The Health Diaries

Why RXBAR CEO Peter Rahal Loves a Personality Quiz

‘It gives you a great sense of self-awareness, but it’s intense.’

There are many ways to live a healthy life. The Health Diaries is a weekly series about the habits that keep notable people living well.

Who thought a protein bar could ever create so much buzz? Peter Rahal, 32, the founder of RXBAR, certainly did. “I always wanted to build something meaningful,” says Rahal. “A bar saves you time and gives you nutrition. Why did they have to be so complicated?”

To build a better bar, Rahal and a co-founder started their company in Rahal’s parents’ basement in 2013 and began selling them to CrossFit gyms. The simple bars (one label reads, “3 egg whites, 6 almonds, 4 cashews, 2 dates, no BS”) have since become the go-to for gym junkies and people avoiding sugar, dairy, soy, and gluten.

Just a few years after launching, RXBAR was bought by food giant Kellogg Company for $600 million, and Rahal has remained the CEO. He spoke with Medium about his nutrition journey and love for personality quizzes:

I wake up between 6:30–7:30 a.m. on average. I only use an alarm clock if I have an appointment I can’t miss at 8 a.m.