It was writer F. Scot Fitzgerald who opined that “There are no second acts in American lives.” It was JAMBAR creator Jennifer Maxwell who proved him wrong.
Maxwell’s first act—at least in terms of one of her professional pursuits—included co-creating the PowerBar in Berkeley, a product that launched the energy bar market in the mid-80s. After growing the company to wild success over 14 years, the venture was sold to consumer packaged goods juggernaut Nestlé. End of act one.
Now, Maxwell is back in the limelight with her new organic, artisanal energy bar, JAMBAR, which she makes in a newly built, state-of-the-art facility just over the Richmond Bridge in Marin County.
“The building has history,” says Maxwell, as she leads this reporter on a tour of the facility. “It was a Hostess bakery. Then it was a printing press for many years. Part of the building was a recording studio for the Grateful Dead.”
On cue, Maxwell points to a vast psychedelic mural on one of the plant’s walls that was created by a Dead-associated artist circa ’80s or ’90s. It’s an understatement to say that good musical vibes permeate JAMBAR. Perhaps they’re residual flashbacks from the Dead, but more likely they result from a harmonic alignment of mission, music and sometimes mango.
“We built our own dedicated facility just for making JAMBARs, so we control the quality and ingredients from start to finish,” says Maxwell of the certified organic facility, which is tucked away in one of San Rafael’s light industrial areas.
The rigor with which Maxwell approaches her new venture is impressive. Every JAMBAR is all organic, non-GMO and is made with premium, real food ingredients, including ancient grains, natural sweeteners and high quality proteins. There are gluten-free, vegan and plant protein options, and they come in four flavors: Chocolate Cha-Cha, Malt Nut Melody, Jammin’ Jazzleberry and—wait for it—Musical Mango.
The product names and the brand itself reflect an obvious passion for music—a passion that intensified after the passing of Maxwell’s husband, Brian, in 2004 from a congenital heart problem.
“It took me a couple years to get to where I could function again, and in the healing process, music just came to me,” says Maxwell, who found herself raising six young children on her own, among them a seven-month-old baby. Her instrument of choice? Drums.
“I’ve always been an athlete, but somehow drumming—the pulse and the beat and the physicality of it—was so, so captivating,” says Maxwell. “It was hard. I mean, it took me 10 years to get competent at all.”
Ultimately, music proved not only restorative and therapeutic for Maxwell; it was an inspiration.
“It aligned my life in a different way. All of a sudden, practice was therapeutic. It was intellectual; learning how to read music is difficult. It was a challenge,” she says, pauses, then adds, “I like challenges.”
When Maxwell and Brian first landed on the “energy bar” concept, the term didn’t even exist—they created it. Since then, the category has evolved into hundreds of bars of varying types. Despite this Cambrian-like explosion of bars, Maxwell still felt that there was an opportunity that wasn’t being met in the market.
“I was intrigued to reenter this category because the organic segment of the category is not very well represented,” says Maxwell, whose background is in athletic-targeted food science. “I didn’t feel there was a really high quality organic bar that I wanted to eat….It was like, there’s no bars that I really feel good about putting into my body.”
In 2015, Maxwell was at the kitchen table with her daughter, Julia, a record-holding, high level athlete who ran at Stanford University. She shared her lament about the quality of energy bars on the market. Then Julia asked her a fateful question: “Well mom, why don’t you invent one?”
Challenge accepted.
“This is something that I figured I could do,” Maxwell recalls. “I’ve done it before.”
Maxwell began her new venture in fits and starts.
“I worked on it a little bit, then I kind of tabled it for a bit, and then I worked on it some more,” says Maxwell, who was also busy raising her kids while experimenting with recipes. This process went on for a few years.
As she brought more and more premium ingredients into the mix, it became evident that she would not be working with a co-packing company that would produce the bars for her. In an unusual move for her industry, Maxwell decided to make a “huge capital investment” and build her own facility.
For many entrepreneurs, this would be a daunting undertaking. Not for Maxwell.
“I don’t live in fear and I don’t live with fear. I believe in my product,” she says. “I believe in my mission.”
Central to that mission is the “JAMBAR Gives Back” program. JAMBAR donates 50% of after-tax profits to organizations that promote music and active living.
Through a special partnership with Marin Community Foundation, beneficiaries span an array of music and athletic organizations, from Enriching Lives Through Music, California Jazz Conservancy, and Coaching Corps, to Tamalpa Runners, Marin County Bike Coalition, Bread and Roses, and Jazz in the Neighborhood.
“The vibe of the company is positive and energetic. We encourage music, education and active living. Those are our philanthropic ventures.”
JAMBARs can now be found in a multitude of Bay Area natural food and grocery stores and beyond (and even a few music stores and athletic stores). As for Maxwell, she can be found on the production line, cutting mango.
“It’s one way to maintain sanity,” she says. “I guess it’s to stay grounded. I’m not a particularly materialistic person. I’m not a pretentious person. I’m pretty down to earth. I love to work—I’m so excited and grateful I can come to work,” she says with a winning smile.
For more information, visit jambar.com
