About five years ago Rick and Teresa Copley started offering meal prep services to their gym members in Eustis to make some much-needed extra cash. Now the company, Empower Meal Prep, is undergoing the franchising process and is slated to launch in the coming months.
“Health and fitness has always been my niche,” Rick tells What Now Orlando. “We are filling a void that was needed out there with meal prep, and are helping the community live better by saving [them] time and money.”
The couple met at the gym over a decade ago. He is a former long distance runner who competed in high school and college at the University of Massachusetts, where he studied physical education and sports management. He has been a personal trainer since 2000, launching his gym as a passion project. However when the meal prep business began to boom, the couple decided to shut the gym down to shift their focus on their more lucrative venture and eventually decided to pursue the franchising route.
The couple have been tackling the lengthy legal process with a franchise management system for the past few months and will start looking for partners soon. He particularly hopes to connect with fellow gym owners.
The company bills itself as “healthy, convenient and affordable meal prep,” offering various breakfast, lunch/dinner and dessert dishes. It is delivered directly to your door and is meant to be refrigerated until eaten.
The meal-prep industry began to boom in tandem with stay-at-home orders at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Now the industry is saturated with companies from Blue Apron to Home Chef, Daily Harvest and Hello Fresh, however it hasn’t come without its hiccups and slew of serious scandals.
Hello Fresh is currently in hot waters since a New York Times investigation found that it buys its coconut milk from a Thai company that exploits monkey labor. It claims it has since terminated the contract. Daily Harvest made headlines last year after its newly debuted French lentil and leek crumbles led to a customer having to undergo an emergency gallbladder removal procedure that cost $20,000. The customer is suing the company. The FDA has since determined that a specific flour used in the recipe likely led to the illness. The product has been discontinued.
This is why the Copley’s believe that their locally-based business model—hiring local owners, chefs and drivers at both their flagship and franchise outposts—will have staying power.
“Our industry is really dominated by the giants, and I think what happens is customer service and quality go down,” he says. “[Our] food is made down the street. It’s not all coming through the postal service, [and] that’s what’s going to set us apart.”
