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Whitney and Danielle say they started to see the difference in their bodies almost immediately. Their friends and coworkers began commenting on the changes. In 2012, Danielle moved to Brooklyn where her neighbor began requesting the meals, so the duo started cooking for three. Whitney began to look around at her Wall Street colleagues who were overstressed and overweight and realized they could benefit from the lifestyle change, too. “But they had no time to cook the way we cooked,” she said. “So we started thinking about writing a blog or a cookbook.”
“The problem with that was people needed the products at their fingertips,” says Danielle. “We realized we needed to deliver the food to people, but first we needed money. So we threw a dinner party and sold tickets. We walked away with $700. We built a website, printed business cards and started cooking in Brooklyn. We delivered the meals on our bikes.”
Danielle and Whitney named the company Sakara Life (www.sakara.com); “Sakara” is a Sanskrit word that means “with form.” Danielle said food became the physical form of their hopes of healing their bodies. “Food became the foundation for realizing our dreams,” she says. “Once you feel powerful in your body, life unfolds the way you want. This is where our Sedona upbringing comes in. Your thoughts create your reality. We were definitely lucky that we grew up in Sedona and received that education and understanding.”
Danielle and Whitney are quick to point out that Sakara is a plant-based lifestyle – they eschew the term “vegan.” Both girls eat meat and dairy, though meat and dairy aren’t part of the Sakara meal plan. (Sakara is about what you should eat, not what you can’t have, says Whitney.) When you sign up for Sakara meal delivery, you choose a three- or five-day subscription. Organic meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, detox teas and functional waters – are delivered to your door and ready to eat either cold or heated. Subscriptions start at $69 per day, per person. There are no contracts to sign, and subscriptions can be canceled or put on hold at any time. “It’s a lifestyle – there’s no wagon to fall off of,” says Whitney. “You can eat your pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and come back to Sakara tomorrow. It releases the neurosis around food.”
The meals arrive with labels to educate consumers on what they are eating and why. (There’s also the S-Life online magazine with plenty of healthy eating tips and recipes.) And while the plans are more expensive than other meal delivery programs, Whitney says Sakara’s quality of ingredients is “incomparable. We are about food as medicine rather than just convenience.” Whitney and Danielle have heard a plethora of testimonials from clients who say Sakara helped them with a range of health issues – everything from infertility to lupus and autoimmune disorders – but they say the majority of their clients are simply people who want to look and feel better.
It didn’t take long before Sakara began catching the attention of some high-profile people, including actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s goop newsletter and website. In 2013, goop named Sakara Life its No. 1 meal delivery service in New York City. That’s when life got really busy. Danielle and Whitney had to hire chefs and employees overnight. “We’d have chefs not show up, and we’d have to call our friends for help,” says Whitney. “’Hi, can you come over and bring some cauliflower?’”
Since then Sakara has been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, Glamour, Elle, People and Travel + Leisure. In January 2016, Danielle and Whitney were listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 (they both turned 30 later that year). Last summer, Oprah Winfrey named the duo in her SuperSoul 100, a list of “awakened leaders who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity” according to the SuperSoul website. Supermodel Lily Aldridge is an avid Sakara fan and collaborator. All of that attention means Sakara has grown exponentially since Danielle and Whitney delivered meals on their bikes. Today the company has 80 employees and two production facilities in New York and LA. The company sends 50,000 meals each month to subscribers in 48 states. Danielle and Whitney are involved in all aspects of the business from marketing to helping create recipes.
Even with all the buzz, Danielle says the business is still in startup mode. Danielle and Whitney see Sakara expanding to become a total wellness brand that includes beauty products, vitamins, hygiene and more. Sakara Life has a boutique that sells chocolates, teas, waters, salad dressing, cookies, granola, cocktail mix and other foodstuffs. “When we find something we like, we Sakara-ify it,” says Danielle. “So now there’s Sakara popcorn and our CBD chocolates.”
Whitney and Danielle travel a lot – at least one week a month – so neither have much time to cook. Both eat primarily Sakara meals, though Whitney admits she has a weakness for Mexican food, especially California burritos and margaritas. Danielle was married in 2015 – her husband proposed to her on top of Sedona’s Doe Mountain. Whitney is getting married in Israel this summer. (Both of their significant others sit on the Sakara advisory board.) They say they return to Sedona about four times a year to visit friends and family, especially their moms, who they both cite as inspirations. The girls say ChocolaTree Organic Eatery is their favorite local restaurant, and Danielle likes to hit up Crystal Magic when she’s visiting. As for their funky fashion sense, Sedona women take note: Danielle and Whitney forgo Fifth Avenue for Sedona’s thrift shops, naming Goodwill and Twice Nice as two of their favorites.
Spend just a short time talking to them, and it’s obvious that Whitney and Danielle are proud of where they come from. Whitney was born and raised in Sedona – her parents have been in town more than 40 years. Danielle’s grandparents are also longtime Sedona residents. Her grandfather, Dick Levy, 97, has been to every varsity football game at Sedona Red Rock High School, and he has been involved in the Sedona Arts Center. “We try to bring Sedona back with us to New York,” says Whitney. Danielle agrees. “We will always have roots here. Sedona inspires greatness.”
Just as inspiring as the girls’ connection to Sedona is their connection to each other. After nearly 20 years of friendship, they finish each other’s sentences, borrow each other’s clothes and seem to genuinely care about one another. “We became quick friends, and when we were looking for something, we aided each other in that search,” says Danielle. “Communication is a big part of what makes this work, but trust is even more important. We trust that we have each other’s best intentions in mind. That’s the No. 1 thing.”
