Clio Yogurt Bars – Add These To A Snack Routine?
Clio Yogurt Bars are Greek-styled and a source of protein but did face a major recall in 2021.
In these days of being health conscience, we are always looking for foods and snacks that will keep us on the path to good health. Clio Yogurt Bars fit neatly into the category of healthy snacks and therefore have been one of the more popular items in grocery stores. So, let’s take a look at just how popular the Clio Yogurt Bars are and if they are truly as healthy as people think they are.
CLIO YOGURT BARS ARE HIGH IN PROTEIN AND MADE OF GREEK YOGURT
Young consumers are making their voices heard and Clio Yogurt Bars are reaping the rewards. Over the past decade, the food market has been going through changes when it comes to healthier foods and the Clio Yogurt Bar came along at the right time.
The bars, which are made of Greek yogurt, offer consumers of any age a healthy alternative to the traditional, sugary desserts once seen littering grocery stores.
So, what exactly are these delicious snacks called Clio Yogurt Bars? The easiest way to describe them is that they are a combination of Greek yogurt that has the consistency of cheesecake covered in a thin layer of chocolate.
What pulls them well into the “healthy” category is not only are the bars 75 percent yogurt, but they are also filled with protein galore, loaded with probiotics, contain only 140 calories, and have much less sugar than your standard yogurt.
Clio Yogurt Bars also have plenty of attractive flavors to choose from. These include strawberry, peanut butter, vanilla, honey, blueberry, espresso, and hazelnut.
The creator of the Clio Yogurt Bars is Sergey Konchakovskiy, who grew up in Ukraine, and he says that “People want healthy foods, but they won’t sacrifice taste and convenience. Clio delivers the health benefits that you know and love from Greek yogurt (8+ grams of protein and billions of probiotics per bar), but brings an unexpected, indulgent cheesecake-like experience that keeps people coming back for more.”
According to Konchakovskiy, not only are Clio Yogurt Bars not a fad, but he is adamant that they will be here for the long run. They have, by the way, flourished even through the pandemic, with only one major hitch that we will discuss in a bit.
“People love Clio,” Konchakovskiy told Forbes. “The consumer response has been amazing. Believe it or not, we have heard directly from fans that they’ve cried tears of joy because they cannot believe they can indulge without feeling guilty. Clio solves this major problem for people- the desire to indulge without feeling guilt – and brands and products that serve emotional needs have longevity.”
CHILDREN WERE THE CATALYST FOR CLIO YOGURT BARS FORMING
The path that Sergey Konchakovskiy took from his country of Ukraine to becoming the creator and CEO of Clio Yogurt Bars was definitely not your normal story. Konchakovskiy was born, raised, and went to school in Kyiv. For Konchakovskiy, though, it wasn’t any normal school he attended, no, he went to medical school, and as impressive as that sounds, Konchakovskiy never once practiced medicine.
Instead, Konchakovskiy followed his parents to the United States when they emigrated. His first job in the States had nothing to do with medicine, but instead, he got a job working for Entenmann’s in their accounting/financial control division. After Entenmann’s, Konchakovskiy moved over to the Wonderful Company.
Sergey Konchakovskiy was still at the Wonderful Company when the Clio Yogurt Bar idea presented itself to him. He was at home one night when he watched his children find some leftover yogurt in the refrigerator. They began to play with it, as it had the texture of Play-Doh.
Upon seeing this, Konchakovskiy remembered back to his childhood in Kyiv and the snacks he would eat called Sikri (chocolate-covered soft cheese). Wanting something healthy, yet similar to the Sirki, Konchakovskiy came up with the idea to combine Greek yogurt with a chocolate shell.
According to the brand’s president, Heather Cox, Konchakovskiy went through a number of different formulation stages before he found the right cheesecake consistency he was looking for. Using different machinery, it became a lot of trial and error before Konchakovskiy settled on what consumers now love about the Clio Yogurt Bar.
“He is one of the most inventive people I’ve ever met, and there’s not a problem that’s too big for him,” Cox said to Forbes. “People try Clio because of its functional attributes [such as protein and probiotics], but come back again and again because it tastes so delicious.” Then she added, “Clio has disrupted the refrigerated bar and yogurt categories by bringing in new consumers for an indulgent snack or dessert occasion.”
Unfortunately, with all this good news, there does come some bad as not all has been smooth sailing for the Clio Yogurt Bar. Back in 2021, the Clio Yogurt Bar was involved in a recall that, for a while, put a crimp in the Clio growth. Thankfully, it didn’t last long.
THE CLIO YOGURT BAR FACED A MAJOR RECALL
This is the one major hitch we spoke of earlier. In 2021, Clio Snacks (the parent company of Clio Yogurt Bars) announced a recall of not only their Clio Greek Yogurt Bars but also the Greek Yogurt Minis that were being sold at Walmart and Sam’s Club.
The reason for this recall was over safety concerns. In their statement, the company said that there was a possibility of small metallic fragments from a piece of production equipment that may have fallen into their Clio Yogurt Bars and Yogurt Minis.
At that time, the company had already identified the issue and corrected it, but the damage was done. Even though no injuries had been reported at the time, they advised everyone who had purchased the possibly affected products to dispose of them immediately. Clio Snacks was offering reimbursement for those affected products.
THEY HAVE PLANS FOR MAJOR GROWTH IN THE COMING YEARS
To meet the growing demand for Clio Yogurt Bars seen around the country, Clio Snacks has had to reach out to investors. “Our business has been healthy,” Cox told Forbes. “We have innovation baked into our DNA, so we are always looking for newer opportunities. There are a lot of exciting things happening in plant-based, that’s certainly on our radar for the future.”
To make this happen, the company secured $8 million in series C funding, led by its existing big-time investor, Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG), with an additional pitch in from AF Ventures, formerly known as AccelFoods.
AF Ventures president and managing partner, Jordan Gaspar, said in his statement after their investment, “Offering families a better-for-you, yet indulgent, convenient snacking solution in the now-present grab-and-stay consumption environment, our network of partners are uniquely qualified to support the expansion of Clio’s cold-chain footprint.”
Also thrilled with contributing more to the growth of Clio and the Clio Yogurt Bars was ACG’s co-founder and managing partner, Julian Steinberg. “Our initial investment in Clio in 2017 helped the company build out its manufacturing capabilities and expand its capacity to support strong demand among retailers and consumers.”
