Carrot dogs, carrot cocktail franks, and carrot lox, oh my! Amanda Pekoe and Christopher Lueck, the founders of Carrot Culture, got the idea for their business during the pandemic, when they began virtual meatless food demonstrations for their coworkers. After countless hours of experimentation, the pair has launched a brand that celebrates fun, family, gathering, and of course, carrots. Their goal? To usher in a new era– a Carrot Culture– of healthy eating that has a place in your barbecue, party, and Sunday brunch.
Carrot Culture’s products are soy-free, gluten-free, and are easy to prepare. This includes carrot dogs, carrot cocktail franks, and carrot lox. These products are prepared to look and taste like traditional hot dogs and smoked salmon. This means that they can be prepared just like you would for normal hot dogs and salmon lox: grilled, wrapped in a puff pastry blanket, or topped on a bagel with cream cheese and capers! Since the brand specializes in carrot products, all of their offerings are low in calories and fat, vitamin-packed, and of course, vegan-friendly.
Amanda and Christopher describe their launch process to be one of the most challenging professional experiences. The couple, who
launched an ad agency specializing in broadway advertising, didn’t have any prior food industry experience. Learning everything from sous-viding carrots to testing the acid level in packaged foods was a lot to learn, but they are happy with their results. The couple notes that being patient during the entire process allowed them to release finalized products that they absolutely loved.
The couple’s advice for other CPG makers? To be prepared for an incredibly humbling but rewarding process. “There’s [countless] disciplines [involved in making your product], and you might be good at only one of them at first… You just have to be willing to find the excitement in [this entire learning process], not get stressed out, and go for it,” Christopher says.
In the future, Amanda and Christopher plan on scaling production with the use of commercial machines , as their current products are mostly made by hand. The couple hopes that as Carrot Culture expands into grocery stores across the country, more and more customers are able to incorporate their delicious and accessible products into their everyday lives.
Until then, you can find Carrot Culture’s dogs, cocktail franks, and lox in Union Kitchen stores all over the DMV.
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