Sheldon Baker06.27.13
Seth Tibbott founded Turtle Island Foods, The Tofurky Company, in 1980 with $2,500, his life savings from his 8-year career as a teacher/naturalist in the Portland, OR public schools. The company’s first product, tempeh, a fermented soy bean cake from Indonesia, was made and delivered in small batches to natural food stores in Portland, and the west coast. The first 15 years in business were a financial struggle, leading Mr. Tibbott in 1984 to rent three trees for $25 per month and build a three-story tree house in which he lived for the next seven years. In 1995, the company’s fortunes changed with the introduction of the first Tofurky roasts at Thanksgiving—500 roasts were sold that year throughout the Pacific Northwest, but soon a larger national market came calling. Today, 33 years after its founding, Tofurky is still a family-owned, independent enterprise, and Mr. Tibbott is still the company president. The company is a model of slow growth and is unique for never having any outside investment.
Health E-Insights: What’s your secret to developing some of the best tasting vegan products?
Mr. Tibbott: I think the real secret is our family owned, independent structure. Because we are not beholden to any outside investors, we are free to develop products as we please and see a need for. While others go home at night thinking ‘how can we make this product cheaper and make more profit,’ we go home at night asking ‘how can we make this product better in flavor and texture and provide an outstanding product for our customers?’ Being profitable is important to us but it has never been the driving force behind our business.
Health E-Insights: In 50 words or less, why does someone buy your products?
Mr. Tibbott: I believe people buy Tofurky for three main reasons: to better their personal health, minimize their environmental impact on the planet's ecosystems and to live a more compassionate life that does not involve mistreating and taking the life of another sentient being.
Health E-Insights: How do you feel the vegan food business has changed since you first got into it?
Mr. Tibbott: First, there actually are some vegan food businesses now—not so much in 1980. Secondly, the vegan foods have gotten so much better in taste and texture. In 1980, stores were thrilled just to fill up their shelves with any vegan food. Now the process of placing foods on the shelf has gotten extremely competitive and costly. As it turns out, building the better mousetrap is the easy part. Then you must beat the path to the world’s door.
Health E-Insights: How did you happen to start Tofurky Tuesdays?
Mr. Tibbott: We started Tofurky Tuesdays as a way of focusing attention on the strictly environmental impacts of meat eating vs. Tofurky eating. We figured that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions reduced by eating only plant-based foods, one day a week, was equal to the same amount as driving a Toyota Camry 16.5 miles. For every person who pledges to eat meatless one day a week, we move the Tofurky mobile 16.5 miles and send out coupons, recipes and free magazine subscriptions. In five years, the Tofurky mobile has circumnavigated the earth more than 50 times.
Health E-Insights: How often do you eat your own products?
Mr. Tibbott: It varies but I would say, on average, five meals per week interspersed with R&D tastings. Being a vegan, it helps me understand the unique role Tofurky plays in the world.
Health E-Insights: Where will the most significant growth occur in the company in the next few years?
Mr. Tibbott: There is so much work to do, so many meat and dairy products to improve upon it's hard to predict which will catch fire. Of our current products, I would guess the deli slices or the sausages might lead the growth curve since we are the largest producer of these types of refrigerated meatless products on the planet. I can confidently say that the health, ethical and sustainability issues of meat based diets will ultimately drive more and more consumers away from meat. We are suffering under the inefficiencies of the animal protein industry now, particularly environmentally. Animals are a protein machine in reverse; take 16 pounds of grain and you get one pound of beef. Give us one pound of soybeans and we will make two pounds of tempeh or Tofurky. How long can our planet ignore this basic math?
Health E-Insights: Years from now, when you’ve ridden off into the sunset, how do you want people to look back at you?
Mr. Tibbott: He helped jumpstart the process of people eating less meat but in a lighthearted way.
Sheldon Baker is well known for creating nutraceutical brand marketing and public relations campaigns. For Health E-Insights interview consideration, contact him at Sheldon@NutraInk.com. And follow him on Twitter @NutraInk.
Health E-Insights: What’s your secret to developing some of the best tasting vegan products?
Mr. Tibbott: I think the real secret is our family owned, independent structure. Because we are not beholden to any outside investors, we are free to develop products as we please and see a need for. While others go home at night thinking ‘how can we make this product cheaper and make more profit,’ we go home at night asking ‘how can we make this product better in flavor and texture and provide an outstanding product for our customers?’ Being profitable is important to us but it has never been the driving force behind our business.
Health E-Insights: In 50 words or less, why does someone buy your products?
Mr. Tibbott: I believe people buy Tofurky for three main reasons: to better their personal health, minimize their environmental impact on the planet's ecosystems and to live a more compassionate life that does not involve mistreating and taking the life of another sentient being.
Health E-Insights: How do you feel the vegan food business has changed since you first got into it?
Mr. Tibbott: First, there actually are some vegan food businesses now—not so much in 1980. Secondly, the vegan foods have gotten so much better in taste and texture. In 1980, stores were thrilled just to fill up their shelves with any vegan food. Now the process of placing foods on the shelf has gotten extremely competitive and costly. As it turns out, building the better mousetrap is the easy part. Then you must beat the path to the world’s door.
Health E-Insights: How did you happen to start Tofurky Tuesdays?
Mr. Tibbott: We started Tofurky Tuesdays as a way of focusing attention on the strictly environmental impacts of meat eating vs. Tofurky eating. We figured that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions reduced by eating only plant-based foods, one day a week, was equal to the same amount as driving a Toyota Camry 16.5 miles. For every person who pledges to eat meatless one day a week, we move the Tofurky mobile 16.5 miles and send out coupons, recipes and free magazine subscriptions. In five years, the Tofurky mobile has circumnavigated the earth more than 50 times.
Health E-Insights: How often do you eat your own products?
Mr. Tibbott: It varies but I would say, on average, five meals per week interspersed with R&D tastings. Being a vegan, it helps me understand the unique role Tofurky plays in the world.
Health E-Insights: Where will the most significant growth occur in the company in the next few years?
Mr. Tibbott: There is so much work to do, so many meat and dairy products to improve upon it's hard to predict which will catch fire. Of our current products, I would guess the deli slices or the sausages might lead the growth curve since we are the largest producer of these types of refrigerated meatless products on the planet. I can confidently say that the health, ethical and sustainability issues of meat based diets will ultimately drive more and more consumers away from meat. We are suffering under the inefficiencies of the animal protein industry now, particularly environmentally. Animals are a protein machine in reverse; take 16 pounds of grain and you get one pound of beef. Give us one pound of soybeans and we will make two pounds of tempeh or Tofurky. How long can our planet ignore this basic math?
Health E-Insights: Years from now, when you’ve ridden off into the sunset, how do you want people to look back at you?
Mr. Tibbott: He helped jumpstart the process of people eating less meat but in a lighthearted way.
Sheldon Baker is well known for creating nutraceutical brand marketing and public relations campaigns. For Health E-Insights interview consideration, contact him at Sheldon@NutraInk.com. And follow him on Twitter @NutraInk.
