Jason Cohen has never been afraid to hustle. A lifelong New Jersey resident, he was the kid selling baseball cards to buy a bike, working odd jobs to afford skis, or screen-printing T-shirts at the University of Maryland to earn beer money.
“I’ve always been entrepreneurial,” he says with a laugh. “I always figured out how to create opportunities for myself.”
That grit, combined with a relentless focus on relationships, has defined Cohen’s journey from selling life insurance after college to building multibillion dollar snack brands. Along the way, he learned one truth that guides everything he does: “Consumers will only buy it once if it doesn’t taste good.”
Today, as Co-Founder and CEO of 7 Mile Brands, Cohen is channeling decades of experience into creating the next generation of better-for-you snacks. “Taste and quality have to come first,” he emphasizes. “You can call something healthy, you can market it as trendy, but if it doesn’t taste great, you’ve lost the consumer forever.”
Building on a Legacy of Snack Innovation
Cohen’s path to 7 Mile Brands reads like a crash course in consumer-packaged goods innovation. In his twenties, he launched Mamma Says Biscotti, a cookie brand that caught the attention of hotels, celebrities and eventually Starbucks and Costco. Later, he introduced American consumers to Veggie Straws — a $100 million brand that became a staple at birthday parties and in lunch boxes. He was also an early backer of SkinnyPop, one of the fastest growing healthy popcorn brands.
He went on to co-found Halen Brands, an incubator that helped launch and scale some of the most successful natural food startups of the last decade, including From the Ground Up™ (cauliflower-based snacks) and OWYN™ (plant-based protein shakes). He built a reputation as a coach, connector, and fixer — someone who could see opportunities others missed.
“My career has always been about relationships,” Cohen reflects. “When you become more valuable than the product you’re selling — when you’re the person who connects people and solves problems — that’s when you really succeed.”
Partnering with Sammy Kestenbaum
The next chapter of that success is 7 Mile Brands, co-founded with longtime friend and industry veteran Sammy Kestenbaum. They first met in 2010 at Hain Celestial Group, the natural foods powerhouse. Cohen had just sold Veggie Straws to the company; Kestenbaum would eventually succeed him in leading the brand’s growth.
Kestenbaum went on to become the founder and CEO of Mrs. Thinsters™ and Parm Crisps®, two innovative snack companies he later sold back to Hain Celestial. Along the way, he developed deep expertise in brand-building, retail strategy and operations.
Their friendship extended beyond the boardroom. Both lifelong pretzel lovers, they often vacationed together with their families on Seven Mile Beach in the Cayman Islands. “That’s where we decided to formally partner and create what we call the ‘pretzelution,’” Cohen says. “We both saw an opportunity to reinvent pretzels in a way that delivers better ingredients, amazing texture and a real taste payoff.”
The Pretzelized brand is only 18 months old and can found in over 15,000 retailers across the country, including Wegmans, Shoprite, Uncle Giuseppe’s, Whole Foods and in January Stop & Shop.
The Pretzelution and Beyond
At 7 Mile Brands, Cohen and Kestenbaum focus on bringing real innovation to a snack aisle. Their flagship products put a fresh spin on classic pretzels — transforming them into crackers and chips that deliver the crunch and saltiness people crave, without compromising on clean ingredients or taste.
“Pretzels are a comfort snack, but we asked ourselves: how do we make them exciting again?” Cohen says. “We wanted to create something familiar, but better — the world’s first pretzel crackers, healthier options that people can feel good about indulging in.”
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with major retailers from ShopRite to Whole Foods stocking the products nationwide. For Cohen, seeing 7 Mile Brands on shelves is more than a business milestone.
“It’s humbling. To know that something we created from scratch is being enjoyed by families across the country — that never gets old.”
While building snack brands has made Cohen a recognized name in consumer goods, his sense of purpose extends beyond business. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Maryland and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Clinic, and in 2019, his family trust established a grant for the University of Miami Concussion Center.
“Giving back is part of the responsibility that comes with success."
Looking Ahead
For Cohen and Kestenbaum, 7 Mile Brands is more than another startup — it’s the culmination of decades of experience, friendship and a shared belief that snacks should be both better-for-you and undeniably delicious.
“Everything we do comes back to taste,” Cohen says. “Because if it doesn’t taste good, nothing else matters.”
“Taste and quality have to come first. You can call something healthy, you can market it as trendy, but if it doesn’t taste great, you’ve lost the consumer forever.”