Founder Spotlight: Luiza Villela (unClassic Foods)
Meet Luiza Villela:
unClassic designed mushrooms to have 4X more protein in order to replace beef/chicken, without pretending to be them. We want to introduce a new center-of-plate that lives outside the likes of animals, but that naturally feels like the ‘protein’ in your plate.
Startup Stage:
Pre-seed
Location:
San Francisco, California, USA
When did you launch the business?
May 2023
What led you to where you are today?
My background is in plant-based product development and I spent 5 years in the lab doing R&D for plant-based chicken, bacon, ground beef for the Alt. Meat Lab, Beyond Meat, Simulate and Food Systems Innovations. I have a degree in Biology from UC Berkeley, a deep understanding of mycology and a strong urgency to create a new center-of-plate, that lives completely outside of (chicken/beef/fish/pork) and that will reduce animal suffering for the next 50 years of food.
What do you wish you knew before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey?
That the world is neither there for you, nor against you. Everyone is neutral, and there is no force bigger than inertia, except for your grit to make it happen. A company is based upon a series of uncomfortable & unlikely events, so you have to be relentless.
What is the most difficult decision you've had to make regarding your business so far?
Starting without a co-founder. Food is a very hard business, and doing it alone makes it even harder, but I had to make it happen regardless.
What can you help the VEGPRENEUR community with?
I have been working as a food scientist for over 4 years, have been to every vegan conference there is so I have very powerful connections in this space.
How can the VEGPRENEUR community help you?
Help me expand my reach, my brand awareness, and get more people interested in a new center of plate without animals being involved
Fun fact about you:
I am originally from Brazil, and a purple belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu. So I literally fight.
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