Larabar Purchased by General Mills, How Will this Affect the Raw Food World?
In a press release from June 10th, 2008 it was announced that Denver based company LÄRABAR has been bought out by Minnesota based General Mills.
General Mills is one of the largest companies of Minnesota, and it owns a variety of brands under the company called Small Planet Foods, including organic brands like Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen.
If you are not familiar with Larabar, it is a dehydrated raw food bar made from a base of dates and almonds and comes in a wide variety of flavors. Here is a good description of the history of the LÄRABAR company from the official press release from General Mills:
"Humm Foods was founded in 2003 by Lara Merriken, whose idea for her namesake LÄRABAR came to her while she was hiking in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Her vision was to create a business centered on delivering an all-natural nutrition bar made of fruit and nuts, with unique flavors and few ingredients. The business has grown dramatically under her leadership to a category-leading position in the single-serve natural health bar segment."
According to the press release, Larabar has been a growing company. From the release:
“LÄRABAR is an exceptional brand that is experiencing rapid growth because of the quality and uniqueness of LÄRABAR products. We are especially pleased that Lara Merriken, the founder of LÄRABAR, will continue with the business. Lara is clearly the brand champion of LÄRABAR, and we are thrilled to have her join us as we grow the business together.”
Lara is planning to continue as Creative Director of the LÄRABAR company.
Will this Change the Quality of LÄRABAR?
General Mills and LÄRABAR - a good match or a disaster?
We are a little taken aback, and just like Mike Meyers in SNL's Coffee Talk, we're a little verklempt.
Talk amongst yourselves.
This Purchase Raises Some Interesting Questions for the Raw Food World
Here are some ideas of things to talk about to get you started:
- What do you think about a big company like General Mills buying a smaller, raw food company like Larabar?
- Do you plan to still eat LÄRABARs now that they are owned by General Mills?
- Is this going to change the quality of existing LÄRABARS
- Is this good or bad for the raw food community?
- Anything else you want to say?
Now that General Mills is investing in a raw food related company, will they be willing to step up to the plate and help get raw almonds to be truly raw, and stop the almond pasteurization act? Are they purchasing it for the growing raw food world, or are they actually becoming more conscious?
These are all very interesting questions, and as we see the raw food world grow, it will be interesting to see how larger companies are reacting to it.
We would like to thank our friends Vince and Jinelle from Fortina Chocolate for sending us the scoop.
~ Heidi and Justin from Raw Food Right Now
P.S. Additional Coffee Talk Discussion: Would any of the hosts of Coffee Talk actually eat LÄRABARS? Discuss.
Comment Moderation has been turned off to facilitate this discussion. Please be nice.
22 comments:
Thank you for this news. Maybe even more thanks for the clip--hysterically funny!!
A large company like General Mills invests in things for one reason only:PROFIT. I have nothing against making money. I like to do it myself, but I wouldn't expect them to care about insuring that things like almonds are truly Raw.
I rarely eat Larabars, but I will likely continue to buy them for my daughter, because I haven't found another convenient option that she likes. I will be watching for changes though. Can't say I'm happy about this.
What do you think about a big company like General Mills buying a smaller, raw food company like Larabar?
Shitty. I feel dissappointed that they sold themselves out.
Do you plan to still eat LÄRABARs now that they are owned by General Mills?
No.
Is this going to change the quality of existing LÄRABARS?
Probably over time.
Is this good or bad for the raw food community?
Well, I think it's a bit of both. It's good that a big company is recognizing there is a demand for raw, but at the same time I tend to think big companies ruin things for the sake of profit.
Anything else you want to say?
Just thank you for posting.
Thank you for posting this information.
I must say I am rather dismayed by this because I have little faith that the standard of "rawness" will be maintained. For that matter, at this point the word "raw" just like the word "natural" has no commonly accepted specific or technical definition. Therefore the bars could easily be labeled raw while being far from it in reality. In terms of continuing to eat them, we'll see, I will be curious about the quality and changes to the product.
Wow, interesting news. Thanks for posting this.
I'm wary of the purchase. GM isn't exactly a type of company who cares about the intergrity of food but more for profit. I hope this isn't the case but can't help but think that way.
I have to agree with what langelbleu wrote. Our definition of raw is not the same as most large food companies.
This will be interesting to see how this works out.
Perhaps this purchase will be one more thing that will help the raw food diet gain more mainstream publicity. It'll be interesting to see how GM promotes this new addition to their family.
Thanks for keeping us informed!
I was reading a Costco news magazine recently where they were interviewing the CEO of Pepsi. One of the comments she made is that they are trying to invest more in companies that are health oriented. She said something to the effect that if we don't keep our customers alive, we won't have any customers to buy our products. She referred to their Pepsi products as treats and fun foods that "everyone needs occasionally". My point is that I think a lot of mega businesses are seeing two sides to the health business: 1) it is profitable right now to be on the health bandwagon, and 2) we are in a health crisis now, and some things are gonna have to change.
So, I would like to think that is where General Mills is coming from. They would like their customers to make healthier choices in their direction. I am sure they have advisors on board to tell them what that direction should be, so from that point of view, I am very happy to see a raw fooder on one of those boards. I guess time will tell how much ear is given to what she has to say.
gut reaction : I cringe
head reaction : I still cringe, but want to hope for something better. Does Lara care enough about the integrity of her bars to only "sell out" if they're also willing to preserve that integrity?
gut reaction : Larabars were my first introduction to raw food in our little town (approx 5 years ago). I found them at the local co-op, and read the label and thought "hmmm.... raw food? Is it better?"
head reaction : We've been raw for a while now, and if they are no longer raw, won't our bodies be able to tell? Will we get sick? Only time will tell.
Thanks SOOOO much for sharing, heidi and JS.
:: nicole ::
Hum, sounds weird. Wonder why she sold it. I'm curious to see what happens.
We are going to watch to see what the general reaction among the raw food community is to this news over the next day or so, and then decide whether a long discussion about the Raw Foods Movement from our perspective will be a helpful addition to the conversation.
In short, however, this is a poor decision from the perspective of maintaining the integrity of the Raw Foods Movement. We are creating new economies, new thoughts, new Life Practices - not gaining enough success to improve the image and bottom line of companies which have helped create the multitude of health problems and social problems and economic problems we now have - all stemming from a poor food environment.
As far as this spreading raw foods? That is a non-starter. Lara was already in nationwide U.S. grocery store chains.
Let's create a new economy. We will not be buying Lara Bars anymore, which will only feed a corporation that advertises Boo Berry, Betty Crocker, Trix, Pilsbury, and Totinos.
We in the raw foods movement have all worked too damn hard on ourselves, helping others transcend this nonsense, and in putting together books, websites, blogs, and even businesses that move beyond such empty and harmful baggage.
In mourning for Lara Bar, in hopes that this is a good lesson in what we don't want,
David Rainoshek, MA
oh no.. that is what I think.. oh no..
This might be a really good thing. Only time will tell if GM will maintain the quality but being an optimist, I'm hoping that they bought it because of an honest interest in expanding true "health conscious" foods. This will certainly help to get those foods in the mainstream market and I'm sure other companies will follow suit. I'm looking forward to going into a 7-Eleven someday and finding a snack that is really good for me. I'm hoping this is a step in that direction.
The 7-Eleven stores near me sell fresh fruit (bananas and apples), fruit salads and green salads!
Wow -
So many perspectives.
And I think all of us just don't know what to think. There is just so many things to consider.
I'm still thinking about the whole thing right now.
Do you think there are any good things to consider with this, or is this really the way David Rain so eloquently described?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
I'm still verklempt.
~ Heidi
i like to be on the positive side of things. i hope this is a good move with gm. i guess lara needed big money, good for her...who doesn't.
time will tell. i am concerned with huge companies....so many have done corrupted things. we shall see.
Personally, I doubt big corporations are concerned with people's health - they are, first and for most, are about profit margin. Health is a hot topic right now and raw foods are becoming a hot topic as well. GM is just trying to cash in on it. Will they maintain the integrity or the product or bring GMOs into it? We'll see but I don't think GM will disclose their intentions. Yes, GM will bring raw foods to mainstream but at what cost? Will they be organic, clean of GMOs, of high quality?
I am with David Rainoshek on this - we have to keep the integrity of the raw food movement. I will not buy Lara Bars because I refuse to put money into corporate pockets.
Another issue that recently came up is related to Simplexity Health, a company that sells blue green algae products. The products are amazing and I've been taking them with great success and benefits, however, one of their recent stockholders is the second largest franchisee of KFC and Burger King. So the company is vegan, brilliant, and all about health but it is financed by the money made of disease, animal cruelty, and environmental damage. I am totally morally conflicted on this one...
Personally, I think we have to take a stand and preserve the raw food movement from infiltration by big pharma, meat industry, and fast food corporations. To me the raw food movement is about health, environment, better and brighter future, and I will continue to support only companies that have similar values and vision as mine. This is about my personal integrity anyway.
I find all this uproar about GM purchasing Larabar amusing... the company chose to make themselves available for purchase, did they not? I am curious to know how many of you have the ability or finances to take a good idea, turn it into not just a good product but a major retail product, and maintain the growing company and all the things that come with that for the lifetime of the product? We don't know the whole story, we haven't seen the contract...give GM the benefit of the doubt until there is reason not to. A "large" company is not, by definition, an "unethical" one. I speak from experience--I worked for a very well-respected natural product brand that was sold after 20 years by the two owners who never intended to run a company. They were exhausted and wanted to pursue other interests. The company that purchased us has actually improved the quality controls. As for how this affects the raw community...? It doesn't. It shouldn't, unless your "raw diet" consists entirely of prepackaged foods. (If you call yourself a raw foodist, please tell me it doesn't!)
Blog hopping and just saw this! Thank you for posting this! I love Larabars and had no idea they were purchased by general mills! I hope it doesn't change them, but I will be more aware of it-and other products as well! Thanks for the reminder to be always doing that with products that claim to be natural!
Well Larabars can't technically be "raw" in the first place because it is a US requirement for all almonds to be pasteurized (google it) except almonds sold through a farmers market or small business grower... and since Larabars are a grocery store item I have never trusted their "rawness".... So, IMO, there is no real change occuring...
Rediscover Raw Food - an Excellent cookie and bar is from a company called Raw Makery!!!! I have a 6 and 3 year old and they LOVE THEM!!!! Try the Yam Yum and Apple Yum cookies. THey are soft and chewy and taste great!!! We have all been raw for about 6 mos.. but give these cookies\bars etc. a try.
I am not paid by anyone to mention any product but if it is good, it is good
http://www.rawmakery.com/
Peace and Love!!!!
Thank you for posting this and I am sure over time the quality will go down and no I do not plan to buy them I try to make my own or support small or local businesses. Unfortunately I have see what has happened to Cascadian Farms and I do not care much for GMills.
Thanks for posting this
ah, i didnt realize. ive actually only known about and have been eating these since about the time GM purchased! too bad, they are good. although the other day i decided to start making my own since they are so damned expensive.
on a side note, i was next to someone at the co-op today who was confused over why all the almonds were pasturized, and i had to stop myself from butting into their shopping trip! he he...
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