Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/802137
producer profile working at a falafel shop in a northern suburb of Tel Aviv, a patron came in who looked familiar. Rakesh Barmecha, of Indian heri- tage, had lived with his family in Israel as a child and also attended the American International School. Kruvi remembered how they rode the same bus, even though Barmecha was several years younger. Since 2003, Barmecha had been work- ing in New York City in his family's dia- mond business. He was in Israel on a visit. Stopping in Kruvi's falafel shop was pure chance, except for the fact that he is a hum- mus aficionado. "I fell in love with fresh hummus as a boy growing up in Israel," Barmecha says. "Popular hummus brands here in the U.S. that you see on the shelves are grainy and loaded with GMOs and preservatives that are no good for you." In agreement about what true hum- mus should be, before long the two men did the paperwork to form a small com- pany. Kruvi jumped at the chance to open a falafel shop in New York City. By 2007, the partners had debuted their first restaurant, Crisp, a vegetarian concept they franchised. The cost of doing business was high, and Kruvi wanted to add animal protein to the menu to see if it would help increase sales. Barmecha was a strict vegetarian and the two respectfully decided to part ways. Kruvi bought him out in 2013. Their friendship remained solid and they still had meetings from time to time, trying to find a way to work together again, especially if it involved mass-marketing fresh hummus. Barmecha had been there for him when Kruvi's first wife died of can- cer in 2011, something Kruvi would always value. He was left with three children to rear alone. "He stood by me like a brother," Kruvi says. "He was more than family to me. Everybody is strong but has a scar for life. My first wife said, 'Don't dwell. Keep moving because life is too short.'" Kruvi managed to keep moving and has since remarried. The chef currently has just one loca- tion of Crisp, in Midtown Manhattan, where the pita is made from scratch and fresh hummus can be customized with ingredients inspired by Morocco, Mexico, Africa, and Greece. The innovative menu is similar to what Kruvi used to offer at his shop in Tel Aviv. