Clif Bar by Hannah Newman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz Gary Erickson en-us 2022-02-23 16:10:52 UTC 2025-10-02 22:05:20 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f31e.png Starting a Business, 1980’s hannahnewman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2064844029
Factor: Entrepreneurship
Gary Erickson was working in a bicycle seat manufacturing company in the late 1980’s. He had always known that he wanted to start his own business, but didn’t know where or how to start. After coming home from work one day to his mom’s calzone, he came up with the idea to sell her recipes. From there, he created a bakery named after his grandmother, Callie’s Sweets and Savories.]]> 2022-02-24 16:05:18 UTC https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2064844029 Creating a Product, 1990 hannahnewman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2066544615
Factor: Entrepreneurship and Land
In 1990, Gary went on a biking trip with one of his friends. He had brought six Power Bars with him and by the time he had eaten five of them, he knew he could make a better one, in taste and in ingredients. After the trip, he went home and immediately started experimenting with ingredients and recipes alongside his mom. He wanted the bar to include natural ingredients. This continued for six months before they had found the perfect recipe, including simple sugars, organic oats, and plant protein.]]> 2022-02-25 15:30:15 UTC https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2066544615 Promoting a Product, 1990 hannahnewman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2069606172
Factor: Labor
Despite already owning a bakery, he didn’t have the equipment he needed to produce his Clif Bar. He went to a nearby bakery and they agreed to produce it there. From there, he went to biking and running events and handed them out to the competing athletes. 
]]> 2022-02-28 14:43:49 UTC https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2069606172 Advertising hannahnewman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2069783553
Factor: Capital
Gary never wanted to use any outside money that wasn’t his. He continued to work at the bicycle seat manufacturing company for the next two years while his business was getting started. His father loaned him $20,000 from his own pocket, which Gary  was able to pay off fairly quickly.

After gaining a little bit of recognition, Gary decided to put an ad in Bicycle Magazine. This ad displayed the ingredients in Clif Bar verses the ingredients in Power Bar with the caption, “It’s your body, you decide.” This of course upset Power Bar and led them to sue Clif Bar, where they eventually settled. ]]> 2022-02-28 16:07:28 UTC https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2069783553 Sales, 1992 hannahnewman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2069818578
Factor: Entrepreneurship and Capital
Within two years, Clif Bar had made over $700,000 in sales, and would eventually over double that. Despite its growing success, Gary still wanted more people to be able to try Clif Bar, so he did a handshake deal with a distribution company. This company wasn’t meeting Gary’s expectations, which led him to let them go. The distribution company ended up suing for ownership and the lawsuit was settled in court. ]]> 2022-02-28 16:24:50 UTC https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2069818578 The Face of a Product hannahnewman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2070497985
Factor: Entrepreneurship
The next step for Gary was to create packaging and a name for the bar. He went to his current coworker at the bicycle seat manufacturing company, Doug Gilmore, and asked him to design the wrapper. Doug came up with the well-known mountain climbing package. As for a name, Gary and Doug had different ideas. For example, Doug wanted the bar named after himself. Of course, Gary didn’t like this idea and kept thinking. One day while in his car, he thought of his dad’s name, Clifford or “Clif”. Since he had named the bakery after his grandmother, he liked the idea of naming the bar after his father. ]]> 2022-03-01 00:28:21 UTC https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2070497985 Selling a Company, 2000 hannahnewman https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2070501260
Factor: Capital
By the year 2000, Clif Bar had made well over $4 million in sales and was the only energy bar on the market at the time. Clif Bar was at an all-time high. Even with this growing success, Gary’s partner wanted out. They hired an investment banker to sell the company and got an offer from Quaker Oats. They offered $120 million and on April 17, 2000, a deal was made. On his way to finalize the deal, Gary broke down. He built Clif Bar from the ground up and called off the deal. Even though Gary still wanted to be apart of Clif Bar, his partner didn’t. She wanted $60 million and it took Gary 9 years to pay her off. ]]> 2022-03-01 00:31:17 UTC https://padlet.com/hannahnewman/jbbfh95znfib2zsz/wish/2070501260