How Impact Food Started
Our team serving Impact tuna at Impact’s first tasting event at Kitchentown
In January 2020, three UC Berkeley students met in renowned scientist Dr. Ricardo San Martin’s Alternative Meats Challenge Lab, a product-design based entrepreneurship course that studies how food is made and why alternative meats could be the solution to our failing global food system. A passionate foodie-business student, a vegan home chef-computer science student, and a scientist-biochemistry student found each other and decided to bring what was initially just their class project into the real world as a company: Impact Food.
We were inspired by the increasing availability of alternative meat products like beef and chicken, and the science behind creating them. As we brainstormed in class for a protein alternative that could become the center-of-the-plate we realized that there was both a pressing need and opportunity to be explored in alternative seafood. Not only was looking into seafood and the food science behind mimicking its animal-counterpart scientifically enticing, it brought our attention to the urgent need for it. With an ever growing global population and subsequent demand for seafood, it was alarming how much the conventional seafood industry was overfishing and depleting our oceans yet still struggling to meet this demand. This is when we knew we were on a mission to reimagine a more sustainable food system through delicious and nutritious seafood created using plants.
Impact’s first lab—Adrian’s bedroom
Prepping for Impact’s first external taste test in Stephanie’s kitchen
As the pandemic hit, we adjusted to working remotely from home. Adrian borrowed some lab equipment from his high school to continue the investigation of plant-based seafood. We all recreated this setup in our own homes and started experimenting, using the concepts we were learning in class, speaking with experienced scientists, and conducting our own research. After creating hundreds of plant-based seafood prototypes, we realized we need more space than our makeshift bedrooms and kitchen R&D labs.
In March 2021, with 2/3 of us still in school, we pitched our company to KitchenTown, a food manufacturing facility and startup incubator. What they didn’t know then was that we had turned Adrian’s AirBnb into our lab,Stephanie’s kitchen into our “cooking and prepping station,” and Kelly’s home into a sensory evaluation space. Together, we were working to create our first edible version of Impact Tuna. From there, we became the first plant-based seafood startup incubated at the KitchenTown space.
Throughout 2021 our team of 3 worked day and night to build our company and create an innovative solution for a better seafood alternative, all while trying to finish classes, graduate on time, and work full-time Jobs.
This year we have all left and completed our previous commitments to focus 100% on changing food systems for the better. With Kelly driving our company vision, strategizing our market entrance, and successfully raising funds, Stephanie building our marketing and manufacturing plans, and Adrian leading product formulation and advancing our technology, we are thrilled to be the young minds that are pioneering the plant-based seafood space. We can’t wait to be at the forefront of the food revolution, or better said, food evolution!