Berkeley, CA—Clif Bar & Company sold its family-owned common stock to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Through the ESOP, employees own 20% of the company; owners Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford retain the remaining 80%.

“All along, we wanted to create a company where we would want to work,” said Crawford, Clif Bar & Company’s co-CEO. “Employee ownership is one more way we could run a different kind of business: one that inspires a team of people to make the kind of delicious, nutritious food we’d like to eat, and that strives for a healthier, more sustainable world.”

Founded in 1992, Clif Bar & Company currently has 239 employees and annual net revenues greater than $200 million. The company will soon move to a new green headquarters in Emeryville, CA.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, August 2010 (epub July 2010)