We recently connected with Anisha Blodgett and have shared our conversation below.
Anisha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I opened Powerhaus in 2019 to make eating healthy both simple and enjoyable for my San Diego community. After seeking to find a better balance between going to the gym daily, eating “clean” all week, then guiltily ordering a thin-crust pizza from the likes of Domino’s, I literally took pizza making into my own hands and the idea for Powerhaus was born.
When developing my recipes, I consulted with naturopathic Dr. Poccia to discuss which ingredients are traditionally highly processed to source alternatives. For example, we use single ingredient organic flour in our garlic herb curst instead of enriched flour, which strips wheat of its natural vitamins and minerals to increase shelf life. For reference, Domino’s crust alone has 23 ingredients! As a vegetarian and fitness enthusiast, I struggled to meet my protein intake needs. I developed our whole-grain crust specifically to be nutritionally balanced by including plant-based protein powder and ground flax in the recipe. The result is a high fiber (17g) and high protein pizza (50-65g). Additionally, Powerhaus’ meats are sourced from antibiotic-free animals. Quality is key for nutrient dense, clean protein. Traditional meats contain unhealthy saturated fats, which leads to inflammation and cholesterol. They’re often full of antibiotics and hormones that can hurt the consumer’s gut health and hormones.
In addition to healthy pizzas, Powerhaus serves nutritious salads, kombucha made by local brewers, and superfood smoothies. Our smoothies are nutritionally balanced with healthy fats, high quality protein powders, greens and vegetables, and the inclusion of superfoods. My goal is to enhance a traditionally sugary treat into a nutrient dense boost for sustained energy.
Anisha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
With Powerhaus, I help my guests in their wellness journeys by making eating healthy simple and enjoyable. Powerhaus guests no longer must compromise their long-term health with their desire for delicious food. My community in San Diego is facing obesity (33% of children are overweight) and my pizza places allows children and families to make better food choices. I created Powerhaus to be very community oriented, so I use Powerhaus as an opportunity to educate my community as well as support my community financially. For example, I host recurring crypto meetups for beginner or aspiring crypto investors so people can learn about this daunting asset class with the goal of encouraging financial freedom. In March 2022 I donated a portion of sales to a local animal shelter as well as raised awareness for dogs available for adoption by including fliers with pictures of the dogs in every order. In April 2022 I’ll be hosting another fundraiser for a local non-profit that helps LGBTQ youth who have been displaced from their homes. I love that with a storefront, I get to use Powerhaus as a means of being a part of my local community.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Our catering arm of Powerhaus is a highly profitable revenue stream for my restaurant. I didn’t even consider or anticipate catering to be a big part of my business before opening! Our catering clients run the gamut from family functions like birthday and graduation parties to large scale corporate retreats and employee staff meetings, to college clubs and sororities. I focus my team on catering lead generation by researching Indeed and job postings for companies that list catered lunches as a perk for their team. I also work with catering partners to bring in first time catering clients, and then convert them into direct clients. From there, I visit the office managers with food samples and begin to form our relationships. The best part is many catering clients order catering regularly and its a consistent and recurring revenue stream for Powerhaus.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Our Instagram is a top source of our traffic, as we’ve curated a feed that matches our branding and also attracts our target demographic. Check us out @PowerhausPizza! In addition, we are active on Facebook, Yelp Connect, Google My Business, TikTok, Linked In and Twitter. The best part of social media is that it is free! We have organically grown our audience to over 10k followers on Instagram through collaborations and cross promotions with similar local businesses and working with local influencers. We also encourage our customers to share content organically by asking throughout signage on our packaging, and creating “insta-worthy” branding. For example, our pizza boxes are catchy and appealing and the inside flap says “The answer’s always pizza” and we have a wall that says “I love you more than pizza”. The more your business can encourage customer social media shares the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.powerhauspizza.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/powerhauspizza
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PowerhausPizza/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/20300758/admin/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/powerhauspizza
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/powerhaus-wholesome-pizza-and-eats-san-diego-2?osq=powerhaus+pizza
- Other:
Powerhaus Wholesome Pizza & Eats
1550 Garnet Ave
858-886-7666
Image Credits
Bhadri Kubendran