Made in Barnstable: Late July Organic Snacks

Updated 6/20/11 ~ please see editor's note at bottom.

Growing up in a family that started one of the first natural food markets on the Cape, Nicole Bernard Dawes was not a stranger to living on an organic diet.

It was only natural when she became pregnant with her first child she would eat that way as well. But when she searched New York City, where she lived at the time, for an organic saltine cracker, she couldn’t find one.

Lucky for Dawes and mothers everywhere wanting organic snack foods, she knew just who to turn to. Her father, Steve Bernard, had started Cape Cod Potato Chips 25 years earlier. His vision in 1980 had been similar--to make an all-natural potato chips without trans fats, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, artificial flavors, artificial colors or preservatives.

A test kitchen was set in her apartment in New York City, and Late July was founded on Cape Cod in October, 2003.

The first product Dawes created was the classic cracker, the product line has evolved into sandwich crackers, sandwich cookies, and most recently multi-grain snack chips. According to Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Patty McNaughton, “the focus is on Nicole’s children….creating snacks for her kids, assuming that other parents would like them as well.”

All of the products are sold in boxes, as well as single serve packs that are convenient and easy. In addition, all of the products are USDA certified organic.

Organic ingredients are grown without the use of dangerous pesticides, chemical fertilizers, genetic engineering, hormones or antibiotics. This is extremely important to Dawes who does not want to sacrifice the quality of ingredients, or her children’s health for convenience.

“It is [however] very challenging to comply with USDA certified organic standards. It is a very demanding and expensive process,” said McNaughton. It requires measures such as additional cleaning of the factory and sourcing all organic ingredients. The company is “very committed to the process,” but as McNaughton points out, there is an additional cost because they are using an organic oil. The company works very hard not to pass this additional cost onto their customers, and their prices “stay in line with other bags on the chip aisle.”

Late July is also very committed to sustainably producing their product by looking at the whole process from ingredients to delivery. They have an in house expert who works with vendors to find environmentally friendly packaging without compromising safety and quality of the food. Dawes states, "We manufacture food for other people's families, it is a responsibility I take very seriously."

Late July’s quality and innovative nature is not lost on major retailers or consumers familiar with natural and organic products. The original crackers were picked up by Whole Foods right away and they are now sold all over the country and are well distributed in Canada. And according to McNaughton they “just got an order in for Mongolia.”

Due to increased demand, production of Late July Organic Snacks was moved to Southern Georgia and Southern California 3 years ago. However, their corporate offices have remained in Barnstable Village, employing nine Cape Codders.

Dawes and the company are also known as community partners. They donate product to many local events and organizations, and on a national level - Dawes sits on the Board of the Organic Trade Association.

The company is also connected to nonprofit organizations such as the American Camp Association and the Jane Goodall Institute.

Ten percent of the profits from the sale of their three flavors of tortilla chips go to the American Camp Association’s “Send A Child to Camp” program, and 10percent of profits from the sale of their mini-cookies are donated to the Jane Goodall Institute to support their efforts to save chimpanzees and partner with villages in Africa to promote sustainable livelihoods.

You can find Late July Organic Snacks at 

• Cotuit Fresh Market, Cotuit
• Cape Cod Natural Foods, Centerville 
• Nirvana Coffee Shop, Barnstable

Editor's Note: Due to receiving incorrect information a few items in this article have been updated. Anything in italics within the body of the story has been updated.