Longevity Supplement Brand Launches Into Bar Category

Supplement maker NOVOS Labs is bringing its approach of convenient, simple and accessible longevity products to the bar category with its first foray into food.

Functional NOVOS Bar positions the lifespan-supporting brand adjacent to the growing consumer trend toward high-protein, high-fiber and nutrient-dense convenient snacks. The nutritional bars come in three flavors – Salted Chocolate Crunch, Mixed Berry Crunch and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Crunch — and are available in 12-packs for $48 on the brand’s website.

Each bar contains 15 grams of brown rice- and pea-derived protein with reishi, cordyceps and lion’s mane mushrooms. The formulation also includes antioxidant astaxanthin and energy-boosting ingredient taurine with a fruit and vegetable blend of broccoli, spinach, kale, pumpkin, sweet potato, sunflower seed, cranberry, chlorella, maitake mushroom and shiitake mushroom.

“The NOVOS Bar grew out of two ambitions — first, a desire to provide busy people with an easy, portable food option they can have on them in a pinch, without having to resort to less nutrient-dense options, and second, the drive to create a food item that is so perfectly designed that it is actually healthier than a healthy meal,” said NOVOS Labs founder and CEO Chris Mirabile, who founded the brand in 2018 after surviving a brain tumor diagnosis.

NOVOS markets a range of capsules, powders and chews developed to combat aging. The brand has employed scientific research and a medical advisory board consisting of experts in lifespan expansion from MIT, Harvard Medical School and USC School of Medicine.

The bar was created in consultation with longevity researcher and NOVOS director of R&D Dr. Diogo Barardo, registered dietitian Brooke Alpert and former three-Michelin Star pastry chef Vân Nguyễn.

While NOVOS Bar is initially launching online, the brand is expecting to “progressively” move into retail where its longevity supplements are currently sold in Erewhon, Happier Grocery and Equinox. The move into the food category potentially brings the supplement maker into more traditional retail channels.

“Our focus thus far has been to create products with ingredients that are well-studied and validated for their ability to slow the pace of aging, optimize organs that decline with age, and promote longevity and general wellness,” Mirabile said.

Food and beverages addressing anti-aging have been on the rise as health-minded consumers seek longevity solutions. While biohacking products that increase lifespan continue to be a trend, many brands in the subcategory have opted for positioning around the idea of healthspan, or staying physically and mentally acute into advanced age.

Nutritional bars have become a prime category for marketing approach with brands like IQBAR, MOSH or Mindright. Functional ingredients like MCT oil, magnesium and patented ingredients like Cognizin Citicoline are common pairings with plant-based proteins and nutrient-dense additives.

The $1.8 billion nutritional bar market in the U.S. has been closely aligned with rising interest in wellness products with products positioning around trends like keto or paleo diets.

Yet, the trend towards clean-label options has shifted with dollar sales down 7.5% in 2024, compared to the year-ago period, according to a SPINS report. In comparison, bars with a protein range between 25 grams and 30 grams were up 280% as consumers prioritize performance and taste over clean-label considerations.

“We also take a ‘NOVOS-centric’ approach to all of our launches, meaning not going after trendy ingredients, but rather using ingredients and compounds in novel ways that have been proven to positively impact healthspan and lifespan,” Mirabile said. “Whether they sit in the supplement aisle or the protein bar aisle, our approach is always the same.”