By Nora Heston Tarte
Nathan Flood and Jeremiah Patterson took their personal need for a healthy, good-tasting energy bar to the next level by developing their own recipe as they trained for a 72-mile ultra marathon in Tahoe. With a focus on both taste and ingredients, their passion project has become a full-blown business venture as they prepare to launch a 50,000 bar order and sell their products in local fitness shops, gyms, Whole Foods, farmers markets, and online.
“Nathan and I both have been into fitness for as long as I can remember,” Jeremiah shares. From playing sports in school to running marathons together after they met post-high school, the duo cares a lot about what they put into their bodies.
“It came about because Jeremiah and I were running ultra marathons at the time,” Nathan says of the power bar venture. For convenience, the roommates (who both hold full-time jobs at Wine & Roses in Lodi) would throw power bars into their bags before setting off on daily 13-30 mile runs. “Most of them tasted terrible and chalky and [were] hard to chew,” he said. So, Nathan went into the kitchen and developed a recipe that would offer the perfect ratio of protein to good fats and carbohydrates, using only whole foods.
In the end, he created a well-balanced bar made from foods like nuts and dates that fit his and Jeremiah’s vegan lifestyle. “We wanted it to be more like a candy bar,”—a vibe the organic, dark chocolate coating helps to achieve—Jeremiah says.
After family and friends assured the best friends that their bars indeed tasted delicious, they decided to test an unbiased market, taking their all-natural, soy-, gluten-, dairy-, and GMO-free Vicia UltraBars to farmers markets in 2014. At the time, all of their bars were made by hand in a local kitchen.
According to Nathan and Jeremiah, it was a hit. The bar—at just 200 calories—wasn’t solely coveted by those who like to be active; others were devouring it as a snack or even a meal replacement. “You don’t have to go run 70 miles for this bar to work,” Nathan says.
After teaming up with Creative Energy Foods (the company that helped launch Cliff Bar), they increased shelf life by removing coconut water from the recipe and maintaining a preservative-free label. All of the ingredients that go into the bars can be left on the counter without going bad. “It’s a completely raw bar,” Nathan says.
In December the team started selling their first production run of 2,000 bars online. So far, feedback has been stellar.“It really fits anyone’s diet and needs,” Nathan says.
As Jeremiah and Nathan wait for their big order to come in (due in stores later this month), they look to the future. The goal is to launch other products—sports drinks, protein powders, and supplements—with the same integrity.
“It’s pretty surreal to see where it’s come,” Nathan says.
Try One:
ViciaEnergyBar.com