Back in the beginning of June, I proudly announced here on the Blog that PureFit Nutrition Bars could now be found in select Costco stores in Texas. Shortly thereafter, we were invited to visit Costco stores in other states, where we ’sampled’ and sold limited supplies of our bars with great success.

Recently, as you’ll see below, I decided not to continue working with Costco as a PureFit Retailer. While the decision was a difficult one to make, my hope is that after reading the following, you — our customers — will understand our position and continue to support us as we work hard to build a sustainable business:

Note: The following was posted by me, Robb Dorf, yesterday morning in the comment section of my June 1, 2009 blog entry, PureFit Debuts with Costco in Texas:

I expected to get some feedback from customers upset about not being able to get the bars at Costco. I’ll do my best to explain. The PureFit bars available for sale in Texas were part of a great opportunity Costco gave us. It is called a “90 day rotation.” It was an extraordinary opportunity to work with Costco. We learned a lot. We’d do it again, but not if Costco wants to sell the bars for .99 cents.

Simply put, they want to sell nutrition bars for under $1.00. PureFit is a premium product, with a suggested retail of $1.99. You can shop around and find them for $1.50, but that is really as low as we like to see the product sold. We can’t support our existing bar, within the existing Costco system, if they require we sell them at .99 cents. Costco wants to sell our bars because they know they are better than the other brands. They can easily see the why our bars are better, and quite frankly, we pointed out all of the reasons are bars are more expensive than the bars they currently sell.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Costco customer. I enjoy shopping there as the prices are fantastic. The problem is Costco believes all nutrition bars should sell for .99 cents. That is ridiculous. I just bought a TV from them. Every 46” was a different price. Sony’s were more than Visio’s. The new Samsungs were more than last year’s Sony’s. Consumers are smart enough to do the research and make an educated decision. If I want to spend 50% more for a Samsung, which offers more features, that is my choice. That is exactly what I did. Why Costco believes consumers will only pay .99 cents for a nutrition bar is simply ridiculous.

I’m sorry you won’t be able to find PureFit at Costco anytime soon. We are sold in over 2500 stores across the US and Canada and most of the leading online stores that carry us offer exceptional pricing. Amazon even offers free shipping. GotBody.com has them at $22.50/box and of course, you can always order directly from us.

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PureFit is humbled by the fact that so many grocery stores, gyms, and specialty retailers choose to carry and recommend our bars (over 2,500 at last count). Recently, larger chains have started to take notice, including Costco.

Costco is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the world (based on sales volume), and the fifth largest general retailer here in the United States. As of today — June 1, 2009 — we are pleased to announce you can now find PureFit Nutrition Bars at the following Costco locations in Texas:

• Costco Austin: 10401 Research Blvd.; Austin, TX 78759
• Costco Arlington: 600 W. Arbrook; Arlington, TX 76014
• Costco Duncanville: 250 W. Hwy. 67; Duncanville, TX 75137
• Costco El Paso: 6101 Gateway Blvd., West Bldg 3; El Paso TX 79925
• Costco East Plano: 3800 N. Central Expressway; Plano, TX 75074
• Costco Ft. Worth: 5300 Overton Ridge Blvd; Ft. Worth, TX 76132
• Costco Houston: 3836 Richmond Ave.; Houston, TX 77027
• Costco Katy: 1150 Bunker Hill Road; Houston, TX 77055
• Costco Lewisville: 851 Highway 121; Lewisville, TX 75067
• Costco San Antonio: 5611 UTSA Blvd.; San Antonio, TX 78249
• Costco Selma: 15330 IH-35 North; Selma, TX 78154
• Costco Sonterra Park: 1201 N. FM 1604 E.; San Antonio, TX 78232
• Costco South Austin: 4301 W. William Cannon Dr.; Austin, TX 78749
• Costco Southlake: 2601 E. State Hwy. 114; Southlake, TX 76092
• Costco West Plano: 1701 Dallas Parkway; Plano, TX 75093
• Costco Willowbrook: 12405 North Gessner Rd.; Houston, TX 77064

Thanks to Costco and all of our Texas customers for supporting us.