Philly’s New Plant-Based Protein Bar Is Chocolatey and Delicious
Gorilla Power fuel bars are dairy-free, non-GMO, plant-based bars made by a pair of Temple alums.
Gorilla Power is Philly’s new vegan power bar brand. Photograph courtesy Gorilla Power.
The phrase “plant-based protein bars” may not exactly get your mouth watering, but Best of Philly Fitness Instructor winner, Leroy Mapp, and his business partner, Rian Watkins, are here to change that. The Philly co-founders have launched Gorilla Power, a plant-based wellness company, and their first products are fuel bars — 100-percent dairy-free, egg-free, non-GMO energy bars.
Mapp and Watkins first met and became friends during their time at Temple University. Originally, Mapp approached Watkins to help with the creative and marketing side of the brand he wanted to start, Gorilla Power. However, after tasting Mapp’s recipe for the bars, Watkins jumped at the chance to take a bigger role in the company as Mapp’s business partner.
View this post on Instagram
The duo now hopes to use the bars as a platform to change the narrative around health and wellness in communities of color. “There are certain stigmas that exist surrounding plant-based products and healthy snacking,” Watkins says. “Creating our company provides us the opportunity to showcase plant-based products, living a healthy lifestyle, and focused wellness in a feasible, accessible, and overall cool way.”
Gorilla Power bars come in Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Crisp flavors. Photograph courtesy Gorilla Power.
The pair launched their first two bar flavors on July 22nd: Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Crisp. Unlike traditional so-tough-you’ll-break-a-tooth protein bars, Gorilla Power bars are thick and doughy, without the gritty protein-powder aftertaste. Made with ingredients like whole grain oats, non-GMO organic brown rice protein, and organic blue agave nectar, the bars taste as good as they make you feel. (Bonus: There’s 11 grams of protein in each one!)
Currently, the bars will run you $3.33 for one, $20 for six, or $40 for 12, and they’re available on their website (yes, they’ll ship to you for an additional $6). If you want to show extra support for this local business, you can donate to their Indegogo site, through which they hope to secure funding in order to take their brand to the next level with mass-produced packaging, lab analysis of their products, hiring an intern to help with production, and more growth initiatives.
