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Press Release: HOUSTON-BASED CHIPMONK BAKING PRODUCTS NOW AVAILABLE IN CENTRAL MARKET
HOUSTON-BASED CHIPMONK BAKING PRODUCTS NOW AVAILABLE IN CENTRAL MARKET
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OVER LAST 12 MONTHS HAS ALSO PROMPTED ADDITION OF
1,100 SQ. FT. TO ITS PRODUCTION FACILITY FOR PIONEERING HEALTH-FOOD START-UP
HOUSTON (June 3, 2021) – Houston-based ChipMonk Baking is now carried by every Central Market store in Texas. To meet skyrocketing demand, ChipMonk has also added 1,100 square feet to their existing 2,300 square-foot facility, a dedicated gluten-free space where they produce their low carb, gluten-free, Keto, and diabetic-friendly baked goods.
ChipMonk has experienced record-breaking month-over-month growth, propelled in large part by a steady increase in wholesale business. The brand has successfully expanded its online and brick-and-mortar availability through partnerships with retailers including weight loss company BariatricPal, health supplement source Netrition, the gift shops at Texas Children’s Hospital, Healthy Edge Retail Group, and more, including Houston-based meal prep company Balanced Foods. ChipMonk is also available via Amazon and Walmart.com.
Founded in 2019 by David Downing and Jose Hernandez, ChipMonk Baking started with a clear mission: to offer great-tasting, better-for-you alternatives to traditional desserts and snacks. ChipMonk products include ChipMonk Keto Cookies, soft-baked in six flavors: Chocolate ChipMonk, White Chocolate Macadamia, Peanut Butter, Lemon Poppyseed, Snickerdoodle, and Coconut; and ChipMonk Keto Cookie Bites, soft-baked in nine flavors: Birthday Cake, Chocolate Chip Pecan, Red Velvet, Cinnabun, Chocolate Espresso, Banana Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Macadamia, Toasted Coconut, and Peanut Butter.
The nine open Central Market locations throughout Texas will carry all nine flavors of ChipMonk’s Keto Cookie Bites.
Hernandez created ChipMonk’s original recipes after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. What began as a desire to ensure he had his own personal supply of healthy sweets quickly evolved into a bigger calling to address alarming diabetes trends across the country. In the U.S. alone, 30 million people currently live with diabetes, while 80 million people have prediabetes. Houston is recognized as one of the most diabetic cities in the world.
“When you add up those numbers, that is about one third of the entire country that needs to be mindful of their blood sugar,” says Hernandez. “We want to help change these trends. A huge part of the problem is access to healthy, affordable food. Most snacks you can pick up everywhere are loaded with sugar and processed carbohydrates, which spike blood sugar. We just think it should be a lot easier to enjoy eating healthy, and little changes can be life-saving.”
Proponents of new ways to use data to inform wholesale and other decisions, ChipMonk is also incorporating technology to help streamline processes and enable the company to implement an aggressive path to $15/hour minimum wage for all employees. After three months with ChipMonk, a team member’s pay increases to $15/hour, with the opportunity to increase to $20/hour or more.
As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Houston’s still-nascent health food scene, ChipMonk will also sublease sections of its expanded facility to two local food start-ups: moringa farmers and producers Base 3 Farms and premier gluten-free bakers Bare Bakery. ChipMonk believes that a thriving health-food community can be more sustainably established if individual, like-minded companies share resources and support one another. Globally renowned for a food scene that combines cultures and ideas to create groundbreaking dishes, Houston should also be a hub for healthy food innovations that transform the way people think about dietary choices.
“Here in Houston, ChipMonk is the healthy option––there is nothing else like our products being made in a city that’s known around the world for food,” says Downing. “When you consider Houston’s diversity and international culinary reputation, the lack of local health-food representation and production just doesn’t make sense. We love this city and are working to change that.”
ABOUT CHIPMONK BAKING
Founded in early 2019 by David Downing and Jose Hernandez, ChipMonk Baking produces healthy, low-glycemic cookies and other dessert products sweetened with monk fruit and allulose (two naturally occurring sweeteners that don’t impact blood sugar). Jose created these recipes after being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and subsequently controlling the disease through diet and exercise. Perfect for keto diets and people following gluten-free lifestyles, ChipMonk’s desserts are low-carb, delicious treats with all of the taste and none of the sugar. For more information, click here: www.chipmonkbaking.com.
PHOTOS Courtesy of ChipMonk Baking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/