Today I welcome Ivan Pelly, Founder of the Ivan Bar to the show!

In 2015, Ivan bought his last grocery-store nutrition bar. For him, they were either too small, too sweet, or just tasted… not so good. He thought he could do better, so he set out to make his own. He studied what kind of ingredients made for great nutrition and great taste, and got to work. After many, many attempts, he arrived at what he thinks is the best nutrition bar on the planet. These bars taste great; they’re good for you, and you don’t need to eat six of them to take the edge off your hunger. Initially, I just made them for himself and his family. Sooner or later, friends got their hands on them, and he was answering questions like, “could you make me some more?” and “where can I buy them?”. This popular demand made him think that maybe the “Ivan Bar” could find a life outside of his fridge and his kids’ lunchboxes. And so they have. 

In today's episode, we touch on:

• How and why Ivan decided to create Ivan Bar.
  
• The ingredients in the bars and why he chose the ingredients that he did (hint: they're super clean, nutritious ingredients without any added junk!).
  
• What it's like to launch a brand that's build on nutrition – a brand that's built on the actual health benefits of the product, skipping those harmful additives and fillers.
  
• Advice Ivan has for those who are looking to start their own business.
  
• What Ivan uses to preserve his bars and make them shelf stable instead of harmful chemical preservatives.
  
• Why it's so hard for small businesses to get into grocery stores.
  
• His favorite flavor + a surprise for what's coming next for Ivan Bar (hint: it's delicious!).
  

You can purchase Ivan Bars on ivan.bar – if you're on the central coast of California, you can also use this store locater to find out where you can snatch some of the bars in person as well.

DISCOUNT CODE: Ivan so kindly offered listeners a discount code! If you'd like your code, please email ivan@ivan.bar and he will send you over your code. Stock up on some for yourself and grab a couple extra to give as healthy holiday gifts this season – you won't be sorry you did (trust me!).

Let's continue the conversation over on Instagram @simplyhann_. If you share one thing that resonated with you from the episode and how you are going to implement it into your life over on your Instagram stories, I will enter you into the weekly giveaway for a chance to win some of my favorite things! 

+++ 

Have you had the chance to purchase a copy of my Gut-friendly Fall Favorites Recipe E-book? 

10 festive, comforting recipes for you to enjoy this fall (without the bellyache) – and the best part, you can get all of the ingredients at Trader Joe's! 

There are 5 savory recipes and 5 sweet recipes – so there's a little something for everyone! 

All of the recipes are gluten-free and can easily be made vegan. 

Purchase here: https://www.simplyhann.com/product-page/gut-friendly-fall-favorites-recipe-e-book 

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Podcast art by Hannah Bellich. Music by Anchor.