Kashi Buys Organic Snack Firm Michigan Mom Created for Vegetarian Daughter
Originally posted June 16, 2016, Michigan Live
By: Shandra Martinez
HOLLAND, MI – The Pure Bar, the vegan line of snack bars started in the kitchen of a Holland mom, has been bought by Kashi.
The acquisition was announced by Veronica Lehman, the creator of the Pure Bar, in a YouTube video on Thursday, June 16.
She began making the bars 2006 when her 6-year-old announced she wanted to be a vegetarian.
“Pure was born out of a true and authentic desire to feed my child the best and most nutritious food and this is the foundation we have built the Pure Brand over the last 10 years,” the mother of three said.
Lehman said the success of the organic snack bars is why the company is being acquired Kashi, a stand-alone natural food business owned by Battle Creek-based giant Kellogg’s.
Kashi operates out of Southern California, where the Pure Bars are manufactured. The Solana Beach, Calif.-based company also owns the Bear Naked Granola and Stretch Island Fruit Co. brands.
“I knew Kashi was the right fit for Pure because they fell in love with Pure for all the right reasons; the same reasons we love the brand,” said Lehman, who appears to be sharing the news from the kitchen of her modest Lake Macatawa home.
Lehman says she will have a role with Kashi that involves continuing to grow the Pure Organic brand.
“My role will stay very similar to what I am doing now as the founder and voice of the brand, meeting with retail customers and also being closely involved with innovation of new products,” Lehman told MLive and The Grand Rapids Press.
The bars took off quickly. Midwest retailer Meijer contacted Lehman in 2006, shortly after the company’s launch, about carrying the bars after CEO Hank Meijer read a story about the mom and her healthy snack bars in the Grand Rapids Press.
To keep up with demand, she partnered with Promax Nutrition Corp., a Newport Beach, Calif., company, to propel the business to the next level. The 2009 deal brought an infusion of cash while keeping her an owner.
For the original post, visit Michigan Live