PowerBar was founded by the late Brian Maxwell and his wife, Jennifer. Brian was one of Canada’s top marathoners in the 1970s. In 1977, TFN ranked him third in the world, after a year where he was in the top three in Boston and won two other marathons in the last 400 meters in 1977. Brian Maxwell was a long time coach at Cal-Berkeley.
Brian Maxwell was the second advertiser who supported American Athletics, our first title, and PowerBar, (behind Jan Johnson of Hind), was one of the first sports nutrition lines that developed a team line.
Brian Maxwell and his wife, Jennifer, sold the PowerBar Sports Nutrition brand to Nestle S.A. for $375 million in 2000, approximately ten times its’ listed worth of $30 million that year. Brian Maxwell died unexpectedly in 2004 at the age of 51.
Nestle S.A., after ten years of ownership sold PowerBar, announcing the sale on February 3, 2014, to Post Holdings a St.Louis-based nutrition firm, focusing on breakfast products.
Vevey, Switzerland,Feb 3, 2014
- Nestlé divests PowerBar to US firm Post Holdings
- Post Holdings is the third largest producer of ready-to-eat cereals in the US
Nestlé today announced that it has sold its premium sports nutrition business under the PowerBar and Musashi brands to a US-based consumer packed goods holding company, Post Holdings. Nestlé’s premium sports nutrition business operates mostly in the US, Canada, western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
Post Holdings, based in St Louis, Missouri, is a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded ready-to-eat cereals in the United States and Canada.
Nestlé, the world’s leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company, employs 339,000 people and its products are sold in almost every country in the world.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
View all posts
by Larry Eder
