sparrows wanted to help those who don’t pursue college. They currently employ three graduates and three high school students through UrbanPromise.
In total, they have between 10 and 12 employees, a figure they expect to as much as triple to 25 or 30 by the end of 2023. They anticipate doubling their staff again in 2024.
“For us, we recognize the factory is always going to be the engine. That's really where the most opportunity lies. We really want to focus on that,” Michelle Sparrow said.
But more Sparrow’s Gourmet Snacks stores may be in the works in the future. “I do think there's a lot of opportunity in that because people need it,” she said, referencing the significant number of Americans who avoid gluten whether by choice or necessity. “We really want [customers] to feel like Sparrow’s is a safe place, but most of all with delicious food.”
