Clif Bar keeps it green and local in Emeryville

Clif Bar & Co. has turned its ideals into bricks and mortar - and solar panels, atrium gardens, a child care center, yoga studio and gym - at its new Emeryville headquarters.

From the organic, locavore cafeteria to the repurposed bikes, kayaks and surfboards hung as artwork to the numerous environmental features that the company hopes will win it LEED Platinum certification, the building embodies Clif Bar's outdoorsy, do-good, green aesthetic.

That hip corporate culture has helped it connect with the active, health-conscious folks who snap up its energy bars.

Forbes magazine just named Clif the top "breakaway brand" in America - ahead of hotshots Facebook, Apple, Disney and Google - based on growth in consumers' perception of its brand differentiation and relevance over the past three years.

Battling rivals

In its core energy-bar market, the independent company more than holds its own against Goliath-backed rivals Nestle's PowerBar and Balance Bar, which was owned by Kraft Foods until late last year. In 2009, Clif was the category leader among health bars in natural, grocery, drug and mass-market channels, according to AC Nielsen and SPINSscan Natural. According to Nutrition Business Journal, PowerBar kept its No. 1 spot last year, but Clif was on a fast track to overtake it this year or next.

The company racked up revenues of $235 million in 2009 and says it has enjoyed a double-digit compounded annual growth rate for the past 10 years.

Besides bars, Clif also sells dried fruit snacks, energy gels and energy drinks.

Gary Erickson founded Clif Bar in 1992 after whipping up energy bars in his mother's kitchen for his customary 175-mile bike rides. He named it after his father, and the company's reception area features posters in which Clifford Erickson bemoans how his son was living in a garage at age 33. In 2000, Erickson turned down a $120 million buyout offer from Quaker Oats, deciding that he preferred to stay independent.

Today Erickson, 53, and his wife, Kit Crawford, 52, run Clif Bar as co-CEOs.

5 core goals

Athletic, energetic and sincere, they share an office (along with their Norwich terrier, Sparky), sometimes finish each other's sentences and talk as fluidly about their five core aspirations (sustaining the planet, people, community, business and brands) as about the bottom line.

Clif's decision to go organic seven years ago reflects those goals.

"It was a big, big risk," Crawford said. "Everyone said, 'Why would you do that?' "

Organic ingredients cost more, are harder to source, and the certification process is complex.

"It did hit our bottom line," Erickson said, "but it was a health decision and an environmental decision."

Ultimately, it also proved to be a solid financial move, as consumers' desire for organic food began to go mainstream soon afterward.

The economic downturn also has benefited the company, whose Clif and Luna bars sell for about $1.40 each. As people take staycations and do more inexpensive activities like hiking and biking, they are buying more portable snacks.

"We've had some really healthy growth these last two years; we're knocking on wood every day," Erickson said.

Finances were solid enough that in June, Erickson and Crawford, who own the company outright, turned over 20 percent of their stock to an employee stock ownership plan for workers' retirement.

Clif's cohort is so young that retirement hasn't really been an issue. Not so long ago, the average employee age hovered around 30; now it's 39.

"We wanted to plan ahead because we know that day is coming" when employees will start to retire, Crawford said. "The employee-owned part is a wonderful thing. People feel like they have some skin in the game."

The company caters to its 246 employees, 189 of whom work in Emeryville, in numerous other ways as well. Besides all the on-site amenities (there's a hair salon, massage therapist, personal trainers), Clif Bar gives workers paid time off to volunteer and to work out in its expansive fitness center. (A sample class: "Boot camp with subtle pain.") It also provides cash for eco-home improvements, green-friendly cars, commuter bikes and carpooling.

The crown jewel

For Erickson and Crawford, who have three children ages 16 to 26, the "crown jewel" of the new space is the 6,700-square-foot on-site child care center for employees' kids. It has room for 64 children (right now it has 25) ages infant to 6. The kids even have their own pint-size gym with miniature treadmill, elliptical trainer and stationary bike, as well as a music room and outdoor playground.

Clif selected the new headquarters, a building where ship valves were manufactured during World War II, after a four-year search. Its move from its previous headquarters in Berkeley was a blow for the city and was seized upon by officials as emblematic of Berkeley's inflexibility with zoning.

"In our old building we had a rough draft of everything we wanted in a workplace and headquarters, but it wasn't a very well-planned-out facility overall," Erickson said. "We started in a (small space), and as other tenants moved out, we took over those spaces; it was like a mouse maze where you'd have to follow crumbs to your desk."

The 115,000-square-foot Emeryville building is essentially one large, light-flooded open space with cubicles made of recycled materials. There are some offices and conference rooms plus the gym, cafeteria, a 350-seat theater and a test kitchen.

The space "fosters community," said Diana Simmons, whose title is new product wrangler. "We work cross-functionally; it's easy to grab folks together."

E-mail Carolyn Said at csaid@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle