Protein Bar
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
Protein Bar firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Protein Bar
- Legal name
- PB Restaurants, LLC
- Website
- https://theproteinbar.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Protein Bar industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthy Fast Casual Restaurants
- NAICS
- Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Health & Wellness / Functional Fast Casual (macro-counted, high-protein, allergen-friendly) (THAFABAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls) (THAFABAF)
Keywords
Where Protein Bar is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Protein Bar business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Restaurant Sales (Dine-in, Carry-out, Delivery): Traditional restaurant revenue from customer purchases of protein bowls, salads, wraps, shakes, smoothies, and other menu items across company-owned and franchise locations
- Corporate Catering: Catering services for office meetings, conferences, and events providing fresh salads, warm bowls, wraps, breakfast items, and individually boxed meals
- Gift Cards: Physical gift cards sold in-store and digital gift cards sold through app/online, redeemable at restaurant locations
- Franchise Fees and Royalties: Franchise development fees from new franchisees plus ongoing royalty payments based on franchise location sales
- Licensing Partnerships: Non-traditional licensing partnerships bringing Protein Bar & Kitchen to airports, universities, shopping malls, and fitness boutiques with flexible footprints as small as 150 sq. feet
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Healthy Fast Casual Restaurant Franchise |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Protein Bar product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Protein Bar & Kitchen operates healthy fast-casual restaurants serving protein-packed shakes, smoothies, salads, wraps, bowls, and burritos with 15+ grams of protein per entrée, fully customizable for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and other dietary preferences. The company runs an all-day menu across company-owned and franchise locations, and extends the brand through corporate catering, gift cards, a franchise program targeting 100 locations in five years, and non-traditional licensing partnerships in airports, universities, malls, and fitness boutiques.
Product overview
Protein Bar & Kitchen operates as a unified healthy fast casual restaurant brand with an integrated portfolio of products and services. The core offering is the restaurant chain featuring protein-packed shakes, salads, wraps, bowls, and all-day menu items customizable for various diets. Supporting the core brand are the PBK Rewards loyalty program and PBK Mobile App, which drive customer engagement and streamline ordering. The company extends its reach through catering services for corporate events, a licensing program for non-traditional venues (airports, universities, malls), and a franchise program for traditional locations. Gift cards provide additional revenue channels. The technology infrastructure integrates with Incentivio for online ordering and payment processing, and the company has developed its own branded mobile applications available on iOS and Android platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Protein Bar & Kitchen Restaurant Operations Core restaurant offering serving protein-packed shakes, smoothies, salads, wraps, bowls, and burritos across company-owned and franchise locations. All-day menu (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) with 15+ grams of protein per entrée, fully customizable for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, omnivore, and other dietary preferences including GLP-1.
- Catering Services Corporate catering service for office meetings, conferences, and events providing fresh salads, warm bowls, handheld wraps and burritos, breakfast items, DIY Acai bowl and yogurt parfait bar, individually boxed meals, and a Shake Break team-building experience.
- Protein Bar & Kitchen Franchise Program Traditional franchise opportunity for opening Protein Bar & Kitchen locations. Requires minimum liquid capital of $150,000 and net worth of $1 million. Reports AUV of $1.388M with projected 9% annual sales growth and buildout costs as low as $50,000 with streamlined equipment package.
- Licensing Program Non-traditional licensing partnership program for airports, universities, shopping malls, and fitness boutiques. Features minimal buildout requirements with layouts as small as 150 sq. feet, buildout costs as low as $50,000, and flexible footprints.
- Gift Cards Both physical gift cards (purchasable in-restaurant) and digital gift cards (purchasable online and through the PBK Rewards account) are available and redeemable at Protein Bar & Kitchen restaurant locations.
Quantifiable outcome
- AUV of $1.388M for traditional locations in 2025
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Protein Bar
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Protein Bar technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature4 records
Protein Bar partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting, key account, planned, target segment and notable.
- IncentiviocoreThird-party ordering platform provider handling online orders, gift card purchases, and order processing. All payment data is handled and stored by Incentivio with privacy notice available at incentivio.com/privacy.
- Google Maps PlatformsupportingLocation services integration using GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell towers to estimate device location and provide store finder functionality and directions to restaurant locations.
- Google AnalyticssupportingWeb analytics service for tracking and analyzing website usage, including remarketing with Google Analytics and Google Display Network Impressions Reporting.
- O'Hare International Airportkey accountNon-traditional licensing partnership operating Protein Bar & Kitchen location within O'Hare International Airport serving travelers with protein-packed on-the-go options.
