YouBar

YouBar
Private
Industry Food manufacturing
Founded 2006
Headquarters Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Key people
 Ava Bise (co-founder)
Anthony Flynn (co-founder)
Number of employees
 30
Website http://www.youbars.com

YouBar is a nutrition bar company producing energy bars that customers design.[1][2][3][4] Ava Bise and Anthony Flynn, a mother-son team from Los Angeles, California, founded the company in 2006.[1][2][3][5] Customers design bars using a nine-step process on YouBar's website, then order boxes of thirteen bars each.[1][2][3][6] The service is designed for people with specific dietary requirements (particularly vegans, athletes, and people with allergies), and gives the customer control over what goes into the product.[3]

History

In 1998, Bise and Flynn started making nutrition bars at home using organic ingredients and recipes obtained by from swapping.[1][2][3] They launched their product by wrapping the bars in wax paper and distributing them to friends.[1] In 2006, after Flynn graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in business administration,[1][5][7] they expanded it into a custom bar company.[1][5] It continued to operate from their home kitchen, and then borrowed commercial kitchen space from Bise's synagogue. Shortly after, they moved into their own space, an 800 square-foot commercial kitchen on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles,[1] and in 2011, expanded into their current 8,000-square-foot facility in Downtown Los Angeles.[7]

YouBar distributes its product internationally.[1] Every bar is made-to-order, then packaged in a custom wrapper.[1][2][3] The company's website averages 1,250 visitors dailyt and has had four million page views since 2008.[7] In 2008, YouBar sales doubled every month.[1]

Product

The product offers more than forty million bar possibilities; The customer can choose the base, the add-on protein powders, nuts and seeds, dried fruits and berries, sweeteners, and grains.[1][2][6] The company provides established recipes for the more popular bars, and offers a satisfaction guarantee to customers unhappy with their choice of ingredients.[1][2]

The firm also produces YouShakes, where customers in a similar manner pick the shake’s ingredients and individual portion size.[8] In 2009, the firm introduced YouTrailMix, a similar product. .[9] In 2010, then launched YouCereal, a similarly personalized breakfast cereal.[10][11]

Media

YouBar has been featured in the New York Times,[1] the Today Show, Good Morning America, Runner's World, Women's Health, and Today's Health and Wellness.[12]

Philanthropy

The firm donates 2% of its annual profits to two charities: the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank and the United States Fund for UNICEF.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Napoli, Lisa (20 February 2008). "With These Nutrition Bars, Every Order Is Special". New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "YouBar, The Custom Nutrition Bar Company, On FoodCrafters". The Food Channel. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Corbin, Lori (21 February 2008). "You Bars: Good nutrition, your own label". ABC. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Nonfiction Review: Custom Nation: Why Customization Is the Future of Business and How to Profit from It". Publishers Weekly. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Erickson, Jean (September 2009). "YouBar Gets A "Thumbs Up" - From "The New Pepsi Generation"". Successful Promotions Magazine, Advertising Specialty Institute. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Create Your Bar". YouBar. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 "About Anthony Flynn". Custom Nation. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "About You Shake". YouBar. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "About You Trail Mix". YouBar. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Toribio, Elyse (18 August 2012). "Create A Healthy Care Package For Your College Student". The Record. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "About You Cereal". YouBar. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "News". YouBar. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  13. ↑ "Charities". YouBar. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 14, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.