Pandemic Challenges

The Road to 1,000,000 Bars

Dive Bar Nutrition faced an uphill battle before a virus even came to sweep over us. Lacking the budgets of nationally distributed brands, and selling less than the USPS requires for the 65% shipping discounts granted to Amazon and other online giants, Dive Bar Nutrition found itself in a bizarre situation by late March 2020.

With fears of Covid increasing daily, the team were already wearing masks and performing daily deep cleaning. Fortunately, running a commercial kitchen/baking facility meant taking many of the precautions that were evolving on the news each week were already in place. But a supply chain was about to dry up. Panic sent the public into a frenzy of buying store-able foods and consumables. Among the coveted: flour and whey protein. Priority mail packaging, provided by the postal service dried up and a quest for envelopes and shipping boxes around Sarasota's larger five post offices became a weekly routine. 

Suddenly, a nation stuck at home, comforting each other via social media discovered Dive Bar Nutrition. While the brand was already built on its Instagram, a new wave of interest poured in. With stimulus checks and unemployment supplements aiding the financial concerns, orders poured in. The work week grew from 50 hours to 60. Then 70. The search for ingredients and kitchen supplies grew up and down the gulf coast, utilizing restaurant supply shops from Fort Myers to Tampa. 

When the storm had calmed and supplies became available, Dive Bar Nutrition had gained mass production equipment, additional staff, and thousands of new supporters.

Next stop: Our millionth bar!