Founded 2010 | ||
Founders Michael Bronner, Nicky Bronner, Kristopher Bronner Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, United States | ||
Unreal Brands is a company which produces candy products without artificial flavors, color and other non-food additives.
History
In 2008, two teenage brothers, Nicky and Kristopher Bronner, and their father, Boston entrepreneur Michael Bronner, started working to create all-natural candy products as an alternative to artificially-flavored candy products available in local stores at the time. The three tested a large number of recipes for candy, and initiated the company in 2010.
By 2013, Unreal Brands was manufacturing and selling candy and other treats which contained only non-GMO ingredients, with no partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives, artificial colorings, gluten, corn, or soy, and reduced sugar compared to similar candies of major brands. They produced several types of chocolate peanut butter cups and candy coated chocolate gems.
In spite of the involvement of celebrity endorsements, marketer Assaf Swissa and investment from Bill Gates, sales were poor and the company failed to make a profit.
After a relaunch, in October 2014, UNREAL began producing candy with different flavors, including quinoa and coconut. UNREAL products were sold online and in various natural stores across the United States, including the natural aisles of Kroger stores, Super Targets, and regional Whole Foods Markets. In 2015, Unreal ran a successful sales campaign in which autographs by quarterback Tom Brady were hidden in buckets of Halloween candy.