Case Study: Solely (Fruit Jerky)

Solely built its brand around one very simple idea: real fruit, very few ingredients, and nothing extra. Its fruit jerky line is made from whole organic fruit, with many products using just 1 ingredient, and the company puts that simplicity right on the front of the pack. The brand, launched in 2017, has grown into 50,000+ points of sale, added 18,000 new points of sale in 2023, and said it has maintained 70%+ 3-year CAGR growth. Solely also says it saves about 1.6 million pounds of fruit from waste each year.

Why the company was unique and what made it stand out

• Solely’s core difference is visual and literal: many SKUs are one whole fruit with no extras. On its own product pages, Solely says its Organic Mango Fruit Jerky is made with only 1 ingredient: a whole, organic mango (and “never added sugar, preservatives or from concentrate”). For shoppers used to “fruit snacks” with long ingredient lists, that clarity is the product.

• The second differentiator is that Solely turns food-waste reduction into a measurable story. In its 2024 PR release recapping 2023 results, the company states it saves about 1.6 million pounds of fruit from waste annually. This gives the brand a “why” beyond healthier snacking (and something retailers can also talk about).

Their detailed marketing strategy

Solely’s marketing is built around packaging as the main ad unit, then amplified by distribution.

1. The company improved “one-second clarity” on the shelf. A documented redesign effort (with agencies Fortnight Collective and Bex Brands) focused the brand down to a simple idea (“the fruit…nothing but the fruit”), made “fruit jerky” more prominent, and emphasized an ingredient-count style badge while stripping back competing messages on the front. The result: sales grew more than 61% in the six months after the redesign launched, while the overall fruit-snack category was nearly flat (0.4% growth), and testing found nearly two‑thirds of consumers preferred the new design.

2. Solely treated distribution growth as awareness growth. In early 2024, the company reported adding 18,000 new points of sale in 2023, reaching 50,000+ points of sale, and sustaining 70%+ 3‑year CAGR growth. Earlier, a 2021 release noted that since launch in 2017, distribution saw triple‑digit year‑on‑year growth and expanded across multiple channels while also launching an e‑commerce platform. Retailers cited in the 2024 release include Whole Foods Market, Target, and 7-Eleven—important because snack buying is repetitive, and being “easy to find” compounds.

How other business owners can implement these tactics

Start with the “one-second promise.” Solely’s lesson is not “have one ingredient.” It’s: make your #1 reason-to-buy visible instantly. Audit your front label (or homepage hero) and force one primary message—everything else goes to the back, a secondary panel, or an FAQ.

Turn packaging into a repeatable system. Solely used consistent structure (fruit imagery + clear naming + ingredient simplicity) so every new flavor looks like the same brand. That makes expansion cheaper because shoppers learn the code once.

Use a measurable “why” only if it’s provable. Solely’s waste claim works because it’s a concrete number (1.6M pounds saved/year). If you have an impact story, quantify it and repeat it, otherwise skip it.

Takeaways

Solely’s growth engine is simple: a product that’s easy to trust, packaging that says the truth fast, and distribution that makes the brand unavoidable. The key numbers that prove the model: launch in 2017, 50,000+ points of sale after adding 18,000 in 2023, 70%+ 3‑year CAGR, and ~1.6M pounds of fruit saved from waste annually—plus a redesign tied to >61% sales growth in six months.

Solely succeeded because it focused on clarity, simplicity, and trust.

The brand did not rely on flashy advertising. Instead, it made the product message obvious and let the packaging communicate the value.