RXBAR has the most dramatic ownership chain in the Traced database — not for the complexity of any single deal, but for the sheer distance traveled from origin to current owner in eight years.
The yellow score reflects an unresolved question rather than a current failure: the product is unchanged, but Mars now controls every formulation, sourcing, and pricing decision for a brand whose identity is "No B.S. ingredients." The structural question is whether Mars's incentive structure — maximize portfolio margin across a $63B snacking business — is compatible with RXBAR's ingredient ethos over a sustained period. The Annie's profile (also in this database) shows what General Mills ownership of a clean-label brand looks like seven years in. That's the reference case for this watch.
RXBAR's marketing was and remains the most transparent in the protein bar category. The founding insight — move the ingredients from the back of the package to the front, in large type — created a brand whose identity is indistinguishable from its ingredient list. "12 egg whites. 6 almonds. 4 cashews. 2 dates. No B.S." is not a marketing slogan. It is the label.
No paid influencer equity conflicts. No scientific advisor arrangements layered over promotional fees. No proprietary blend obscuring what is actually in the product. The green score reflects the most straightforward marketing alignment in the database among bars in the same category as David and Momentous. What you see is what you get.
The one post-acquisition nuance: the RX AM breakfast bars — launched under Kellogg ownership — use honey and coconut sugar rather than dates, and carry 10–14g total sugars. They share the "RX" branding and the front-of-pack ingredient transparency, but are a meaningfully different product from the original bar. The brand's expansion under corporate ownership is worth watching.
RXBAR retails at approximately $2.50–$3.00 per bar — premium but not extreme for the protein bar category. The pricing reflects real ingredient costs: dates, egg whites, and premium nuts are not cheap at scale. No subscription model, no DTC funnel dark patterns, no auto-renewing membership.
The yellow reflects the corporate ownership dynamic: under Mars, pricing decisions are made by a $65B+ family-owned company optimizing across a global snacking portfolio. The product currently earns its price. Whether that continues, or whether margin pressure leads to ingredient substitution or portion size changes, is the forward-looking question this score is holding open.
The current RXBAR ingredient list is what the brand was built on: egg whites, dates, almonds, cashews (or other nuts depending on flavor), and natural flavors. No modified food starch. No hydrogenated oils. No protein isolate blends masking cheaper sources. No artificial sweeteners. The bar delivers 12g of protein from egg whites — a complete protein source — at a PDCAAS of 1.0.
This is the clearest green in the bar category. The product is genuinely clean, the ingredient count is low, and nothing has been substituted since the 2017 acquisition. The green score reflects current ingredient reality — the ownership watch (Dimension 1) is where the forward concern lives.
RXBAR makes no unusual scientific claims. "12g protein, real food ingredients" is not a contested assertion — egg whites are complete protein, the macros are accurately stated, and the brand has never claimed therapeutic benefits. No scientific advisory arrangements, no commissioned studies, no health claims requiring FDA substantiation beyond standard nutrition labeling.
The yellow reflects the same mild concern that applies to any bar in this category: no product-specific clinical research, and some of the newer RX line extensions (cereal, oatmeal) carry "better for you" positioning that is harder to substantiate than the original bar's simple ingredient list.
Clean record. No FDA warning letters, no FTC enforcement actions, no class action suits for label misrepresentation. The one notable event — a January 2019 recall of 15 flavors of RXBAR and RXBAR Kids for undeclared peanut allergen — was handled with a standard voluntary recall. Peanut allergen contamination in shared manufacturing facilities is an industry-wide risk, not specific to the brand's label accuracy practices.
The front-of-pack ingredient transparency has also never generated enforcement concern: what is stated on the front matches what is in the product. This is the standard Traced holds all brands to, and RXBAR meets it clearly.
No NSF Certified for Sport status. No published third-party batch COAs. For a bar sold in gym environments to performance-oriented consumers — some of whom are competitive athletes subject to anti-doping testing — the absence of sport-specific certification is a gap relative to Momentous (green benchmark) and even Quest (NSF options available). The bar is manufactured in a US SQF-certified facility, which is meaningful for general food safety but not equivalent to sport-specific contamination screening.
The 2019 peanut recall is logged here as a transparency positive, not a negative: the voluntary recall was prompt and appropriately handled. No enforcement action required.