Glenbard West alums create company featuring healthy protein bars

GLEN ELLYN – Four Glenbard West High School alums are doing their part to provide healthy options after founding RxBar, a company that produces protein bars.

Sam McBride, Jared Smith, Peter Rahal and Jessie Stewart, all of whom grew up in Glen Ellyn, work with the company.

The product began as the brainchild of Rahal and Smith in April 2013. The idea was to create a healthy snack that wasn't made in the same manner as typical snacks.

McBride said RxBars are made with 100 percent real food, including egg white protein, nuts and figs. Other protein bars that are mass produced contain gluten, added sugars, artificial sweeteners, artificial ingredients and preservatives.

He likened it to going to the grocery store to get a steak: Buyers don't want to pick out a bad steak. They want the one that tastes the best and has the highest quality.

"Just because something has a wrapper on it, doesn't mean you shouldn't treat it like a steak," McBride said.

The group started with small batches, Rahal said, and gradually grew from there. Smith said the company sells up to 150,000 bars a month.

"We've been on a pretty steady pace the last couple months," Smith said. "It's been pretty successful."

The four all graduated from Glenbard West High School in 2004. But their friendship runs deeper than that: The quartet also attended Hadley Junior High and Ben Franklin Elementary School together.

The biggest buyers of the product are health-conscious people. McBride said it's easy to plan a healthy dinner, but it's tougher to stick to that plan during a busy schedule.

"We try to give people a great option when they're on-the-go," he said.

The bars are just a starting point for RxBar. The company hopes to address more snacks in the near future and make them all healthier options.

"We're really trying to make the conventional food industry as healthy and clean as possible," Smith said.

McBride said older consumers tend to be more brand-loyal, while younger people are typically more-educated food consumers and they are willing to try new items.

"We've seen people, they're really, really receptive to new brands," McBride said.

Rahal said the length of their friendships has helped strengthen their business partnership. Because they get along so well, there are no trust issues and internal issues get worked out easily.