NEW YORK - The number of subscription-based healthy snack services are on the rise, Time.com reports, with the health food industry adopting a similar business model to those popular product-of-the-month clubs.

New box brands including Healthy Surprise and Sprig launched in 2012 and deliver niche health products including vegan, gluten-free and organic snacks by mail.

"We are trying to give people the experience of finding something new," said Sprig co-founder Brent Jenkins. "We wanted to become better eaters and know where our food was coming from. We are trying to make a small shift in how people eat and we??ve created a following of people trying to engage in this food revolution."

Other related health brands, like KLUTCHclub, ship a monthly themed fitness and wellness package of workout DVDs and apparel, while JackedPack sends protein powders and energy gels.

"The sports-nutrition-supplement market is saturated and overwhelming for consumers. There are thousands of product choices, not to mention sometimes spurious or confusing claims made by the manufacturers in a largely unregulated market," said Alex Lewis, co-founder of JackedPack. "Most consumers don??t have the expertise or the time to sort through the nonsense and figure out what??s legitimate and what??s worthless. I wanted to use my experience as a competitive athlete and supplement fanatic to help others make more informed choices."

While some of the boxes include known brands, most focus on products unavailable in convenience or grocery stores. For example, Sprig scours farmers markets for artisanal snacks, Jenkins said.

Of course, the hard-to-find items bear a hefty price. Subscriptions cost up to $100 a month depending on the subscription and box size.