Issue: Winter 2005

Alumni Profile - Lara Merriken

Bar None

When Lara Merriken ’90 first decided to produce the all-natural snacks LäraBars, skeptics abounded; after all, thousands of energy bars already glutted the marketplace. “But I knew this product was different and stuck to my convictions,” says Merriken.

Skeptics soon morphed into believers. During its first two years, the fledgling Humm Foods – the company Merriken founded to produce her product – exceeded its five-year business plan, with LäraBars selling briskly both nationally and in Canada, the UK, France and Singapore.

Made from unprocessed, raw foods, LäraBars reflect Merriken’s nutritional philosophy: less is more. Made of a blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices, with each flavor combining no more than six ingredients, the bars are available in such appetite-appealing flavors as Apple Pie, Banana Cookie and Chocolate Coconut Chew. “I wanted to create something completely indulgent,” says Merriken, “so it would appeal to folks who aren’t avid health-food people.”

Merriken stands beside the fruits – and nuts, and spices – of her labors: all-natural Lärabars.

Merriken feels a special kinship with these people, having once been a junk-food aficionado herself. But while a psychology major at USC, an invitation from USC coach Chuck Erbe to join the women’s volleyball team changed her life. Erbe required his players to give up sugar and red meat and to adopt other healthy eating habits. Says Merriken, “I felt so honored to be on his team that I went for it.” Thus began a lifetime commitment to good nutrition.

It was in early 2000, while she was training to run the Denver Marathon, when the idea for LäraBars was born. Hiking through the Rocky Mountains during a conditioning session, Merriken recharged with her own homemade blend of fruits and nuts. She began to wonder why there wasn’t a similar product in bar form, and the proverbial light bulb went off. Says Merriken, “I went running up the mountain thinking, I’ve got to start this company.”

At the time, Merriken had just been accepted into Bastyr University to study naturopathic medicine. But after her mountaintop epiphany, Merriken turned down the offer. Instead, her Cuisinart became her closest companion as she experimented with thousands of mixes and treated her friends and family to endless taste tests.

When faced with the overwhelming mysteries of launching a food business – production, packaging, bar codes, distribution – Merriken slowed down and took a job in the nutrition department at Whole Foods, a position she viewed as a form of internship. “It was one of the best things I ever did, because they were the first major grocery retailer to bring my product in,” she says.

Today Merriken employs 14 staff members at the Denver-based Humm Foods (www.larabar.com). Her future goals are “to continue to grow our brand globally and create new food products with the same premise in mind: simple, pure, delicious.”

It’s an objective unencumbered by trepidation.

“When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re a big risk-taker, so I learned not be afraid to try new things,” Merriken says. “In my mind, anything is possible; you just have to decide you want to do it and take action.”

– Laurel DiGangi