Why these S’poreans who aren’t on a keto or vegan diet founded a biz centred around it

Coming across Jammy’s, a Singaporean brand that offers vegan and keto snacks and treats, I assumed that the founders behind it would be subscribers of vegan and keto diets.

Colour me surprised when I learnt that that although the founders are carb and sugar-conscious, they don’t actually follow the keto or vegan diet to a tee.

“And we are not trying to promote any diet,” Jacelyn, one of Jammys’ two co-founders, told Vulcan Post about their business.

Jacelyn is joined by her older sister J, who actually kickstarted Jammy’s journey. J started becoming carb-conscious and sugar-conscious after she realised how addicted to sugar she was.

“She was having four sachets of sugar in her coffee every day, on top of bubble tea with 120% sugar, and lots of carb-heavy and sugar-heavy foods,” her sister said.

From there, J looked for ways to eat less carbs and sugar, and even tried a vegan diet after watching documentaries on the topic. She even tried to go on a keto diet once, but didn’t last a month as it was too restrictive and unsustainable.  

More health-conscious than ever, J began making her own keto brownies that were well loved by her roommates. Encouraged by them, she decided to sell them at Shake Farm, a healthy food restaurant.

Not long after, the pandemic hit, and food deliveries became more commonplace than ever, which turned out to be a good thing for J’s brownies. From there, the Jammy’s brand truly took root.

“The main motivation was to prove that healthy foods can actually taste good, if not better than the typical unhealthier versions,” they shared.

On top of that, Jammy’s also sought to address a gap in the market, which was creating keto-friendly treats that are also vegan, which is rare as keto food typically contains animal products.

Summarising Jammy’s mission, Jacelyn said it’s “to just be an honest and reliable company that makes healthy treats that everyone can enjoy freely.”

Going all-in

Starting out, Jammy’s was actually a part of The Digital Kitchen, a cloud kitchen concept that thrived during the pandemic.

J had been a part of The Digital Kitchen’s team, but it eventually ceased operations.

But even when that happened, the sisters were committed to making Jammy’s a success.

Of course, it wasn’t the easiest of transitions. With The Digital Kitchen closed, the sisters lost a huge avenue to sell their bakes to, and also lost a place they could bake in.

However, this challenge forced them to rethink about where they want Jammy’s to be, which led to where they are today.

As for how Jacelyn joined the team, she revealed that it started as free labour.

Harbouring a personal interest in baking, J had roped her in to help out every now and then. As the business continued to grow, they began toying with the idea to grow it together officially.

“At that time, I was working as an engineer in the oil industry which was quite affected by COVID, so it kind of was a good time for me to take the leap of faith and give it a go,” Jacelyn added.

With that, the two sisters embarked on their journey, continuing to run Jammy’s as a full-fledged business on their own.

A cohesive range of products

When Jammy’s got its start, the only product they had was the keto brownie.

Yet, today, as you browse through their website, you’ll notice that they have quite a variety of snacks and treats—but no brownie in sight.

How they expanded beyond brownies was a very linear process. It started when they wanted to introduce complementary products that could go with their brownies, and gelato came to mind.

From there, they introduced granola, inspired by granola toppings that go on acai bowls. But of course, Jammy’s version is sugar-free as well as oat-free, as they are high in carbs.

“We were almost going to open a little place of our own last year, but renovation plans were rejected and we decided to drop the location,” they said. “That really prompted us to think about the direction of the business, how we wanted to grow it, and how it can align with our own definitions of success.”

“When we asked ourselves what we truly want for the business to be, the difference we are making with it, and visualised all that, we realised we needed to focus and streamline the business,” they explained.  

So, the sisters made the decision to stop selling the brownies and baked goods which were not all vegan, just keto. Rather, they focused on only products that were both vegan and keto—gelato and granola.

These also have a longer shelf-life, which meant they could look into getting them on the shelves of grocery stores and supply to restaurants too.

Going forward, Jammy’s wants to be more than just gelatos or granolas.

“Ultimately, we want to expand our range of products that will cater to as many aspects of our customer’s lifestyle—granolas for breakfast or snacking, gelato for desserts, gummy bears as snack or for their kids, and more to come,” they said.

Currently, Jammy’s products are mainly available online on their website as well as on Redmart. The sisters are working to having the products more available and accessible through suitable retail partners, both local and overseas.

Serving a wider audience

In the past however many years, various health food fads have come and gone in Singapore. But overall, this means that the demographic of health-conscious individuals has grown.

And with a wider audience comes more businesses wanting to break into the scene.

The sisters believe that Jammy’s is able to maintain a competitive edge thanks to the inclusive nature of their products. Not only are they sugar-free, but also dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, and low carb.

“Not forgetting our biggest selling point: all our products taste absolutely delicious, so it’s not just for the health-conscious, but for anyone who appreciates quality good food,” Jacelyn added.

To continue being relevant and competitive, J and Jacelyn will continue creating scalable products while also hosting real-life experiences like pop-ups and events to engage with consumers.

Honing their USP, they also intend to make their treats even more inclusive, such as having nut-free options.

“We plan to further grow our range of products and we have new specials to be launched,” Jacelyn revealed, but stated that they aren’t able to divulge more yet.

Starting Jammy’s on their own, J and Jacelyn had bootstrapped the business, and have reinvested most of the profits back into the business.

“But if we had investments, we would be able to fund the growth faster, which is what we are looking for at the moment,” they said.

Featured Image Credit: Jammy’s