Live Episode! Tofurky: Seth Tibbott (2019)
Seth Tibbott may be the only founder in the world who grew his business while living in a barn, a teepee, and a treehouse. His off-the-grid lifestyle helped him save money as he started to sell tempeh, a protein made of fermented soybeans.
Throughout the 1980s he barely scraped by, but things took a turn in 1995, when he discovered a stuffed tofu roast made in Portland, Oregon. Knowing vegetarians had few options at Thanksgiving, Seth named the roast Tofurky and started selling it at co-ops in the Pacific Northwest.
Nearly 25 years later, Tofurky sells plant-based protein around the world, and has estimated sales of $40 million a year.
This show was recorded live at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon.
This episode of How I Built This was produced by James Delahoussaye and edited by Neva Grant. Research help from Candice Lim. Additional support from Jeff Rogers, Casey Herman, J.C. Howard, Julia Carney, Elaine Coates, Farrah Safari, Liz Metzger, Harrison Vijay Tsui, and Katie Sypher. You can follow us on Twitter @HowIBuiltThis, on Instagram @HowIBuiltThisNPR and email us at hibt@npr.org.