Why You Might Find Megan Rapinoe on Your Next Clif Bar

In its 28-year history, Clif Bar & Company had never changed its logo. No need. The image — a red-shirted climber hanging from a ledge — is iconic. Staffers lovingly refer to the character by the name … Clif. And last year, a commercial spot briefly brought Clif to life. It was met with positive reviews.

Sometime in 2020, though, you’re likely to come across some brand-new Clif Bar packaging. The company has paired with six different female athletes, including Megan Rapinoe and Venus Williams, for limited-edition wrappers. Each athlete will be consistent with a particular flavor: Here’s the full list:

Chocolate Chip: Megan Rapinoe (soccer)
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut: Lakey Peterson (surfing)
Chocolate Brownie: Ashima Shiraishi (rock climbing)
Crunchy Peanut Butter: Venus Williams (tennis)
Cool Mint Chocolate: Jordyn Barratt (skateboarding)
Peanut Butter Banana With Dark Chocolate: Katerina Nash (mountain biking)

It’s difficult to pinpoint precisely why Clif Bar chose 2020 for this initiative. Way back in 2014, the company infamously split with five climbers, deeming their free soloing and BASE jump exploits too dangerous. That decision is still difficult to assess six years later. One of those climbers, Alex Honnold, is now one of the most famous athletes in the world. Another, Dean Potter, is dead. It was hard to ignore the ever-so-slight hypocrisy, though, in Clif continuing to profit off a logo that showed a climber navigating a dangerous grade (climbing ropes notwithstanding).

Without fully understanding the reasoning or timing, though, we’re fans of this collab. The selections are perfect (an ideal balance between living legends and up-and-comers), the artwork is awesome, and each of the athletes provides a great quote explaining how she got into her respective sport. Assuming Clif is okay retiring its logo for a bit, they’d be smart to continue pairing with athletes for limited-edition runs.

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