The creation of B.T.R. Nation — the acronym stands for “bold, tenacious and resilient” — came about during a dark time for Ashley Nickelsen, the company’s founder and chief executive officer.

“The idea for B.T.R. Nation came at an unlikely time in an unlikely place,” she explained. “I was standing in front of a hospital vending machine. When both my parents were diagnosed with rare forms of cancer, I witnessed firsthand the sugar- and chemical-laden snacks available in hospitals — for patients, doctors, nurses and caretakers. I knew I could do better. I have a background in biochemistry and food studies, so I figured who better to create better-for-you snacks for me and my family? When my parents passed away, I knew I had to bring these recipes to the world to help make a positive impact on our food system.”

The San Francisco-based company prides itself on its healthy snack bars, which include four flavors of superfood nut butter bars and three varieties of high protein bars. All are low in sugar and contain no seed oils, gums, sugar alcohols or added flavorings. In addition, the gluten-free products are boosted with nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich superfoods.

“In the snacking space, you typically see two sub-segments of products,” she said. “Low or no sugar snacks that typically contain a ton of artificial additives and simpler ingredient snacks that are packed with sugar. We sit at the intersection of low sugar and simple ingredients, so we bring new customers to products they might normally skip over in the store.”

Starting a successful food company is a lot of work, of course, but Nickelsen and her staff have managed to squeeze in a little fun along the way. In addition to promoting and selling its products, B.T.R. Nation’s website features a blog, a superfood glossary, more than 40 recipes and even a snack-related quiz to help customers discover what company product best suits them.

“At B.T.R. Nation, we want to support our community with educational resources and help make the consumer decision-making process fun and easy,” she explained. “We developed an advisory board called the B.T.R. Collective, which is comprised of registered dietitians and health care professionals who contribute to our blog and help us in the development process. We've invested resources into building a long-term brand that consumers trust, love and can engage with.”

The company isn’t content to sit back and enjoy the fruits of its labor. It recently added two new bars to its Protein+ line; Cinnamon Cashew Crunch and Coffee Cashew Crunch both contain 15 grams of complete plant protein, 10 grams of fiber and 0 grams of added sugar. A new product line is scheduled to launch by the end of this year.