BUSINESS

When North Nutrition business was looking for a home, it found everything it needed in North Topeka

Shanna Sloyer
Special to The Capital-Journal
Stine Taylor, a partner of North Nutrition at 1835 N.W. Topeka Blvd., places a selection of Herbalife Nutrition products on the counter last week as she prepared for the store's opening.

Healthy on-the-go meal options are available north of the Kansas River at North Nutrition, 1835 N.W. Topeka Blvd.

A health and fitness enterprise by business partners Stine Taylor, Autumn Ferguson and Isabelle Smallback, Taylor said they chose North Topeka because it was a wide-open market when it came to nutrition options.

“North Topeka is a whole separate world once you pass that bridge,” Taylor said. “There are no nutrition clubs up here. It brings a bright new thing to North Topeka to get the community engaged.”

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What does a nutrition bar serve?

North Nutrition offers a selection of Herbalife smoothies, coffee, shakes and other products.

North Nutrition, which opened Monday, will operate as a nutrition bar serving healthy smoothies, energy drinks, herbal teas, iced coffees and protein shakes.

“Our shakes are complete meals. They’re low sugar, high protein, low carb and low calories," Taylor said.

North Nutrition shares a connection with SoulFire Nutrition, which opened at the Brookwood Shopping Center at S.W. 29th and Burlingame in October 2018. Taylor is also a partner at that location.

In addition to healthy drinks and meal replacement options, both locations offer nutrition and sports nutrition coaching to athletes, families and anyone else seeking support.

Along with their partner roles running North Nutrition, Taylor, Ferguson and Smallback are Herbalife coaches. Drinks at North Nutrition and SoulFire Nutrition use Herbalife products as part of their ingredients.

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Under the slogan "fuel good, feel good," Herbalife advertises the benefits of its products to include balanced nutrition, weight management, nutrition supplementation, sports nutrition solutions and personal care to support healthy, active lifestyles.

Taylor, who moved from Texas last May to run a nutrition club in the capital city, said she and her business partners will be the only employees at North Nutrition, acting as independent coaches who operate their own businesses.

“We’re nutrition coaches who work behind a bar making healthy fast food for people,” Taylor said. “We can coach you and help you whatever your goals are, whether it's weight loss, weight gain or weight maintenance.”

Drinks will range from Quenchers to Lil Hero Slurps

Stine Taylor stands inside North Nutrition last week as she takes a break from setting up the store for its opening.

One of the team's most popular menu items is a clean tea fruit drink called a Quencher, which comes in flavors like Acai Strawberry Lemonade. Unlike other fruit drinks, Taylor said, Quenchers offer active hydration formulated for athletes to improve their on-field performance.

“Our teas are tea-based, but they don’t take like tea," she said. "They taste like Sonic drinks.”

Taylor said the drinks customers can find at North Nutrition have the correct balance of carbs and electrolytes needed for hydration, metabolism support and energy without the artificial flavors and sweeteners that can be found in popular sports drinks on the market today.

Lil Hero Slurps are slushies geared toward the youngest customers and are made with North Nutrition’s signature hydration formula in kid-friendly flavors, she said.

“We have something for everybody, from diapers to diapers,” Taylor said.

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North Nutrition will continue to partner with SoulFire Nutrition to offer in-store education at the Brookwood location. Taylor said they are open to additional business partners joining the north store in the future.

“If other people want to come in as partners, they can build their own business," Taylor said. "We’re all about designing your own life based on what you want to do and what you want to accomplish.”

Taylor was eager to open the business.

“We’re all about people coming in and hanging out," Taylor said. "We’re just trying to get the door open and get it rolling. We’ll have a grand opening later on.”

When is North Nutrition open?

Various nutrition powders and extracts are seen on the countertop at North Nutrition. Products customers can purchase include smoothies, energy drinks, herbal teas, iced coffees and protein shakes.

Regular business hours will be 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Once the business is established, North Nutrition will also offer a delivery option for large orders after the store closes in the afternoon. Those orders can be placed via private message on the North Nutrition Facebook page.