edible energy
FIGALICIOUS
Carson City bakery creates tasty, natural bars.
WRITTEN BY MELISSA SIIG
PHOTOS BY SHEA EVANS
I t was less than two years ago that Bella Four Bakery grew from being a manufacturer of other companies’ energy bars to producing its own brand. In that short period of time, its Nature’s Bakery fig bars have become so popular that some weeks at the Carson City plant workers have to work around the clock to meet demand.
“This product is selling so well, the sky’s the limit,” says Sam Marson, who owns Bella Four with his father, Dave, a 30-year veteran of the natural foods industry.
In early 2010, the Marsons tired of being at the mercy of other companies and saw a niche for an all-natural, price-competitive, individual fig bar. The Nature’s Bakery fig bars — whole wheat or vanilla, which come in fruit flavors such as raspberry, blueberry, and apple cinnamon — are made with stone-ground whole wheat, evaporated cane juice, and brown syrup. There are no trans fats or high-fructose corn syrup.
“They are a clean source of energy,” Marson says.
They also taste good, which is not always the case with energy bars.
“We wanted to make something that a 2 year old or a 60 year old could eat, that an athlete or a non-athlete could eat,” Marson says. “We wanted an all-around natural snack.”
Nature’s Bakery products, which also include nut crunches, can be found in major grocery stores across the country, such as WinCo Foods. If you don’t see one of the fig bars in your favorite market, just wait.
“Any major chain you can think of, we’re going into,” Marson says. “Nobody has rejected our product.”
Bella Four, which has tripled its number of employees in less than two years, on sometimes makes more than 300,000 bars a day. That’s also the company’s advantage — despite being small, it doesn’t have to pay someone else to produce the product.
“What makes our company so successful right now is that we manufacture our own stuff,” Marson says. “We are growing as fast as we can produce it.”
For details or to order, call 775-884-2253.
Melissa Siig is a Tahoe City, Calif.-based writer. She loves figs, not only because they are delicious but also because people often mistake her last name for Fiig.
