# Perfect Snacks: Bill and Leigh Keith

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2025-06-09
- Length: 1h 26m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith

## Summary

Bill and Leigh Keith, co-founders of Perfect Bars, explain how they turned their father's homemade peanut butter and honey recipe into a major CPG brand, eventually selling to Mondelēz International. They detail the bootstrapped journey from hand-rolling bars in a Sacramento warehouse to securing deals with Whole Foods and Costco, and the critical decision to introduce a chocolate chip flavor to meet investor metrics. The episode highlights a major crisis when a false positive salmonella test forced a massive recall, nearly shutting down the company before they secured $15 million in investment from VMG Partners.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=0) Introduction: The Keith Family and Perfect Bars Origin
- [3:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=213) Nomadic Childhood and Father's Influence
- [11:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=693) From Family Recipe to Business Idea
- [26:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=1563) Bootstrapping: Warehouse, Packaging, and First Sales
- [36:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=2178) Gaining Traction: Whole Foods, Costco, and Demos
- [52:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=3172) Scaling Production and Rebranding
- [1:05:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=3957) The Salmonella Recall Crisis
- [1:10:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=4234) Investment, Professionalization, and Exit
- [1:22:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith#t=4975) Conclusion: Family Legacy and Future

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Perfect Bars (product)
- Mondelēz International (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Costco (company)
- VMG Partners (company)
- Starbucks (company)
- Kind Bar (product)
- Clif Bar (product)
- Laura Bar (product)
- Green Fat (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [354 - Beyond the dieline with the incomparable Jake Karls from Mid-Day Squares](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-07-22-354-beyond-the-dieline-with-the-incomparable-jake-karls-from-mid-day-squares) (People of Packaging)
- [#100 Toasting to 100 Episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast with Our Favorite Moments](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-07-25-100-toasting-to-100-episodes-of-the-startup-cpg-podcast-with-our-favorite-moment) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Leanne Viola and Jesse Barruch of WHIMS](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-10-04-founder-feature-leanne-viola-and-jesse-barruch-of-whims) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [350 - Beyond the Dieline - Dr Juan from PNuff Crunch joins Tom Seymour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-05-27-350-beyond-the-dieline-dr-juan-from-pnuff-crunch-joins-tom-seymour) (People of Packaging)
- [345 - Beyond the Dieline - The secret success behind Junebar! Tom Seymour and Keith McCullough](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-04-17-345-beyond-the-dieline-the-secret-success-behind-junebar-tom-seymour-and-keith-m) (People of Packaging)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-09-perfect-snacks-bill-and-leigh-keith. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.