How Our Vegan Jerky Came To Be
LVJ Co was started in my home kitchen back in 2012. Having spent some time in Oahu as a child, I was craving manapua. Using my mom's old recipe, I substituted baked soy for the pork and popped it in my oven.
I was busy preparing the dough and chatting with friends when the smell of chargrilled meat hit my nose. 'Toe-y!' I screamed at my three-legged dog, Tofu, "I forgot to set a timer." The barbequed soy protein was overdone, super chewy, and absolutely delicious. Tofu agreed.
I headed to the local bar where I passed around bags of my newly discovered jerky to local patrons who devoured the fortuitous first batch and asked for more. Where could they buy it? What was it called? And the best part none of them even knew it was vegan.
Today, our jerky is sold in stores all over America, but we still make each bag the same old way—in small batches, by hand, and with freshly sourced Kentucky ingredients.