Hardware Podcasts

Lenny & Larry’s Protein Snacks: Barry Turner

How I Built This · 24 Feb 2025 · 1h 04m

What this episode covers

Barry Turner, co-founder of Lenny & Larry’s, explains how he and Benny Graham pioneered the protein-fortified baked goods market in the 1990s, starting with muffins and later finding success with The Complete Cookie. Turner details the company's evolution from a white-label private label operation for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to a branded national retailer, highlighting the critical product design decision to package the cookie to extend its shelf life. He also discusses the business challenges of selling the company twice, including a contentious second sale to Lion Capital that resulted in him losing operational control despite retaining a board seat.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up and large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Lenny & Larry's, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Whole Foods, Lion Capital, Met-Rx, GNC
Products
The Complete Cookie, American Gladiators

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