{"id":88937,"title":"Locale: Unlock 50% more daily energy ⚡️ by optimizing what you eat","tagline":"Locale delivers meals made with natural ingredients and optimized nutrient ratios — all designed to improve your energy and productivity (California only).","body":"**TLDR:** After noticing how much my diet impacted my productivity, I spent six months researching and A/B testing different diets to find one that gave me the most energy and mental clarity. Eventually, I found a protocol that worked — not just for me, but for dozens of my closest friends. But I couldn't find the time to cook consistently and no meal service met my standards. So I built my own.\n\n### **Problem ❌**\n\nAs a founder, I never had time to cook, so I’d always settle for Doordash meals that made me feel sluggish and low energy. After doing some research, I realized that most prepared meals have:\n\n* **Low quality and processed ingredients** - produce sprayed with synthetic pesticides and sauces filled with processed ingredients and artificial emulsifiers (neurotoxins that can harm brain function over time)\n* **Unhealthy oils** - full of low-quality vegetable and seed oils, which throw off your Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio (key to optimal cellular and brain function)\n* **Little to no fiber and protein** – dietary fiber and lean muscle mass are both huge components to regulating blood sugar (critical to sustaining energy levels)\n* **Packaging full of microplastics -** heating food in plastic containers leeches toxic chemicals and disrupts hormones\n\nAfter realizing that the way I eat can have a huge effect on my productivity levels, I started trying out “healthy” meal delivery services. Most tasted bad and claimed to be healthy, but after digging deeper, I realized it was mostly BS marketing with no real nutrition standards to back them up.\n\nThe Blueprint service appeared to be the best option, but after doing more research, I found that they just outsourced their food production to a company that uses seed oils and low-quality ingredients.\n\nEvery service I tried was compromised in some way. **I couldn’t find any options that hit all of the science-based health standards that I cared about and helped me perform my best.**\n\n---\n\n### **Solution 💡**\n\nI spent a long time doing research (and crunching studies with chatGPT) to come up with a strict list of rules for the food that I wanted to eat. Then, I found an experienced chef with over 20 years of fine dining experience and gave him a carefully curated list of approved ingredients for each meal.\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=88937\u0026key=user_uploads/714052/e2221663-6c7b-4412-91ff-e4f7240f6c40)\n\nThe meals that he created were delicious, and after a few weeks, I started noticing I felt different. **I had more energy throughout the day, felt much less fatigue after a long day of work, and started sleeping better.**\n\nMy friends asked to join in and get meals from my chef, and many began to notice the same benefits that I did. That’s when I decided to offer this as a service to everyone.\n\n### **Our Ask ❤️**\n\nWe want Locale to be the best delivery service for people who care about their mental performance and long-term health.\n\n* **Have you found any nutritional hacks that have helped you be more productive?** Tell us what worked (or didn't). Feel free to email me at [chris@shoplocale.com](mailto:chris@shoplocale.com).\n* **Want to try Locale and live in the SF Bay Area or LA?** Check it out [here](https://shoplocale.com/?auto-code=YCLAUNCH2FREEMEALS). We’ll include 2 free meals on your first order.","slug":"N8T-locale-unlock-50-more-daily-energy-by-optimizing-what-you-eat","created_at":"2025-03-25T13:54:05.752Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T00:56:44.028Z","total_vote_count":157,"url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/N8T-locale-unlock-50-more-daily-energy-by-optimizing-what-you-eat","share_image_url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/media/?type=post\u0026id=88937\u0026key=user_uploads/714052/e2221663-6c7b-4412-91ff-e4f7240f6c40","company":{"id":24190,"name":"Locale","slug":"locale","url":"https://www.shoplocale.com","logo":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/05ced72ca392bd785c6f2b3edcb5078827dac50f.png","batch":"Summer 2021","industry":"Consumer","tags":["Grocery","Marketplace","Delivery","Food"],"search_path":"https://bookface.ycombinator.com/company/24190"}}