“Iowa City trio starts company to produce fresh tofu”

More press! Thank you Nick Fetty and the team at the Iowa City Press Citizen! Iowa City’s fresh tofu company is under way.

The idea for creating a local tofu company was conceived in February 2014 when Gratzon and Mesaros were students at the University of Iowa. The two took part in the UI’s Business Model Competition, winning third place and a $3,500 award that they used as seed money to launch their company. That summer, they participated in Venture School through the UI’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center to further develop their idea and were awarded an additional $3,000 in seed money.

By July, they were able to rent kitchen space at Public Space One where they began cooking test batches of tofu. Then in September, Brown joined the team, bringing the experience of having worked in local restaurants such as The Red Avocado and Trumpet Blossom Cafe.