Lenny & Larry’s Protein Snacks: Barry Turner
How I Built This with Guy Raz
24 Feb 2025
1:04:58
When Barry Turner co-founded Lenny & Larry’s, the idea of selling a protein-packed breakfast muffin was practically unheard of: it was the early 1990’s, and protein-fortified food was not yet a thing. But when Barry was sidelined from a promising gig as an American Gladiator, he and his bodybuilding buddy Benny Graham decided to infuse baked goods with protein powder and sell them around L.A. Soon they were selling brownies, cookies, and cinnamon rolls, but mostly anonymously, as a white label business.Barry eventually sold the company, but returned years later to build the brand he’d always wanted, and to focus on one product, The Complete Cookie. Today a majority of Lenny and Larry’s belongs to Lion Capital, and the high-protein cookies—and other treats—can be found in over 30 countries worldwide.
This episode was produced by J.C. Howard, with music by Ramtin Arablouei
Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Katherine Sypher.
You can follow HIBT onTwitter&Instagram, and email us athibt@id.wondery.com. Sign up for Guy’s free newsletter atguyraz.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
When Barry Turner co-founded Lenny & Larry’s, the idea of selling a protein-packed breakfast muffin was practically unheard of: it was the early 1990’s, and protein-fortified food was not yet a thing. But when Barry was sidelined from a promising gig as an American Gladiator, he and his bodybuilding buddy Benny Graham decided to infuse baked goods with protein powder and sell them around L.A. Soon they were selling brownies, cookies, and cinnamon rolls, but mostly anonymously, as a white label business.Barry eventually sold the company, but returned years later to build the brand he’d always wanted, and to focus on one product, The Complete Cookie. Today a majority of Lenny and Larry’s belongs to Lion Capital, and the high-protein cookies—and other treats—can be found in over 30 countries worldwide.
This episode was produced by J.C. Howard, with music by Ramtin Arablouei
Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Katherine Sypher.
You can follow HIBT onTwitter&Instagram, and email us athibt@id.wondery.com. Sign up for Guy’s free newsletter atguyraz.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.