On World Bee Day, KIND Announces Progress Towards Its Bee-Friendly Almond Sourcing Commitment

In partnership with TikTok influencers, Mr.Mrs.BeeRescue, KIND is hosting a first-of-its-kind Bee Day Bash to celebrate the important role of pollinators in our food system

NEW YORK, May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, KIND Healthy Snacks (KIND) announced progress on its commitment to exclusively source its almonds from bee-friendly farmland globally by 2025.* To commemorate this milestone, KIND is hosting the first-ever virtual Bee Day Bash in collaboration with TikTok, in honor of World Bee Day (May 20).

Almonds are currently the company's number one ingredient by both volume and spend. California currently produces the vast majority of the world's almonds, with 1.64 million acres dedicated to almond orchards in 2021. Each year, nearly 48 billion pollinators are required to pollinate the California almond crop. But both native and managed pollinators have experienced historic declines in recent years.

Since setting its bee-friendly commitment, KIND has encouraged the expanded usage of bee-friendly practices among its almond farmers and across the almond industry more broadly:

• In 2020, KIND made a significant shift to its sourcing vision, requiring its almond suppliers to reserve 3-5% of their farmland for dedicated pollinator habitat by 2025.
• Since 2020, KIND has worked with its U.S. almond suppliers to ensure they have eliminated the usage of neonicotinoids and chlorpyrifos, two pesticide treatments that are thought to be harmful to pollinators.
• By the end of 2022, KIND will have sourced 51% of its almond supply from bee-friendly farmland. This farmland is certified for its bee-friendly practices by either one of the two independent certification programs. KIND sources its bee-friendly almonds under the mass balance* method of sourcing.

When KIND made this commitment in 2020, it was estimated that there were only 20,000 acres of bee-friendly almond farmland in California. As of 2022, the estimate has grown materially, culminating in at least 145,000 new acres of verified bee-friendly farmland.

"Pollinators, like bees and butterflies, are central to the plant-based ingredients that many of KIND's products depend on. We are excited about the leadership we've seen from the almond grower community over the past few years to expedite the transition to bee-friendly practices," said Russell Stokes, CEO of KIND. "We are eager to continue to build on this momentum as we approach our 2025 target and hopeful, we can complete this transition ahead of schedule. We have also begun to explore the ways we can go beyond bee-friendly to incorporate even more regenerative practices."

KIND will also be deepening its relationship with the University of California Davis, a leading academic institution for bee and pollinator health expertise. The company has donated $350,000 to the Williams Lab to-date to support its pioneering bee health research as well as the monitoring of farm-level pollinator improvements and other environmental outcomes.

"By partnering with suppliers to add dedicated pollinator habitat and reduce pesticides, KIND has addressed two of the central components we know are most critical to bee health. Here in the Central Valley, we have also seen how this commitment has catalyzed the transition within the almond industry more broadly," said Neal Williams, an entomology professor at UC Davis and the head researcher at the Williams Lab. "We're excited to continue our partnership with KIND, which will enable us to develop an even stronger understanding of how these farm-level changes impact bee health and beyond."

While the long-term benefits are still being studied, initial research suggests that the kind of changes KIND is requiring of its almond farmers has the potential to provide substantial, long-term environmental benefits. In addition to supporting regional biodiversity in the Central Valley of California, signs also point to improvements for soil health and water retention.

As part of celebrating this progress, the company will also aim to build public awareness and appreciation for the incredible role that pollinators play within our food system. In addition to a short video that tells the story of KIND's journey, KIND will be co-hosting a virtual TikTok party on World Bee Day with TikTok influencers, @Mr.Mrs.BeeRescue. TikTok has a thriving and vibrant community that cares about supporting bees. This includes hashtags around #BeeTok and #SaveTheBees that currently have over 2 billion views on bee-related content.

During the event, viewers will be encouraged to donate to Re:wild – an organization that aims to protect and restore the wild – by using TikTok's "Donate Now" button. KIND will be offering 1:1 donation matching for every dollar donated to Re:wild between May 18 and June 3, 2022, up to $20,000.  

One million bees are expected to join this first-of-its-kind TikTok celebration to jam out with bee-specific tunes as well as curated bee-inspired foods and beverages! To join the party, visit @KINDSnacks on TikTok at 8pm ET on Friday, May 20.

To learn more about how KIND's almond sourcing journey, please visit kindsnacks.com/bees.

*KIND sources its bee-friendly almonds under the mass balance method of sourcing. Under this method, the bee-friendly almonds are mixed during processing, shipping and manufacturing with all other almonds purchased by our suppliers. While bee-friendly almonds may not necessarily end up in any particular KIND® product, bee-friendly almonds are purchased at agreed upon volume equivalents to what we use in our products and measured in our almond suppliers' records. This helps shift the almond industry to more bee-friendly practices at scale through our purchases. 

About KIND
Since 2004, KIND has been on a mission to create a kinder and healthier world – one snack and one act at a time. Its iconic KIND® bars – made with real, recognizable ingredients – sparked the growth of an entirely new healthy snacking category. Our family of over 100 snacks all lead with a nutrient-dense first ingredient, such as nuts, whole grains or fruit, and are not made with genetically engineered ingredients, sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners.

Inspired by the belief that acts of kindness can be a transformative force for good, the KIND brand seeks to inspire kindness and empathy. KIND was founded by Daniel Lubetzky. To learn more about KIND, please visit www.kindsnacks.com and join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

SOURCE KIND Healthy Snacks