KiZE Concepts expands from local kitchen to national brand with help from FAPC

KiZE Concepts expands from local kitchen to national brand with help from FAPC

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Media Contact: Stephanie Greenlee | Communications and Media Manager | 405-744-0442 | [email protected]

A downtown Oklahoma City company is redefining healthy snacking by staying true to a simple idea - creating clean, nutritious food with purpose. KiZE Concepts, known for its low-ingredient, high-protein energy bars, has grown from a small startup into a brand found in retailers such as Costco, Sam's Club and Whole Foods.

Founded on the goal of changing lives for the better, KiZE produces energy bars made with fewer than 10 ingredients and up to 10 grams of protein. The bars cater to busy, health-conscious consumers who want quick, clean nutrition - but the company's mission goes far beyond food.

"The product is only one portion of this company," said Erin Johnson, who works in marketing at KiZE. "There is also the caring and giving spirit for helping people."

KiZE operates with a philosophy of giving first, supporting food aid programs and community development projects locally and globally under its slogan, Life Changing Bar.

KiZE began with a small vision of selling energy bars to local gyms. Demand quickly grew, leading to a commercial production facility, and now a planned move to a larger space to accommodate its growing team.

"When KiZE started, they were making bars by hand," said Tim Bowser, food process engineer at the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center at Oklahoma State University. "Today, they're producing around 250 bars per minute on a single production line, and they're preparing to increase that from one to six lines in a new facility."

FAPC has supported KiZE from its early stages, helping extend shelf life, improve freshness and refine packaging. The team also advised ingredient systems, transitioning from purchased peanut butter to in-house nut grinding, and provided expertise in sanitation, facility layout and custom equipment design, including a texturometer for shelf-life testing.

Bowser said FAPC students also gain hands-on learning experience by working with KiZE, making the collaboration a mutual benefit.

"I really appreciate the close-knit team that KiZE has to offer and love their energy with each other," Bowser said. "They're passionate about what they do and love to give back to their community, and as they prepare to expand into wholesale markets and a new production facility, their mission remains unchanged - creating products that fuel people and uplift communities."

To learn more about FAPC workshops, services and resources, visit the website.

Story By: Carson Tyree | [email protected]