Corrine Konell was told a couple years ago following extensive food allergy
testing that she likely could end up with an auto-immune disease later in life.
She was allergic to gluten and highly intolerant to cow dairy products.
Changes were necessary.

“Being a very on-the-go person while trying to stay fit and eat right is difficult
as it is, but even more so when you can’t have just the normal stuff,” Konell
wrote in an email to The Mountain Times. “So, fueled by a frustration to
‘break out of the typical herd’ I got to work on creating a protein bar unlike
any other.”

Turned out, it was a goat herd. It seems that goat whey has considerably less
lactose than cow dairy, and less allergenic.

Konell went to work (the process has taken two years) on creating a protein
bar unlike any other because “I was simply unable to find any clean/nutrient-
dense snack or quick food product that was actually sustainable, and that I
could have.”

After rigorous kitchen trial and error, clearing the difficult hurdles required by
the FDA, and obtaining a trademark, Konell came up with a new marketable
protein bar she dubbed, appropriately: barNONE.

At the moment, there are no goat farms in Oregon large enough to fill the
new business needs, or are certified for what the FDA requires. Presently, the
goat whey comes from a large farm in Wisconsin and is certified 100 percent
grass-fed. But this source will change.

“I plan to get goats of my own next year, when our farm is set up,” she wrote.
Konell’s talents go beyond creating a new protein bar. She’s become a quick
study in the marketing business as well.

“My scheme this early on has been on social media outlets and farmers’
markets ... including the Nike Campus markets,” she wrote. “Our main focus
right now is getting out there in the local communities so we can gain
exposure, build relationships, and help customers become familiar with our
brand.”

The barNONE protein bar is currently in small cafes, local gyms, nutritional
shops, markets “and starting next month will be in New Seasons Markets
throughout the Portland area,” she noted.

In the near future, marketing of the bar will include sporting events, ad
campaigns, newsletters, expos and blogs.

And a kickstarter campaign looms to garner financial backing on a global
basis.

The barNONE protein bar has come at a cost, however.

Konell will be leaving her longtime post at McKenzie Dental in Welches this
month.

She admitted to being “very sad to leave the dental office, but on to new
adventures.”

“All of the good, NONE of the bad” Konell’s website trumpets, and the site can
be found at: www.barNONEprotein.com.