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All taste, no junk

A Tampa woman turns her grandmother's healthy cookie recipe into a snack sensation for the diet-conscious.

By ALAN SNEL, Times Correspondent
Published January 19, 2008

Erin DeMarines and Erin Rubenzer give 3Bar samples to customers at Nutrition Smart on North Dale Mabry last Saturday.
	[Kathleen Flynn | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Kathleen Flynn | Times] The market for Erin DeMarines' all-natural energy bar has been growing exponentially. [Kathleen Flynn | Times] Erin DeMarines watches as Ana Mendoza and her son Daniel try her 3Bar energy snack.

TAMPA - Erin DeMarines is cutting a deal to sell her vegan energy bar in Whole Foods Market, a giant retailer of organic foods. She has distributors and brokers talking to health food store owners in the southeastern United States and retailers west of the Mississippi River. And the South Tampa personal trainer is exploring international markets such as Australia.

Not bad for a 210-calorie wheat-free snack that was inspired by her grandma's cookie recipe and first served 11 years ago to DeMarines' personal training customers in Los Angeles' entertainment business.

DeMarines' 3Bar energy bar is already sold in more than 200 locations in Florida, including 40 Publix stores, another 40 Sweet Bay supermarkets and Radiant convenience stores.

But now the 38-year-old South Tampa resident is looking to expand the business, which comes under her e-Fit Foods Inc. banner. 3Bar sales and revenues have soared since 2006, after the snack was launched at the St. Anthony's Triathlon in April 2005.

Sales started with 9,467 energy bars in 2006, increased to 47,900 in 2007, and is projected to hit 224,000 in 2008, said Tony Gray, DeMarines' business consultant. Corresponding revenues have risen from $18,600 in 2006 to $76,000 in 2007 and are projected to reach $361,000 this year, Gray said.

DeMarines originally sold the energy bars online and focused on the triathlete demographic. But in the past year, the personal trainer has widened the demographic pool, casting a net for mainstream athletes who want a healthy snack. There is no dairy, wheat or preservative in the energy bar. It's also kosher and trans-fat free.

"It's really a bar for everyone. A guy who goes into a Radiant for some gas and gets a Coke can also get a 3Bar because it tastes good," DeMarines said.

Creative Energy Foods, of Oakland, Calif., manufactures the 3Bar, which comes in three flavors - cocoa crunch, which is the best-sellingand DeMarines' favorite; tropical tri, which was inspired by DeMarines' love for Almond Joy candy bars as a kid; and blueberry blast.

To promote 3Bar, DeMarines will market it on a new TV program on Fox Sports Net that is a sports version of the Home Shopping Network. DeMarines will discuss health and nutrition, and have a five-minute infomercial on Sports Shop TV, said Carey Bowen, director of sales for Sport Shop.

"It will hit a variety of demographics, not just athletes. People with diabetes can buy it because it's a sugar-free product," Bowen said.

One bar retails for $1.99-$2.69; a box of 15 costs about $30, DeMarines said.

Victor Karydis, a manager at Nature's Harvest in Tampa, said the customers who buy the 3Bar are loyal clients who buy the energy snack week after week.

Allen Castro, a sales representative for Main Street Marketing who is trying to place the 3Bar in health stores in the southeastern United States, said the energy bar can be sold in both a store's sports energy bar section and also the shelves where gluton-free products are sold.

"In the arena of sports bars, it's gluton-free and that's a good selling point," said Tracy Kreider, a national product educator for Country Life Vitamins. She used to sell the 3Bar years ago when she worked at a Tampa-area health food store and DeMarines made the energy bar in her kitchen.

[Last modified January 18, 2008, 23:10:49]