Our Story
Two women, one mission
We're Daisy and Steph, a chef in Perth and a nutritionist in Sydney, working opposite ends of the country on the same mission. To sneak a little goodness into your day.
Sneaky Wholefoods started in 2014 because I couldn't find snacks that actually made me feel good. What I kept finding was high protein labels, sugar alcohols, and that gut wrenching feeling that followed. So I stopped looking and started making, drawing on the nostalgic flavours of classic Aussie lunchboxes and home baking that I grew up loving, but rebuilding them from the ground up with real wholefood ingredients.
Steph became our first ambassador in 2016. We've since collaborated on her own collection, which has shaped the permanent range of snacks you see today. Since qualifying as a nutritionist in 2024, she now nutritionally approves every snack we create.
Along the way, we've both had our own health journeys that deepened everything we do. In 2021, while trying to conceive, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. In 2024, Steph was formally diagnosed with endometriosis, something she'd been navigating long before she had a name for it. And in 2023, we were both diagnosed with coeliac disease.
So between us, we know exactly what it feels like to read an ingredient list like your health depends on it. Because sometimes it does. That's why we'll never cut corners on what goes into our snacks.
Today our snacks are led by our own love of creating better for you alternatives and shaped by the community we've built over the past 12 years. And through it all, we're still just two women who believe you deserve to sneak a little goodness into every day. We're so glad you're here.
Meet Daisy
A few weeks after high school graduation, I started a chef apprenticeship. By 21 I was a head chef, which involved long shifts, late nights, early mornings, and grabbing whatever was fastest to eat between service, which make my own eating a mess.
I kept reaching for snack bars that promised to fuel me and left me flat, bloated, or both. So I started Googling why, which led me down a wholefood rabbit hole, which led me to my kitchen bench at home, experimenting with ingredients I could actually pronounce.
That was 2014. Sneaky Wholefoods started there, on that bench, out of pure frustration and a lifelong love of making food that actually tastes good. My then-boyfriend, now husband, was right there with me from day one, helping run the business while I focused on creating snacks. I couldn't have solidified the foundations without him.
Then in 2022, I became a mum. Becoming a mother for the first time reinforced everything, the importance of having something genuinely good on hand when you're juggling everything else, and how easy it is to forget your own nutrition when you're so focused on this tiny new person. That hasn't changed now she's a toddler. If anything it's got busier.
Daisy, Founder & Chef, and Mama
Meet Steph
As someone who is always juggling multiple commitments (work, business, social media, study, and the gym), having the time and energy to get everything done to the absolute best I can without sacrificing my health in the process, is a huge priority!
Before I found and partnered with Sneaky Wholefoods, I constantly relied on lower-calorie or sugar-free snacks that never quite satisfied, leaving me low on energy and often feeling sluggish or worse, sick to the stomach!
Navigating my own health issues and food sensitivities quickly taught me the importance of choosing snacks that prioritise nutrient-dense ingredients over sugar alcohols, fillers or sweeteners. That's why Sneaky Wholefoods resonates with me so deeply.
Founded on the belief that snacks should add value, nutrition and enjoyment to busy days, Sneaky Wholefoods has allowed me to finally simplify snack-time amidst my often chaotic lifestyle and reap all the benefits of convenience combined with quality nutrition.
Now, as an Openly Accredited Sports Nutritionist and Qualified Nutritionist, it's incredibly fulfilling to empower others with the same opportunity to treat themselves better (literally!) with our range and within Steph McDonald Nutrition Coaching
Steph - Sneaky Wholefoods Partner & Nutritionist
From little things big things grow
2014-2016 Starting small and local
Sneaky Wholefoods started in my home kitchen, David, my then-boyfriend now husband, supported me from day one while we were both working full time. We started by supplying local Perth cafes and spending our weekends at farmers markets across the metro area. It grew faster than I expected. Within a couple of years we were in over 40 cafes and had built a community of customers who kept coming back. That community is still the heart of everything we do.
2016 -2018: National expansion and packaging innovation
With momentum behind me I set my sights on taking Sneaky national. I spent months tracking down packaging solutions that actually worked for a handmade business, not easy, but I got there. Five distributors came on board and Sneaky expanded to over 400 stores across Australia. The Brevilles got retired. Industrial food processors came in and an online store launched, opening Sneaky up to customers who'd never been to a Perth cafe or farmers market. A community of ambassadors grew around the brand, spreading the word in a way no ad could.
In 2018, Steph, already a Sneaky ambassador, collaborated with me to launch her own Better Being collection. It was the beginning of something that's shaped our permanent range of snacks you see today.
2019 - 2021 Strategic adaptation
Not every distributor was the right fit. When priorities didn't align with ours, I made the call to pull back. It was the right decision.
COVID hit in 2020 and turned out to be one of the best things that happened to Sneaky Wholefoods. I pivoted away from larger distributors and went direct to customer online, while also choosing to work with smaller boutique distributors who actually shared our values. People who made sure our snacks were going straight to customers rather than sitting in a warehouse for months.
In 2021 our Strawberry White Chocolate Blondie Better Being Bar in collaboration with Steph launched and we sold over 10,000 bars in its first three months, marking an incredible year of growth.
2022 - 2023 Baby, university and a diagnosis for both of us
In early 2022, Winnie arrived. Becoming a mum for the first time put everything Sneaky Wholefoods was built on into sharp focus, the midnight feeds, the exhaustion, the need for something real and quick that actually carried you through. Sneaky was suddenly very personal in a new way.
While I was navigating new parenthood, Steph was working toward her Nutritionist degree at University. Two very different seasons of life, same commitment to understanding what genuinely nourishes people.
In 2023 we launched a limited edition protein ball series, releasing a new flavour each month. It pushed our flavour development further than ever and a number of those flavours are now permanent.
Late 2023, Steph and I both received a coeliac diagnosis. While not entirely unexpected given what we'd both been experiencing, it deepened an already fierce commitment to keeping every single Sneaky snack 100% gluten free. It stopped being just a product decision.
2024 - Entering a new era and hitting personal milestones
Sneaky turned 10 in September 2024. A decade that started on a kitchen bench in Perth and grew into a brand that 10,000+ people across Australia trust to actually deliver on what the label says. To mark the milestone, we unveiled a refreshed look, an evolution, not a reinvention. Still the same snacks, still the same values, just grown into themselves a little more.
And in the same year, Steph qualified as a nutritionist, deepening Sneaky Wholefoods commitment to understanding health and wellness at a profound level.
2025-2026 - Still at it
Steph launched her own nutrition coaching through the Sneaky website, one-on-one consults, programs and eBooks for anyone who wants to go deeper than the snack. The nutritionist behind every recipe is now available to work with you directly.
At the start of 2026 we brought back a new version of our Strawberries and Cream Better being Protein Bar, one of our best loved flavours, made even better. We launched our Lemon Cheesecake Protein Ball Mix, a flavour our community voted for and shaped entirely. And we launched a Bring Back the Ball Series, returning some of our most loved limited edition protein ball flavours to our community, who never stopped asking for them.
We also launched our Daily Essentials collection, two everyday pieces that sit alongside our snacks. Designed to move with you through every part of your day, so you can navigate it all while sneaking in a little goodness. Simple pieces, thoughtfully made for your everyday.
