Our Story
In 2017 Taylor Hay and Victoria Bell realized there was something important missing from pantries across the country: a seasoning that showcased nutritional yeast. Taylor and Victoria, both nutritional yeast fans, started by making blends in their kitchen for fun with herbs, spices, and veggie powders and loved the result! After snacking on a few batches throughout the week, Victoria began feeling more energetic and started to research about the health benefits of nutritional yeast since it was the only element she had changed in her diet. Victoria learned that in addition to providing a healthy dose of plant protein per serving, nutritional yeast is also rich in B-vitamins, specifically B-6 and B-12. Victoria eats a plant-based diet, and their early experiments with Pop Zest helped her address a B-vitamin deficiency she wasn't aware of. What initially began as a hobby to share with family and friends became a full blown passion that evolved into a need to share nutritional yeast's health benefits and amazing taste with others.
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Taylor, a finance graduate at the College of Charleston, and Victoria, a CU Boulder student who postponed her studies to pursue her dreams, used their love of healthy food, cooking, and business to bring their passion to life. After spending six months mixing ingredients and creating their "secret formula" they finally came up with some official recipes.
Victoria Bell, Co-founder
victoriabell@popzest.com
Taylor Hay, Co-founder
taylorhay@popzest.com
When it came time to decide on a name, Pop Zest is what stuck; the "Pop" refers to the pop of flavor their blends add to a variety of foods while "Zest" speaks to their blends' unique zesty taste that is unlike any other seasoning they had encountered. As of today we offer three flavors: Artisan Cheese, Butter, and Olive Oil & Herb and are always experimenting with more flavors in the kitchen!
Pop Zest went through countless name and design changes since its inception, but one thing has remained the same: our dedication to using real spices, herbs, and plant-based ingredients to create a multi-purpose seasoning that can be enjoyed by everyone. What makes Pop Zest unique is that we use nutritional yeast- commonly referred to as "nooch" among health enthusiasts- as a savory and nutrient rich base to our products. All of our products are made using fortified nutritional yeast which provides a wide array of B-vitamins and complete protein in every serving. Pop Zest's origins of Boulder, Colorado, a health conscious community, strengthens their mission of delivering a quality product every time.
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At Flavor Train, we believe eating plant-based foods that are free from artificial ingredients shouldn't mean compromising on flavor, and with Pop Zest we did just that. Meet Pop Zest, food's new best friend!