We are working on a line of granola bars for retail sale. This is a really fun project! For the past 2 years, pretty much all I have done is design esoteric programs, write, research and lecture. I love doing all of that! ...but it is nice to be commercially cooking again. My years of working at Whole Foods, Marvelous Market and Trader Joe's has prepared me for this kind of work.
When I was a kid, I always dreamed of becoming a research scientist and a fine dining chef. I know, not an obvious combination! What with my total ADD/ADHD mentality, flitting between practical and theory keeps me going forward better than direct or linear focus. I was surprised by how much this project draws from both of my skill sets.
Creating, costing, packaging & marketing a product is second nature for me. After all, that is what a grocery store chef does! These days I am busy researching how to create a granola bar within the following parameters:
Max out the health value but keep calories as low as possible
Continuity of product: make sure every bar is the same size & weight
Make sure the product looks attractive & tastes good
Keep it a rough & raw as possible to extend the digestive time (so you are not hungry again for a while)
Use as much as possible of: natural, organic, environmentally aware locally or small farmed ingredients (This calls for a lot of small batch testing with seemingly similar ingredients)
Use biodegradable packaging (no plastic)
Design labels & logo; print nutrition/ingredients on packaging
Compare to other granola bars to make sure our pricing is profitable and market appropriate
Determine if we can use any profits to support a good cause and how much we have to sell to make that happen
I'll let you know how we do with Project Granola Bar. If any of you have questions, requests or preferences, please share them with us. You can email your thoughts to bonita@bonitawoods.org
When I was a kid, I always dreamed of becoming a research scientist and a fine dining chef. I know, not an obvious combination! What with my total ADD/ADHD mentality, flitting between practical and theory keeps me going forward better than direct or linear focus. I was surprised by how much this project draws from both of my skill sets.
Creating, costing, packaging & marketing a product is second nature for me. After all, that is what a grocery store chef does! These days I am busy researching how to create a granola bar within the following parameters:
Max out the health value but keep calories as low as possible
Continuity of product: make sure every bar is the same size & weight
Make sure the product looks attractive & tastes good
Keep it a rough & raw as possible to extend the digestive time (so you are not hungry again for a while)
Use as much as possible of: natural, organic, environmentally aware locally or small farmed ingredients (This calls for a lot of small batch testing with seemingly similar ingredients)
Use biodegradable packaging (no plastic)
Design labels & logo; print nutrition/ingredients on packaging
Compare to other granola bars to make sure our pricing is profitable and market appropriate
Determine if we can use any profits to support a good cause and how much we have to sell to make that happen
I'll let you know how we do with Project Granola Bar. If any of you have questions, requests or preferences, please share them with us. You can email your thoughts to bonita@bonitawoods.org
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