Local startup Chicago Bar Company LLC, maker of the RXBAR, could be exploring a sale, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the article, the company has been working with Chicago-based investment bank Piper Jaffary & Co. to weigh the sale.
“We’re focused on creating the best products made with real food ingredients that taste great,” a Chicago Bar Company spokesperson told Chicago Inno in an email yesterday. “That has been, and continues to be, our number one priority. We have no business updates to share.”
Chicago Bar Company, founded by Peter Rahal and Jared Smith in 2013, has brought in about $7 million in earnings in 2016 and is estimated to make more than $20 million in 2017, according to the WSJ. Their most popular product, the RXBAR, is made with all-natural ingredients and doesn’t include any added sugar, gluten, soy or dairy products.
Instacart, a local grocery delivery service, predicted that RXBARs would be a popular item in 2017, based on the fact that consumer searches for it were up 716 percent from 2015 to 2016. And it seems they were right.
RXBARs are the third best-selling nutrition bar on Amazon, and there is now an Amazon dash button available for them.
The bars were originally only sold at CrossFit studios, but they are now available in several national retailers, including Target, Wal-Mart and Trader Joe’s.
Considering a sale in the current market could be a good move for the company because both private-equity investors and strategic investors are looking to capitalize on the next major snack brand, according to the WSJ.
