5/18/2023 0 Comments Atlas monroe![]() ![]() She feared that losing control meant losing her brand. The seemingly lucrative deal came with a 100 percent stake in Atlas Monroe, something that she was not willing to do. While some may have jumped at the opportunity that has made household names out of brands like Bombas and Cinnaholic, Torres declined it. Impressed by her product, the sharks offered Torres $1 million for her company. | Jessica Brooks/ABC Deborah Torres: making it on her ownĪfter attending other festivals and events and gaining traction on social media, Torres appeared on an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank in 2019. “The owners had posted a photo from our website and by the end of the day, the whole festival-the DJs, the artists-were coming to our booth saying, ‘Everybody’s talking about this chick’n, we gotta try it!’” Torres appeared on an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank in 2019. “The day of the festival, our line was longer than a football field,” she recalls. So, she convinced her family to drive from northern California to the Windy City with her for the event. It felt like the big break she was waiting for. ![]() Organizers for the Vegandale Chicago 2017 food festival came across the Atlas Monroe website and offered Torres a booth at the festival. But, business took off before she could begin catering. She saved up money for a year, and then started a catering company-Atlas Monroe-in 2017. Torres soon took her vegan food to the masses. My parents are big foodies and both of their mothers had successful restaurants, so making a replacement they would actually like and approve of were major goals,” she explains. After two years of trials, she finally developed a recipe that her family enjoyed. Torres says that the earlier versions of her company’s plant-based fried chicken resembled nuggets. “So, I was thinking, ‘How can I make something that’s all natural, plant-based, made with as many organic ingredients as possible and that my family is going to love?’ That was my challenge initially.” After the raw diet, we didn’t want to go back to eating genetically modified foods,” she explains. “I wanted to stay away from because soy protein isolate, a lot of the time, is genetically modified. In lieu of soy, an ingredient used in many vegan meat products, Torres opted for wheat protein. ![]() Torres set about trying to recreate a plant-based version of her family’s favorite dish. After learning about the health benefits of eating raw vegan foods, the entire family decided to try the diet out for 90 days. In July of 2015, her father was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. But there was one food they enjoyed most: fried chicken. Both of her grandmothers owned restaurants and her parents loved to cook, too. But her love for food-and cooking it-may just run in her blood. Torres was raised on the diverse flavors of her multicultural household. She earned her second degree, a BA in theatre arts, just two years later. She went on to earn an associate’s degree in liberal arts in 2007. Torres focused on academics and graduated from high school at the age of 15. And it’s just something that stuck with me throughout my life,” she says. “My mom taught me that you win by getting the best grades. each day-fueled her own desires to succeed. Her parents’ own struggles growing up-they both went to work at 4 a.m. I had to work three times harder than they did to receive the same recognition.” “I was consistently reminded that I was different from my peers whether through looks, treatment from teachers, or my peers. “When I think about how I grew up, the first thing that comes to mind is that I grew up Black,” says Torres. The daughter of immigrant parents-her mother hails from England her father is from Guyana-she grew up in the predominantly white neighborhood of San Jose, California. Reflecting on her success often reminds Torres of the struggles she faced to get here. Torres even kicked off 2022 with a brand new product launch: “white meat” extra crispy fried chicken. It’s now on the menu of more than 50 restaurants across the country, as well as internationally, and is set to hit the shelves at two major grocery chains. Her company’s “dark meat” fried chicken has won awards at national competitions (beating out traditional chicken) and amassed a cult following. Her award-winning company, Atlas Monroe, gained national fame after impressing the judges on the reality investing series, Shark Tank, in 2019. Deborah Torres is part of the rising ranks of women of color leading the vegan revolution. ![]()
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