“You have to have a unique selling proposition, that’s definitely key,” Peter Rahal, one of RXBAR’s co-founders, told FoodNavigator-USA at The Healthy and Natural Show last weekend.
“There’s a lot of ‘me toos’ in the category, so if someone succeeds with something, everyone else follows suit. You really have to provide value to customers and its through ingredients, our taste. For us it’s through our protein source, everything in there has a purpose,” he added.
Together with co-founder Jared Smith, the duo launched their bar brand in the spring of 2013. “We called bullshit on protein bars, there wasn’t really one that was natural, clean, and healthy, so we decided to make bars of our own,” Rahal said.
A gym-goer’s friend
For brick-and-mortar retailing, Chicago area gyms are where RXBARs are currently stocked the most. “[The brand] started for the everyday fit person and athlete,” said communication director Meghan Marshall. “But it’s really evolved, now we have an incredible consumer base—moms on the go, crossfitters, yogis.”
The bar sells for a suggested retail price of around $1.99 individually. Online, buyers can find the bars for $25.99 in a box of 12. The company also offers a subscription program to receive RXBARS every 30, 45, or 60 days at 5% off the retail price.
There are currently eight flavors: Mint Chocolate, Coconut Chocolate, Blueberry, Chocolate Sea Salt, Peanut Butter, Coffee Chocolate, Apple Cinnamon, and Pumpkin Spice. The bars' main protein source, egg whites, are cooked and pasteurized to ensure the consumer's safety.
The brand also claims no added sugar, no GMO-ingredients, no dairy, no soy, and no gluten. Though the company doesn’t have any official certifications yet, Rahal said that to them, ingredients are sacred.
“We go as deep as possible, make our own specs and know all the ingredients. We have an intimate relationship with the whole process.”