Karen Barbalat: Creating Superfood Nutrition Bars and Like-products That Are Not Only Good for You but Good for the Planet

Our company is Boundless Bars Inc. We create superfood nutrition bars and like-products that are not only good for you but good for the planet.

​​If you love quick and convenient snacking while you’re on the go, Boundless Bars are for you. Health conscious and environmentally sustainable our nutrition bars will allow you to eat clean, live clean and feel Boundless. Our team of nutrition and culinary experts have carefully curated each ingredient and piece of packaging so you can confidently snack knowing you’re making a difference in the world.

Our Vision: To provide products that educate and inspire each of us to live and love boundlessly.

Our Mission: To create nourishing organic foods that provide awareness to the consumer on healthy eating, and environmental sustainability and the effects of their food choices on their body and environment.

Our Values: Boundless
Promises to:
To listen and understand,
To build healthy and inclusive interpersonal relationships,
To share, empower, encourage and inspire,
To be open, transparent and accountable to others,
To be stewards of a healthy environment (work & global).

Tell us about yourself?

Chef, Certified Nutrition Manager and Food Entrepreneur. Karen has spent years perfecting her culinary craft and skills. Being involved in multiple food start-ups, Karen has a passion and drive like no other. The mastering of Boundless Bars’ Original recipe is the result of Karen’s love of food, fitness and nutrition. She started with some friends and a dream and together they would form Boundless Bars Inc.

From a young age co-founder Karen struggled with gut issues that exacerbated into IBD (inflammatory bowel disease).

At the time, diet was never spoken about in conjunction with conventional treatment. Fast forward 15 years later, studies show that most chronic diseases stem from “leaky gut”, and its healing process starts with proper nutrition. In the last several years Karen has taken a deep dive into food and nutrition, from “Bio-hacking” to self quantification tools, it always came back to the basics, you are what you eat.

The North American food system needs change, and what better way to make change than from the inside out. Boundless Bars is tackling the Consumer Packaged Goods system with one product at a time.

If we simply focus on going back to the basics of whole foods that are minimally processed without the use of additives, preservatives, binders and other unnecessary chemical compounds, we can start healing ourselves and suppress the rise of chronic diseases in North America.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

It is important to pace yourself, success doesn’t happen overnight, so enjoy the journey, and enjoy life during the process. It won’t always be easy, so take time to celebrate your wins. Leadership is as important of a skill as any other, keep refining your leadership skills and your relationships.

What problem does your business solve?

Like any other authentic company, Boundless Bars was created to solve a pain point for individuals. Creating food that is not only pure, with no refined sugars, no additives or preservatives. When someone grabs a Boundless Bar, it’s guaranteed to not only be nutritionally dense, but a safe, easy choice.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

Knowing there weren’t many choices out there to snack on without nonsense such as processed powders and ‘functional ingredients’ in it, we went on a mission to bring something to the consumer packaged goods market that resonates with a new generation of consumers who care about the quality of food they put into their bodies that also considers the environment. 100% compostable or BUST – no “biodegradable” middle ground…only the best environmental solution possible for single use packaging!

What is your magic sauce?

Our three Unique Selling Points Include:
Our commitment to using unique ingredients such as the Wild Jungle Peanut, Baruka Nut and other exotic items not yet familiar to North American culture.

Our nutrition bars are refrigerated as they do not have any preservatives, additives, binders or fillers like other shelf stable products. It is the ultimate clean, health conscious and environmentally sustainable bar, this allows us to take up retail space in the refrigerated section rather than in the overcrowded protein bar section in grocery stores.

Our packaging is 100% home compostable with a goal of 1% of our profits being sent directly to the Amazon Rainforest via ICFCanada to aid in global conservation and the protection of indigenous peoples who live there.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

Own/build a manufacturing facility that is CFIA certified OR sign with a Co-packer.
Expand into the United States.

Add additional specialty executive management personnel (CBDO, CFO, CMO).
Visit the Shuar tribe in the Amazon Jungle where we get our Jungle Peanuts from and the Baruka Nuts and give back.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Our main challenges, like any other business, include, marketing, operations, and finances. There will always be challenges, but making a business plan with a proper risk assessment and solution can help mitigate theses challenges as best as possible.

For example, our potential operational challenges include:

Material and ingredient delays, which can be mitigate with supplier contracts and alternative suppliers.

Equipment malfunctions, which can be mitigated with smaller batches using food processors and mixers that can be purchased at a local cash and carry.

System crash mitigation, using cloud technology via Google Workspace allows our systems to be accessed across all computers and team members, as well as stored securely.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

Ask yourself whether you want to support change in the consumer packaged goods industry, are you looking to support companies that are doing it right, whether that’s supporting businesses with an emphasis on compostable packaging, organically sourced ingredients, and charitable programs to support where their food comes from? If those are the types of companies you want to do business with, then we are definitely your type of people!

You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn : @boundlessbars
https://www.instagram.com/boundlessbars/
https://www.facebook.com/BoundlessBars/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/boundlessbars/
https://www.tiktok.com/@boundlessbars

You can also find us on our website at www.boundlessbars.com.