Clean-label snack brand Day Out Snacks is re-releasing its Peppermint Bark protein balls for the 2026 holiday season after the flavor sold out during its limited inaugural run in 2025. The woman-owned, New Jersey-based brand is making the product available exclusively through its own website and Amazon while supplies last, banking on proven consumer demand to drive another fast-moving seasonal cycle.
The Product
The Peppermint Bark variety is built on Day Out's core format: a 4.5-ounce resealable bag containing nine protein balls, portioned at three per serving. Each serving delivers 9 grams of plant-based protein sourced from an organic blend of pea, chickpea, sacha inchi, and chia seed, with a nut butter and date base. The product carries certifications for gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, and non-GMO status — positioning it squarely within the fast-growing better-for-you snack segment that continues to outpace conventional snack categories heading into the holiday quarter.
Founder Becky Dheri framed the return as a data-driven decision rather than a reflexive line extension. "Bringing back Peppermint Bark as this year's holiday drop allows us to capitalize on proven velocity, reward customer loyalty, and continue delivering the clean-label indulgence our customers love," she said. The sellout performance of the 2025 debut — driven by direct-to-consumer and Amazon channels — gave the brand measurable evidence of demand before committing to a second production run.
Why It Matters for Operators
For buyers and category managers in specialty food retail and functional snack, the Day Out strategy reflects a broader industry playbook: deploy limited seasonal SKUs to generate urgency, test consumer appetite, and avoid the inventory risk that comes with permanent shelf placement. When a limited drop sells out, the brand earns a credible "proven velocity" story to bring to wholesale and retail conversations in the following year.
The functional snack category has seen sustained pressure from consumers demanding ingredients transparency alongside seasonal indulgence — a tension that brands like Day Out are specifically designed to resolve. Its Peppermint Bark protein balls recast the familiar holiday confectionery format without high sugar loads, artificial additives, or seed oils, targeting a shopper who would otherwise opt out of traditional seasonal treats. This positions the SKU as an incremental purchase rather than a direct substitute, which is a useful retail argument during a crowded Q4 shelf-reset cycle.
The broader better-for-you snack movement continues to reshape how foodservice and retail operators think about holiday programming, with limited-edition functional formats increasingly appearing in café grab-and-go sets, hotel minibar offerings, and corporate catering assortments. For hospitality buyers sourcing holiday-themed snack options, clean-label protein bites represent a growing alternative to traditional confectionery gifts and amenity packages.
Day Out's direct-to-consumer and Amazon exclusive strategy for this drop also signals where the brand is prioritizing margin control and customer data capture before any broader retail expansion. The company is already available nationwide at Target in its core lineup, giving it a retail footprint to leverage if Peppermint Bark demand justifies a future mass channel rollout.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
