BC Business
Ever heard of collagen-infused chocolate bars?
As a busy real estate lawyer in Vancouver, Vyvyan Rose claims to get hangry a lot. “I literally always skip breakfast, sometimes even lunch if it’s a busy day,” she says. “I’ve been grabbing snacks here and there but it’s difficult to find healthy snacks that are also tasty.”
She observed a lack of quick, nourishing bites on B.C. shelves that would actually satisfy her cravings on a regular basis. Plus, growing up in Vancouver as an Asian woman, Rose remembers being made to feel guilty for even having a sweet tooth: “There’s some type of weight shaming, so I’m hoping to have a snack that has all the nutrients because then I can feel less guilty consuming it.”
Owner of Sincerity Law Group, Rose launched Hangry Unicorn last year to answer her body’s call for consistent daily nutrition. Like many of us, she often buys vitamins and supplements and then forgets to take them. (“Days go on, and then that bottle is sitting there for months on end,” she adds.)
So, at her own snack startup, Rose and her business partner Esther Chow use natural, organic ingredients like collagen, biotin and Omega-3 to create bars and cookies that can be both satiating and a boost for healthy skin, bones and teeth. Each bar is infused with 1g of collagen and each bag of cookies with 5g of collagen (according to Healthline, the daily recommendation is around 2.5-15g for adults). Best-sellers include the milk chocolate whole nuts bar and coffee cookies.
To scale production, Rose’s next step to is bring big grocery chains into the mix and start packaging snacks through machines. “We are already making our goods in a commercial facility, but everything is still by hand,” she says.
Hangry products can be purchased online or at Vancouver locations like Dalina, Whitewood Coffee, Nuttea (vegan items only) and Flow Thai Massage & Spa.