Lara Merriken, like many others, was frustrated with the quality of food at the grocery store, and especially frustrated with all of the deceptively unhealthy granola bars. After graduating from USC with a degree in psychology, Lara decided to create LÄRABAR.  LÄRABAR is a fruit and nut nutrition bar that contains very few ingredients. The bar comes in many fun and seasonal flavors. These ingredients are all fair-trade, natural, or non-GMO. Lara’s nutrition bars are completely different than other granola bars, which are full of bad ingredients. She started making these bars and giving them to friends, who then encouraged her to sell them.

Lara’s best advice for entrepreneurs: “Surround yourself with people who support you and your dreams. It adds value to shared opinions and helps to keep your spirits high, especially when the going gets tough, as it always does when you’re building something complex from scratch.”

People buy these granola bars because they advertise having little fat and calories. We, however, need fat and calories in our diet. Despite popular dieting theories to avoid fat, Lara created a food that is high in good omega-3 fats, which are healthy. While LÄRABARs may have a lot of calories compared to other granola bars, Lara understands that the quality of the ingredients are more important than the calorie count. Those who purchase these bars know exactly what ingredients they are consuming.