Q&A with Courtney Boyd Myers, Founder of AKUA
We had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Courtney Boyd Myers, founder of AKUA, who is mostly vegan herself. She shared her thoughts on the launch, her passion for sea veggies, and helped clear up a few details about this cool new product! Check it out!
OV: Thanks for speaking with us! Firstly, we'd love to know what inspired the decision to create a crab cake substitute.
CBM: We are lucky to work with a Master Chef, who is one of the world's most sought-after crab cake connoisseurs, on our product development, and so creating a plant-based alternative with kelp was a natural next step for AKUA!
OV: We noticed AKUA products are all gluten-free. Will this be true of the Krab Cakes, too?
CBM: 100% yes! We use quinoa on the outside of our Krab Cakes instead of bread.
OV: A lot of vegans are concerned about their iodine intake. Are your new Krab Cakes a good source of iodine? What amount would we find in each serving?
CBM: Yes! Kelp is an excellent natural source of iodine. Each Krab Cake has approximately 100mg of iodine.
OV: When can we expect to see the new Krab Cakes in retail stores? Will they be available at any restaurants?
CBM: We are aiming to launch in select restaurants in the New England area by late summer and we hope to be on grocery store shelves by October!
OV: We noticed you shared on your page that the Kelp Burger does not taste fishy, but apparently the Krab Cakes do have a 'sea-forward flavor’ because of the kelp. How's this?
CBM: In addition to ocean-farmed kelp from Maine, we are using a new source of kelp concentrate from ocean farms in the UK to add an extra punch of sea-forward flavor.
OV: What made you decide to eat less animal products?
CBM: To be honest, I just never liked eating animals because it reminded me of eating my own flesh. I used to have to drown any meat served to me in ketchup as a little kid to not be rude to whomever served it to me. So becoming mostly plant-based for both health and environmental reasons was very easy for me!
Are you hyped to try AKUA's new Krab Cakes? Let us know in the comments below!