Real Treat Cookies Cater to Adult Tastes and Niche Market Sales

This specialty cookie brand is using Instagramable package design and organic ingredients to position itself as a premier ‘Top Shelf’ treat while finding unique channels to grow market share beyond retail.

Top Shelf, the original line of Real Treat cookies, caters to adult flavor palates. The paperboard hexagon design was inspired by honeycombs.
Top Shelf, the original line of Real Treat cookies, caters to adult flavor palates. The paperboard hexagon design was inspired by honeycombs.
Real Treat

Real Treat, a small Canadian brand of organic cookies that caters to adults with its unique flavor profiles, has weathered the pandemic, won both NEXTY and sofi awards in 2021, and is poised for even more growth in 2022.

Jacqueline Day, Founder and CEO of Real Treat Kitchen Ltd., founded the company in 2014 out of her lifelong love of cookies and a belief that there was a need for an organic cookie made from ‘real’ ingredients. After having her daughter, Day said her “values around sustainability were solidified that much more,” and she was “looking for cookies that were genuinely indulgent and delicious, and aligned with my values around sustainability and organics.” But she couldn’t find anything that wasn’t in the functional food space, or junk food.Top Shelf, the original line of Real Treat cookies, caters to adult flavor palates. The paperboard hexagon design was inspired by honeycombs.Top Shelf, the original line of Real Treat cookies, caters to adult flavor palates. The paperboard hexagon design was inspired by honeycombs.Real Treat

Day initially brought her cookies to the farmer's market and used this period to test the product as well as different packaging styles. As she said, “It wasn't just about the product. I knew that packaging was going to be as important to our success as the cookies themselves would be. So that kind of differentiated me because at a lot of the markets, vendors don't put a lot of thought into that aspect.”

The loss of her job prompted Day to incorporate the company and seek help to expand the business. A natural grocer in Calgary consulted with her about label requirements for retail, and after she finalized the branding and package design, she launched the Top Shelf line. “Top Shelf is for foodies,” said Day. “These are cookies that are for grownup palates. They're great for gifting or entertaining with. We call them Top Shelf because that's where they live. These are that special treat you save for yourself to enjoy at the end of a long day. These are not the cookies you're putting in your kid's lunch box.” Flavors include Lemon Sablés with Herbes de Provence, Salted Caramel Shorties with Fennel, Dark Chocolate Chunk with Smoked Pecans, and Double Dark Chocolate with a Twist (house-candied lemon peel is the twist).


Watch video   Watch this five-minute video on branding through packaging.

“One thing about our cookies is we never use palm oil, organic or otherwise. Everything we bake is made with butter. We're one of only two brands of organic cookie in North America that use butter. That, and that we're very ingredient driven, are what sets us apart. We don’t lean as heavily on sugar. Instead, our yum factor comes from flavorful ingredients like fresh lemons, spices, great chocolate, and smoked nuts. When I was designing the packages, I wanted them to feel premium because they are, and wanted them to also convey the creativity of the flavors while paying homage to the beautiful ingredients we lead with.”Real Treat Caramel Fennel ShortiesReal Treat Caramel Fennel ShortiesReal Treat

Day said the hexagon package shape was inspired by honeycombs, because part of Real Treat’s organic mission is about bees. “One of the reasons why I'm so passionate about organics is because it is one of the ways we can protect the bees in our ecosystem. Losing bee populations is harmful to us all, and we know that some of the chemicals that are used in conventional big ag are killing bees.”  The functionality of the honeycomb shape also protects the cookies in transit. Inside the paperboard hexagon (made from recycled content) is a cellophane bag with high barrier properties.

Growing the Product Line

A couple of years after launching Top Shelf, Day added Pantry, a new line of cookies that are more kid friendly. “There's still a need out there for those cookies that you do want to share with your kids, the cookies that people think of first when they think, "I want a cookie," said Day. “You're most likely thinking about a chocolate chip cookie, or an oatmeal raisin cookie, or in my case, my grandma's shortbread. Though these flavors are ubiquitous, there still wasn't a yummy organic option on the market. So, I launched Real Treat Pantry.” Pantry, the second line of more 'kid-friendly' flavors in matte finish coated aluminum bagsPantry, the second line of more "kid-friendly" flavors in matte finish coated aluminum bagsReal Treat

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