Photos courtesy of Chad Nasci
Chad Nasci and Hanna Chuparkoff are fitness and health fiends. Both live in Youngstown, Ohio; Nasci competed as a nationally ranked powerlifter and worked within the strength and conditioning industry for ten years, while Chuparkoff is a nutritionist and a well-equipped food blogger. The dynamic duo founded their company based upon passion, practically stumbling upon Nash Nutrition on accident just by doing what they both love.
Nash Bars are protein bars that boast simple, real ingredients. The bars are made of honey, dates, egg whites, pea protein, almonds and salt. Though the list is brief, it’s clear by the whopping 20 grams of protein that the benefits of these bars certainly don’t fall short.
Chuparkoff says she once was an avid synthetic protein fan, but realized how poorly it was affecting her and Nasci.
“We both started noticing these massive differences in our skin and our digestive system,” she says. “It wasn’t until around the time that Chad started triathlon training that we were like, ‘Why are we putting our bodies through that?’”
Her solution came in the form of homemade, bite-sized protein balls. Originally, Chuparkoff had come up with the snack recipe simply as an alternative to a natural, sweet, baked good. When interest sparked around the protein balls, she began selling them, but eventually stopped, much to the dismay of the community.
Nash Nutrition was officially born upon the need for a healthy, protein-packed bar that Nasci could eat during his triathlon training. Through vigorously intense workouts, he was losing weight rapidly and sat Chuparkoff down to ask her for help in creating something to help. Thanks to his background, he knew exactly what sources of protein, carbohydrates and fats were essential to create the ideal bar.
Running a startup company isn’t always easy, but Chuparkoff says the Youngstown area has impacted their motivation greatly. The city is well-known for good, greasy, doughy pizza, so the health food scene isn’t particularly prominent. This may other fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs turn their noses up, but Nash Nutrition used it as a purpose to exist and encourage.
“We saw a missing piece here in Youngstown and we think people want it,” Nasci says. “It’s almost special that we’re able to give the city a hint of health and wellness through our bars and business.”
Chuparkoff adds, “It’s such a tight-knit community, the people here really watch out for each other. Anybody doing anything positive in Youngstown… people really grasp onto it.”
Nash Nutrition currently has two flavors, Peanut Butter Bliss and Double Chocolate Chunk. Thankfully, there are sweet plans for the future. Natural-ingredient chocolate peanut butter cups and grain-free protein granola are just a few of the exciting products expected to be released.
"Whole, all-natural nutrition is something that we strongly believe in and is kind of the anchor to everything that we're going to be doing in the future." - Chad Nasci
The duo is even thinking bigger – setting their sights on a possible food truck. They believe students deserve a healthier food option, especially with hectic on-the-go schedules.
Whatever endeavor Nash Nutrition chooses to tackle in the future, it's clear Nasci and Chuparkoff will continue driving the importance of real, delicious food.
To order a box, visit the Nash Nutrition website here!
Mallory Arnold is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
