Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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Summer Fancy Food Show Booth 2250 Exclusively Imported to the USA by: Brands of Britain, LLC 1-800-646-6974 | sales@brandsofbritain.com | www.brandsofbritain.com Booth #2250 Grounded in Good Works In 2011, with his friend Josh Balk, direc- tor of food policy at the Humane Society, Tetrick co-founded Hampton Creek in the kitchen of his one-bedroom Los Angeles apartment. Tetrick had recently returned from spending seven years working in Africa and was passionate about helping impover- ished communities eat more healthily with- out a heavy cost to the environment. "I was f lailing around, trying to imag- ine ways to use pea proteins, bean f lour, and plant sources," he recalls. Learning about the perils of industrial farming, from animal treatment to avian f lu outbreaks, had inf lu- enced his decision to give up meat and dairy several years before. After he hatched the idea for an egg- free, faux mayonnaise spread, he drew up a business plan. It was impressive enough to attract a $500,000 investment from Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems. Tetrick used that money to move to San Francisco and hire a team of biochem- ists and data scientists, tapping into the Silicon Valley workforce. A lab, rather than an incubator kitchen, was where the team studied and identified, through computer algorithms, the molecular structures of thousands of plant species from around the world, predicting which ones mocked the egg best in f lavor, emulsification capability, and making baked goods rise in the oven. Mother Nature, but with a modern twist. Research and development lasted for more than a year and a half. The Canadian yellow pea, similar to the split pea, provided the eureka moment. The team blended it with canola oil, lemon juice, white vinegar, garlic, and spices to create Just Mayo, a may- onnaise alternative. The non-GMO formula is cheaper than using eggs; Tetrick opted not to go organic, saying it would drive up the price too much. producer profile The research and development unit is at work on plant-based alternatives to pasta, ice cream, and custard, among the 30 or so products they hope to introduce to the marketplace in the next three years. 80 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com