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AMERICAN FORK — Nick Greer said he never wanted to get into food, consumer goods or online sales, but he loves everything about his current job — which is centered around those things.
"It is like 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' around here. We have a lot of fun," he said.
As co-founder of Built Bar, Greer said he gets to have snack days and enjoys seeing the excitement from people as they taste new flavors.
Built's protein bars are not uncommon in Utah — you may have seen a billboard, seen the company listed as a Brigham Young University football sponsor, or had one of the bars thrown to you at a parade. Now, the American Fork-based company is expanding.
Built recently announced its bars will be available in Walmart locations around the United States, and the company is looking to expand into other regional and national chains. Three of its flavors — double chocolate, cookies 'n' cream and coconut puff — are available at 3,700 Walmart stores, a press release from the company said.
Built was born when Greer and his friend purchased a recipe from a family who had been selling the bars to people they knew, including Greer's co-founder. The recipe was initially designed for future Olympians, and Greer said they modified the recipe and then built on it as they added different flavors.
Greer said he wants the company's bars to shift a paradigm that something either has to be healthy or it can taste good. "You can have your cake and eat it too, and that's what we love about Built," he said. "We just want to change people's mindset of what healthy truly does taste like."
He even works to make sure there are products available that fit every different taste. The company has made over 135 flavors, so far, and is always testing what people like. Greer said people are passionate about flavors they like, and some rivalries have formed online — especially as the company makes flavors temporarily available.
"I didn't know that people could get passionate about a candy bar that's healthy for you. It's kind of a novel idea," he said.
Greer said Built wants to be a part of getting people excited about their health, and doing that for others is what he enjoys most about his business.
He said they started the company in a 700-square-foot facility in Springville and soon moved to an old Walmart building in American Fork. Before they had machines, they were making 80,000 bars each day by hand to sell primarily online from that facility.
"Really, what we're doing is disrupting that candy bar industry. We're redefining what protein and protein bars taste like and the experience that you have with them," Greer said.
He wants everyone to have the opportunity to make intentional health choices and wants to get Built to more people — to the point that the company is working with every vendor possible. He said the snack's target audience is everyone.
Greer described the large customer base the company has gained in the last four years as remarkable.
"We're so grateful to our loyal and growing group of brand fans for helping us to meet and exceed our goals to this point," he said.
He said he wants Built to show up where customers expect it. Walmart is just the beginning of an increase in availability in grocery and convenience store chains throughout the country.
"In the last few years, we've seen an increased consumer focus on overall wellness and self-care — people want their food to both taste great and be a health-conscious choice that makes them feel good. Built is the bar that does both, and Walmart is a great partner to help us offer that to the masses," Greer said.
