Bars

Growth equity firm SEMCAP Food & Nutrition has paid $68 million for a “significant” minority stake in plant-based protein brand ALOHA.

RXBAR co-founder Peter Rahal is back in the protein bar business and out as a managing partner at Humble Growth.

IQ Bar is allocating some of its brainpower to the retail shelf. Though the Boston-based brand has so far garnered half its business from e-commerce, it recently entered 1,000 Kroger stores, increasing its retail footprint to about 6,000 doors.

After striking success with natural pita chip company Stacy’s, sold to PepsiCo in 2006, Stacy Madison is jumping back in the CPG game, launching refrigerated bars into retail under new brand BeBold. At this year’s Natural Products Expo East trade show in Baltimore, Madison told NOSH reporter Beth Kaiserman that despite entering a crowded category, having superior ingredients can mean a bold future in bars.

While some industry leaders think this is a fleeting fad, others think it’s here for the long haul and are increasingly formulating with egg whites. They’re even taking it one step further by directly calling out the ingredient on their front labels.

The collision of seemingly complementary consumer preferences — the desire to cut sugar and the desire to have a “clean label” — has actually created a conundrum for nutrition bar makers, and they’re making tough strategic decisions regarding the use of sugar alcohols as a result.

Protein is breaking free from the nutrition bar, which historically has been the most popular format for protein-supplemented CPG outside of powders. In this deep-dive, we explore why brands are interested in new protein snacking formats: bites, balls and everything in between.

The brand’s revamped packaging, designed by Nucleus Maximus, features a colorful design with a hand-drawn bear. To start, the bear will only be featured on GFB’s bar line, rolling out to 9,000 stores this month.

Juice Press’s Almond Cacao Energy Bar and Mint Chip Energy Bar are now available in LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy, and Newark Liberty International airports.