AVANT GARDENER

Eating a plant-based diet has become a popular lifestyle choice for many people. For this vegan food brand that specializes in creating food normally associated with meat, ensuring that their products are delicious, healthy, preservative-free, and supportive of local farmers is just as important as ensuring that no animals were harmed in making their products.

According to its Facebook Page, The Good Choices (TGC) is “the most recommended plant-based brand for people new to eating meat-free due to its meaty taste yet plant-based benefits.” It was founded in 2016 by chef Camille Acosta, who specializes in plant-forward cuisine, and wanted healthy and delicious vegan food choices for her two daughters, who were raised vegetarian from birth. 

Starting with ₱3,000, Acosta, who worked as a chef for a vegetarian restaurant, began developing plant-based meat substitutes to serve a growing market of meat-eaters who wanted to try out or transition to the plant-based lifestyle but could not yet let go of the taste and texture of meat. She began stocking her products in her place of work, which also sold frozen plant-based food. It wasn’t long before she was getting so many orders that she decided to quit her job and run TGC full time. 

A lot of my clients are moms, and they tell me… ‘I'm working full time… and it's good to know that there are convenient, plant-based options,’” Acosta said. “And so, I guess it solved that initial problem that I had identified.”

There’s a misconception about some plant-based foods being ultraprocsssed because they can look like they have a lot of additives. Acosta says this isn’t always the case, and it certainly isn't the case with TGC’s products. “My products are just like home cooking, but in bulk. I don't use preservatives. I don't use additives.”

She started with texturized vegetable protein (TVP), a soy and wheat staple in creating mock meat in many vegetarian cultures, combining them with cassava and corn starches as well as other plant-based ingredients, because she was catering to a clientele who craved the feel and taste of meat. 
“In 2016 that was still the norm, like people were just new to the diet. The concept of plant-based was just very new. So I had a lot of people who were still eating meat but were transitioning to eating plant-based. I had to create products that were nearest in terms of taste, texture, and overall experience.”

But as she continued her entrepreneurial journey and as her clientele’s tastes began to evolve, Acosta realized that their priorities were changing. 
“When you start producing plant-based food, you become more aware of the sustainability aspect of it. The way people talk about sustainability…, it's basically just to counter global warming. But I saw a different angle… in terms of sourcing.”

In 2019, she read an article about how some vegetables look perfect because they’ve been dipped in formaldehyde. “I saw that apparently, most of our vegetables are imported or smuggled… That's when my probing started… I was going to the market, and then would always tell the vendors, sure ka ba na local ito (Are you sure this is local)?”

In 2023, she ran into Harlod Lu, WOFEX’s Special Project Lead CSR, who alerted her to the existence of what’s known in the industry as “Class B” produce, produce that is perfectly edible and nutritious but gets thrown away because they don’t look like something that a regular consumer will buy, such as oddly-shaped or sized fruit and vegetables. These make up as much as 40 percent of harvests.

Lu introduced Acosta to farmers from the Cordilleras, which also means that Acosta knows for sure that the produce she buys is local and that she can ask them about their farming practices. 

Acosta started incorporating Class B carrots into her other products, such as longganisa, burgers, and embotido. This dovetailed into her new goal of including more fresh vegetables in her offerings. “When [customers] find that there are really vegetables in the product, it's it's easier to sell. I tell [moms] them, here's a way to feed [your kids] vegetables without [them] complaining.”

TGC offers 25 products, including ready-to-cook items such as bacon, burger patties, and pork belly (a best seller) and ready-to-eat items such as sisig, adobo, and bottled tinapa flakes. They have several distributors, but clients can also order through their Facebook and Instagram pages. 
Acosta’s goal is to open a proper production facility so she can scale up once again, especially since this means being able to buy more produce from local farmers. 

“You really feel the sense of responsibility for the people who are working so hard to grow your food,” she said.