The Hamburg-based food startup el origen produces snacks using commodities from Latin America and attaches great importance to fair working conditions and prices as well as organic farming. With chips made from manioc and plantains, el origen has already been able to achieve initial successes in food retail. The victory in the TV show „Die leckerste Idee Deutschlands“ (“Germany's tastiest idea") with the new product "Quinoa Bites" now ensures a nationwide listing at the supermarket chain REWE.
In the show broadcast on VOX, a total of ten food startups competed in five categories. A studio audience determined the category winners in each case and the overall winner in a final vote. With its Quinoa Bites, el origen is adding a sweet snack to its range for the first time, and "Amaranth Crispies" are another new addition.
Organic quality ingredients and a founder with media experience
All el origen products are of organic quality. For example, the plantains come from mixed cultures and are grown together with the cacao plant. According to the company, a particularly sustainable cultivation method is also used for the manioc roots. In contrast to typical monocultures, greening between the plants is ensured here and the leaves of the manioc plant are used as a natural organic fertilizer. The startup offsets the CO2 emissions caused by shipping the commodities from Latin America via a reforestation project on the Amazon.
Founder Gordon Prox presented el origen in the TV show. His media experience certainly helped him. Together with Aljosha Muttardi, he produced around 300 videos for the YouTube channel “Vegan ist ungesund” ("Vegan is unhealthy") from 2017 to 2021. There, the two provided information about the vegan lifestyle in an entertaining way. el origen was founded by Gordon Prox in 2020. Not his first foray into the startup world. He had previously tried it with Invibe, a feedback system for companies, and the market research app Swali.
