Episode 42: Brenden Schaefer, founder of Bright Bar, on the ins and outs of starting a protein bar brand
“If it’s the only thing you can imagine doing and feeling happy, you have to go do it.”
-Brenden Schaefer, founder & CEO of Bright Foods
Episode 42 is here, and I’m excited to introduce my guest Brenden Schaefer. He’s the founder of CEO of Bright Bar, my new favorite refrigerated nut butter-based protein bar. We talk about how he started Bright Foods, why he started it, the first iteration of the bar, the ups and downs and some very savvy entrepreneurial tips.
In this episode, we talk about:
how he started Bright Bar and his “why”
the first iteration of Bright Bar and how he knew it was time to pivot
what makes Bright Bar so special
how he views competition
the hardest part about being in the protein bar business
what’s next for Bright Foods
his tips to those who want to start their own food brand
& more
All about Brenden:
Brenden first got into health and fitness in college when he started running and fell in love with the way he felt. Soon after he started swimming and then doing yoga, continually searching for more and more of that energy and that feeling of tingly feeling of being alive that exercising delivered. At the same time, he was developing a love for food and cooking and thought for a time about becoming a chef, experimenting with different combinations of ingredients and riffs on traditional recipes. At first these two sides battled, with one looking at food through the lens of "what's healthy? What makes me feel good?" And the other asking, "what's interesting and new and different? What's delicious and takes me on a journey when I eat it, what makes me forget where I am and just escape into pure sensory delight?" Over time, he realized he could combine the two into a career in the natural foods space creating food to fuel active living. Five years ago, he founded Bright Foods with the mission of making it easy and delicious to eat whole, plant-based, nutrient-dense food on the go. Bright Bars are refrigerated protein bars that taste like vegan cookie dough, have an incredibly clean ingredient list, are sweetened with fruits and organic agave nectar, and support a healthy gut and immune system. They're now distributed in Whole Foods, Sprouts, Central Market, Amazon and through the company's website, www.brightfoods.com.
Where to find Brenden:
His email: brenden@brightfoods.com
Order: https://brightfoods.com/ (use code “natalie15” to get 15% off)
Don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll see each new episode as soon as it arrives every other Wednesday. If you enjoyed this episode, please head to Apple podcasts and leave a review and a rating.
Subscribe to my newsletter here. No spam, just fun stuff, new episodes, giveaways & sharing products.
If you’d like to follow along updates with this podcast, be sure to follow me here: @thefitnessinsiderpodcast oh and also here @thatfoodiegirl.
