From Essex kitchen to Goldman Sachs: The rise of Dak Bar

With new capital and part-time staff, Susie Smith aims to scale her business while navigating the challenges around production

By Tim Rowland

For a decade, Susie Smith of Essex had tried to find capital to produce greater quantities of a product that was universally popular: Dak Bar, a natural take on artificial and barely palatable energy snacks. The bars were made by hand in a cubby of the communal kitchen of the former Hub on the Hill, but scalability was elusive.

“If you don’t have collateral it’s hard to find financing,” Smith said. Entrepreneurs who are also doing the work for themselves at their nascent operations, as well as maintaining a “day job” and raising families, often have little time left over to pursue funding.

She finally found capital at Point Positive, an angel-investment group based in the Adirondacks, and has expanded her operation in the Hub building, adding a team of four part-time employees. Dak Bars, a familiar product in the park, are gaining attention nationwide, including in the cafes at Goldman Sachs. 

Susie Smith of Essex shares how the beauty of the Adirondack Park inspired her to launch her natural energy bar business, called Dak Bar. Video by Eric Teed

Smith said she would like to grow, while still staying true to the Adirondack ethic of a clean environment and clean food. The bars are still produced by hand in sheet pans, limiting production. The capital she’s received pays for employees and marketing, which she hopes will generate enough demand to convince investors to fund machines to automate production.

“It’s kind of a chicken/egg situation,” she said. “Yes, the investment will let me to double or triple sales in the next year or two, but to really scale requires equipment to keep up with demand. And to pay for equipment I need the large volume of sales to be there. So both need to happen simultaneously.”

To find help, Smith has found success in the part-time labor market because that’s what many Adirondackers like. “I don’t think it’s by necessity, it’s by preference,” she said. “They get bored doing one thing, so I’m filling that need. I want them to have enjoyable personal lives, so that they will feel more fulfilled by their work.”

Photo at top: Susie Smith, Founder and President of Dak Bar, at her production facility at The Hub in Essex. Photo by Eric Teed