Simple, clean ingredients, and an extremely low carbon footprint combine forces to create a sustainable plant-based bacon that’s loved by both plant-based eaters and meat lovers alike.
In a world of meat alternatives, Cool Foods stands out. Their food is made with a short list of clean, plant-based, pronounceable ingredients, and they taste delicious. Bacon is one food that people are fanatical about, so to create a plant-based bacon alternative is no small feat. But Cool Foods has done it - they’ve made a delicious pinto bean bacon that vegans rave about (and we know that omnivores love it too).
How It Started
Founded in 2010 by Tom Mosk, in Santa Monica, California - Cool Foods sought to create food that supported both human and environmental health. By focusing on just two main base ingredients - legumes and seaweed - the company’s journey began.
“It was our love for food, nature, and our surrounding playgrounds from the ocean to the mountains, forests to jungles and beyond that pushed us to launch Cool Foods Inc. It was during a time in our lives where the world was changing, the health of both people and the planet was being threatened, and the future became clear. We can support both human health and the health of mother earth by incorporating plant-based foods into our diets. We are not vegans, we are not vegetarians, we are human-planetarians.”
Using an innovative patented process to produce their products, Cool Foods prides itself on having the lowest carbon footprint possible and limiting all water waste in the manufacturing process. How do they do it? By using low heat in the cooking process and a closed water loop in their production facility.
During this time, the food industry was evolving. Natural, plant-based foods were gaining in popularity. Just when the world seemed ready to welcome Cool Foods into their pantries and refrigerators, founder Tom was faced with health hurdles that led him to retire and pass the torch to his daughter Zoe, who became the CEO and visionary of Cool Foods in 2019.
Onward
Zoe Mosk’s first order of business was to build her new all-star team. With an industry and world of consumers ready for plant-based foods, it was time to level up and give the foundation Tom built the success it deserved. The company needed a new look, a new feel, and most importantly a team just as passionate as Tom.
Cool Foods isn’t merely a natural foods company. Its focus on improving the health of humans and our planet make it a cause-driven company. To keep the cause alive, Zoe brought on long-time friend Jake Glaser, also from Santa Monica, as CMO and Creative Director. With a background in philanthropy, community health, and design, and love for the environment, it was an obvious move to team up. Soon after, Zoe and Jake welcomed their third partner: Brandon Gerson, a passionate salesperson to say the least.
The company soon found its stride focusing on creating delicious foods made with natural ingredients. From their beans to their seaweed, Cool Foods sources ingredients that help re-wild the earth, and promote ways of eating that are in harmony with our world.
Zoe, Jake, and Brandon hope their passion is contagious: “Our hope for the future is to educate, empower, and excite people who love food and our planet to become a part of the solution… if we can find our balance with nature in how we produce our foods, we preserve a healthy, fun, and prosperous life into the future.”
Veggie Bacon for All
Crispy and craveable bacon gets a lot of love. But at what cost? Regularly eating pork bacon poses an increased risk of colorectal cancer and increases risk of heart disease and stroke due to its high sodium content. Cool Foods found a better way to satisfy cravings for foods like crispy, salty, and umami-rich bacon, that’s pleasing to both meat lovers and 100% plant-based eaters.
Because here’s a secret: You won’t find a vegetarian or vegan on the Cool Foods leadership team! While Zoe, Jake, and Brandon are passionate about producing plant-based foods, they are flexitarians who believe in a balanced diet that incorporates more plant-based foods into everyday meal choices. They believe that this “helps preserve nature as well as a balanced mind, body, and soul”.
By making a small change, swapping out one meat-based meal with a plant-based meal, it can really open your mind to more options that aren’t only more nutritious and beneficial to the planet, but you’ll find out how delicious plant-based foods can be. The Cool Foods crew reports that every time someone tastes a Cool Foods product, they smile and get that “‘aha’ moment where all of a sudden they see that plant-based food can be so tasty and fill that flavor craving.”
That’s exactly how Thistle and Thistle customers feel about Cool Foods Veggie Bacon. It all began with a happy accident when Thistle culinary team member Naiha Falkner discovered the product at a grocery store while on a trip to southern California. “I reached out to them after being surprised by the clean ingredient label, as well as their sustainable practices; they've ended up being a huge hit!”
Cool Foods Veggie Bacon is made with just five ingredients, doesn’t require refrigeration, and contains a fraction of the sodium found in both pork bacon and other bacon alternatives. Enjoy their tasty bacon in Thistle meals like Thistle Cobb Salad, Roasted Corn & “Bacon” Salad, and Loaded Baked Potato Salad.
This team’s favorite way to eat Cool Foods Veggie Bacon covers a whole day’s worth of food. For breakfast, put it in a breakfast burrito. For lunch, make a BLAT - bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich. For dinner, add it to a salad. For dessert, sprinkle it over salted caramel ice cream. Yum!
Cool Foods and Climate Change
Concern for the environment is a key motivator for Cool Foods. “At the end of the day, plant- based foods can re-wild our world, reclaim natural lands and give them back to the balance of nature, so we, as humans, can keep enjoying the beauty and balance of our precious world.” Their legume-based products require 75% less water and 95% less land than meat products, and emit 68% less greenhouse gas than meat products.
The Future of Cool Foods
The company aims to continuously evolve to become more and more environmentally friendly, more versatile in how people enjoy their foods, and as always, how to have more fun. They’re working on adding even more flavors and seeking more opportunities to rewild the world, both on land and in the oceans, alongside a global community of plant-based advocates and passionate brands... it takes a village!
These days Cool Foods has begun working with local food banks and is expanding into food service for the healthcare industry. Plant-based eating and earth functional foods are the future, and Cool Foods, along with Thistle, are raising awareness in our communities and helping everyone adapt and adopt this delicious future.
