The plant-based food movement has left a lot of people behind

The advantages of a plant-based diet—on the environment, disease prevention and overall wellness—are well documented. But not everyone who wants to eat plant-based can afford the plant-based meat analogs that are currently available. 

Furthermore, many of those fake meat products are surprisingly unhealthy—loaded with saturated fat and fillers, and over-processed to mimic animal-based products—even though the #1 reason consumers switch to plant-based diets is health.

Imagine the impact we could have by reaching a mainstream set of consumers that are looking for affordable and healthy plant-based options that meet their nutritional needs. 

Plant-based protein that’s rooted in veggies

Instead of engineering plant-based food that attempts to mimic animal products as closely as possible, we take a different approach: products that elevate vegetables to the center of your meal.

Our flagship product, Adda Veggie, transforms veggies into a delicious ground meat alternative by adding plant protein and texture that crisps and chews just like ground meat. We are building a new category of products that elevate produce into nutritionally-complete meals.

Adda Veggie is a dry mix that uses a base of fresh vegetables, which means:

• An easier supply chain, so we can keep prices low.
• A shelf-stable product, so you can always have it on hand.
• You’ll enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh veggies!
• Elevate your leftover veggies and say goodbye to household produce waste.

Adda Veggie makes veggies the star of any meal

With Adda Veggie, simply add veggies to the mix to create a better-for-you plant-based protein which can be formed into patties, meatless balls or a crumble. Just add chopped or riced veggies, form, and cook—then swap in for the ground meat in your favorite recipes.

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Adda Veggie was designed with versatility and inclusivity in mind. It works great with a variety of vegetables, and you can swap it in for the ground meat in a wide variety of cuisines and make it your own!

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Adda Veggie is a specially designed, proprietary blend of pea protein, fiber, artisanal spices and textural ingredients. It adds a delicious chew and crisp to veggies to truly make them stand up as a center-of-plate protein. 

The combination of protein, fiber and texture, in addition to increasing veggie intake is supportive of managing certain diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The ability to choose your veggie and added fat makes it highly customizable for personal preferences and needs.

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Adda Veggie currently comes in 4 flavors, with 3 more on their way in early 2022.

YTD 2021 sales are 10X total sales from 2020

In mid-2019, we began selling in local farmer’s markets to test and prove the product. Bolstered by glowing customer reviews, we launched our e-comm business in mid-2020. In 2021 we have started to take off: top line sales have grown 1300% YoY with over $250K in sales YTD as of October 1. We project $2.25M+ revenue in 2022 and $7M+ revenue in 2023 as we build to mass merchandisers.

• Adda Veggie is sold nationally on the online grocery platforms Imperfect Foods and Misfits Market in addition to our DTC and Amazon channels.
• We launched in local retail in 2021, and are available in 30+ natural independent retailers in the San Francisco Bay Area in addition to Good Eggs and Zero Grocery.
• We were recently accepted into Whole Foods, and launch in 50 Northern California stores in February 2022.
• We are re-launching our food service business (on hiatus since early 2020 due to COVID) and are currently in pilot in 5 universities (Cornell, Ohio State, Dartmouth, Cal Poly Pomona and Kent State).
• Recognition in Forbes, Shape, Self Magazine, SELF, Well+Good and others.

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Industry recognition

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2020 NEXTY Award Finalist for Best New Pantry Item
Food Funded Investors Innovation & Impact Award
2020 Expo Pitch Slam Rising Star Award
Naturally Bay Area Pitch Slam finalist
Nosh Pitch Slam finalist
FoodBytes! Pitch 2021 competition for food system innovations

Our customers are ready to move beyond meat analogs

Our early adopting customers are vegetarians, vegans, and flexitarians who are committed to reducing their meat consumption for health and environmental reasons. But they’re growing tired of the existing fake meat solutions and want something healthier that is rooted in real, fresh food.

Since launch, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback through Amazon and one-on-one customer interviews. Customers love how easy, healthy, delicious and veggie-forward our products are. Adda Veggie is particularly valuable for folks transitioning to plant-based diets. See for yourself:

Our target customer is the busy parent that wants to make healthy food for the family. Adda Veggie is the half-scratch meal solution that the whole family will enjoy—and will get kids to eat more veggies.

• It’s quick and easy—as easy as boxed mac-n-cheese!
• It’s delicious and the kids love it (they really do!).
• It accommodates many allergies and food preferences (even the meat-eaters love it).

