Berg Bites Finds the Recipe for Success: Local First, National Next

What began as a homemade family dessert has now evolved into a nationally distributed brand. Berg Bites, founded by Daniel Berg, is redefining functional snacking with its line of clean-label, on-the-go energy bites—now sold in major retailers like Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, Giant, and used by professional athletes alike. The brand’s rise is the result of deliberate product development, deep manufacturing know-how, and a strategic go-to-market playbook developed in partnership with Union Kitchen.

Daniel Berg, originally from New York, launched the company as a junior at George Washington University. Drawing on the healthy desserts he grew up eating, he spotted a gap in the market. “I realized there weren’t many products that were filling, nutritious, tasted good, and that I could eat on the go,” Daniel Berg said in an interview with Union Kitchen. “I wanted to create a product that solved this problem.”

The roots of Berg Bites go back to Daniel's childhood, when homemade energy bites made from oats, peanut butter, and honey were a family staple. In college, they gained a following among classmates, leading Berg to enter—and win—a university startup competition in 2017. That early success validated the product’s potential and gave him the momentum to pursue it full-time.

Later that year, Berg joined the Union Kitchen Accelerator, a Washington, D.C.–Food Accelerator and Investment Fund focused on building sustainable, scalable CPG brands. Working closely with Union Kitchen’s team, Berg developed a go-to-market strategy centered on learning from his initial customers, iterating quickly, and scaling deliberately from local to regional to national distribution. He tested early versions of Berg Bites—then sold frozen in hockey puck-style containers—but learned that while the packaging stood out, it limited merchandising flexibility and consumer convenience. “People liked the look, but it didn’t work if they bought more than one,” Berg recalled. With feedback gathered in real time through the Union Kitchen Stores, he transitioned to a shelf-stable, sleeve-style package that now enables merchandising at multiple points throughout stores.

Union Kitchen’s integrated manufacturing ecosystem played a central role in Berg’s evolution from small-batch production to full-scale manufacturing. Starting with tabletop equipment inside Union Kitchen’s shared facility, Berg gradually built up his production capacity. This hands-on control allowed him to streamline operations, refine processes, and protect his margins—all while maintaining the flexibility to innovate.

Beyond production, Berg leveraged Union Kitchen’s broader ecosystem to accelerate growth. He secured early distribution through District Distribution, Union Kitchen’s distribution partner, saturating the local D.C. market and generating early momentum. He also landed placement in Compass Coffee cafés, giving him access to new consumers and increasing brand visibility at a critical early stage.

Today, Berg Bites is stocked in major national retailers including Sprouts Farmers Market and Wegmans and is distributed nationwide through KeHE. The product lineup has expanded into new flavors, and the brand has extended its reach into sports nutrition with partnerships that include the New York Giants, Brooklyn Nets, and the New Orleans Pelicans  

From its dorm room beginnings to nationally distributed, Berg Bites is a case study in how owning your manufacturing and following a phased approach to growth can transform a family recipe into a defensible and profitable CPG business.