Sophie's Kitchen
Sophie’s Kitchen was founded by Eugene Wang, who is a vegetarian and expert in the food technology space. When Eugene’s daughter, Sophie, developed a seafood allergy, he saw an opportunity to develop a plant based seafood alternative, which became the company known as Sophie’s Kitchen today. Sophie’s Kitchen products are non-GMO, gluten-free, soy free and kosher. The company caters to people with food allergies and sensitivities as well as to those with restricted diets wanting something tasty.
Dr. Miles Woodruff, CEO, joined Sophie’s Kitchen as a fellow vegan and conservationist. Dr. Woodruff worked with Jane Goodall in the Congo where he was able to help with the protection of primates. As a conservationist, he has an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for animal welfare and has significant growth plans for the Sophie’s Kitchen brand, including but not limited to the annual doubling of sales volumes. Dr. Woodruff is committed to seeing plant based seafood alternatives come to the forefront of the mainstream food market. To achieve this goal, his belief is to sell vegan seafood products that simply taste amazing.
Sophie’s Kitchen is an innovative, plant based, seafood brand that is growing its product portfolio quickly. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sophie’s Kitchen offers a large selection of vegan seafood products. The company’s products are a clean, guilt-free alternative to seafood that are free of lab-grown and GMO ingredients, preservatives, colors, fillers and added sugars. Sophie’s Kitchen expects to continue paving the way as a leading vegan seafood company by the way of its mission statement: “To create plant-based foods that are craved by vegans and meat-lovers alike, saving lives and protecting the planet one meal at a time”.
What is Plant Based Seafood?
According to a report by The Good Food Institute, global demand for seafood is projected to be 30% higher than 2010 levels by 2030. As global populations continue to grow, the increased demand for seafood is expected to follow, which will continue to deplete the food stocks in the world’s oceans. This perceived inevitability provides an opportunity for plant based seafood alternatives, which can be produced more quickly and in a more responsive and responsible manner than conventional seafood. There are several efficiencies associated with supplying plant based seafood alternatives, including but not limited to locating production facilities closer to demand centers and only producing what consumers want, thus reducing the large amount of waste that is typically associated with conventional seafood production.
According to Nielsen, the traditional seafood market is worth US$15B, with fish accounting for ~50% and shellfish for ~33%. Therefore, capturing only 1% of the traditional seafood market presents a large opportunity for the plant based seafood industry. However, seafood is more difficult to replicate than other plant based meats, such as beef and poultry. So far, plant based shrimp, tuna, scallops and crab are available to consumers in the market, including the product offering by Sophie’s Kitchen. Given that the company’s plant based seafood products have started to emerge as a tasty and readily available option to consumers, it is working to expand its product portfolio to include other types of plant based seafoods.
Food technology will continue to pave the way for Sophie’s Kitchen be the leader in the increasingly growing plant based seafood market. To achieve this goal, Sophie’s Kitchen has entered several strategic partnerships to support its aggressive growth.
To date, Sophie’s Kitchen has been able to carve out a strong position within a niche market, while also being socially responsible and protecting the world’s oceans. According to the Plant Based Foods Association, the #1 driver of all food purchases is taste and Sophie’s Kitchen strives to make the best tasting, plant based, seafood alternatives for customers to enjoy, regardless of most dietary restrictions.
Sophie’s Kitchen is thriving in the plant based seafood market with products that have zero mercury content, no fishy smell, no concern of micro-plastics and offer a way for customers to counteract the overfishing that is currently affecting the health of the world’s oceans.