62 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM
Authentic Vietnamese Chicken Pho Broth
www.mamalaskitchen.com 844-284-5444
Fancy Food Show Booth #6918
that a standard serving (approximately
33 grams) of leading American cookies
contain eight to 14 grams of sugar. The
latest iteration of a 33-gram serving of
Rip Van Wafels Honey & Oats flavor has
just 3 grams of sugar. Also, his wafels are
GMO-free and have 120 calories instead of
the average 160-190 calories in a similar-
size packaged cookie or granola bar.
"I did not want to contribute to
Americans' problems with obesity or
diabetes," he says. One of the ingredients
to help achieve his goal turned out to
be monk fruit extract, a zero-calorie
sweetener grown in Southeast Asia.
"The amazing thing about food is
understanding the biochemistry of it and
testing things through trial and error
from a flavor standpoint," he says. "These
building blocks unlocked solutions,
making something that's perceived as
sweeter than it actually is. By the time I
graduated, it tasted very good."
That was in 2010, the same year
Pruisken raised $23,750 through a
Kickstarter campaign. His initial idea was
to start a food truck, but he abandoned
it, realizing it would be smarter to
concentrate on perfecting the formula.
A food truck would only be a distraction
from pursuing a wholesale business
model.
Pruisken partnered with an
undergraduate friend, Marco De Leon,
to draw up a business plan, which won
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