Power Supply, a local company that delivers dairy- and gluten-free meals by subscription to area yoga and Crossfit studios, is growing. In addition to raising a $500,000 seed round in early 2014 and recently moving into its own office space, cofounder Robert Morton says Power Supply is "adding cool new chefs to [its] network of independent local chefs to continue to be engaged by different interpreters of food."
Power Supply targets customers who want fresh meals composed of responsibly sourced, local ingredients. Participants sign up for a meal plan—at least three lunches per week or as many as five lunches and dinners per week—and choose their basic eating plan: vegetarian, paleo or "mixitarian," a meat and veggie foundation that adds gluten-free grains and legumes to meals. Diners can choose among three different sizes of meals and can opt to pick up their meals from 85 different locations around the region.
Power Supply's seed round included investments from the Crystal Tech Fund and the Center for Innovative Technology; CTF's investment meant a stint at the fund owner Disruption Corporation's Arlington offices. Now, Morton says, Power Supply has outgrown the space and has moved its local team of seven to Alexandria, Va.
Initially, Power Supply had two local chefs working to provide meals for its customer base. Four additional chefs, including Alison Swope of
Teaism, Peter He of
People's Bao, Anna Bran Leis of
DC Empanadas, and Tony Avirgan of
Sunnyside Gourmet, are now onboard. Power Supply customers can add an array of
Soupergirl Sara Polon's soups and snack bars from Amanda Smith of
Out of the Box Bakery to their order as well.
Power Supply does not operate a central kitchen. Rather, each chef creates meals at his or her location. "We bring the meals together and package them for customers," Morton explains. "We want to give people the most variety in the simplest package possible."
In addition to delivering meals to yoga and Crossfit studios, PS has added distribution to wellness studios, health clubs and pilates studios. Morton says the company is working on building out home delivery options as well.
This article originally misstated that chef James Wiggins was a new addition to Power Supply's roster; in fact, Wiggins was chef #2 and is not one of the four new chefs. The article has been updated. Elevation DC regrets the error.