Growing in retail,
foodservice, and online

We are executing an omnichannel business strategy. As a versatile dry mix, Adda Veggie works well in:

• E-commerce: Lightweight and ambient storage makes it cost-effective. Valuable partnerships with online grocers that sell produce.
• Retail: Synergy with produce increases shopper basket size. Reinvigorating a sleepy center-store category. Pathway to accessible points of distribution.
• Foodservice: Flexible so chefs can be creative and use it on the menu in a variety of ways. Reduces kitchen food waste.

Right now, e-commerce is our dominant revenue channel; our retail and foodservice channels will experience large growth in the next 2 years.

In 2021, 95% of our revenue is from e-commerce, driven by partnerships with online grocers and 100% YoY growth in our monthly Amazon sales. In 2022 we launch Whole Foods and expand our retail footprint. By 2023 retail will account for 50% of our revenue as we expand out nationally. Our foodservice channel, which has been on hiatus since early 2020 due to COVID, will start generating significant revenue in early 2022 with colleges & universities.

Our gross margins are 37%, and we’ve identified a pathway to 50% gross margin by 2023 with reduced labor and packaging costs.

The #1 reason consumers buy plant-based is health

The global plant-based meat market is growing by 15% YoY and is projected to hit $27B+ by 2025. Consumers are adopting plant-based diets primarily due to health.

There is a massive untapped market—an estimated 52M US households—who seek healthy plant-based protein options that fit into their lifestyles. This is where we can grow to $50M+ within 4 years.

Protein mixes are just the start. We are building a new category of plant-based products that transform and elevate produce. With our omnichannel growth strategy, we project yearly revenues of $50M+ by 2025.

Adda Veggie can be the Hamburger Helper for vegetables

Adda Veggie is defining a new category of products that address an unmet consumer need: healthy and satisfying plant-based options that don’t break the bank.

At a total meal cost for a family of 4, Adda Veggie is comparable to Hamburger Helper—a brand that is still enjoyed by over 1M US customers every day. Just think of all the people we can bring into plant-based eating!

The plant-based protein competitors can be segmented into: refrigerated fake ground meat, shelf-stable protein crumbles, and frozen veggie burgers. Against each of those competitors, Adda Veggie holds an advantage:

Make healthy plant-based eating accessible to everyone

From day one, we have been a company on a mission to make the food system more equitable. We incorporated Down to Cook as a Public Benefit Corporation whose charter is to “make plant-based diets accessible, inclusive and equitable.” 

Our vision is to create an ecosystem of Adda Veggie products that incorporate vegetables around the plate. In addition to the center-of-plate Adda Veggie protein line, we have prototypes for Adda Veggie cheese mixes (just add sweet potato and bell pepper!) and Adda Veggie savory pancake mixes (just add leafy greens!). Our strategic plan is to build to accessible points of distribution with an affordable price-point on shelf.

Around this Adda Veggie ecosystem we will create a meal planning tool that empowers busy home cooks to eat plant-based food in a sustainable way. Instead of one-off recipes or products, this integrated solution can enable people to cook healthy, veggie-packed meals throughout the week, on a budget, without wasting any of their produce.

Raised $200K to date

Prior to our current Republic campaign, we raised a $215K pre-seed round in February 2021 from 4 experienced angel investors that are active in food tech, CPG, and social impact investing.

This June, we completed the ICA Accelerator—a program that supports early-stage, underrepresented founders with mentoring and capital. In September, we participated in the global FoodBytes! Pitch 2021 food and agriculture innovation program.

Today, we're raising growth capital on Republic to support our retail growth, foodservice launch and product line expansion in 2022.

Experienced entrepreneurs on a mission

Down to Cook is led by Founder & CEO Trishna Saigal, who is passionate about changing the landscape of who has access to nutritious food. She is a PhD formulation scientist who prior to Adda Veggie spent a decade as a food product developer, bringing 40+ products to market both for traditional CPG brands (Clorox, Hidden Valley, KC Masterpiece) and plant-based startups (Ripple Foods). It’s here that she saw the massive over-processing that went into mimicking meat & dairy analog products and the opportunity to create something better.

Joining Trishna on this journey is her husband Joseph Richards (COO & Co-founder), an experienced entrepreneur who exited a company in 2016. Joseph oversees operations, production and finance. He is a PhD statistician (from CMU, where Trishna & Joseph first met!) who prior to Adda Veggie co-founded Wise.io in 2012 and served as its Chief Scientist until the company’s acquisition in 2016 by GE Digital.

Together, we are on a mission to bring more people into the plant-based food movement. We are thrilled to invite like-minded individuals to be a part of the Down to Cook team!