PEABODY — It all started with one customer.
In 2017, the Perrina brothers — Angelo, Lucio Jr. and Valentino, owners of Toscana’s Ristorante on Bourbon Street — began prepping meals out of Toscana’s kitchen for their father, Lucio Perrina Sr., following his diabetes diagnosis.
Fast forward to 2021, and what started as a labor of love has soared to new heights with Nutre Meal Plans, a meal-plan delivery service that features some of the tastiest and healthiest foods you will ever pull out of your microwave.
A recently-aired “Good Morning America” ad says it all.
“People think if you’re busy, you don’t have time to eat healthy,” said Valentino Perrina, the company’s chief executive officer. “That’s why we created Nutre Meals — fully prepared meals that are healthy, convenient and, above all, delicious.”
Let’s just say there’s plenty of truth in that piece of advertising based on this writer’s tasting of three of those meals. Each one was delicious; from the chimichurri steak tips to grilled chicken caprese to the 370-calorie baked stuffed haddock with two vegetable sides, Nutre delivered as promised.
The company features two basic promises: weight loss and balance. Options include breakfast, dinner and a complete snack line that includes egg-free, almond-flour brownie protein balls, low-carbohydrate, chocolate-sprinkled donuts and wellness shots.
From protein smoothies and gluten-free muffins to fajita burgers, bison chili, chicken broccoli alfredo pizza and chicken piccata, the choices are endless.
Meals are available in five-meal increments (from five to 20) with prices ranging from $9.99 to $12.99, depending on the size of the order.
Menus vary each week; new specials are constantly added. Customers can also buy in bulk, by the pound.
The company delivers to Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and recently expanded to New York’s five boroughs and northern New Jersey. All deliveries are made in-house with 20 drivers delivering between 50-100 orders each day. Valentino estimates that Nutre delivers 13,000 meals to 1,600 active customers every week.
The company’s local base is strong, with owners saying the majority of their customers are young millennials, ages 25-35, and people between the ages of 45 and 65.
“We have a very good North Shore following but also do really well in Somerville, Cambridge and Medford with younger people,” said Lucio Perrina Jr. “We also do well in older areas where people want more convenience and have dietary restrictions, particularly low sodium.”
Nutrition is the top priority with every meal Nutre produces, which even extends to its no-egg cookies. The company’s staff includes a full-time dietician/nutritionist, Michelle Lucier.
“She’s great at helping develop meals with great nutritional value that tastes good and also address individual dietary needs,” said Angelo Perrina.
Valentino said one of the major reasons people don’t eat healthy is a lack of variety in food.
“That’s why we go with seasonal items and culturally-inspired menu items,” he said. “We knew there was a tremendous opportunity to provide things people want but can’t find. Plus, COVID made people more aware of how important healthy food is to overall health.”
The company steers away from preservatives, electing instead for sustainable, fresh and locally produced ingredients, he added.
The company isn’t just about profit; thousands of meals every year are donated to charity.
“We intentionally overproduce so we can donate,” Angelo said, adding that approximately 90,000 meals have been donated to Citizens Inn over the past few years.
The company also gave thousands of free meals to frontline pandemic workers and sponsored about 50 nurses.
“They were fearful of being in public so we gave them meals to take home or eat at work,” said Angelo.
The brothers raised $30,000 partnering with New England Patriots players J.C. Jackson and Jake Bailey on an autographed merchandise giveaway initiative, which benefited ICU workers.
“The Patriots purchased our meals and matched it on top of the purchase,” said Angelo. “We were the first in Massachusetts to do this on this scale. Our entire family was in Italy. We heard their stories so we reached out to say ‘hey do you need any help?’ Then it just spiraled out of control. We knew we had to do something here.”
Steak tips are the most popular entrée. And it’s no wonder why.
“All of our steak products are from Dom’s Sausages (in Malden),” said Lucio.
Valentino is the marketing guru, while Angelo and Lucio — described by Angelo as a “perfect blend of brains” — focus more on the culinary and operations side. Angelo said the pandemic was beneficial to the startup company.
“Normally, it would take five years to get off the ground, but when COVID hit so fast, it just accelerated the process,” Angelo said.
Next on the Nutre agenda is expanding into retail.
“We’re looking into expanding into small specialty food stores,” Valentino said. “We have some options and believe there is real opportunity because we offer what people want.”
