Farm to table
Houston nutritionist introduces new, locally sourced meal delivery business
Marla Murphy, a local entrepreneur and nutritionist, has helped Houstonians make healthy decisions with her food blog and consulting company for years, but she wasn't sure she was doing enough.
"I didn't feel like I was making as big of an impact as I could have," Murphy says.
Murphy took this feeling and ran with it. She decided to relaunch her company, The Blonde Pantry, in March of last year she says to create the only local meal delivery service for the greater Houston area.
"This is a passion project to me," she says.
Growing a health foods company
While The Blonde Pantry has had meal services for a few years, Murphy says that last spring the company relaunched with a new brand and expanded product offerings.
"We are a healthy meal delivery service that offers clients vacuum sealed that meals that are prepped, weighted, marinated, and chopped," says Murphy.
The Blonde Pantry gained momentum initially from Murphy's local connections.
"I had only $3,000 in my bank account," says Murphy. "The right people came into my life at the right time."
Murphy says she was able to trade meals and barter down prices for her website, photography, and marketing to launch her company. She rented a kitchen by the hour and had little wiggle room for her profits. She credits part of the company's success to their popular Instagram page and her involvement in the Houston community.
"You can really tell we love what we do," Murphy says. "We are deep rooted in this community. I was born and raised here. My family lives here. We are growing our family here."
How it works
Murphy writes on the company's website notes that her mission is "to bring nutritious meals to busy Houston foodies who love tasty food as much as I do, but also want to be mindful of living a wholesome lifestyle."
The meal kits are ready in 10 minutes or less, Murphy says, and customers order by Thursday evenings and can either opt to have their meals delivered to their doorstep or pick up their package at The Village Gym, located off the Katy Freeway.
"We deliver everywhere within Highway 99," says Murphy, including Friendswood, Clear Lake, Dickinson, and League City."
Meals on The Blonde Pantry website include shrimp, chicken, pork, and beef skillet dishes paired with cauliflower, carrots, squash, and other fresh vegetables; fully cooked casseroles; pre-packaged salads, soups, and smoothies; hummus; breakfast muffins; and a variety of desserts including black bean brownies and flourless chocolate almond cookies.
"Our average is meal is about $10.25 a serving," says Murphy. "We try to make it something everyone can afford, whether you're a young college girl or a 60 year-old-couple."
Murphy tells InnovationMap that her team kicks into gear first thing Friday morning once all the orders are placed, then they prepare and prep on Saturday and Sunday for a Monday delivery.
"We like to source as locally as possible," says Murphy when describing her vendors. The Blonde Pantry has two full time employees, and seven part-time kitchen workers, and three contract workers for delivery.
In addition to The Blonde Pantry meal service, their website notes offerings in nutrition consulting for corporations, groups, and individuals.
"It's not about selling meals and moving on, I want this to be a lifestyle company that is really founded and has deep roots in Houston," says Murphy.
Murphy tells InnovationMap that in the next year she hopes to expand into the retail space and find a bigger commercial kitchen to function as their own. She also hopes to partner with companies outside of food and continue to nourish lives in someway.
