Gheelish clarifies the brand's better-for-you snack growth

With consumers increasingly concerned about eating cleanly, many dealing with lactose intolerance, and interest in seed-free oils on the rise, producers are looking for alternatives that appeal to such health-minded snackers. Gheelish is a line of chips, popcorn, and other goodies made with ghee, a type of clarified butter. To learn more about the brand's innovations and its growth, we connected with Darin Alpert, founder/CEO. Jenni Spinner: Could you please talk a bit about ghee? Many folks might not be familiar with what it is or the benefits of using it. Darin Alpert: Ghee is clarified butter originating from ancient India that is created by simmering butter until its water evaporates and the milk solids separate out. Removing the milk solids strips away almost all the lactose and casein, making it much easier to digest for those sensitive to dairy. It boasts a rich, nutty flavor and is packed with fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), antioxidants, and beneficial fatty acids like butyrate, which support gut and immune health. JS: Then, please tell us a bit about Gheelish, how it got started, and how the inspiration to offer snacks prepared with ghee hit you. DA: I was previously the cofounder of an app called Find Me Gluten Free, which is like Yelp/Tripadvisor for gluten-free-friendly restaurants/bakeries. I've got a gluten/lactose allergy and was looking for snacks that were clean ingredients and still had a buttery flavor. After securing a national retail deal with Sprouts, the brand went from a kitchen-counter concept to national store shelves in just seven months. Today, Gheelish is one of the nation's fastest-growing snack brands, expanding beyond popcorn into tortilla chips and carrying its products in over 4,000 stores. JS: Could you tell us all about your current products—types of items, flavors, anything you think we should know? DA: We started with three SKU's of organic popcorn: Lightly Buttered (movie theater but real butter), Salt/Pepper, and Sweet Cinnamon. Our popcorn is 30% less calories and 60% less fat than legacy brands that claim to be healthy. The reason we're able to do that is because we air pop our popcorn and spray it with organic ghee/seasoning. Other popcorn brands kettle pop, which means more calories/fat per serving than us. We also launched what we call a hybrid of Tostitos Scoops/Popcorners/Popchips. JS: You shared some information about growth in popcorn before we got to chat today—could you please tell us a bit about how products in the natural/organic/BFY space are doing, compared to the conventional/legacy brands? DA: Consumers are starting to move away from seed oils like sunflower/canola oil and back to real healthy fats. Even avocado oil is getting a bad rap. Major studies from UC Davis found that over 70% to 80% of commercial avocado oils on market shelves are either mislabeled or adulterated. Non-organic, cheap, or private-label avocado oils are frequently diluted and sometimes entirely replaced with low-grade seed oils like soybean, canola, or sunflower oil. Unlike olive oil, avocado oil lacks strict, enforced "standards of identity." This makes it easy for low-cost suppliers to blend non-organic avocado oil with cheaper oils without consequences. JS: What's next for Gheelish? You're still a pretty young company (two years), but what do you have planned for your next two years (and beyond)? DA: We are rolling out more retail partners and launching a clean protein cookie in Q4 that we are excited about! JS: Finally, do you have a favorite product? DA: This is tough, but our Sweet Cinnamon popcorn is great. It's got 440 calories and only 12 grams of sugar per bag. Compared to traditional sugary kettle corns out there, we are way less calories/sugar. My wife and I will split a bag watching a movie and not feel guilty at all. Related - State of the Industry 2026: Popcorn continues crunching on