UK performance nutrition brand Grenade is entering the U.S. market with four protein bar SKUs, including two OREO-licensed flavors, and has named national convenience retail as a near-term distribution target after seeding the launch through GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Amazon.

The bars carry 20 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar per serving — a macro profile that plays well in the high-traffic impulse grab set that has made single-serve protein bars one of the strongest growth categories on the c-store back-of-house wall. According to NielsenIQ data cited by the brand, protein bars are currently growing at four times the rate of the broader protein snack segment in the U.S., with 85% of American consumers actively trying to increase daily protein intake.

Channel Expansion Plan

The initial U.S. retail footprint is specialty-heavy — GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Bodybuilding.com — but Grenade has stated plans to push into national convenience, grocery, and gym channels over the coming months. That sequencing is familiar in better-for-you snack launches: build brand recognition and trial in specialty fitness retail before competing for premium c-store shelf space alongside Quest, RXBAR, and Clif.

For c-store buyers evaluating the brand, the licensed OREO tie-in (standard and White varieties) is a meaningful merchandising hook. OREO brand recognition is near-universal among the impulse snack shopper, and co-branded limited-edition protein formats have driven incremental velocity at the single-serve clip strip and cooler-adjacent rack in recent years. The other two U.S. launch flavors were not specified in launch materials.

Athlete Roster and Activation

Grenade is backing the U.S. push with a roster of athletic partners that skews toward combat sports and functional fitness — UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall, five-time CrossFit Games athlete Arielle Loewen, 2026 CrossFit Women's Champion Aimee Cringle, and Alabama A&M football player Cornelious "DIME" Brown IV. The brand also holds the Official Protein Bar sponsorship for Baller League, a six-a-side soccer format that blends competition with creator-economy content.

Field activation will include sampling at gyms, college campuses, and retail locations, plus an expo presence at Olympia in Las Vegas. For c-store operators, that grassroots trial strategy matters: it tends to generate informed, repeat purchasers who seek out the brand on the forecourt rather than requiring heavy in-store promotional spend to move units.

"We know today's consumers want products that deliver on both taste and function, and that's exactly what Grenade was built for," said Alan Barratt, co-founder of Grenade. "As we continue to grow our presence in the U.S., we're excited to bring more consumers the bold flavors, high-protein nutrition and unapologetic attitude that have made Grenade a favorite with fans around the world."

Founded in 2010 by Alan and Juliet Barratt, Grenade built its U.K. business by repositioning protein bars as an indulgent snack rather than a medicinal supplement — a positioning that maps directly onto the better-for-you snack trends reshaping c-store center-store sets. The brand has since expanded to Australia and Canada before the current U.S. entry. With protein bar velocity outpacing most ambient snack segments, Grenade's U.S. retail partners and distribution timeline will be worth watching for c-store snack and candy category managers looking to refresh single-serve sets heading into 2027.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.