Laird SuperfoodSport of Quilting Challenge

Bend-based Picky Bars, founded by triathletes and a favorite snack among active people craving a burst of carbs, has been sold to Laird Superfood, the Sisters-based company that produces plant-based creamers.

Laird Superfood, founded by big wave surfer Laird Hamilton, paid $12 million for Picky Bars, according to a release. Shares of Laird Superfood (NYSE: LSF) rose to $37.50 on Tuesday, a 1.5% gain compared to Monday’s close.

The merger shines a spotlight on Central Oregon as an emerging producer of healthy foods and snacks. The area is also home to beverage maker Humm Kombucha, cookie maker Red Plate Foods, and granola maker Bird Seed Food Co.

Laird Superfood and Picky Bars maintain similar values, promoting natural ingredients and nutrition for people with an active lifestyle. And with the pair both located in Central Oregon, uprooting operations won’t be necessary.

“They have a shared vision, they are good people, they are invested in the Central Oregon community — it couldn’t be any better,” said Lauren Fleshman, a co-founder of Picky Bars.

Mike Quinones, senior vice president of growth and marketing for Laird Superfood, said in an email he anticipates getting Picky Bars onto shelves in more than 7,000 retail stores across the country. Picky Bars could appear in convenience stores and drug stores, he said.

“We believe these incredible products will resonate particularly well with our existing and loyal customer base,” said Quinones.

That growth should provide Picky Bars more resources to create new products, said Picky Bars chief executive Jesse Thomas

The company increased its sales by 40% in 2020 compared to the previous year, said Thomas, helped mainly by growth in online sales. Even with the growth, Thomas said the timing to sell was good.

“We could have hung onto it and sold it for more later. We were growing a lot but when it came down to it, enough was enough,” he said. “We didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to have all these synergies with this partner.”

Thomas, who was born in Bend and graduated from Mountain View High School, said he will remain with the company as a vice president of Picky Bars and guest of the Laird Superfood Executive Leadership Team.

Fleshman, who is married to Thomas, will be a strategic advisor for the company and take a seat on the Laird Superfood Environmental, Social, and Governance Committee. A third founder, Steph Bruce, will also remain with the company as an advisor.

Fleshman said the founders could have kept the company as revenue was increasing annually, but felt that Laird Superfood ticked all the boxes for a great partner.

“The scenario under which we entertained selling was such a narrow set of qualities, Laird Superfood has them all,” she said.

The $12 million sale of the company was a long way from the early 2010s when the founders were making Picky bars in a house in Springfield.

Now Fleshman and Thomas have two young children, aged 3 and 7, and the pressures of running the business have been lifted with the sale.

“Owning a business with your spouse has challenges; owning a business period has its peaks and valleys,” said Fleshman. “We started thinking a couple of years ago what it might look like to sell o ne day, just a different variation where (the business) wasn’t all on us at the end of the day. And so that is what we are doing.”

Both Fleshman and Thomas said they don’t have any grand plans of how to invest the money they’ve earned from the sale, but their 7-year-old has some ideas.

“We might add a third room to our house,” Thomas said, laughing. “Our older son is complaining about having to share a room with his sister.”