In 2017 Mari was a college student struggling with her mental health and not taking care of her physical health. She hit rock bottom before deciding to make incremental changes that would lead to a 90lb weight loss and the foundation for what would soon after become Bloom Nutrition, a company she co-owns with her husband Greg LaVecchia that sells supplements and, most recently added canned beverages with Bloom Sparkling Energy and Bloom Pop.
Mari’s also host of popular podcast Pursuit of Wellness where she shares lessons learned and has expert guest talking about everything from mental wellness to longevity hacks. She was named on Inc's Female Founders 500, Forbes 30 Under 30 and Bloom was named a LinkedIn Top Startup the last two years.
Driven by a strategic partnership with Nutrabolt she and Greg moved to Austin about 18 months ago and she says she’s never felt more at home. Here’s more from our chat with Mari on how challenges in her past have led to a successful present with an even brighter future in the forecast.
You’ve been open about hitting rock bottom in 2017. What was your rock bottom and how old were you?
My rock bottom happened my senior year of college, when I was in an extreme amount of emotional pain and not feeling aligned to the life I wanted to live. I’ve been really open about it on my podcast and have told my full story there, but it was a culmination of serious mental health issues and ignoring my physical health. I couldn’t function, had disconnected from my friends and family and dropped out of college a semester before graduating. By then I had gained 90 pounds and was at the lowest point in my life.
What steps did you take to dig your way out?
I moved back home and got to a place where I began to process my rock bottom and reflect on where I was at in life. I realized I wanted to make a change and started with baby steps – progress not perfection. It started with building small healthy habits such as taking longer walks with my dog Lulu and replacing the sugary Starbucks muffin I was having every morning with a high-protein breakfast.
My now-husband Greg was a big source of inspiration at this time. For as long as I’d known him, he had made time for the gym and cooking healthy, which I really loved. I called him and said, ‘I want to get healthy.’ I copied his meals and began making all my own food and made my way to the gym. Greg would visit me on the weekends and help me work out. I had allowed myself to be the worst version of myself, and I wanted to step it up and become the best version. I became laser-focused on fitness and wellness and gained a sense of independence - it felt like I had this thing that was mine that made me feel and act better. I stopped drinking, started eating healthy foods and became passionate about nutrition and what I was putting into my body. I got a job at a gym that really helped me grow my discipline and focus. For nine months, this is all I did.
What kept you motivated?
Showing up every day, chipping away at my goals and seeing results - no matter how small - kept me motivated. My journey helped me find out who I am as a person and gave me a fire. At this time, I was also documenting my journey on social media and it was really rewarding to know that it was inspiring those around me to do the same. Knowing that I was making a difference in other people’s lives was a big motivator.
What was the most impactful change you made?
Being more aware of my body, from everything I ate to movement to sleep. Before this journey, I wasn’t someone who thought about those things at all. Having knowledge and intention about wellness was huge in so many choices I made and continue to make on my journey.
What advice do you have for women struggling to make necessary changes?
To just start, and to start with small healthy habits. Showing up for yourself is the best thing you can do, and small choices lead to big change if you do it consistently over time.
How was Bloom born?
I lost 90 pounds and was really proud of myself and posted a before and after photo. This resonated with a lot of people more than I anticipated. From there I shared more wellness content and my following grew. My community asked for workouts and products, so Greg and I created PDF workout guides that we sold over Instagram. That led to a Shopify website and our first physical product: fabric resistance bands.
With funds from those businesses, we launched Bloom in January 2019. The reason is really simple: I wanted supplements that were for me. On my fitness journey, none of the supplements out there really spoke to me. They were intimidating and masculine. I wanted to offer something that would inspire people going through a similar journey. We wanted good formulas that tasted great and started with a pre-workout as our first supplement.
We did everything ourselves, from finding suppliers, sampling all of our products, designing the labels, and getting products to customers. We built out from there - anything I wanted in a supplement, we made. Every dollar we made we put back into the business, which is how we were able to keep going and expand into Greens, more supplements such as Creatine and Colostrum & Collagen, and our Sparkling Energy Drinks.
Bloom is blossoming! How many products do you have now?
We have over 10 products across different categories to support women at different stages of their wellness journey. All of our products are designed to be flavorful, functional, and enjoyable to use. It’s been a busy past couple of years!
Pre-workout was the first product we made because it was a gap I experienced during my fitness journey. We then introduced Greens because I personally wanted to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet. Greens were the catalyst to what Bloom is today. They blew up on TikTok in 2021 with an overwhelmingly positive response–and the rest became Bloom history!
Since then, we’ve introduced more products I really love: Sparkling Energy, which is so tasty and has better-for-you ingredients, Creatine, which has long been regarded as something only for men - but is scientifically proven to help women build lean muscle and aid cognitive function, and our Colostrum & Collagen Peptides, the only 3-in-1 formula out there that balances gut health and nourishes hair, skin and nails.
