Meet Clancy Cauble, Head of Social Goodness At This Bar Saves Lives

This Bar Saves Lives was the brain child of Kristen Bell, Ravi Patel, Ryan Devlin, and Todd Grinnell. Inspired by the incredible impact of a very simple product to treat malnutrition, the friends set out to launch a line of bars that would connect conscious consumers to global aid.

Through a one-for-one model the organization partners with researchers and nonprofits to deliver food aid for every bar purchased. They’ve built a passionate following of loyal customers and have donated more than 3.5 million life saving nutrition packets to date. We sat down with Clancy Cauble, their Head of Social Goodness to take a look behind the scenes of this social enterprise.

A little bit celebrity and a whole lot of heart, what is the story behind This Bar Saves Lives?

This Bar Saves Lives started when two of our co-founders, Ryan Devlin and Todd Grinnell, took a trip to Liberia to build a bridge for a local community. While they were there they saw not only the effects of severe malnutrition but more importantly, the treatment for it—often a simple, but highly effective nut-based product called Plumpy’Nut! After seeing that severe malnutrition was 100% treatable they couldn’t go home without doing something to help. They called up two of their friends, Kristen Bell and Ravi Patel, and came up with our one-for-one snack bar model. The rest is delicious history!

You all have woven nutrition into the very DNA of this business. Not only are the bars good for the consumer, produced with high quality and delicious ingredients, but every purchase fights malnutrition around the world. Tell us more about your model.

We are a giveback company first and snack bar company second. We simply wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for our desire to impact the world by fighting malnutrition.

Yes! Our mission is to end childhood malnutrition worldwide. To do that, we work with experts in the field who deliver that nutrition where it’s needed most, both domestically and abroad. We are committed to providing the tastiest better-for-you snack bars, so we can send the best life-saving food aid to children in need. Every time you buy a bar, we give life-saving food aid, like Plumpy’Nut, to children fighting malnutrition all over the world. One for one.

Today our give-back model IS our brand. We are a giveback company first and snack bar company second. We simply wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for our desire to impact the world by fighting malnutrition.

Malnutrition is such a huge problem around the world, and it’s far more diverse than just the image of undernourished children we often see. Talk to us about the need to balance quality and quantity nutrients in low income communities. How does Plumpy’Nut help?

It certainly is a huge issue! One of the best ways to fight malnutrition is through treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition. RUTF (ready-to-use therapeutic food) like Plumpy’Nut is an incredibly effective way to do that. That particular product is a power-packed peanut paste specifically designed to treat severe malnutrition. Just three each day for about 6-8 weeks can take a child from severely malnourished to completely healthy and thriving. It has revolutionized the way that severe malnutrition is treated around the world because it is an effective at-home intervention. Caretakers can take these packets home and easily administer it to their children, avoiding the disruption and cost that in-clinic treatment can cause. 

Why was snack food the means through which This Bar Saves Lives decided to make an impact? The founders could have chosen almost anything, right?

We love the idea of “we eat together.” Sharing a meal is something that is done in almost every culture and is a sign of community and relationship building. Our founders wanted to be able to allow consumers to share nutrition with someone they may never meet who lives thousands of miles away. To us, that’s an incredibly special and meaningful impact!

Is the one for one model sustainable? Are you seeing any other trends integrating social impact and profitable business?

[The one for one model is] not only the best way to engage consumers in creating a higher impact through conscious consumerism, but it’s also an effective way to provide ongoing aid abroad.

It is sustainable! We’ve found that it’s not only the best way to engage consumers in creating a higher impact through conscious consumerism, but it’s also an effective way to provide ongoing aid abroad. Our impact isn’t dependent on donations—we simply have to make the tastiest snack bars out there and our impact increases hand-in-hand! 

How has your role has Head of Social Goodness influenced other aspects of your life? What qualities do you look for in the brands that you support?

My role as Head of Social Goodness has impacted every part of my life and worldview. I’ve always been involved in the non-profit world but this is my first foray into a for-profit give-back company. It is so inspiring to see firsthand how passionate our consumers are and how large the desire is to give back.

I try to never purchase anything that doesn’t have some sort of a social impact side to it—I had no idea how easy that was to do! There’s a social impact brand for almost everything, from snack bars to soap bars! I know now that seemingly small actions like shopping consciously can add up to a huge impact in the long run.

Seemingly small actions like shopping consciously can add up to a huge impact in the long run.

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Kassia Binkowski is a Contributing Editor at The Good Trade and the Founder of One K Creative. She grew up in Madison, WI and traveled her way around the world to Boulder, CO which she now calls home. Nestled against the Rocky Mountains, Kassia supports innovative organizations from Colorado to Kathmandu tell their stories of social change through writing, photography, and design. Kassia is an eternal optimist and forever a backroad wanderer.