Simple, clean ingredients, and an extremely low carbon footprint combine forces to create a sustainable plant-based bacon that’s loved by both plant-based eaters and meat lovers alike.
In a world of meat alternatives, Cool Foods stands out. Their food is made with a short list of clean, plant-based, pronounceable ingredients, and they taste delicious. Bacon is one food that people are fanatical about, so to create a plant-based bacon alternative is no small feat. But Cool Foods has done it - they’ve made a delicious pinto bean bacon that vegans rave about (and we know that omnivores love it too).
How It Started
Founded in 2010 by Tom Mosk, in Santa Monica, California - Cool Foods sought to create food that supported both human and environmental health. By focusing on just two main base ingredients - legumes and seaweed - the company’s journey began.
“It was our love for food, nature, and our surrounding playgrounds from the ocean to the mountains, forests to jungles and beyond that pushed us to launch Cool Foods Inc. It was during a time in our lives where the world was changing, the health of both people and the planet was being threatened, and the future became clear. We can support both human health and the health of mother earth by incorporating plant-based foods into our diets. We are not vegans, we are not vegetarians, we are human-planetarians.”
Using an innovative patented process to produce their products, Cool Foods prides itself on having the lowest carbon footprint possible and limiting all water waste in the manufacturing process. How do they do it? By using low heat in the cooking process and a closed water loop in their production facility.
During this time, the food industry was evolving. Natural, plant-based foods were gaining in popularity. Just when the world seemed ready to welcome Cool Foods into their pantries and refrigerators, founder Tom was faced with health hurdles that led him to retire and pass the torch to his daughter Zoe, who became the CEO and visionary of Cool Foods in 2019.
Onward
Zoe Mosk’s first order of business was to build her new all-star team. With an industry and world of consumers ready for plant-based foods, it was time to level up and give the foundation Tom built the success it deserved. The company needed a new look, a new feel, and most importantly a team just as passionate as Tom.
Cool Foods isn’t merely a natural foods company. Its focus on improving the health of humans and our planet make it a cause-driven company. To keep the cause alive, Zoe brought on long-time friend Jake Glaser, also from Santa Monica, as CMO and Creative Director. With a background in philanthropy, community health, and design, and love for the environment, it was an obvious move to team up. Soon after, Zoe and Jake welcomed their third partner: Brandon Gerson, a passionate salesperson to say the least.
The company soon found its stride focusing on creating delicious foods made with natural ingredients. From their beans to their seaweed, Cool Foods sources ingredients that help re-wild the earth, and promote ways of eating that are in harmony with our world.
Zoe, Jake, and Brandon hope their passion is contagious: “Our hope for the future is to educate, empower, and excite people who love food and our planet to become a part of the solution… if we can find our balance with nature in how we produce our foods, we preserve a healthy, fun, and prosperous life into the future.”
Veggie Bacon for All
Crispy and craveable bacon gets a lot of love. But at what cost? Regularly eating pork bacon poses an increased risk of colorectal cancer and increases risk of heart disease and stroke due to its high sodium content. Cool Foods found a better way to satisfy cravings for foods like crispy, salty, and umami-rich bacon, that’s pleasing to both meat lovers and 100% plant-based eaters.
Because here’s a secret: You won’t find a vegetarian or vegan on the Cool Foods leadership team! While Zoe, Jake, and Brandon are passionate about producing plant-based foods, they are flexitarians who believe in a balanced diet that incorporates more plant-based foods into everyday meal choices. They believe that this “helps preserve nature as well as a balanced mind, body, and soul”.
By making a small change, swapping out one meat-based meal with a plant-based meal, it can really open your mind to more options that aren’t only more nutritious and beneficial to the planet, but you’ll find out how delicious plant-based foods can be. The Cool Foods crew reports that every time someone tastes a Cool Foods product, they smile and get that “‘aha’ moment where all of a sudden they see that plant-based food can be so tasty and fill that flavor craving.”
That’s exactly how Thistle and Thistle customers feel about Cool Foods Veggie Bacon. It all began with a happy accident when Thistle culinary team member Naiha Falkner discovered the product at a grocery store while on a trip to southern California. “I reached out to them after being surprised by the clean ingredient label, as well as their sustainable practices; they've ended up being a huge hit!”
Cool Foods Veggie Bacon is made with just five ingredients, doesn’t require refrigeration, and contains a fraction of the sodium found in both pork bacon and other bacon alternatives. Enjoy their tasty bacon in Thistle meals like Thistle Cobb Salad, Roasted Corn & “Bacon” Salad, and Loaded Baked Potato Salad.
This team’s favorite way to eat Cool Foods Veggie Bacon covers a whole day’s worth of food. For breakfast, put it in a breakfast burrito. For lunch, make a BLAT - bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich. For dinner, add it to a salad. For dessert, sprinkle it over salted caramel ice cream. Yum!
Cool Foods and Climate Change
Concern for the environment is a key motivator for Cool Foods. “At the end of the day, plant- based foods can re-wild our world, reclaim natural lands and give them back to the balance of nature, so we, as humans, can keep enjoying the beauty and balance of our precious world.” Their legume-based products require 75% less water and 95% less land than meat products, and emit 68% less greenhouse gas than meat products.
The Future of Cool Foods
The company aims to continuously evolve to become more and more environmentally friendly, more versatile in how people enjoy their foods, and as always, how to have more fun. They’re working on adding even more flavors and seeking more opportunities to rewild the world, both on land and in the oceans, alongside a global community of plant-based advocates and passionate brands... it takes a village!
These days Cool Foods has begun working with local food banks and is expanding into food service for the healthcare industry. Plant-based eating and earth functional foods are the future, and Cool Foods, along with Thistle, are raising awareness in our communities and helping everyone adapt and adopt this delicious future.
