On Season 13 of Shark Tank, two entrepreneurs from Berkley, California, Beth Zotter and Amanda Stiles, “hope to bring home the bacon and see change with a healthy alternative to a food that many vegans miss eating.”
They are the co-founders of UMANO, a company that makes and sells plant-based bacon made mostly of high-in-protein red seaweed (dulse).
One of red seaweed’s greatest attributes in the food industry is that it browns when cooked. Plant-based Beyond Burgers use beet juice as a colorant so the burgers don’t change color on the inside.
[Related: 27 Favorite ‘Shark Tank’ Products at Amazon — New List]
In an interview, Zotter said that the company (formerly Trophic) is funded by the Department of Energy “because it is interested in seaweed as a renewable fuel. But the same technology could allow seaweed to become the most sustainable, scalable source of protein on Earth.”
Zotter and Stiles have the good fortune of pitching in front of billionaire Mark Cuban who has invested in several vegan food businesses including Wild Earth vegan pet food. After Shark Tank, Cuban helped Wild Earth raise an additional $23 million.
Days before the Shark Tank episode airs, Umano announced that the company raised $3 million and that Sustainable Food Ventures participated. The micro venture capital fund Sustainable Food Ventures is run by Wild Earth founder Ryan Bethencourt.
Shark Tank airs Fridays at 8 pm on ABC. [BONUS: Stream any ABC show through the ABC GO Digital App found here. Download is FREE.]
