It wasn’t until after David Noto ’10BUS attended the school’s EMBA program that he was inspired to become an entrepreneur and return to his roots, with over 10 generations of winemakers in his lineage. David founded and now heads Altaneve, a wine company that produces what WSJ, MarketWatch cited as the best Prosecco in the world.
Bokksu, founded by Danny Taing ’14ENG, will take you on a gourmet journey through Japan each month. From Hokkaido white chocolate butter cookies to Kyoto handground matcha, get the experience of tasting authentic Japanese snacks and teas delivered monthly to your door.
Inspiration can come from the strangest places. For Manal Kahi ’15SIPA, it was bad hummus. Along with her brother Wissam, Kahi launched Eat Offbeat, which provides truly authentic foreign cuisine to the hungry masses of New York City and makes a point to hire refugee chefs.
Soo-jin Kim ’10BUS saw the need to source event venues more efficiently while trying to help a Columbia Business School classmate find a restaurant for a 100-employee celebration. In-clued has since fast become the industry’s best Airbnb for corporate events – sourcing exceptional venues and caterers for free.
After graduating from Columbia, Eddie Song ’08CC, chucked his economics degree to catch food-truck fever, with a mission to spread his passion for Korean food. A Vendy Award and a stint on Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race followed, and now Korilla BBQ has become a household name in NYC and serves hundreds of New Yorkers everyday with their iconic trucks and storefront in the East Village.
Both Kamilya Abilova ’12CC and Daniyar Chukin ’11CC were raised in Central Asia, where they grew up eating yogurt, kefir, and lots of quark—a beloved snack. They launched Misha Quark with Pierre Forien and Max Zinner ’11CC in the fall of 2014. Today, the company is quickly growing, with distribution in Fresh Direct, Wegmans, and independent natural stores in the NYC area, such as Union Market, Fairway, and Westside Market.
Mr Bing‘s mission is to introduce America to traditional Northern Chinese street crepes (‘jianbing’). Born and raised in New York, Brian Goldberg ’02GSAS, fell in love with ‘jianbing’ while studying in Beijing in 1998. He originally wrote the business plan for Mr Bing while a graduate student at Columbia.
Philip Crouse’s ’02BUS goal has always been to offer restaurants the best tasting, highest quality beverages available. Seriously Unsweetened offers the satisfaction of a bubbly refreshment without the added chemicals and sugars typically found in sodas and other flavored drinks. They use fruit extracted from fresh USDA organic produce and give 1% of sales to environmental non-profits.
Spoonable Spirits started when founder Kelli Lipson ’18BUS wanted to make party food a lot more fun. So, she created a line of fresh and delicious boozy puddings and jellies served in festive mini mason jars. From grown-up renditions of childhood favorites like Birthday Cake (spiked with Cake Vodka) to party-ready showstoppers like Spicy Grapefruit Margarita, Spoonable Spirits will take your party to a whole new level!
Try The World aims to capture the essence of the greatest countries in the world through food. The company was founded in 2013 by Kat Vorotova ’07CC and ’14BUS, a New York foodie born in Russia, and David Foult ’14SIPA, a French globetrotter. They met at Columbia University and Try the World grew naturally out of their passion for food and travel.
Andy Jacobi ’12BUS is the Managing Partner and co-founder of Untamed Sandwiches, a sandwich shop featuring braised meat sandwiches made with sustainable ingredients. That means all beef and lamb is 100% grass-fed, all pork is 100% pasture raised, and all chicken is 100% free range. Untamed was named the #1 sandwich shop in New York City by Zagat and the #1 sandwich shop in midtown by Foursquare.
Matt Bachmann, ’15BUS and Ben Gordon ’15BUS met when they each arrived to class carrying mason jars of homemade cold brew coffee — their shared passion eventually turned into a business partnership that set the two on a course to change the way iced coffee is consumed at home and at work. Wandering Bear Coffee is first-to-market with innovative packaging that conveniently brings cafe-style, cold brew coffee to consumers in their homes and offices.
Wisefish Poké is a laid-back seafood shop dedicated to Hawaii’s much-celebrated raw fish dish, poké. The dream of friends Drew Crane and Bryan Cowan ’16BUS, Wisefish Poké is founded in a serious love of poké – and genuine desire to share it with others. Wisefish Poké is anchored by a commitment to excellence, responsibly-sourced seafood and warm hospitality. The restaurant specializes in fully customizable poké bowls in a counter-service experience that blends relaxed beach-y vibes with its city setting.