- LaGuardia Airportkey accountNon-traditional licensing partnership at LaGuardia Airport providing healthy food options for airport travelers and staff.
- Boise Airport (Idaho)plannedPlanned non-traditional licensing partnership at Idaho's Boise Airport scheduled to open in 2025.
- University Campusestarget segmentNon-traditional licensing partnerships targeting university campuses as high-traffic areas with students seeking healthy on-the-go dining options.
- Shopping Mallstarget segmentNon-traditional licensing partnerships targeting shopping mall food courts and retail locations with high foot traffic and need for healthy dining options.
- Fitness Boutiquestarget segmentNon-traditional licensing partnerships targeting fitness centers and gyms with members seeking post-workout nutrition and protein-rich meal options.
- NASCAR Reporter Jamie LittlenotableNASCAR reporter Jamie Little partnered with Protein Bar & Kitchen to start her restaurant franchising business with her husband, highlighted in Nation's Restaurant News.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Protein Bar competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe: Franchise-driven fast casual chain offering smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, and bowls with a heavy protein/health positioning. Closely comparable franchise model, smoothie/shake-led menu, and target demographic to PBK.
- Sweetgreen: National healthy fast casual chain specializing in high-protein, customizable salads, bowls, and warm plates. Directly competes with PBK on menu, target customer (health-conscious millennials/Gen Z), and supply/dietary customization (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free).
- Smoothie King: National smoothie and protein-shake chain with strong fitness-oriented customer base and franchise model. Comparable menu (shakes/smoothies as anchor) and shared protein/health positioning with PBK.
- CAVA: Fast casual Mediterranean bowls, salads, and pitas with strong customizable and dietary positioning. Directly competes with PBK's bowl/salad customization model and health-conscious consumer base; substantially larger scale (hundreds of locations).
- Salad and Go: Fast casual drive-thru salad and wrap chain with healthy, customizable positioning and aggressive unit growth. Comparable menu structure (salads, wraps, bowls) and franchise/scaling ambitions to PBK.
- Just Salad: Sustainable, customizable salad and wrap chain with loyalty program and digital ordering. Comparable menu focus, customization model, and health-conscious target demographic to PBK.
- Playa Bowls: Fast casual acai, bowl, and smoothie franchise targeting health-conscious consumers with customizable menu. Comparable franchise model, bowl/smoothie menu structure, and demographic alignment to PBK.
- Freshii: Health-focused fast casual chain offering salads, bowls, wraps, and smoothies with customizable dietary options. Closely aligned target customer (health-conscious, on-the-go consumers) and menu format to PBK; comparable franchise model.
Broad incumbents
- Chipotle Mexican Grill: Largest customizable fast casual chain in the U.S. with bowls and lifestyle protein-forward offerings (high-protein lifestyle menu). Broader incumbent competing for the same health-conscious, protein-seeking consumer with vastly greater scale and brand awareness.
- Einstein Bros. Bagels: National bagel/bakery chain with protein-forward breakfast and catering offerings. Overlaps with PBK on all-day breakfast positioning, catering, and protein/healthy menu extensions, though core product differs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Protein Bar social profiles
Digital presenceProtein Bar financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Protein Bar leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Protein Bar funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Protein Bar M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Protein Bar
What does Protein Bar do?
Protein Bar & Kitchen operates healthy fast-casual restaurants serving protein-packed shakes, smoothies, salads, wraps, bowls, and burritos with 15+ grams of protein per entrée, fully customizable for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and other dietary preferences. The company runs an all-day menu across company-owned and franchise locations, and extends the brand through corporate catering, gift cards, a franchise program targeting 100 locations in five years, and non-traditional licensing partnerships in airports, universities, malls, and fitness boutiques.
Is Protein Bar a public or private company?
Protein Bar is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Protein Bar founded?
Protein Bar was founded in 2009. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Protein Bar based?
Protein Bar is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Protein Bar make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Sales (Dine-in, Carry-out, Delivery) is the primary driver. The others are corporate Catering, gift Cards, franchise Fees and Royalties and licensing Partnerships.
Who are Protein Bar's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Sweetgreen, Smoothie King, CAVA, Salad and Go, Just Salad, Playa Bowls and Freshii. Broad incumbents are Chipotle Mexican Grill and Einstein Bros. Bagels.
Does Protein Bar have an API?
No public API is recorded for Protein Bar.
What industry is Protein Bar in?
Protein Bar's product category is Healthy Fast Casual Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFABAO, Health & Wellness / Functional Fast Casual (macro-counted, high-protein, allergen-friendly), with a secondary code of THAFABAF, Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls). Its NAICS code is 722513 and its SIC code is 5812.