Power Bar

PowerBar was founded by the Canadian long-distance runner Brian Maxwell. Maxwell, who had been nominated for the 1980 Canadian Olympic team, vomited during a marathon and had to give up just 10 km before the finish. The reason: he had no more energy. Until then, he had only had chocolate bars such as Mars or Snickers or muesli bars as a snack. From 1983, Maxwell experimented with his girlfriend and later wife Jennifer, a nutritionist, on making his own bar that would be both high in energy and light to digest. Finally, in 1986, the first energy bar, the 'PowerBar', was so well developed that the two decided to found the company. Initially, the energy bar was sold in bike stores, at bike races and running events. When a serious competitor, the Clif Bar, appeared on the market in 1992, PowerBar differentiated its range and launched the Harvest Bar, the protein-rich ProteinPlus and the calorie-reduced Pria Bar, which was aimed at women. The company also signed up well-known sports personalities such as professional cyclist Lance Armstrong, thus securing its market position. Over the course of the 1990s, the company grew to 300 employees, and Nestlé took over the company in 2000. The company is still characterized above all by one thing: Innovation. For example, the first energy waffle was launched at the start of the season.