In 2014 in Marseille, Grégoire meets Denis Gargaud, a professional athlete in slalom canoeing. He is looking for a distributor for Duo Tonic, his young brand of 2-in-1 drink/gel in eco-refills, a revolutionary concept for the time! In 2015, they jointly acquire Mulebar from Alex and Jimmy, who each have other projects on their side.

At the end of 2016, Denis and Grégoire raise funds to develop the brand:

New logo, new packaging, expansion of the organic range, creation of the energy applesauce range, new energy gels packaged in resealable and reusable tubes, eco-refill of gels...

Still in 2016, Denis becomes Olympic champion in Rio (view the race here) sales accelerate, the brand expands internationally, and the team grows to up to 7 people.

In 2018, Mulebar launched a range of Muesli that experienced nice success, but the minimum production quantities were far too high compared to the short shelf life, resulting in financial losses, so the range was discontinued at the end of 2019.

In 2019, Denis decided to dedicate himself 100% to Canoeing in hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. He stepped back from operations but remained an involved partner, particularly in the design of new products with his friends, all professional athletes. Luxury testers! It was also our record year in terms of revenue since the launch in France. Mule is present in 450 stores in France and in 22 countries through local distributors.

2020 marks a dark year for Mulebar with the Covid crisis and the halt of all competitions for many long months, several lockdowns, and the closure of stores and gyms worldwide. The brand is in great danger. The decision is made to part ways with the team in hopes of continuing the adventure. Grégoire remains alone on board to try to save Mulebar.

March 2021 marks the quite extraordinary recovery of online sales, with a big success of our eco-refills of gels linked to the #noplastic movement, then the return of competitions and the reopening of stores in France and abroad. Unfortunately, many of them have decided to skip nutrition or significantly reduce the offering in favor of new brands with very substantial financial means, so Mulebar loses many customers and nearly all of the large export. Denis misses the qualification for Tokyo but wins the French championships, the European championships, the World Cup, and finishes 5th at the World Championships. His sports career is revived.

2022 is once again an "annus horribilis" because starting in May, the bank, which had lent us a large sum of money as part of the fundraising in 2016 and which Covid had prevented us from repaying, is suing us. The lawyers do not obtain a debt restructuring. The company is placed in judicial recovery to protect it.

June 2023, the company is liquidated and then bought by a private investor who leaves me the keys to relaunch the brand. Denis exits but remains attached to the brand, particularly to test new products. The few stores that had kept the brand on the shelves post-Covid drop it; the decision is made to go 100% online (a few rare ones have still remained loyal, thanks to them).

2024 marks the grand return of Mulebar to the market with a new ultra-efficient website and new products.

2025 is finally an excellent year with strong revenue growth (+46%) despite a change in the manufacturer of bars that caused weeks of stockouts on each reference. It is also the year of the launch of the range of nutritional supplements for athletes that should change the game to seasonally adjust sales. The ambassadors program was launched at the end of January and has nearly 400 registered by the end of December. Mulebar is also changing logistics providers to a cheaper and more efficient one. Here are 17 years of ups and downs summarized in a few lines. What is certain is that Grégoire is deeply convinced that Mulebar has enormous potential, its little mules (the athletes who are fans of Mulebar) tell him that every day. Alone it’s harder, but with extraordinary motivation, Mulebar is slowly but surely getting back on its feet. The most beautiful pages of the brand are yet to be written with you!
We never give up, little Mules ... never!