An exclusive look at Thunderbird Energetica, Austin's newest Energy Bar company to hit the scene.

Native Austinites Katie Forrest and Taylor Collins founded Thunderbird Energetica along with Amy Rogers in 2010. Tired of eating processed energy food for cycling and outdoor sports, Forrest and Collins began making their own all-natural energy bars at home, using raw ingredients like organic dates, walnuts, sweet potatoes, cinnamon and turmeric. After sharing their bars with friends, they decided to found their own company, focused on making bars with real food and ingredients you can pronounce.

Today, Thunderbird Energetica bars are sold at retailers across the country and locally, including Whole Foods Market, Central Market and Wheatsville Co-op. However, their far-reaching distribution has not affected the company's emphasis on quality. Each raw bar is still handmade and hand packaged in compostable wrappers by the Thunderbird team in Austin. Forrest says, “At Thunderbird we aspire to complete and honor energy eco-systems. Rather than uni-dimensionally harvesting energy into our product, we decided to complete the cycle by enveloping our bars in a wrapper that can break down in three to five months.”

The line currently has three flavors: Cherry Walnut Crunch, Cashew Fig Carrot and Cacao Hemp Walnut. Thunderbird is soon launching three more flavors in 2012. So next time you're looking for a snack to energize your workout, or just an afternoon pick me up, check out this local favorite.

Location: Whole Foods Market, Sixth & Lamar, wholefoodsmarket.com