By Kate Bartlett
FoodNerd is a Buffalo Based Company that is known for creating ultra-nutritious, plant-based snacks. The company won the 43North $1 million-dollar grand prize and the $25,000 People’s Choice award in 2024 for its Nutrient Lock Cold Processing technology. The company’s mission is to make healthy, nutrient-dense food accessible and convenient for families.
Owner and founder Sharon Cryan has been inspired to encourage healthy lifestyle and food products for a variety of reasons; however her deepest inspiration was her mother. “My mother was a single disabled mother of six,” explains Sharon. “She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis shortly after I was born, and I watched her health deteriorate over the year. She was my hero. I decided at a very young age to do everything I could to take care of myself. I saw the power of food and the impact it has on our daily lives. I became very cautious of how I treated my body and what I put into my body.”
Sharon became an attorney in order to learn about public policy and how the Food and Drug Association worked. During her studies, she began to understand how the food industry worked. “I took a deep dive into the food manufacturing business and learned how ultra-processed our food has become. I saw how our methods of processing is outdated and I decided to find a new way of processing food that retained sensitive nutrient components yet remained shelf stable.”
Not only did Sharon want to make healthy foods more accessible, but she sought to develop a product line for children. “I made it my ‘mom mission’ to make a change in this industry,” explains Sharon. ‘I had seventeen nieces and nephews and I was studying the science behind nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life. I wanted to develop something that would help children meet these nutritional needs.”
Not only are children learning healthy eating habits during their first 1,000 days, but vital milestones are being met and the brain and immune system are rapidly developing. According to Holly Batt, FoodNerd’s Advisor on Public Health and Nutrition, “at the same time that the brain is developing, the immune system is maturing along with the gut microbiome. The relationship between the gut microbiome and immunity is complex but at its most basic, the gut microbiome begins developing at birth and helps “train” a child’s immune response. This influences everything in the human body, from infection risk to allergy and metabolic health later in life. Nutrition during this period not only plays a central role in shaping feeding habits but provides the building blocks for the gut microbiome.”
In January 2019, after many years of research and development, Sharon launched FoodNerd. The company has been based in Buffalo since it’s inception, as this is Sharon’s hometown. In 2024, FoodNerd won the 43North $1 million-dollar grand prize as well as the $25,000 People’s Choice award, affording them the opportunity to expand their company and build a manufacturing plant here in Buffalo. “This contest was huge for us,” explains Sharon. “The funds allowed us to unlock our potential and provided the resources to grow our company and get the right team members onboard.”
The manufacturing plant is up and running in Buffalo (Clarence), utilizing their Nutrient Lock Cold Processing technology to produce nutrient dense products that are whole foods with no additives. “We take fresh sprouts, fruits and vegetables grown in house to their nutritional peak and make 100% fruit and vegetable-based products with no added flours, no preservatives and no added sugars. The product is nutrient dense and contains 85-100% of the nutrients from its original form. When your child eats our product, they’re eating whole foods, just fruits and vegetables.”
FoodNerd currently has one line of product, the Mega Puff, on the market which comes in 4 different flavors (a fifth to be released in January). This product is aimed at 1-3-year-olds and is a high marco and micro nutrient dense food that offers an entire day’s requirement for fruits and vegetables in one container. “We are so proud of this product,” explains Sharon. “It’s been very well received.”
The company is currently focusing on this specific product, and marketing outside of the Western New York Region. “We hope to bring this product to the hands of families across the country, making good nutrition more accessible to children.” FoodNerd has explored other product lines, with hopes of expanding to other areas in 2027.