Name: Charisse Keith
Title: Director of Operations
Company: Perfect Snacks
Products certified: Perfect Bar (peanut butter varieties), Perfect Kids and Perfect Bites

Why did you choose organic certification with QAI?
Deciding to work with QAI was an easy choice for us, but their robust network and experience handling our NSF certification were definitely of high importance to us in the decision-making process. The team has been wonderful to work with and, particularly with all the innovation we continue to have, it’s been seamless to certify new products and get them from concept to consumer as efficiently and timely as possible. As a small family company for the first 10 years of our business, relationships have been what has gotten us to where we are today and we truly value the relationship we have with the QAI team.

Tell us about Perfect Snacks’ exciting upcoming business developments or products.
As of March 2019, our brand has expanded to Perfect Snacks, encompassing our three product lines: Perfect Bar, Perfect Kids and Perfect Bites. Perfect Bites, our newest launch, is a fresh-from-the-fridge, bite-sized snack made with organic peanut butter, honey, whole food protein and superfoods. With four servings per cup, Perfect Bites is a shareable and portable treat for any time of day. With more than half of our products certified organic, we place our clean-food credentials at the top of our priority list when innovating. In addition to being certified organic, Perfect Snacks products are Non-GMO Project verified, low GI, gluten free and kosher. You can expect to see new flavors and product lines from our brand over the next few years that are, of course, made with clean ingredients and found in the fridge.

What do you think is the next big thing in organic?
With the Original Refrigerated Protein Bar, our family manufactured one of the first CPG products in the fresh, grab-and-go set. And while our products have always been made with clean ingredients and organic when possible, we hope that the fresh set will continue following the road we have paved for clean-label products, and that the majority of products in the fresh set will be organic, as Fresh Snacking continues to grow. People equate “fresh” with “clean,” but as consumers become more knowledgeable and informed about what’s in their food, clean labels are becoming more important than ever before for CPG brands.

What keeps you up at night?
I’ve been handling operations at Perfect Snacks since I was 17 years old, when my siblings and I founded the company. Since day one, food safety and quality assurance has been my number one focus and priority, which can certainly keep one up at night. As our company has grown over the past 14 years, our products are available in more than 20,000 retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks and many more. With products in more consumer hands than ever before, it’s my #1 priority to ensure our systems and processes are as strong and solid today as they were when we were in just a handful of fridges. Having more resources and an incredible team by my side, I’m proud to say I don’t have too many sleepless nights.