Whether you’re heading out on a local trail or working on a project at your neighborhood coffee shop on a rainy day this spring, Lenka Bars make for the ideal boost of energy. Lenka is a craft granola bar company based in York County that has maintained its original, handmade roots even as its business has expanded far beyond the borders of Pennsylvania.
Lenka Rasovsky arrived in the United States as a refugee from the Czech Republic. After living in New York, Rasovsky and her family relocated to York, the snack food capital of the world.
Rasovsky was passionate about incorporating clean ingredients into her family’s diet.
In 2006, while seeking a healthy snacking alternative for her two sons, she came up with the original Lenka Bar. She combined simple ingredients: granola, peanut butter, and honey.
When she realized she had come across something truly great, the family started Lenka. Their mission has always been to treat customers like extended family by providing them with the same healthy, deliciously chewy treat that Rasovsky created in her own kitchen.
The family was just about to close shop after Rasovsky survived cancer, when Humankind stepped in to make sure the operation kept running due the brands growing popularity and loyal customer base. Sales Manager, Dan Heisey, was elated with the news, explaining, “Humankind has been the ideal company for us to align with. Their focus on environmentally conscious business and charitable efforts parallels our own mission.” Lenka prides itself on partnering with local charities, sponsoring and nourishing local athletes, and co-branding with other Susquehanna Valley small businesses on special product releases.
Lenka’s original granola bar has gotten a modern twist. Peanut Butter with Sea Salt is a customer favorite. The combination of sweet and salty makes it a classic snacking choice. It’s made with peanut butter sourced directly from Dauphin County. The peanut butter’s low sodium is what gives the bar its rich peanut butter flavor.
The Vanilla Espresso bar is a coffee lover’s dream. It contains coffee oil that is refined down to create a deep coffee flavor, neutralized by the subtle hint of vanilla. Heisey explains that this bar was made as an ode to Lenka’s loyal customers who frequent the many independent coffee shops where Lenka is sold. Lenka regularly seeks out their customers for input and inspiration in creating new combinations.
The Berry Omega bar is packed with dried cranberries and Omega-3’s, making it perfect to throw in your backpack for long spring days spent outdoors hiking, climbing, or biking. Pure wildflower honey acts as both binder and sweetener in the bars, which are all gluten free, dairy free, high in fiber, and contain seven grams of protein.
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When you eat a Lenka Bar, you are eating a product that is truly handmade, a rarity in today’s snacking culture. The entire process to make a batch of bars passes through the hands of only four employee’s, who craft the no bake granola into slabs, hand-roll the bars, and cut them into their thick, rectangular shape.
Picturing his ideal situation for a customer to be enjoying a Lenka Bar, Heisey explains that it is simply any situation where someone is working towards a goal and just needs a little push to finish the job. He goes on to say, “Whether it’s an athlete who has been at it all day, a hiker who is just shy of the top of the mountain, or a parent who has to pick up their kids and take them to soccer practice, I envision Lenka Bars helping our customers carry out both the unbelievable and ordinary tasks that they’re faced with on a daily basis.”
Heisey grew up swimming around the inlets of the Susquehanna river and traversing the trails at Chiques Rock County Park. His team’s passion for creating and maintaining connections with this area is only enhanced by the company’s vision to grow. With new flavors in development, Heisey’s goal is to make sure that people in every State have the ability to go to a local shop and grab a Lenka Bar without sacrificing the quality of using the cleanest label and highest quality products that have served the Susquehanna Valley so well.
In addition to shipping nation-wide, Lenka Bars can be found in independent coffee shops throughout the area, as well as in stores such as Stauffer’s and local SaladWorks.
Grab a bar and get outside this spring!
