Clif Bar & Company

Clif Bar & Company all started in 1990 when founder, Gary Erickson, was out on a bike ride. Here’s how he tells it…

“Clif Bar is named after my father, Clifford, my childhood hero and companion throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

In 1990, I lived in a Garage with my dog, skis, climbing gear, bicycle and two trumpets. The inspiration to create an energy bar occurred during a day long, 175-mile bike ride with my buddy Jay. We’d been gnawing on some ‘other’ energy bars all day. Suddenly, despite my hunger, I couldn’t take another bite. I thought “I could make a better bar than this!” That’s the moment I now call “the epiphany.” Two years later, after countless hours in Mom’s kitchen, the Clif Bar became a reality. And the mission to create a better tasting energy bar was accomplished. Thanks, Mom!”

Since those days Clif Bar has grown to be the biggest selling energy bar in the US. But perhaps the most impressive thing about Clif Bar is their commitment to people, to community, and to the environment. This attitude is best summed up by the company’s ‘5 Aspirations’, the 5 goals to which everyone at Clif Bar aspires to in every aspect of their work.

From switching to bio-diesel for their delivery vehicles, to letting every member of staff have 30 minutes exercise on company time every day, to Clif Bar’s ‘Project 2080’ program, which saw Clif employees donate 4600 hours of their time in direct community service, Clif Bar is working to build a socially and environmentally responsible company that still manages to excel in its core business, making great tasting products!