Nourish your body with healthy foods shouldn’t be difficult, but for Erica Groussman, it was beyond frustrating.
When it was time for the Miami Beach mother of two to grocery shop, Groussman was overwhelmed by the number of protein bar choices and spent too much time trying to find the best option. What she eventually realized, she says, was that there wasn’t one.
So Groussman, 42, decided to create her own.
As founder and CEO of Trubar, Groussman set out to make a protein bar that’s packed with fiber and nutrients — without sacrificing flavor. Many other bars, she says, either fall short on nutrition or simply don’t taste good.
“I wanted to create something clean and delicious,” says Groussman, who is originally from Upstate New York but moved to South Florida in 2011. “There’s a missing gap in the world, and I want to fill it.”
She teamed up with a food scientist in 2019 to start developing flavor samples, hosting taste tests with family and friends and using their feedback to decide which ones made the cut.
A Family-Fueled Mission
Her family has always been her biggest source of support, especially her husband, Mark. He offered guidance on major decisions early in the process and served as her cheerleader when she felt like giving up.
“Trubar might have started as my idea, but it quickly became something we all believed in and rallied around,” says Groussman, who shares two children — Alivia, 13, and Asher, 11 — with Mark. “And now that my kids are older, they are always asking what’s next, sharing what’s trending and making sure I know what’s cool before it hits. They keep me on my toes in the best way.”
When she started the company, she called it Truwomen, a nod to Groussman’s commitment to providing better snack options and job opportunities for women. As the brand evolved, so did the name. Trubar now has 12 employees — four of them men.
“I realized that clean, crave-worthy snacking is something everyone is looking for, so we became Trubar,” she says. “Still true to the mission, still rooted in wellness — just with a name that speaks to more people.”
Clean Ingredients, No Compromise
Fans of Trubar gravitate to the snack because it is free of gluten, soy, sugar alcohol and seed oils. And the best part, Groussman adds, is that it tastes like a dessert, not cardboard.
She’s proud of the ingredients in her products, like brown rice protein, and touts her decision to remove seed oils when she learned they were potentially harmful. Groussman admits that making such a big change wasn’t easy; revising the packaging and labels was a headache. But while it cost money and took time, she says the decision to make her bars the best they can be was worth the effort. Groussman is always looking for ways to improve the product, if it means it’s better for the body.
“I’ve never loved how seed oils made me feel, and once I really started paying attention to how common they were in snacks — even the so‑called ‘clean’ ones — I knew we had to do things differently,” she says.
Trubar is produced in the Midwest. While there are currently no production facilities in South Florida, Groussman says her dream is to eventually bring the business closer to home.
Thanks to Trubar’s growing fan base, that goal may soon become a reality.
Soaring Sales And Star Power
The company, which launched in 2019, earned more than $50 million in revenue in 2024 and is on track to reach its goal of $100 million annually by 2026.
In 2021, Groussman sold the company to Simply Better Brands Corp., which changed its name to Trubar Inc. She remains its CEO, retaining less than 10% ownership in the parent company.
Since 2024, the bars have expanded from 1,005 retail stores to more than 18,700 locations, including 730 Costco stores across the United States and Canada.
Trubar has even made its way to Hollywood.
Celebrities including Megan Fox and Halle Berry have called it their go-to snack, and actress Paris Berelc was recently spotted snacking on a Trubar on set. Kathy Hilton and Bethenny Frankel have also shared their love for the bars on social media.
“It’s always fun to see the brand in the hands of people who are busy, active and care about what they’re putting in their bodies,” Groussman says.
Photos BY Nick Garcia
Staying Well While Building A Brand
Making time for health and wellness isn’t always easy for Groussman. Having lived in South Florida for 14 years, she’s a busy entrepreneur, wife and mother. Even when she doesn’t have time to exercise, she still finds a way to focus on wellness, taking the stairs instead of elevators, keeping weights nearby, doing spontaneous push-ups in her office and wearing an Oura Ring to track her sleep.
And, of course, she eats well.
She has at least one Trubar a day; and her current favorite flavor is “Oh Oh Cookie Dough.”
Clever names are part of Trubar’s charm, often catching customers’ attention before the first bite. Flavors like “Whole Lotta Macchiato,” “It’s Mint to Be Chip” and “Shake It, Bake It, Birthday Cake It” bring a playful energy to the brand.
Coming up with those names is one of Groussman’s favorite parts of the job.
“We brainstorm a bunch, test a few, and usually the winner is the one that feels like it could be the name of a dessert you dream about but do not feel guilty eating,” she says.
She describes the names as fun and unexpected — and says there’s a reason for that.
“The goal is to make someone smile before they even take a bite,” she says.
A Driven Mindset, An Exciting Future
The bars’ nutrition labels may also spark a smile: Each bar has about 200 calories, along with 12 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber — ideal for anyone snacking on the run, including Groussman herself.
Being CEO of a company is not a title Groussman ever imagined she’d have. As a child, she wanted to be a singer and, later, a plastic surgeon. Her dreams changed over the years, but her mindset didn’t.
“I was always very driven and had a hustler mentality. I always just go after [what I want], and nobody can say no,” she says. “Still, to this day, if someone says no, I find a different way.”
In the coming months, she plans to focus on new partnerships, expand into more stores and roll out even more flavors with whimsical names. She’s also just launched Trubar Kids — a line designed specifically with children in mind.
“I’m excited about the innovation we’re bringing to better-for-you snacking,” she says. “We’re just getting started.”