Branding Between the Ears: Using Cognitive Science to Build Lasting Customer Connections

CHAPTER 13

MINDING YOUR MANNERS

You would think that I would be in love with RxBar.

It represents the heartwarming story of entrepreneur Peter Rahal, who parlayed a $10,000 investment in energy bars into a company that sold for $600 million to Kellogg’s just four years after its launch. Rahal’s success is fascinating for more than one reason. He is a lifelong dyslexic, which he says makes him a poor linear thinker, but gives him a superpower, namely, that of making out patterns and connections where others see just dirt and muck.¹

In the hypercompetitive breakfast snack market, Rahal could see a gaping hole, an unmet need for a portable and nutritious energy bar targeted at the on-the-go, health-conscious consumer. His branding for the bars ...