Undercover Snacks, the innovative chocolate snack manufacturer, is using Oracle NetSuite to support its rapid expansion throughout the U.S. and globally.
With the help of NetSuite, Undercover Snacks has been able to integrate its critical business operations so that it can seamlessly connect customer, supplier, production and warehouse data. Since implementing NetSuite, Undercover Snacks has gained complete visibility and control over inventory, business operations, and financial planning.
Inspired to create an incredibly delicious chocolate snack that was gluten-free and allergy friendly for two of her three daughters diagnosed with Celiac disease, Diana Levy launched Undercover’s flagship line of Chocolate Quinoa Crisps in 2017.
Initially making small batches in a rented commercial kitchen and personally delivering to Whole Foods stores in the northeast, as sales and demand quickly grew Diana soon realized she needed to increase production significantly. After searching unsuccessfully for co-manufacturers, Diana – joined by her husband Michael – designed and opened a state-of-the-art SQF-certified manufacturing facility capable of producing more than 40,000 bags a day. This investment enabled Undercover Snacks to expand its sales rapidly, with distribution increasing from approximately 2,000 to over 10,000 stores globally in the last two years.
Undercover Snacks’ ability to innovate quickly has enabled the company to expand into alternative channels wherever snacks are consumed, including United Airlines which now offers Undercover Snacks on flights across the globe.
As the company expanded, it quickly became apparent that existing systems and manual processes were taking up valuable time without providing the level of functionality or visibility needed. To address these challenges and establish an integrated platform to help scale in the future, Undercover Snacks replaced QuickBooks with NetSuite.
“With a uniquely delicious taste and texture, combined with a healthier nutrition profile, Undercover Snacks is experiencing strong and accelerating demand from consumers seeking better-for-you snacks that taste even better than conventional choices,” said Diana Levy, CEO and co-owner of Undercover Snacks.
“But as demand has soared, so did the complexity of our business,” added Michael Levy, chairman and co-owner of Undercover Snacks. “We knew we were being held back by the systems we were using and we wanted a solution that could support our sales growth and operational expansion plans. With NetSuite, we’ve automated critical business functions and gained greater insight into every aspect of our business. This is allowing us to fine-tune our operations, improve efficiencies, and ensure we maintain the highest level of food safety and quality as we continue to build our business. NetSuite is a force-multiplier allowing us to punch above our weight, and is an essential part of our ambitious growth plan.”
With NetSuite, Undercover Snacks can manage its entire business—from manufacturing to sales, accounting and its invoicing process—on one unified platform. NetSuite has enabled Undercover Snacks to optimize order fulfillment and invoice processing by centralizing all order and sales data from major distributors, direct retailers, Amazon and its own ecommerce site. NetSuite has also helped Undercover Snacks improve demand planning by enabling automating the inventory management process, sorting products by inventory level and expiration dates, and creating automated alerts and notifications. Additionally, NetSuite facilitates the company’s programs to monitor and maintain the highest operational standards related to on-time deliveries, food quality and safety, and other important KPIs, while providing visibility into its customers, suppliers, and carriers through electronic data interchange (EDI) integrations. To build on its success with NetSuite, it also recently implemented the NetSuite Warehouse Management System to further streamline its business as it continues to expand its operations to support expansion.
“Undercover Snacks has achieved impressive growth in just a few short years,” said David Rodman, SVP of Customer Success, Oracle NetSuite. “By centralizing manufacturing processes and integrating operations on NetSuite, Undercover Snacks is reaping the rewards of its business insights and is well positioned for future growth. We look forward to seeing its continued success.”
