Food Entrepreneur - September 15, 2020 - 9

tend to be fearless, she said.
"That has been the case with Zuri
and Sheetal," Ms. Elmer said. "Even the
timing of the pandemic has really not
slowed down their enthusiasm. They're
just trying to be creative in
how they would distribute in
this new world. I think they
have those characteristics
that successful entrepreneurs
need."
The release of Reveal
initially was slated for this
past spring, but the onset of
the pandemic delayed the
introduction.
"We've helped them with
the fine-tuning of the final
product, getting formulas put
together, figuring out how
we're going to begin the initial scaling,
and we're still in the process of doing
that," Ms. Elmer said.
Another consequence of the pandemic, she said, was a smaller supply of
avocado seeds since many restaurants
have shuttered temporarily. The founders are working to partner with guacamole manufacturers to source the key
ingredient for the beverages.

products featuring spent brewer's grains,
cacao fruit, salmon skins and more.
The Upcycled Food Association estimates there are currently 400 upcycled
products in the US marketplace and is
developing a certification
seal that may be displayed
on product packaging.
In his classes, Dr.
Deustch pioneered the
concept of mindful cooking, inspiring students
to consider the culinary
possibilities of waste.
"I like to say it's like a
- Diane Holtaway, Rutgers University mini Big Bang when you
stop to think, 'What else
Food Innovation Center can I do with this?'" Ms. Bahirat said. "It opens up this
whole world of possibilities
you didn't even know existed."
to know who we are and then to tinker and
Following the processing of the
experiment with online advertising and direct-to-consumer to test our messaging and avocado seed beverages, what remains of
see what people are gravitating toward," Ms. the pits are brittle and compostable,
Bahirat said. "So by the time this pandemic, Ms. Masud said.
"We found a local composter we can
we're hoping, comes to an end next year, we
use that's about a mile away from the
will be ready to go into retail."
Consumers increasingly are embrac- manufacturing facility," she said. "So we
are able to compost the seeds when we're
ing the idea of upcycled ingredients as
done." ▪
many new brands enter the market with
Ms. Bahirat and Ms. Masud are planning a focused rollout for Reveal, beginning in the local community and strategically expanding and refining over time.
"The idea is to get everyone in Philly

'Loving and eating food is very
different than running a successful
food business.'

MIC DROP
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today and bring consumers a product with an irresistible
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September 15, 2020

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Food Entrepreneur - September 15, 2020

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