Unique Snacks earns statewide small business award for innovation, community partnership
Unique Snacks didn’t just earn this year’s Eastern Pennsylvania Family-Owned Small Business of the Year award, according to those who spoke at the award presentation May 10.
A legacy of excellence and a recent history of innovation, expansion and community partnership have also earned the 102-year-old company the right to truly call itself “unique.”
“It’s so exciting to have a family-owned business that has done such good in our community,” said state Sen. Judy Schwank. “You stand above, you are unique, for sure.”
The small-business award was presented to Justin and William Spannuth, vice president and chief operating officer, and vice president and chief financial officer, respectively, of Unique Snacks, at the company’s facility in Muhlenberg Township.
The sixth-generation Spannuths said they were honored to receive the award, given annually by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s eastern Pennsylvania district office. Award winners are chosen from nominees across 40 eastern Pennsylvania counties.
“We’ve been operating (Unique Snacks) together since 2008,” Justin Spannuth said. “It’s taken a lot of effort in understanding who we are, and getting to the size we need to be … We’re planning on continuing to grow.”
William Spannuth noted the company has grown from only 20 employees in 2008 to 85 currently.
He thanked Unique’s employees for their contributions to the company’s products and culture.
“We look at this award as a team award,” William Spannuth said.
The company was nominated for the award by Martin Brill, program manager of international trade with the Kutztown University Small Business Development Center.
Unique officials said the company has worked with the business development center for over six years, receiving services like website and social media analysis, and export sales and marketing research.
Brill said he was thrilled
to help present the award to Unique.
He said he’s been a fan of their pretzels since before he started working with Unique.
“By chance I stopped at Giant for a bag of pretzels … I bought your pretzels, and they became my pretzels because I bought them every day,” Brill said of his first encounter with Unique’s products.
Beyond the quality of the product itself, Brill praised Unique for using biodegradable materials in their packaging, as well as their efforts providing products to community organizations.
Each year, Unique fulfills requests for its products from over 300 community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Olivet Boys & Girls Clubs, Hope Rescue Mission, Women in Crisis, Cub and Boys Scouts, American Legion Posts, veterans’ organizations, schools and school clubs, fire companies, sports teams, and churches, according to the company.
“You can say Unique runs a great business, but you’re really good people,” Brill said of Unique.
Brill also praised the company’s ability to innovate, even during the economic hardships brought on by the pandemic.
Justin and William Spannuth were instrumental in introducing new products with Unique’s trademark flair for distinct flavors and textures, including Pretzel Shells, a Sprouted Grain line, and Sourdough Craft Beer Pretzel Rings.
Unique’s most recent innovations include the release of Puffzels — a pretzelshaped puff snack — earlier this year, as well as a partnership in 2022 with Chatty Monks Brewing Co. to create Split Face, a beer with hints of pretzel flavor.
Also attending the award presentation Wednesday was Russel Redding, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
“Every state has a brand, Pennsylvania’s brand is about food, it’s about people coming together … Your product, your family and this brand is also Pennsylvania’s brand, so thank you,” Redding told the Spannuths.
Following the award ceremony, attendees toured Unique’s plant for a firsthand look at the production process.
The scent of fresh baked dough carried through the facility as the Spannuths walked the group through a production line capable of processing 500 pounds of dough every 20 minutes.
Group members watched the dough take shape and travel through the glazing, baking and packaging process.
At the end of the tour, group members sampled Unique’s Extra Dark Pretzel Splits.
“These pretzels fresh off the assembly line are to die for,” Brill said.
Redding said he thought the facility was a solid example of innovation.
“You judge the company by the marketplace, then you come inside, and you realize it’s full of technology and innovation,” Redding said. “Unique has a lot of traditional distribution, but they also have a lot of e-commerce … they’re just going to keep growing.”
Unique sells to major grocery chains and specialty and gourmet stores throughout the U.S., and exports indirectly via independent international distributors to customers in the Caribbean, Israel and Japan.