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The base ingredient for SSUPP Foods's line of SunPower products is micro sunflower greens. (Photo courtesy SSUPP Foods)
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The lineup of SunPower dips currently includes chickpea (pictured), jalapeño mild, jalapeño hot and original. (Photo courtesy SSUPP Foods)
Microgreens are sprouted plants harvested in the seedling stage, often used by chefs as a garnish providing aroma, subtle flavors and a pop of fresh color, but the herbaceous confetti is typically pushed to the side of the plate.
A local startup, Sustainable Sunflower Urban Plant Powered (SSUPP) Foods, is rethinking the role of the tiny sprouts with the release of a line of dips called SunPower, whose base ingredient is micro sunflower greens.
“Richmond is the only place you can find anything like this,” according to Lee Wilson, a project manager at SSUPP Foods. Wilson says SSUPP is promoting nutrient-dense products and a cycle of sustainability through indoor farming.
“A lot of people don’t think of microgreens as food,” he says. “It’s definitely something very new, and we see it as a really unique opportunity. We know people are changing eating habits, and we want to get everybody out there eating more plants.”
The idea for SSUPP's plant-based lineup of products stems from a chance meeting at a mutual friend’s house, where David Peyton and Kyle Rosen-Long, two of the co-founders, began to discuss hydroponics and vertical farming.
Peyton, a VCU graduate and SSUPP CEO, has a background in agricultural technology and vertical growing, specifically various types of microgreens. Rosen-Long, the COO nicknamed “the mad scientist,” graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island with a degree in food science.
Rosen-Long had the skills to transform obscure ingredients into something ingenious and delicious, and along with Peyton and fellow co-founder Steve Valdez, the trio began experimenting with various recipes. They finally concocted a dip made from micro sunflower greens and took it to a gathering of friends to test the waters. It was a hit — the plant-based spread was made for dippin', and SSUPP was born.
Currently, SSUPP Foods works out of Hatch Kitchen RVA, an incubator and commissary kitchen near Manchester that provides space and resources for food and beverage entrepreneurs. At Hatch Kitchen SSUPP is able to plant, grow and process all under one roof.
“One of the things we really pride ourselves on is we fully control the supply chain and we do everything,” Wilson says. “We call it our SOW:GRO:PRO model.”
The micro sunflower greens are grown implementing indoor vertical farming techniques to maximize the yield — SSUPP is currently able to manufacture 8,000 units of product monthly. The method uses fewer resources, and allows the greens to be grown year-round. After about a week the greens are harvested. Wilson says they are nutrient-rich, high in vitamin C and packed with amino acids at that point in the growth process.
Gluten-free and vegan, the superfood dips currently come in flavors including original, jalapeño mild, jalapeño hot and chickpea. The principal ingredient is micro sunflower greens, and spices including salt, garlic, cumin and cilantro are added to take the flavor up a notch and produce a flavorful and fresh product.
“Our goal is to be in stores across the East Coast and nationwide and get in those larger grocers later on within the next year,” says Wilson. SSUPP will be available at Ellwood Thompson’s beginning March 13 and at other local grocers soon.
SSUPP also envisions partnering with restaurants and selling their original base product to chefs so they can create different plant-based foods, such as vegan breads, along with various dips and spreads.
“It can be the base part of recipes,” Wilson says. “We really want to try and get our SunPower original base ingredient out there for companies and restaurants to create different foods.”
