B.T.R. Nation Builds Out Bar Business with Innovation, Distribution

Being “Bold, Tenacious and Resilient” has its benefits. B.T.R. Nation has lived by its namesake as it is in the middle of a growth year packed with new distribution and innovation.

Leveraging the success of its 70-location launch in CIBO Express Gourmet Markets last November, B.T.R. Nation has now lined up new partnerships with Costco and Thrive Market. The better-for-you snack maker also unveiled new products as it raises capital to meet the production demands of an enlarged retail footprint.

What’s driving the growth?

“We’re ticking off boxes of things that consumers want but maybe didn’t know about 10 years ago,” said founder and CEO Ashley Nickelsen. “People are flipping over the package, and that is where we shine.”

Founded in 2020, B.T.R. Nation makes vegan, gluten- and dairy-free snacks that are low in sugar. The initial inception of the brand was to bring an indulgent snack bar to market that could be found in a vending machine. The five bar varieties incorporate functional ingredients like MCT oil, adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms and contain no added sugar, stevia or sugar alcohols. A touch of monk fruit adds sweetness.

Though the bars have been the brand’s biggest success, B.T.R Nation in 2022 expanded into chocolate truffles with its Superfood Nut Butter Cups, available in three varieties including Cherry Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter, Brownie Batter Hazelnut Butter and Snickerdoodle Almond Butter. The company is also about to launch a Peanut Butter Crunch Protein+ bar crafted with functional mushrooms and 15 grams of plant-based protein.

“We’re not a bar company,” Nickelsen said. “But we love bars because everyone eats bars.”

Though the Protein+ product will initially only be available online, the company’s flagship line of bars has found its way into the club channel with a 35-store run in Southeastern Costco stores across North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Puerto Rico. The new club offering is a 16-count box of Cinnamon Cookie Dough Superfood Nut Butter Bars that retails for $16.69.

The club-sized package is not the only new format B.T.R. Nation has unveiled this month. In a deal that has been about six months in the making, Nickelsen said, Thrive Market has agreed to take all of the brand’s core bars (Cinnamon Cookie Dough, Dark Chocolate Brownie, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Strawberry Shortcake) as well as an exclusive variety pack featuring two of each flavor.

Rounding out the brand’s innovation stream, the snack maker has collaborated with specialty coffee roaster Blue Bottle on a limited-edition bar, Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, that launched last week. The exclusive, co-branded flavor was “always part of the plan,” Nickelsen said, since the brand launched in 80 Blue Bottle cafés at the end of last year.

The partnership with Blue Bottle and the brand’s move into the airport convenience channel has opened the door for B.T.R. Nation allowing the brand to expand into more traditional retail channels like the Raley’s chain in California and Central Market locations.

The brand expects to be in over 800 retail locations by the end of the year. Amidst all these new partnerships Nickelsen has been traveling a lot to meet with buyers and the brand’s consumer base to collect feedback on the various launches.

“It’s been a crazy month,” she said.

To fuel this growth, B.T.R. Nation recently opened a $1.5 million round and has secured about half of that amount from a “mix of angels and institutional investors,” some being follow-on backers like Furthermore Ventures and Angel Ventures NYC.

Most of this new capital will fund expanded production.

The snack maker is also building out its advisory board to help the brand scale in both chocolate and snack bars. Former Ocho Candy VP of sales and marketing Todd Kluger to provide guidance on how to grow the chocolate business.

“The chocolate industry is tough,” Nickelsen conceded, especially because the brand makes its cocoa butter from scratch. B.T.R. Nation has worked closely with its chocolate co-manufacturer to source and finance equipment like refiners and flow wrappers to meet the brand’s unique production needs.

Despite the difficulties of working within chocolates, the company is in the process of finding new ways to scale that part of the business because it aligns with B.T.R. Nation’s mission to reinvent snacks with low-sugar, clean label offerings.

“When people think of vending machines and they think of on-the-go snacks, now they think B.T.R., which is really cool and exactly what we’re trying to do,” she said.