Hi I am Hailey, the president and co- founder of Actual Veggies. We make burgers with fresh veggies that are large, filling and colorful. Our burgers are made for people who not only want to eat plant- based, but want foods made with only natural and whole ingredients- the veggie celebrators of the world.

Jason, our CEO and my co-founder and I started Actual Veggies in March 2020 – yes, that March 2020. This was shortly after he went plant- based for health reasons and realized he needed a replacement for his favorite food – the burger. While Beyond/ Impossible were good occasionally, he soon learned it also wasn’t very healthy- they are very processed and filled with sodium. He wanted a gourmet veggie burger like the kind you get at a fancy restaurant, one that actually doesn’t mask the taste of vegetables but instead showcases their deliciousness. The traditional veggie burgers in the frozen aisle of grocery didn’t cut it either.

I had recently left Alibaba B2B, helping small businesses and entrepreneurs take their concept from idea to sales and was ready to do the same with my own vision. A health conscious, whole foods enthusiast myself once I learned the problem from Jason, I immediately wanted to work with him on executing the vision.

A gourmet, fresh and naturally colorful veggie burger that you could get at retail, built a team -my brother :heart_eyes: and head of supply chain, Alex Swartz and our chef Joel Davis, who has his own business cooking for fancy people in Hollywood and more importantly had gone to school w me since kindergarten, and raised some money from the best accelerator in the world- Big Idea Ventures.