Exclusive interview: Khloé Kardashian is coming for Canada’s snack aisle

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True fans of the cultural juggernaut that is the Kardashian-Jenner family know that one of the famous siblings has always had an affinity for a good snack. If you thought of anyone other than Khloé Kardashian after reading that, I’d urge you to rewatch one of the 20 seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, or now, the family’s hit Hulu show going into its eighth season, The Kardashians, to brush up on your essential pop culture history. 

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Sure, Khloé is known for being a lot of things: loving mom, fitness devotee, TV personality and most recently — executive producer of the new series The Girls — but real ones know about her more nuanced longtime interests, like stocking the ultimate snack-worthy pantry. As someone who’s watched Khloé, her sisters and the almighty Kris Jenner grace our screens for decades, the vision of her oversized, perfectly-stacked glass jars of Oreos and meticulously-labelled pantry staples lives in my brain rent-free.

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Frankly, the mom of two has a pantry that’s received more mainstream media coverage than some Hollywood A-listers could ever dream of having (just Google it). So it only made sense that when the businesswoman decided to invest in building a snack brand that actually fit her lifestyle — Khloud — she would go all in. 

“I just wanted something that I felt like I could trust. I enjoyed the way it tasted, but it also gave me that protein intake that I really wanted to hit every day,” Kardashian shares during our phone interview, explaining how she got the ball rolling on the protein-powered snack company over two years ago. 

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As someone with a jam-packed jet-setting schedule and a self-proclaimed grab-and-go type of girl, the Khloud co-founder notes that the nutrition aspect of her health journey was always trickier than getting herself to the gym. 

“Eating that much protein is just hard for me. It’s just not that enjoyable. I’m not someone that eats red meat or fish or something like that. So it’s harder for me to consume my protein.”

Kardashian says that beyond struggling to hit her daily protein intake, she also found the protein-focused snacks already on the market unappealing.

“For lack of a better term, bro-y,” she laughs. “Like it was like all gym dude oriented stuff, at least from what I was seeing or what I was gravitating towards.”

Kardashian — who seemingly has a Midas touch with her other brands like Good American clothing — understood the look and feel she wanted in the snack aisle, betting it would resonate with her millions of followers and the general public alike.

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Beyond her love for clouds and snapping photos of sunsets and sunrises as inspiration, Kardashian says she wanted Khloud’s branding to lean into a pastel, candy-coated whimsy.

“Everyone [on the design team] was trying to make it not so literal; everyone wanted it not to be clouds and to stay away from that, and I’m like, you guys are missing the point,” she says. “It felt so soft and nostalgic and dreamy and playful and for women, because I do think there was a gap in that market.”

And while the outside certainly gets the curious consumer buying at the beginning, it’s what’s inside that keeps them coming back, something Kardashian knew going into this business venture. 

“I’ve never done anything in the food industry before. To do food — it’s not fast fashion; it’s not something you could be like, you know, I want to do this. Let’s plop a label on it and let’s get out and be in the market. It doesn’t work that way with food.”

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Khloud’s gluten-free, non-GMO and free-from-seed-oils recipe was only the beginning of ensuring the snacks were up to snuff for consumers. Kardashian says getting into this space has opened her mind to all of the details that go into an edible good, down to the air-to-product ratio in each bag that protects the snacks in transit.

“There are little things like that that are so small. I have learned so much in this process. I’ve learned so much about myself in this process,” she says. “Even just how important it is to hire certain people and have certain teams in place because you do need people that are more immersed and educated in certain categories that you can’t possibly be.” 

While Khloud has been out on shelves across the U.S. for well over a year now, the picture-perfect bags are landing in Canadian stores September 9, marking the brand’s first-ever international expansion.

Kardashian has a fondness for Canada that goes beyond it just being a market to get into, as her two kids are getting their dual citizenship. “Well, number one, I love Canada,” she says. “Tristan, their father, is Canadian.”

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On the business side of things, Kardashian acknowledges that Canada is truly just the “natural next step” for Khloud. 

“I love how strong of a food and wellness community that’s out there. Most of the people when it’s a Khloud-related post [on social media] are asking from Canada, like, when is it coming here? I think it’s the beginning of where Khloud is going.” 

We have no doubt Khloud will soon find a spot in many Canadian pantries — Kardashian-level organization not required.

Where can I buy Khloud in Canada? 

Folks can now get their first taste of Khloud all across Canada thanks to partnerships with Costco, Walmart, Circle K, Loblaws and soon, Starbucks.

At launch, Canadians can choose between two flavours: White Cheddar and Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn. Costco offers members a 12oz White Cheddar bag ($13.99 CAD), while other retailers offer single-serve 1oz bags in both flavours nationwide, priced around $3.48 to $3.99 CAD.

Starbucks lovers will find Khloud in participating Canadian stores by the checkout at the end of the month. 

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hanmclean@postmedia.com

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