Drexel Food Lab alumni Sheetal Bahirat, MSCAS, and Zuri Masud, MSFS, want to create a cleaner, greener, more sustainable environment, and this means changing the way that people look at food.

Inspired by the amount of food waste produced by making one bowl of guacamole, they concocted Reveal Avocado Seed Brew, a beverage made from upcycled avocado seeds. In 2020, they saved over 5,000 pounds of avocado seeds from heading to landfills, and in 2021, they project they’ll save much more than that.

Bahirat and Masud hope Reveal will change the narrative surrounding avocado seeds. “Right now, the avocado seed is thrown into a landfill, which is a toxic environment. It gets trapped between layers of plastic and creates greenhouse gases and toxins,” Bahirat explained. “But when they come to us, they’re put into a healthy environment, and they fulfill their destiny of giving their goodness to the world. At the end, they are composted and become a meaningful part of the ecosystem.” They believe this analogy can translate into their community by forging a positive work culture, where people can be successful and thrive.

“We’re trying very hard to build business practices that we believe in and that are equitable and fair. We want to be a business that people like working for,” Masud added. They want their employees to feel fulfilled and have a path for growth. In the future, they plan to start a training program for people who were previously incarcerated, so they can provide a stable professional and personal environment.

“We want people to look at the things around them differently and to find value in things they might not have seen value in before. We’re a very small company, but we hope to impact people’s perspective, and one day, maybe even policy,” said Masud “There are so many ways we can do good through this one idea.”