PowerBar
Maxwell started the PowerBar company with his girlfriend, Jennifer Biddulph, a nutritionist who later became his wife. Maxwell came up with the idea of an energy bar after dropping out of a marathon at the 21-mile (34 km) mark, at about the segment of the 42.195-kilometre (26.219 mi) event known among runners as "The Wall", where experts say the body ceases burning carbohydrates and begins burning muscle tissue instead. In the kitchen of their Berkeley, California home, the couple began developing snack bar recipes with both simple and complex carbohydrates that would taste good and be easy to digest, especially during endurance competitions.
Maxwell ended up with a company with 300 employees and $150 million in annual sales by 2000, when the company was purchased by Nestlé for $375 million.
Among PowerBar's many contributions to the world of fitness, the company sponsored numerous events and athletes while benefiting from such indirect advertising. Maxwell also pioneered the 'photo contingency' sponsorship, which has become commonplace in sports today.
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