

· By Scott Wells
Why We Started Wild Horizon
We started a 100% grass-fed beef protein bar company to inspire people to live healthier lives more in harmony with nature.
We started Wild Horizon because we believe in high quality nutrition.
We started Wild Horizon because we wanted to create a high protein, high energy food that was portable.
We started Wild Horizon because we think there can be a better protein bar.
We started Wild Horizon because we believe in a mission that extends beyond those reasons.
Our mission is to inspire people to live healthier lives, in greater harmony with nature.
It Also Started As a Personal Need
Ethan came up with the concept of a 100% grass-fed beef protein bar based on the ancient superfood of pemmican. This was something he learned about while preparing for his solo 60-mile Patagonia trek as part of his personal misogi. He prepared the original pemmican bars for the trip and ended up eating only that the entire time (7 pounds of it!) and felt great–tons of energy for long days of hiking, with no crash. (Read the full “How it Started” story here).
However, both of us (Ethan and Scott), fall into the category of people that want to live healthier lives. Both of us are super active, fitness enthusiasts.
Ethan, a 22-year military veteran serving 16 tours as an Army Ranger and Special Forces soldier, needed to be in top physical condition because his job demanded it. Ethan has countless tales of his time serving our country, with hundreds of missions that required the upmost skill, endurance and strength. Even after retirement, fitness is a top priority in his life.
I’m also very active (Scott), although I can’t say I’ve ever exerted quite the level of sustained fitness that Ethan has in his military career and I probably won’t ever be able to bench more than him! That said, fitness has always been a big part of my life, playing hockey and running cross country in my high school days, and still running, lifting and being very active now in my 30s.
So naturally, as believers that physical fitness is a cornerstone of life, we believe in the value of high quality nutrition. While we cook most of our meals–lots of meat, simple carbs, mostly organic fruits and vegetables and the occasional burger or sweets (we’re human after all)–we still find ourselves traveling, post-workout, on a plane, busy working or just not in the mood to cook. In these scenarios, packaged food is a lifesaver. But it’s no secret that most packaged food isn’t so good for us!
We Believe Packaged Food Can Be Better
We believe that packaged food can be made with simple, natural ingredients. We believe that most packaged food is made with ingredients that aren’t so great–too many chemical based ingredients, additives and added sugars, food dyes and artificial or “natural” flavors, and we wanted to provide a quality alternative to the norm.
We believe that animal-based protein is the best protein source because of its bioavailability, protein density, nutritional value beyond protein in essential vitamins and minerals, and benefit to the environment, when utilizing the best quality beef (100% grass-fed and pasture raised).
We believe that people wanted a protein bar that was made with 100% grass-fed beef, instead of the majority of protein bars made with plant proteins or whey. Most of the protein bars on the market are made with plant proteins including pea, soy, rice and wheat. The rest, which technically are animal-based protein bars, are made with whey protein which is a byproduct of cheese that comes from the milk of cows, not their meat.
So like many of you, we question “why you can't find a protein bar made with real, grass-fed beef?” In fact, this question is leading us down a path that we believe will change the future of portable nutrition.
Two Dreams Coincided
Wild Horizon started as two separate dreams that coincided.
As mentioned, Ethan came up with the initial concept of a 100% grass-fed beef protein bar based on pemmican–the original Native American superfood–while researching a good source of high protein, high energy food for his 5-day, 60-mile Patagonia trek.
I’ve been working with health & wellness brands for over 7 years, focused on marketing products and services that actually help make people’s lives better. After experience working as a creative strategist, media buyer and fractional CMO for brands including mindbodygreen, Snap Fitness, Nutrisystem, HiBAR, Ra Optics and Clean Juice, I felt the itch to put my marketing skills behind my own brand. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on what would be “the brand” and “the product” until I met Ethan.
We met at a men’s leadership retreat in Oahu, Hawaii. The 3-day retreat was focused on mission and purpose building, in career and life in general. The group was made up of 60 men. From young and old, from age 27 to 73, and from every walk of life, corporate roles to organic farmers, and family status, single to men to married men with large growing families. Having such a diverse group focused on a singular goal was, in a word, awesome.
While I won’t share the details of the weekend I can share the outcome when it came to Ethan and I, and our eventual business partnership. During the weekend, we hit it off, but didn’t realize until chatting at the end that we were both interested in building out what was to become Wild Horizon. Ethan mentioned that after exiting a business in cryotherapy, he was working on a pemmican-based beef bar, but needed marketing and branding help. Of course my eyes lit up as I loved the concept, realizing my background and experience could make a great fit.
Long story short, we got back to Austin and hit the ground running. Coming up with the name, Wild Horizon, and developing the brand behind it. After settling on our mission and brand pillars, Ethan got to work honing the recipe and our 3 delicious flavors (Wild Berry, Texas Barbecue and Jalapeño Heat), while I got to work designing and developing our website, planning our marketing and creating content.
We Want to Build a Great Company
From the very beginning, Wild Horizon will:
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Provide truly nourishing food using only simple, natural ingredients
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Support regenerative agriculture and sustainable farming practices
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Make high-quality, 100% grass-fed beef protein accessible in a convenient form
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Honor traditional food wisdom while meeting modern nutritional needs
Ethan and I both want to run a profitable business for many years, but more importantly, we want to build a great company. We want to build a company that people talk about because we have a phenomenal, great tasting, high quality product, but also because the people on our team love to work here. We want to build a great company that builds consciously and takes pride in our work, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because there are so many businesses these days that cut corners in an effort to make an extra buck.
In our early stages we’ve had many discussions about the type of product we want to create (delicious and super high quality), the kind of content and community our brand builds (transparent, curious and adventurous) and the team we want to build around us (hardworking, collaborative and passionate believers in our values and mission). And we know that will eventually transpire into everything we seek to build.
We realize there will be bumps in the road and unforeseen challenges that we’ll have to tackle, but we’re confident we will succeed because of our clear mission and mandate, and a highly nutritious, wildly delicious product. Wild Horizon’s 100% grass-fed beef protein bars are one-of-a-kind–not just our recipe, but the people behind the business that make it work.
We hope you’ll join us on this journey–as a customer, fan, business partner or just a friend.
We’ll see you, on the Horizon.
– Ethan and Scott