Banza is a brand of high protein pasta made from chickpeas.[1]
History
Banza was founded by brothers Scott and Brian Rudolph.[2] They debuted the product in 2014 on the show Restaurant Startup and after received funding to launch the project later that year.[3] Its first retail location was Meijer in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[2] It launched with a gluten free protein pasta made from chickpeas.[4] Time named it as one of the best inventions of 2015.[5]
It later launched other products, including mac and cheese in 2016 and rice in 2019.[4] By 2023, it was available in 25,000 retail locations in the United States.[4] Banza pasta has twice the protein and four times the fiber of regular pasta.[6] The company was included in the Time list of influential companies in 2024. [7][8]
References
- ^ Gaynor, Jessie (1 February 2018). "Calling All Diabetics, Celiacs, And Carb Watchers: This Pasta Is The Truth". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ a b Friess, Steve (30 November 2016). "How Banza, a Chickpea Pasta Start-Up, Thrives on Attention". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Bronner, Stephen J. (15 October 2018). "This Entrepreneur Quickly Grew His Chickpea Pasta Company by Being Scrappy and Bold and Borrowing Tech Company Tactics". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ a b c Barkho, Gabriela (2 October 2023). "How Banza is expanding its product portfolio of better-for-you comfort foods". Modern Retail. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "The 25 Best Inventions of 2015". Time. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ Sifferlin, Alexandra (22 August 2017). "What Is the Best Non-Pasta Pasta?". Time. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2024". TIME. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
- ^ Bansal, Varsha (2024-05-30). "TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2024: Banza". TIME. Retrieved 2024-10-08.