Sophie's Kitchen
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Sophie's Kitchen, based in California, made plant-based seafood alternatives: vegan Toona (tuna), smoked salmon, crab cakes, fish fillets and breaded shrimp. Since 2010 it positioned itself as a high-growth plant-based food innovator — preservative-free, gluten-free, soy-free, non-GMO and vegan — sold at Sprouts and Fresh Thyme in the US, Coles in Australia, Sainsbury's in the UK and on Amazon. It raised about $5.6 million; Canadian investment platform Billy Goat Brands owned 35% of the company as of late 2021.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Sophie's Kitchen founded; builds a portfolio of plant-based seafood alternatives; named one of PETA's top 10 plant-based seafood brands in 2021.
- Donation
Donates $210,000 of Lemon Grass Toona to San Francisco Bay Area food banks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Investment and partnership
Billy Goat Brands increases its ownership stake to 35%; Sophie's Kitchen partners with Southwind Foods for national distribution.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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