Hi, it’s Adam here. I learned some really hard and expensive lessons in my first year and half in the protein bar business, as most start-ups would. I’d been warned ahead of time of these pitfalls, but I was too determined to listen to the naysayers.
Amongst many other complications along the way, what became the most challenging lesson for me was that because I had made the Advanced Athletics bar’s ingredients and nutrient profile so specialized, that it created an outcome of having limited options for available resources, a much higher risk for supply shortages, and increases in cost. I aimed for the stars and got rained on by meteorites.
Well that situation hit me hard and fast!
On just my second production of bars, I learned that there was a shortage of the hormone-free grass fed whey protein, which is disturbing all on its own, but it also happened to be the most abundant ingredient in my bar.
One step forward and two steps back…all the way back to the research and development stage.
This tedious process was like looking for a needle in a haystack, or in this case it seemed like looking for that one cow named Betsy that was not pumped up on the growth hormones and antibiotics. I had to sift thru the very limited supply of resources trying to get the precise specifications that would meet the highest standards for my bar.
A cow named Betsy?
There are plenty of companies that sell conventional whey protein that comes from hormone injected factory farmed cows, and plenty of the finished whey product had too high a percentage of lactose, or sugar, and contained soy. I was completely unwilling to compromise on quality just so that I can get back to production. If I don’t want to put that crap into my body, why would my customers?
*As a side note, for anyone who doesn’t know about the food product development process, anytime a new supplier, or source of an ingredient is introduced, careful reformulation and testing must take place to see if it will meet all highest specifications required. Therefore, it’s a long process anytime even one thing is changed.Trusting the food industry has made losers out of you and me.
Mostly all food companies go thru the same issues I did, and many end up folding up shop, or compromising on ingredients and nutrient profiles because those things weren’t that important to them to begin with. What’s typically important is the bottom line $$$. So they do whatever they have to do to keep production going in order to keep the investors happy. The loser in the whole equation is you and me, as the consumers who put our trust in these food companies.
to me, it’s a matter of not compromising on quality
I don’t have any investors, and all I care about is making the absolute best for my customers. Sure, money matters to me, but my integrity matters more. My promise to you is that I will not compromise on the quality of my products.
I know what your thinking…”Adam your crazy, it’s just a protein bar”. However, that’s the stigma that I want to get away from all together.
That’s why I entered a better and more accurate category description, which is the Advanced Athletics® Meal Replacement Bar. It’s the next best thing to a well-balanced meal, and in many cases is more nutrient dense.
So onward and upward! After months of lost time and unbearable stress, I finally found a company that was willing to produce small batches of the superior whey protein I wanted. So now I’m paying five times as much as the alternative conventional whey that’s used in every other protein bar out there.
I might be crazy, but this is my OCD…
I only want the most perfect bar, and to do that, I won’t lower my standards to compete with protein and energy bars.
Have you been a victim of brainwashing?
Those other companies out there selling so called ‘protein’ bars or ‘energy’ bars, seem to have successfully brain washed the bar buying nation to believe that their low quality ingredients and unbalanced nutrient profile are healthy. I guess the question is…’healthy’ relative to what?…Maybe to eating a Snickers bar, but not very far off.
Because of that perception, I had no desire to get into the protein bar business to begin with. I only did it because I thought there were more people like you and me who cared about what they put in their body would be, and there was a need to provide a superior product that met the highest of standards.
My promise
The reason I’m telling you all this is because I seriously considered getting out of the business, but I just can’t do it. I can’t because there’s a void that needs to be filled, and I won’t give up just yet. So you’re probably going to hear me rant and rave a little bit more, but I promise you that I’m always going deliver you the best bar in the world.
We’ll see how the next few months go before I’ll know if I can keep going with another production. So do yourself a favor and order it now before stock runs out, and do me a favor and share this link with a friend.
Thank you. I appreciate you.
P.S. I’m offering everyone a “Buy 1 Bar, Get 1 Free” coupon. Click here now.