After successfully launching their plant-based energy bar business just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, two Temple University alums are looking to grow the company into a household brand.
Philadelphia-based Gorilla Power saw sales skyrocket over 200% last year. As a new year approaches, the two men behind the company, Leroy Mapp and Rian Watkins, are preparing to introduce a new bar which they hope will propel them toward that goal.
The idea for Gorilla Power came about after Mapp was diagnosed as pre-diabetic at the age of 21. He wanted to make dietary and lifestyle changes to get his glucose levels in check and so he adopted a pescetarian diet. Mapp eventually went vegetarian before deciding to eat a plant-based diet. Already interested in exercise and wellness, he began making his own energy bars at home.
“This journey for me has been a lifestyle,” said Mapp, who is also an instructor and wellness influencer.
As he developed those bars – despite having no formal culinary background – he began formulating a business concept, recognizing a void in the market. Along the way he shared the idea with Watkins, who came on board as a contractor, helping develop brand imaging.
The pair had met as students at Temple, where Watkins studied art direction and advertisement and Mapp studied construction management and technology. They formed a friendship thanks to mutual connections.
When Watkins finally tasted the bars, he remembers thinking, “we’re on to something,” and decided he wanted to partner on the endeavor.
They launched Gorilla Power in 2019 with a general focus on wellness. “We were just trying to push the narrative and change the narrative of what it is to better yourself,” Mapp said.
During that time they were iterating on the energy bar formula, having tried baked, unbaked and eventually refrigerated and frozen bars. The latter were their preferred choice since they were different than the vast majority of bars on the market. The idea was to have their bars displayed in refrigerators and freezers at stores, not only physically separating them from the pack, but also providing something to cool consumers down, whether after a workout or on a warm day.
Having landed on a recipe they liked, they decided to take it to the Drexel Food Lab at Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions for refinement. There, the lab’s Founding Director Jonathan Deutsch helped with the longevity of the bar, which today can last up to four months in cold storage.
The result was what they call their fuel bar, which is plant-based, contains 10 grams of protein and is free from genetically modified organisms. During their time working with Deutsch, they created two flavors – chocolate chunk and peanut butter crisp. They launched those two flavors in the fall of 2019.
The Food Lab also connected them to the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises in West Philadelphia, where they make and pack their bars.
Currently they are Gorilla Power’s only two employees and have self-funded the venture.
Despite launching just prior to a global shutdown, the timing worked to their advantage. With more people at home and seeking ways to focus on wellness, their direct-to-consumer sales model saw a huge boost, growing more than 200% last year.
Through the e-commerce platform, the bars are sold in packs of four and eight and retail for $14 and $26 respectively. A combo pack is offered at the same price points.
After a successful launch in the direct-to-consumer space, they ventured into wholesale last year, with their bars stocked at local spots like Riverwards Produce, Mariposa Food Co-Op in West Philadelphia and the South Philly Food Co-Op.
Finding success in a somewhat niche market, they’re now eyeing a broader market that will capture a greater share. To do so, they will introduce a new shelf-stable bar.
“[With] the new bar, we're trying to be the household name,” Mapp said.
Rather than targeting it to a specific segment such as athletes or exercise enthusiasts, they’re positioning Gorilla Power as more of a lifestyle brand that’s accessible to just about any consumer.
“It's more about energy and that healthy snack to give you some energy throughout your day. So it really can be for anyone, any kind of profession,” said Watkins, adding that they’re “trying to have everyone feel represented in the products that we offer.”
To formulate that bar — anticipated to launch in February — they returned to the Drexel Food Lab. Like the original, it will also be plant-based. Mapp’s and Watkins’ goal is to use 2023 to grow awareness for the new bar and secure enough wholesale accounts, particularly grocery retailers, to scale the business to a co-packer, something they hope to achieve in 2024.
As they do so, they’re determining what role the original fuel bar will play in future business models.
Already they’re thinking of new innovations and other standalone companies to complement what they’ve created.
Whatever that looks like, it will continue to have a similar focus, which is “to improve wellness, within ourselves and ultimately within our communities,” Watkins said.
What might future Gorilla Power products look like?
RW: I think GP Worldwide is kind of the umbrella that we see. And then all of the products that we'll introduce will have lives of their own and have their own impact and their own demographics. And also to be just a resource. … We want to continue to reach back and help anyone else that has these same types of aspirations, they want to create products for themselves. We can kind of provide that roadmap as best as we can. We want to basically be what we wish we had when we started.
