Build-A-Bar at YouBar

Have you ever spent 20 minutes in the nutritional bar aisle at the grocery store reading ingredient lists on the back of energy bar labels hoping to find the perfect snack bar? Maybe you read a label and thought a certain bar would be great if only it didn’t have whey powder, or nuts, dairy products, or dried fruit, or an added sweetener. If so, YouBar is the go-to resource for you or anyone who  truly appreciates customization because at YouBar, you create your own bar by choosing every single ingredient.

YouBar was founded in 2006 by Ava Bise and her son, Anthony Flynn when they started creating custom protein bars at home to meet their taste, health, and allergy needs. Believing there is a huge market for people who want customized energy bars made fresh and based on a customer’s taste and nutritional needs, they launched YouBar.

Similar to Build-a-Bear in concept (where I used to spend half my life when my daughter was very young), the Build-a-Bar at YouBar is a series of virtual “stations” where the customer makes a decision of what to include in the final product except there are no lines, no tired, cranky kids..only you and your computer taking it one step at a time with the option to go back and make changes or start again.And, best of all, you get to eat your final creation when it’s delivered to your door a few days later.

There are 11 steps in the Build-a-Bar process:

1. Choose a Bar Size:  YouBars come in four sizes:  small (35 grams or 1.2 ounces) at $2.89, medium (45 grams or 1.6 ounces) at $2.99, large (55 grams or 1.9 ounces), at $3.19, or extra-large (85 grams or 3 ounces) for $4.99. As you make choices, a “Nutritional Facts” section continually updates the nutritional information which is extremely helpful if you are trying to keep the sugar grams, fat, or calories at a certain level or if you are trying to maximize the protein and fiber. There are 13 bars in each box (small, medium. and large YouBars) and 8 bars in a box of extra-large YouBars.
2. Base:  Chose one or two ingredients from a list of nine ingredients that form a base (all are gluten-free) for the bar. There are several nut butters (almond, cashew, peanut, sunflower, soy nut) to choose from or skip the butters and just choose organic dates which are fat-free and low-calorie.
3. Protein Powder:  Choose up to three protein powders – whey, soy, rice, or egg white – or choose no protein powder additive. You also have the option to choose a normal portion size of protein, less protein or extra protein within this category.
4. Nuts and Seeds:  Choose up to two nuts and seeds from a list of 12 choices and then choose a normal nuts, less nuts, or extra nuts. Or choose, no nuts.
5. Dried Fruits and Berries:  Choose 1 or 2 dried fruits or berries from a list of 10 options and then choose normal fruit, less fruit, or extra fruit. You also have the option to choose no dried fruits or berries.
6. Sweeteners:  There are six sweetener options including agave nectar, brown rice syrup, honey and more. Decide if you want normal sweetness, not too sweet, or a very sweet YouBar.
7. Seasonings, Chocolate and Other Tasty Additions: Choose up to four extra seasonings that include cocoa, carob, dark chocolate chips, ginger, maca, sea salt, vanilla and more.
8. Grains and Cereal: Options include no grains or cereals, granola, oat bran, or gluten-free crunchy rice cereal. You also have the option to choose average grains, fewer grains, or extra grains.
9. Infusions:  Choose up to four infusions that include vitamins, antioxidants, macrogreens, Omega-3, fiber or a weight loss infusion.
10. Review: This pulls all your choices together and allows you so see what your YouBar will contain. Push the button “Taste Tester” to get some helpful recommendations.
11. Name Your Bar: This is the really fun part where you choose the name of your YouBar. The name will be printed on the label along with the ingredients, and nutritional information.

Each bar is individually packaged and sealed to ensure freshness. The bars have a shelf life of about two months although refrigeration extends freshness. The bars that have honey also tend to have a longer shelf life. Each order takes 3-5 days to make and is shipped priority mail to ensure receipt 2-5 days later. To watch a video of the Build-a-Bar process, click here.

My daughter created her own YouBar with the goal of making a high protein, low sugar nutritional bar. She chose the small size (1.1 ounce) and selected cashew butter, organic almond butter and organic dates, soy protein, raw almonds, organic cashews, gluten-free crunchy rice cereal, organic agave nectar, cherries, organic cocoa, organic chia seeds, organic flax seeds, organic hemp seeds, all-one vitamin infusion, and organic oat bran.

Each Cherry Berry Chocolate (the name she chose) bar has 161 calories, 10 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, 8 grams of fat, and 95 mg of sodium. A week after she placed the order, 13 bars (the minimum order) were delivered to our door. The cost was about $37 plus $8 for shipping. When I asked her if she would change the recipe next time, she said she would probably add granola to get a bit more crunch but was otherwise really happy with her creation.

YouBars
910 South Santa Fe
Los Angeles, California 90021
213-927-3651
www.youbars.com