Flavor, function and fun is at the heart of everything we create. I’m so excited for Bloom Pop, our better-for-you soda, which is coming out toward the end of summer. Bloom Pop has 20 calories, 4g of sugar or less, Apple Cider Vinegar, and no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. And, of course, it’s all about flavor. People are freaking out over Shirley Temple and I can’t wait for everyone to try it.
How's the transition to Austin been?
Austin is a special place and has made such a positive impact on our way of living. There's true community here and people love health and fitness in a fun and social way. Bloom is all about community and making wellness fun, so Austin really was the perfect fit for us. We’ve been intentional about growing our team here and building out our Austin presence, and I think this next phase of Bloom is going to be our best yet.
What’s your long-term vision for the brand?
Our vision has always been to help people bloom into their best selves. While Greens was predominantly our focus for a while, we realize that people have different needs depending on their goals or time of day. With that in mind, the long-term vision for the brand is to create really awesome products that speak to the different wellness needs and uses people have.
Bloom reimagines daily essentials with flavor and function. We always ensure our products taste really delicious with a variety of flavors, because we think your wellness essentials should be enjoyable. We also use efficacious, high-quality ingredients that are rigorously tested to meet the highest standards for safety and quality. We’ll always have these factors in future products, and Bloom will always be female-forward and community-oriented.
Women’s health will continue to shape the wellness industry, and I’m proud to be a woman with a wellness brand and a wellness podcast at the forefront of this topic.
What’s a day in your life look like?
I am all about routine, particularly with sleep, nutrition and exercise. This is all to ensure I have balance within my day.
In my current routine, I’m up around 7am, open the blinds and let the sun in, then make my fancy water with electrolytes, Bloom Colostrum & Collagen Peptides, Creatine if I’m working out and Glutamine, which is great for gut health.
Then I’m off on a walk around the neighborhood with Arnold. When I get home, I either make coffee or have a Bloom Sparkling Energy. I workout, usually weightlifting or pilates, then it’s time for breakfast. I’m a breakfast girl and you’ll never catch me skipping it. After breakfast, I have my Bloom Greens.
I get ready from there and by 9:30 I’m out the door. The days tasks always change, sometimes I’m at the studio recording podcast episodes, at Bloom meetings, or creating content.
After work, I love to eat dinner early, usually by 5pm. My friends tease me for being the queen of early dinner reservations, but I swear by it so I can digest and get to bed early. Greg and I eat dinner together at the table whenever we’re both not traveling, and after that we go on an evening walk.
I’m in bed by 8:45 and meditate every night before going to sleep. Mental health practices and gratitude practices help me show up as my best self every day. Sleep is so important and is my foundation for everything. I’m asleep by 10pm most nights.
How many animals do you have?
We have two dogs, Lulu and Arnold, a horse and eight chickens. I feel so lucky that this is my life, that I can go outside every morning and grab eggs. I’ve wanted a horse my whole life and my horse Red is a dream.
How often do you workout and what do you do?
I workout most days and listen to my body for when I need more or less. I’ve recently gotten more flexible with what I do for my workouts and am usually weightlifting three times a week, do Pilates two times a week, maybe hit a group class or walk around the Lady Bird Lake trail. I’m passionate about getting 10,000 steps a day and I work that into my routine.
If people haven’t yet listened to your podcast Pursuit of Wellness, what episode would you suggest they begin with?
Pursuit of Wellness is designed to be dynamic and cover a range of wellness and lifestyle topics, so you can pick and choose depending on your interests. If I had to name an episode, I would start from the beginning and listen to the first episode.
How and when did you meet your husband?
Greg and I met in college at Drexel University. His fraternity house was across from my sorority house, and I knew of him as a loud, funny frat bro. We ended up taking the same bus to our internships during our junior year, which is where our relationship blossomed.
And he’s a partner in Bloom?
Yes, Greg is the CEO of Bloom and we are the yin and yang of running a company. We’ve been able to focus on our true strengths and drive those areas forward within the business. Greg is operational and a marketer at heart with a very keen entrepreneurial eye. I’m more creative and focus on branding, building our community and keeping the brand focused. Greg likes to say that I’m good at saying no to every shiny opportunity and focusing on what makes Bloom, Bloom. He excels at everything on the business side, like growing our brand awareness and creating our team.
We’ve been a huge support system for each other and we’re grateful we get to do this with each other. We both have grit and are good at pushing through hard things - we are always looking to achieve what’s next. We’re not even close to being done yet.
Favorite mantra or quote?
Your pain can be your purpose. If you had told me at my rock bottom that I would be where I am today, I would not have believed it at all. But the hardest time in my life set me up for the best time of my life, and I’m so proud to be on this side of my journey.
"Your pain can be your purpose..the hardest time in my life set me up for the best time of my life."