Protein Bars, but Make Them Martha

Stars + Honey knows how much flavour matters. I mean, what’s the point of a collagen protein bar if you don’t want to eat it? So the brand has hired someone whose whole job is making sure you love every bite. Its first Chief Taste Officer? Martha Stewart.

Yes, that Martha Stewart. The multi-hyphenate will be working directly with the brand’s in-house culinary team, tasting and shaping new flavours.

Naturally, she got the best line in the announcement. “Protein bars have become synonymous with compromise, especially when it comes to taste,” she said. “I set the bar high, and Stars + Honey meets it. The texture, ingredients, and balance of flavor are all carefully crafted.”

Set the bar high. We see you, Martha.

Pun aside, she’s not wrong. If you’ve chewed through a protein bar that was more sweetened plasterboard than tasty health snack, you’ll get it. Founder and CEO Daniel Rainey launched Stars + Honey in Michigan in 2023 on the belief that people shouldn’t have to pick between taste and decent ingredients. Each bar has 15g of protein plus type I and type III grass-fed bovine collagen peptides, according to the company, with under 200 calories and 4g of sugar. The bars are free from gluten, dairy, soy, sugar alcohols, and seed oils, and every flavour is developed at Stars + Honey’s production facility outside Detroit.

“Martha is an esteemed tastemaker and, in many ways, the original influencer,” said Sveta Doucet, chief marketing and creative officer at Stars + Honey. “Having someone with her standards believe in what we’re building is an incredible vote of confidence in Stars + Honey and our approach to the category.”

Martha’s appointment follows the brand’s recent $24 million growth investment led by VMG Partners, and its launch in Target stores across the US.

Stars + Honey bars are available in the US in Target stores and at target.com, amazon.com, and starsandhoney.com. They aren’t currently available in the UK.