TRUBAR’s Founder On Building A Fan-Favorite Brand And Selling It

For Erica Groussman, TRUBAR was a craving, not just a business plan. She wanted a protein bar that delivered taste and ingredients she preferred, but was frustrated with the other bars on the market that sold her functionality with uninspiring flavor. She built TRUBAR, a brand that exceeded the wellness aisle in impact, with a blend of taste, nostalgia, and nutritional value that put the product in a class of its own.

Groussman scaled the brand, and it was recently acquired for $173 million, a remarkable milestone for a business owner. Her story of building the brand is deeply personal and unique, from the scrappy early days to the emotional complexity of building the brand to its peak and selling. She is a founder with intention, and her wellness philosophy and future progress combined show how a brand can redefine a category and leave a mark.

Solution Orientation Transformed Into Cultural Impact

While TRUBAR was inspired by Groussman’s own issues with the protein bar options available to her, she was also met with the needs of those closest to her in the process. Groussman was searching for a protein bar that could satisfy her craving for something sweet while fitting in with “how [she] wanted to fuel [her] body.”

What she discovered was that her family, friends, and early taste testers of the TRUBAR were also searching for a similar product. It became apparent to her through this realization that she had found a collective need, and she was not her only market.

This marked a shift in her thinking and solution, from an individual problem and desire to a wider lens focused on delivering a product that would satisfy the market she had stumbled upon. The transformation set in with consistent feedback from customers, with the engagement helping fuel a cultural resonance.

Groussman says, “People would tell me, ‘This feels like it was made for me,' and share how TRUBAR allowed them to enjoy something indulgent without compromising on clean ingredients.” She continues, “Those moments of connection signaled that TRUBAR was tapping into a broader cultural movement toward balanced, joyful wellness.”

It became clear that the desire for sweet but clean nutrition was widely shared, and that realization marked the moment she understood TRUBAR had the potential to become something much larger than a single product.

Emotional Advertising For A Women-First Customer Base

The road for TRUBAR was not without hiccups, one such being that Erica Groussman was a woman marketing to women from a traditionally male-dominated and advertised market. The protein bar category had the performance-driven language and lifestyle imaging woven into most of the branding. TRUBAR, however, broke the mold, and for Groussman, this change was very intentional.

When approaching the protein bar category, she recognized that the messaging centered on words like “performance” and “macros,” carrying an intensity that would not resonate with Groussman’s largely women-centered wellness. So, she changed the script, acknowledging nutrition as emotional and functional.

She says, “TRUBAR was designed to feel like a treat rather than a transaction.” With dessert-inspired flavors and a distinctly emotional tone, the brand’s marketing aimed to foster a sense of joy and relatability with customers.

Further, Groussman says, “While TRUBAR is for everyone, it was important to me that women felt seen and understood in a space that had largely overlooked them. The goal was to redefine what strength and nourishment look like, making room for indulgence, balance, and self-expression.”

Feel-Good Visuals For Feel-Good Nutrition

TRUBAR breaks the marketing mold with playful, nostalgic, almost beauty-adjacent branding, because Groussman recognized the need to appeal differently to her female-centric audience, but also her personal prioritization of packaging. She says, “I have always believed that how something looks and feels is just as important as what is inside.”

Her philosophy is that in order for people to choose a product daily, incorporating it into their routine and life, there must be a spark of emotional response. She drew inspiration from the beauty and fashion industries that have been using emotional language and imagery in marketing for decades to draw in their customers.

By pairing the dessert flavorings with vibrant, feminine designs, TRUBAR could stand out on a shelf, delivering playful and nostalgic visuals that appealed to the market. However, visuals were not the only method Groussman used to communicate desirability to her audience.

She also used the “clean ingredient story” to reinforce trust with the market. Together, the visuals and the ingredients turned TRUBAR into a brand experience that could be sold as a guilt-free indulgence and a tasty protein solution for women.

Resilience And Perseverance Fueled The Acquisition

TRUBAR was acquired for $173 million, which reflects the work and effort Groussman and her team put into the process. There were years of persistence, uncertainty, and countless challenges behind the “overnight” success of the brand. Through long nights and difficult decisions, Groussman pushed through and ultimately the deal went through.

Groussman recalls the moment the acquisition closed, “...it felt less like a finish line and more like a profound sense of gratitude and validation. It was a recognition of the resilience required to build something from scratch.”

This resilience was developed over her personal sacrifices and emotional investment as she built herself to be an entrepreneur. She did it through her commitment to the vision of bringing indulgent and nutritional protein bars to market, learning and growing along the way.

Finding the Right Partner And Post-Acquisition

Groussman remains deeply involved in TRUBAR, even post-acquisition. She found the right partner to help the brand scale even further, while remaining true to the idea of TRUBAR, and she did it with alignment, not just scale.

Of the process, Groussman says, “I was looking for an organization that truly understood what made TRUBAR special and was committed to preserving that essence.”

“The non-negotiables were clear: maintaining our clean, plant-based ingredients, protecting the brand’s playful and empowering identity, and continuing to prioritize innovation,” she concludes.

She discovered the right fit and completed the acquisition, with the current partner recognizing the effort Groussman put into TRUBAR’s authenticity and uniqueness, giving the brand a strong foundation and recognizability.

By choosing to amplify what existed in TRUBAR, Groussman felt confident in the arrangement, working to expand the brand globally with security that the values she began with would be maintained.

The Next Chapter

After such a major milestone, Groussman positions TRUBAR to begin careful expansion with intentional thought put toward reaching new customers and entering new markets. She says, “This next chapter feels incredibly energizing…I am excited about the opportunity to elevate the brand on a global scale.”

TRUBAR is aligned to continue innovation in the protein bar market, reaching women-led audiences with their core mission of delivering flavorful, sweet, and nutritional protein bars.

Groussman is personally embracing a new evolution of her role at the company, developing from builder to visionary with the acquisition. She is focusing on creativity, mentorship, and shaping the long-term impact of the brand now that it is solidified in the industry.

She wants to share the lessons she has learned in her time building TRUBAR with other female founders, supporting them on their own journeys. She says, “Success now is about building with intention and enjoying the journey, not just chasing the next milestone.”

If she could share anything further with entrepreneurs or female founders it is her personal philosophy of mindfulness, which she credits with carrying her through the difficult aspects of being a founder.

“Taking even a few quiet moments each day to be present and express gratitude can completely shift your perspective. It grounds you and creates a sense of calm before the day begins, which is invaluable when leading a fast-growing business,” says Groussman.

TRUBAR is a testament to Erica Groussman’s dedication to her vision, and she has a $173 million acquisition to show for it. The future for her appears to be supporting those coming up behind her and dedicating herself to growing the brand she has built.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

BDG Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.