Frequently Asked Questions

We offer a wide range of 'better for you' nutrition products, including protein bars, nutrition bars, protein powders, toaster pastries, protein cookies, cinnamon rolls, filled bites, nutrition balls, brownies, and rice crispy treats.

Our products are made with high-quality, all-natural ingredients that hit a range of nutritional ideals, including plant-based, low sugar, high protein, paleo, keto-friendly, and vegan. We believe that whole, nutrient-dense foods are the best way to fuel your body.

Yes! We offer Vegan Certification for any custom formulation. We can make vegan protein bars, vegan nutrition bars, vegan protein cookies, vegan powders, vegan toaster pastries, vegan cinnamon rolls, vegan high-protein breakfast cereals, vegan bites, vegan rice crispy treats, and vegan brownies.

We offer a large selection of Keto products, including keto protein bars, keto energy bars, keto protein cookies, keto powders, keto toaster pastries, keto cinnamon rolls, keto high protein breakfast cereals, keto balls, keto rice crispy treats, and keto brownies.

Under our clients’ brands’ names, YouBar makes products that are sold in every major national retailer in the United States, including Target, Walmart, Costco, Whole Foods, GNC, Sprouts, Vitamin Shoppe, and Amazon. Most of our clients choose to put their own brand names only on their packaging, so instead of saying “Manufactured by YouBar” on the label, the labels read: “MANUFACTURED FOR CLIENT COMPANY NAME.”

Recipes cannot technically be owned through copyright law and are nearly impossible to patent. 'Ownership' of recipes generally falls simply under 'trade secrets.' Some examples of recipes as trade secrets include the recipes for Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Bush's Baked Beans, etc. But, all that being said, your secret is safe with us. We will never disclose your recipe to anyone. We are always happy to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Please let us know if you’d like us to send you an NDA at any time.

That completely depends on you. Cost depends on ingredients used, product type, product size, run speed, and order quantity. For example, we have bars that cost as little as 30 cents each and as much as $2 each and everything in between.

You can start by checking out our Master Ingredient List. This itemizes all the ingredients that we carry ‘as standard.’ We can source anything for you that is not on the list (as long as it meets our Quality Assurance criteria and is FDA compliant), but there is a sourcing fee per ingredient for this.

Yes, YouBar can create protein bars with grass-fed whey protein. We offer custom formulas tailored to your preferences, using ingredients from our master list or sourcing others that meet our Quality Assurance criteria and are FDA-compliant (sourcing fees apply). Contact us with your requirements to develop your ideal protein bar.

Yes, the fee would still have to be charged as it covers our in-house FDA compliance checks on new ingredients being introduced into our kitchen.

We will never disclose any of our proprietary private recipes. If you are creating a custom recipe with us, then we offer this service at an additional cost.

Yes! Both our facilities in Los Angeles are SQF (Safe Quality Food) certified. Being SQF certified ensures that we adhere to strict food safety and quality standards, which leads to better food safety practices, reduced risk of product recalls, and increased consumer confidence in our products. This certification demonstrates our commitment to providing high-quality, safe protein bars and other snacks for our customers.

We offer numerous quality assurance certifications, including SQF, Non-GMO Project Verification, Organic, and GFCO Gluten-Free. These certifications are product-specific and our clients choose which certifications they want for their particular products.

Yes! We offer Organic Certification for any custom formulation. We can make organic protein bars, organic nutrition bars, organic protein cookies, organic powders, organic toaster pastries, organic cinnamon rolls, organic high-protein breakfast cereals, organic bites, organic rice crispy treats, and organic brownies.

Yes! In fact, both of our production facilities are completely gluten-free. We offer a Gluten-Free Certification for any custom formulation. We can make gluten-free protein bars, gluten-free nutrition bars, gluten-free protein cookies, gluten-free powders, gluten-free toaster pastries, gluten-free cinnamon rolls, gluten-free high-protein breakfast cereals, gluten-free rice crispy treats, gluten-free balls, and gluten-free brownies. Any of our products can also be certified GFCO Gluten-Free.

Yes! We offer Non-GMO Project Verified Certification for any custom formulation. We can make non-GMO Project Verified protein bars, non-GMO Project Verified nutrition bars, non-GMO Project Verified protein cookies, non-GMO Project Verified powders, non-GMO Project Verified toaster pastries, non-GMO Project Verified cinnamon rolls, non-GMO Project Verified high protein breakfast cereals, non-GMO Project Verified bites and balls, non-GMO Project Verified brownies, and non-GMO Project Verified rice crispy treats.

Our costs vary depending on the product, ingredients, and order quantity. We strive to offer competitive pricing for our high-quality products. Please contact our Chief Innovation Officer, Emily Vencat (emily@youbars.com), to discuss pricing options.

Our lead times vary depending on the product and order quantity. We typically require 4-6 weeks to produce and ship a custom order, but this does not include the additional time required to do R&D or source and stage ingredients. If you are ‘starting from scratch,’ it typically takes 6-12 months to get all the way from idea to market with us.

Our MOQs vary depending on the product and order quantity. For single-process unbaked bars, breakfast cereals, protein bars, and powders, our MOQs typically start at 10,000 servings (i.e., 10,000 nutrition bars, which would be roughly 940 boxes of 12 bars each). MOQs are higher for baked goods. Please contact us to discuss your specific needs and MOQs that would be required for your concept.

No, we do not offer pre-formulated “white-label” products, and we do not have a catalog of ‘ready to go’ recipes that you can put your logo on. Everything we produce is customized for each individual client.

You can use that phrase if you’d like. However, most of our clients choose not to have “YouBar” anywhere on their packaging (the fact that clients work with us is typically a secret). Most clients have packages that read: "MANUFACTURED FOR CLIENT COMPANY NAME, CLIENT COMPANY ADDRESS."

Unfortunately, we are unable to make any food that will be marketed to non-human consumers (i.e., pets or animals) – even if it is 'human grade.' This is because, in the United States, pet food manufacturers must follow regulations by both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which governs human food, and also the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). As a company, we do not work with the AAFCO at all. Some of the regulations that animal (non-human) food manufacturers must comply with include ensuring that they use ingredients that are safe for consumption by dogs/cats/other animals and meet certain nutritional standards for those animals.

YouBar does not directly offer dropship fulfillment for protein bars. However, we do provide dropshipping consulting services to assist you in finding suitable dropshipping solutions for your business.

Simply email Emily Vencat, our Chief Innovation Officer, at emily@youbars.com.

We do have some international clients, but we don’t offer international shipping directly. Our international clients use freight-forwarder companies, such as Shipitto.com or MyUS.com, to get our bars shipped to them. Creating an account with Shipitto.com or MyUS.com is easy and free. When you create an account, they will provide you with a U.S. address, which you use as your address when making a purchase with us for energy bars. Once we make your bars, we will send your bars there (to the address they provide), and then they will take care of the international shipping and provide you with the rate options.

Please note, however, that – as we do not ship internationally directly – you will be responsible for ensuring that the product complies with local regulations. You also will be responsible for any import taxes that may be incurred.

We always love to meet our wholesale clients and give them tours of our commercial kitchen! We are proud that all of the kitchen photos on this website are of our own kitchen, with our own awesome staff. Please note that tours need to be arranged in advance (and are only available at certain times) because we have established NDAs with many of our clients and because of the proprietary processes we utilize.

We are located in Los Angeles, California. We have two manufacturing facilities. One focuses on non-baked products, such as slab bars and extruded bars. The other focuses on baked products, such as protein cookies, low-sugar toaster pastries, and cinnamon rolls.