Wheaton Family Business Aims To Revolutionize Snack Bar Industry

WHEATON, IL — For many people, food allergies and sensitivities can be a hurdle, but for the Massingill family, they were a stepping stone to starting a revolutionary new snack bar company in their hometown of Wheaton. The mission of Lovely Day Bars is to "provide a safe and delicious snack product for those with food allergies or intolerances," co-founder Brandon Massingill told Patch.

Brandon said he and wife Ana formerly struggled to find "a snack bar that she could eat that actually tasted like a snack bar," since Ana has a nut sensitivity. Add to that the fact that the younger Massingill daughter has a dairy and gluten intolerance, and the Massingills had the perfect inspiration to start tinkering with recipes in their home kitchen about 15 months ago.

The requirements were straightforward: the plant-based snack bars should be free of nuts, dairies, gluten, GMOs and allergens. Furthermore, they should taste delicious. Meanwhile, Brandon, who teaches marketing at College of DuPage, tapped into his own experience and background in consumer packaged goods to launch the brand.

The next challenge the Massingills faced was to find a manufacturing facility that would be totally free of nuts and other potential cross-contaminants. Ultimately, Lovely Day Bars set up shop at 20 Danada Sq. W and, with the help of their manufacturer, perfected their recipe.

Lovely Day Bars debuted their first two flavors in January: chocolate chip and sweet caramel with chocolate drizzle. The bars are high in protein and dietary fiber and are subtly sweet and pleasantly chewy. As someone who has dietary restrictions due to having Type 1 diabetes and following a plant-based diet, I found each flavor both satisfying and delicious.

Since the January 2021 launch of Lovely Day Bars, the brand has remained a labor of love for the Massingill family. The family's oldest daughter, who attends high school at Wheaton-Warrenville South, helps with marketing and social media. The younger Massingill daughter is the company's unofficial taste tester. She's also brought Lovely Day Bars to share with her fellow students at DuPage Montessori School, which is a nut-free facility.

When asked how his daughters enjoy being involved with the family business, Massingill told Patch, "They love it."

They aren't the only ones. Despite just launching a few months ago, Lovely Day Bars has expanded to be available in 50 stores throughout Chicagoland. Customers can find them anywhere from smaller stores, such as South Loop Market, to larger retailers that range from Pete's Fresh Market to Tom's Market in Warrenville. Click the link to find a store near you.

Customers can also order Lovely Day Bars on the company's website or via Amazon.

And the Massingills already have two new flavors on the horizon, which they plan to launch come fall. Brandon wouldn't give any further details, but he did tease that one of the flavors will be "fall-themed."

He's optimistic that the upcoming Lovely Day Bars flavors will be as popular as the flagship flavors have been and as successful in the family's goal of helping make people's days more "lovely."

Brandon said, “We’re hoping it adds to someone having a lovely day because now they can enjoy something that they potentially previously couldn’t have enjoyed."