You might say Michelle Darnall’s Beet Box Produce business has grown organically, and you can certainly say it’s in good health.

Started in 2014 when Darnall and her family moved back to Bowling Green after a few years out of the state, Beet Box has expanded beyond its original goal of delivering organic and local produce in Warren and Barren counties.

That was evident Thursday as Darnall welcomed several dozen locals to the ribbon-cutting for the new Beet Box retail location in the former Porter Paints building at Smallhouse Road and Broadway.

Organic, Whole 30, paleo and bento box meal options were on display along with fresh strawberries and other produce, all fitting with Darnall’s original goal of providing healthy eating options for Bowling Green residents.

“There’s nothing in them you can’t pronounce,” Darnall said of her store’s offerings, emphasizing the absence of preservatives and processed foods.

A former fitness instructor and pharmaceutical sales representative, Darnall wanted to bring her passion for healthy eating to Bowling Green when she moved back. She started as a delivery service, using national distributor Albert’s Organics and a network of a dozen or so local farms to gather fruits and vegetables for delivery.

Not one to sugarcoat either her food or her thoughts on healthy living, Darnall said she welcomes the opportunity to bring the latest food trends to southcentral Kentucky.

“Most people doing paleo or Whole 30 were having to drive to Nashville,” she said. “My goal is to offer it here. I think Kentucky is behind the times. A lady I know in California said she can go to McDonald’s and get Whole 30 products.”

What started as a delivery service “really took off” when Darnall started offering prepared meals.

Offerings such as a tuna salad bento (a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal with roots in Japan), a jalapeno turkey burger and smothered pork burritos have proven to be popular with area residents looking for alternatives to fast food.

“People are becoming more aware of eating healthy,” she said. “They’re looking for alternative ways to keep themselves healthy.”

Trends such as Whole 30, a month-long eating program that eliminates sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, soy and dairy, and paleo, which is heavy on fruits, nuts and vegetables, have helped fuel Beet Box’s growth as well.

The popularity of such offerings can be measured by the growth in the company’s deliveries. Darnall said Beet Box will deliver 100 or more boxes of meals and produce each Monday.

“I started out just using my van to deliver,” she said. “Now I have five drivers who deliver on Mondays and Tuesdays.”

That growth in the delivery service has translated to the new 3,000-square-foot store, which opened in late February.

“We’ve been super busy ever since we opened,” Darnall said. “It has been better than I expected.”

That growth is due largely to patrons like Kara Compton, a Bowling Green mother of three who welcomes the chance to purchase meals that don’t include those unpronounceable additives.

“I’ve been doing the delivery service for close to a year now,” said Compton, who was checking out the new retail location during the ribbon-cutting. “I don’t get produce boxes. I get meals. It helps me and my husband. This is something our community has needed for some time.”