Keith Pabley is dedicated to providing a way for people to eat healthy on the go. As CEO of Good Greens, one of Shaker LaunchHouse’s newest investments, Pabley is marketing his nutrition bars around Northeast Ohio with huge success.
“Our bar is unique because it has 100 percent of your daily fruits and vegetables,” says Pabley. “We’ve loaded it with all the stuff you’re supposed to be eating.” The bars are gluten free, vegan and have a low glycemic index. But don’t let the fact that they are healthy scare you; they’re tasty, too.
Pabley first got involved with the product when his family invested with the doctor who created a nutrition powder that is the basis for Good Greens Nutrition Bars. While working on his MBA at Baldwin-Wallace College, Pabley’s family approached him about marketing the doctor’s product.
“It was a good product, but had to be positioned properly,” Pabley recalls. He did just that. In May 2011, he went out on his own, brought the price down from nearly $5 a bar to less than $2, and partnered with Heinen’s, Marc’s and Dave’s Supermarkets to promote and sell his products.
Just four months later, Pabley has three employees and the Good Greens bars are the number-one seller at Heinen’s. The bars are so popular that Pabley has been developing new flavors, such as chocolate mint, chocolate fudge brownie, and Greek yogurt with blueberries. He plans to introduce them later this fall.
“For a small company without a big marketing budget, to put those numbers up is pretty phenomenal,” he says. He hopes to hire additional people soon and do his own manufacturing.
Source: Keith Pabley
Writer: Karen Connelly