Perfect Snacks

Perfect Snacks was born in a family kitchen on wheels — a household of 13 kids, a family bus, and a shared love of whole foods. The company's origins trace back to Bud Keith, a pioneer in the health food movement who opened Healthouse, the first gym and juice bar in San Diego, right on the boardwalk of Mission Beach. As a family, they traveled the country by motorhome while Bud lectured on the value of whole food nutrition. Constantly experimenting with ways to keep his large family well-fed while on the go, Bud one day mixed freshly-ground organic peanut butter, honey, and his blend of whole food protein, took one bite and declared, "It's Perfect!" — and the Perfect Bar recipe was born.

Once the recipe was perfected, the family began sharing it with the world, making and selling Perfect Bars the way other kids sold lemonade. They bought ingredients from local markets, mixed and rolled each small batch, and sold them to anyone who would buy them. When Bud became very ill with skin cancer, the oldest siblings came together to gamble everything on turning Dad's refrigerated protein bar recipe into a formal business.

In 2005, at just 19 years old, Leigh Keith and five of her siblings launched Perfect Snacks, investing their savings into a candy-wrapper machine purchased on eBay. Their first major break came when a single Whole Foods store in Berkeley agreed to stock the bars on a 30-day trial; they sold so well that Perfect Bar expanded into 10 more Whole Foods locations.