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Back to the Roots (BTTR)
Oakland-based Back to the Roots was founded by Alejandro Velez & Nikhil Arora during their last semester at UC Berkeley in 2009. Two months away from graduation, and heading into the corporate world of investment banking, they came across the idea of growing gourmet mushrooms entirely on recycled coffee grounds.
Inspired by turning waste into wages, they experimented in Alex's fraternity kitchen, ultimately growing one tasty bucket of oyster mushrooms. They immediately received interest from Whole Foods and Chez Panisse to sell the product in their stores. With a $5,000 grant from the UC Berkeley Chancellor for social innovation, they decided to forget i-banking, and instead become full-time urban mushroom farmers!
Back to the Roots has since grown its Grow-Your-Own Mushroom Garden into a national brand, with over $1MM in sales and 20 employees! Working with One PacificCoast Bank "has been an awesome experience! They really are a partner in all sense of the word - advice, financial training for our team, mentorship, and flexibility! Can't imagine having grown without all their support!"
Today, BTTR is on pace to collect, divert and reuse 1 million lbs of coffee grounds this year from Peet's Coffee & Tea. In 2011, they helped families grow over 250,000lbs of fresh food at home, sustained 10 urban school & community gardens by donating BTTRs premium soil amendment, and are selling kits at over 300 Whole Foods nationwide. Future plans include expanding distribution to reach more households across the country, and launching other sustainable gardening products to allow anyone to grow their own food at home!
Check out some of their recent press:
The New York Times http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/coffee-grounds-spores-a-new-east-bay-business/
ABC 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9SOB4iFmyc&feature=player_embedded
TEDx http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nboaE3O8zE8&feature=player_embedded
And much more at their website: http://backtotheroots.com/in-the-media/press
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