Eye-catching design, flavors fuel OMG! Pretzels’ growth

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Eye-catching design, flavors fuel OMG! Pretzels’ growth

31 Oct 2025

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

KANSAS CITY, MO — After working with a co-manufacturer to perfect its seasoning application, Plymouth Meeting, PA-based OMG! Pretzels took off regionally, doubling its revenue year-over-year through 2021. The brand extended its footprint nationwide in 2020 through Faire, an online marketplace. It was a move that — alongside the release of Lemon Pepper, Salty Butterscotch and Sweet Chili flavors — sustained the business during the early COVID-19 years.

After interest emerged from large box retailers in 2022, OMG! Pretzels was prompted to revamp its packaging and reformulate. The investment exhausted a lot of capital and caused a slight dip in revenue, but it was important to set the stage for the business moving forward.

Presenting the pretzels appropriately was also important. Over the past decade, the brand has worked through various visual iterations, landing on its current design — a white foil packaging with blocks of color denoting each flavor and size-accurate images of the final product — at the end of 2023. Beyond distinguishing it on store shelves, the decision also helped prospective retail buyers more easily identify the flavors. The attention to detail with the shiny, colorful packaging is costly, but a worthwhile investment to achieve the ideal look/feel for the pretzel nuggets.

Opting to use a sourdough pretzel nugget as the carrier for the seasoning mixes amplified the product’s premium status while also aligning with consumer interest. The reformulation refined the offering as clean label, non-GMO, vegan, vegetarian and kosher, as well as free from artificial ingredients or dyes, MSG, nuts, soy and sesame.

“We’ve been ahead of the curve on all these things,” said Stephanie Kriebel, co-founder and CEO of OMG! Pretzels. “There’s such a push now for removing synthetic colors and artificial ingredients in snack foods, and we’ve already done it.”

A size for all snackers

As the emerging brand looks to expand distribution, the team faces the challenge of managing nine flavors in two different package sizes — the original 6.5-ounce resealable pouch and a 3-ounce grab-and-go bag introduced in 2024 — and a myriad of distribution avenues. OMG! Pretzels also has single-serve 1-ounce bags waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.

“We’re discussing pulling back on a few flavors, parking them in a shed and pulling them out for special occasions,” Kriebel said. “It’s a work in progress.”

Throughout the packaging changes and flavor additions the brand has had over the years, prioritizing the consumer experience has kept people coming back for more.

“Everything comes down to, ‘Does it taste good? Does it offer a great experience?’” she said. “You can do all the marketing you want, but if your product doesn’t provide an enjoyable eating experience, you’re not going to get anywhere.”

Funding the business meant bootstrapping, using credit cards and reinvesting each year’s revenue growth. OMG! Pretzels also worked closely with TD Bank to establish a line of credit. The company financed other projects with a Small Business Administration loan.

“We exceeded half a million in revenue for the very first time last year,” Kriebel said. “We’re very proud; it took a lot of work and grit to get there. We’re hoping to get to $1 million this year.”

Looking ahead

That goal is certainly achievable with the help of Michael Hoare, a decades-long member of the food and beverage industry who was recently hired as VP of sales, business development manager, advisor and consultant to support the future of the emerging brand.

With a bevy of flavor-packed pretzels, funding in the works, and a decade of slow and steady growth in its back pocket, OMG! Pretzels is well-positioned to enter its next era and bring investors along for the ride.

“We’re like plants,” Kriebel said. “We need to be watered with investments so that we can grow.”

This has been adapted from the August | Q3 2025 issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full digital edition here.

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