Former NFL player on his new business: ‘These are foods we should all be eating every day’

Former Notre Dame and NFL football player Gerome Sapp had an hour to come up with a business concept during a class break at Harvard Business School. He was hungry but because he was a health-conscious eater, he didn’t want to eat from a vending machine.

And that’s how his fast-food concept, Health Binge, came to be.

“I didn’t think the concept was rocket science, but I felt that it would provide a solution for many people’s culinary problems, including mine at that moment,” he said.

Describe your business.

Health Binge is a fresh-prepared meal company that makes healthy gourmet meals that are freshly prepped and portioned to go.

What is the hardest part about doing business in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas is the ultimate sensory overload, so people’s attention spans tend to be more limited. So you tend to find that individuals get bored with things more quickly here.

What is the best part about doing business in Las Vegas?

It’s a 24-hour city that is still the Wild West in a lot of ways as it relates to introducing new concepts. People tend to be a bit more open to trying new things here.

What obstacles has your business overcome?

There have been so many. For starters, it was hard finding a space to lease. Landlords didn’t believe the concept would be successful. That just woke up the ultra-competitor in me to push harder and figure out a way to make it happen.

How can Nevada improve its business climate?

It has to start with each business owner, including me, doing an internal audit of how they can do better at “doing better.” Statewide change has to start at the micro level.

What has been your hardest lesson in business?

Honesty is not always a mutually shared privilege.

Tell us about the grab-and-go food system you created at Notre Dame. What are the similarities and differences between the system you started in college and Health Binge?

Both allowed individuals to come in, grab a prepackaged meal, and go. Both had health as a primary focus. However, Health Binge serves a significantly wider variety of meals. Health Binge is 100 percent gluten-free and uses components of the G-BOMBS diet in all of our meals. Health Binge also offers cold-pressed juices; Notre Dame did not.

What is the G-BOMBS diet, and why is it significant that Health Binge incorporates it into their meals?

G-BOMBS is an acronym for greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds, which are the best anti-cancer, health-promoting foods on the planet. These foods are extremely effective at preventing chronic disease and promoting longevity. These are foods we should all be eating every day. We incorporated this into our diets as NFL and NCAA athletes. I saw first-hand how it helped athletes, including me, with overall energy and wellness, so I wanted to add components of the diet to each meal we offer.

Explain how the personal and corporate meal plans work.

Health Binge created the Binge 7,, which is our seven-day meal plan. We made it easy by offering three plan options based on how many calories a customer wants to consume daily — 1,300, 1,600 or 1,900. Our nutritionist has pre-selected breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks each day that equals 1,300, 1,600 or 1,900 calories. We deliver half the meals on Sunday and the other half on Wednesday to keep meals fresh.

Are any of the meals at Health Binge similar to what you ate while playing in the NFL?

There are a few that are similar. A few of those meals are the pasta marinara and turkey meatballs, blackened sirloin, asparagus white omelette, and the turkey breakfast hash. I had one of my best games ever after eating that turkey breakfast hash!

Anything else you’d like to tell us?

Our nutritionist is in the store every Saturday to consult with customers around their nutrition/wellness needs. This service is free for customers. Also, if customers can’t make it into our store, they can have them delivered via Postmates.