Specialty Food Magazine

Daniel Lee hopes to do for freshly made pasta what Chipotle did for hand-held burritos. His Farina Pasta and Noodle restaurant concept, which he launched with his founding partner, Joe Liang, as a delivery-only ghost kitchen brand last year, is preparing to open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant later this summer in Philadelphia's famed Rittenhouse Square, and Lee is hoping more locations will follow. The two founders met in a pasta-making class at Drexel University. "We had been talking about it, and we wondered why there were no fast-casual places serving fresh pasta," says Lee. Liang has since shifted his focus to other interests, but remains a silent partner in the business, Lee says. In addition to making pasta fresh on site, Farina Pasta also seeks to offer a global sampling of pasta and noodle dishes from different parts of the world. "Pasta is basically just flour and water," says Lee. "There are lots of different cultures that mix flour and water and press it into a noodle sheet." Farina offers a mix-and-match menu that allows customers to choose between several different pasta types and several different sauces, including popular Italian sauces such as marinara and alfredo and Asian toppings such as dan dan. When the new store opens it will include a fryer, which the ghost kitchen did not have. That will allow Farina to offer items such as chicken parmesan and arancini, as well fried appetizers. In addition to the ghost kitchen delivery business, Farina Pasta was also selling $10 pasta meal kits at farmers' markets in Philadelphia, although both those ventures are now on hold as the company gears up to open its brick-and-mortar location. In the meantime, the company continues to offer catering. "We're just looking forward to having a space where people can come in and enjoy fresh pasta," says Lee. —M.H. Ethan Hirshberg took his own interest in apple cider vinegar, combined it with a background in the organic industry, and created a fast- growing functional beverage business that has veered in unexpected directions. After launching his eponymous company, Ethan's, in 2017 with an apple cider vinegar shot, Hirshberg soon realized that there was a "glaring void" in the energy-shot space—a lack of healthy, organic options that provide a caffeine kick. He and his partner, Sebastian Schell, head of research and development, went to work trying to find a solution. "The biggest challenge is getting enough caffeine and vitamins in there to deliver, without going over the top and making you jittery and then crash, and still make it taste good," Hirshberg says. "It's a delicate balance." Ethan's Energy Shots are made from organic juices, with no artificial flavoring or preservatives, and with caffeine from guayusa extract, green tea extract, and other sources. Sales of the products took off when the company introduced them in Whole Foods, which had already been carrying Ethan's other functional shot drinks and has long been a strong supporter of the brand, Hirshberg says. Ethan's now generates about 70 percent of its revenues from its energy shots line, he says. The company's products recently began rolling out to 6,000 CVS locations, and it also has distribution in convenience stores and through Amazon.com. Ethan's also has expanded into drink powders, which are available across its Clean Energy, Daily Detox, and Immune Boost product lines. Hirshberg, whose father, Gary, is the chairman and former CEO of organic industry pioneer Stonyfield Farm, says that a key lesson he learned from growing up in that environment was to remain focused. "What ended up separating them was their commitment to quality and organics, and setting those pillars from the beginning," he says. "That made the difference with the consumer. The big lesson was that it is worth it to stick to your values, no matter what happens."—M.H. PHOTO: ETHAN'S Ethan Hirshberg FOUNDER, ETHAN'S Age: 31 PHOTO: FARINA PASTA AND NOODLE Daniel Lee CO-FOUNDER, FARINA PASTA AND NOODLE Age: 27 FALL 2021 19

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