Special Guest: Ally’s Bar Fuels Athletes, Belongs to Boulder Start-up Community
“Ally Stacher has always been a foodie. She is always cooking up some of the most amazing concoctions in her kitchen. It was her love for food and adventure that lead her to creating ‘Ally’s Bar’. A unique blend of sweet potato, dates, quinoa, nuts, and berries combined with all natural Agave and coconut sweeteners, Ally’s bar is as healthy as it is tasty.”
Cyclists, athletes, and health “foodies” flock to Boulder streets for training and inspiration at all times of the year. So my Boulder business today isn’t actually a Boulder business at all, rather a spin-off/guest business featured in last week’s Runnerbox post. Ally’s Bar, founded and run out of North Carolina by professional cyclist, Ally Stacher, travels to Boulder frequently to network, become inspired, and promote her all-natural startup. Or maybe coming to Boulder for Ally’s Bar is just a brilliant excuse to get some quality training time in with her friends at Runnerbox?
Now that she runs a company, Ally only has time to ride her bike “a couple of hours” each day. She’d ride all day if possibile!
Ally Stacher and her husband, John Murphy, have both been passionate about nutrition and cycling for years. They live in Horseshoe, NC where they both train to compete on two of the nation’s top cycling teams, while running their business and coming up with healthy new concoctions for Ally’s bars. Let’s find out a bit more about Ally!
When did you start cycling?
I did a senior project in high school on endurance sports with an emphasis on cycling. I got a bike and I fell in love directly.
What is your training like?
I love training. Its my way to get out all my energy. Sitting in front of a computer or on the phone all day can b taxing. If I could I would ride all day every day. But since I’m operating Ally’s Bar I only have time for a few hours a day.
The bar is made of a special blend of dates, almonds, chia seeds, agave, sweet potato and more superfoods combined to fuel and sustain endurance training. All natural ingredients for all-natural people and athletes.
When did you decide to create your own bar?
I’ve been a professional athlete for 6 years and I wanted to fuel myself and boyfriend with the best possible food. I wanted to make a better bar. So I started playing with all my favorite ingredients and came up with Ally’s Bar. Actually it didn’t take long to perfect the recipe and all my friends loved it.
What makes Ally’s Bar different from other bars?
Sweet potato is one of our main ingredients. Also we are big on non-GMO, Gluten Free, Kosher, Organic and Vegan. We put a big focus on real food that taste great.
What are your goals: for cycling and for Ally’s bar.
To put it simply, I want to keep making awesome bars that are super healthy and taste amazing. I want to fuel your next adventure so you can go farther, longer.
How many people work with Ally’s bar?
Right now we’re a pretty small team. I have my two business partners, my husband, a college intern and myself. We all wear many hats in this small business. We also have numerous ambassadors from across the world that are actively involved in marketing and our image.
What’s a typical day like for you?
A typical day is usually lots of emails, followed by my training on one of my awesome Focus bikes. Lots of coffee and always a couple of Ally’s Bars in my pocket.
Ally’s Bar is certified NON-GMO, uses organic as much as possible, and is focused on social responsibility— “We are focused on giving back to the community wherever we can, starting with raising awareness for
Africa Healing Exchange, a local North California initiative and supporting efforts to grow opportunities for women in sport.”Like-minded start-ups exist around the country, and Boulder start-ups are happy to belong to a community of a them!