Gomae [Community of WestcoastSCI]

Vancouver business culture is driven by locally-grown, socially-conscious, passionate people and networks. Westcoast SCI being a very grass-roots physio clinic itself, we are excited to give an insight into (and support) local businesses that we think you’ll love. Whether it be the health-conscious bakery down the street, the shoe store that’ll walk you through the right shoe for you, or the meal-prep business started by one of our clients, we want to connect you to people and services in our direct community that we believe in. We are fascinated by the community-minded culture of this amazing city, and want to try this out!

Remember Kenton, our last Humans of WestcoastSCI feature? Shortly after he backflipped into a concussion (read the full story here), Kenton had to decide whether he was going to go against all odds and get his business up and running while the world was spinning – or let his concussion defeat him and his new startup. Kenton, being the persevering optimist he is, decided on the former and to push through. Driving around Vancouver (his wife in the driver’s seat), he was hand-delivering meals for his up-and-coming socially conscious start-up with sunglasses, earplugs, and a ringing concussion.

This feature is about the business driven by Kenton – their mission, what they do, and how Kenton’s heart extends into his business and the community.

Gomae’s Mission

To make healthy and sustainable food more accessible!

What They Do

Gomae is the first Zero Waste, Zero Time healthy meal service delivering entirely prepared meals in reusable containers for your week, partnering with some of the best local Vancouver restaurants and food experts to prepare meals. There are so many unique options each week. You can chose from authentic African, Japanese, Middle-Eastern, and Mexican – not to mention a number of soups, salads, and stews. They keep their menu on rotate so there is always something new!

They want to help people feel great even when there isn’t time to cook. We are all doing our best when it comes to our health and our impact on the environment. Gomae was created to be the most convenient way for you to take your biggest step in this direction. We can save our home, earth, one MEAL at a time.

Step 1: Head to Gomaemealprep.com, check out their constantly expanding menu

Step 2: Sign up and pick your meals (around $11 per meal, multiplied by however many days per week)

Step 3: Enjoy! Everything is delivered once a week in reusable containers

Gomae brings sustainability and environmental consciousness, a local focus, healthy living and eating, and efficient living together all into one brilliant solution to help you live your healthiest life!

Kenton’s Philosophy

In our Humans of Westcoast SCI interview, we were fascinated by Kenton’s drive and perseverance in life. From almost losing his ability to be athletic to starting a new business driven by unconventional and sustainable eating, Kenton revealed some key insights in how he lives his life and runs Gomae.

The 4 key take-away’s that’ll help you back-flip into life (and business):

• Embrace challenges – be an optimistic and creative problem solver. There is always a way and you WILL figure it out!

• Stay connected – build a support network, find your people, be empathetic, be connected to your clients, employees, and community

• Employ a Lean methodology – use “flexible planning” by starting small, testing, building momentum, and scaling up. The ratio between planning and improvising will vary by the context of whatever you’re starting, but start now and learn from there! In a business context, your impact is in your employees, consumers, community reinvestments, and the change you inspire

• Learn from everything – “Everything in life is going to make you bitter, or it’s going to make you better. And I think you have to make a choice with hard things in life…Recognize that every challenge is an opportunity.”

Photos courtesy of Kenton & Gomae Meal Prep.

Community of Westcoast SCI