Bamba to invade US marketplace

Israel’s national snack food could soon be sitting on the shelves of every US grocer.

Osem’s Bamba is on its way to widespread distribution in the US in a deal brokered by the international food giant Nestlé.

According to one report, the peanut butter and puffed corn snack food will be sold as part of Nestlé’s baby food product line. Another report said that Osem is acting vigorously to market Bamba in North America through Osem USA and is not in contact with Nestlé on this matter.

Either way, it looks like Bamba will be more available in the US.

Patrons of local cinemas have already seen an ad for the Israeli staple featuring the product’s animated mascot taking over New York.

Until now, Bamba has been sold in limited quantities through Costco and Trader Joe’s. It has also been picked up in small, sporadic quantities by kosher food chains.

The move comes at the perfect time. Until now, American parents were discouraged from exposing their little ones to peanuts, which medical professionals believe led to an increase in food allergies. Now, new national health guidelines call for parents to give their children foods containing peanuts early and often, starting when they’re infants, as a way to help avoid life-threatening peanut allergies.

Israeli kids are less likely to develop food peanut allergies, and one reason might be Bamba.

With American distribution, Osem’s long-term revenue is expected to increase by hundreds of millions of shekels.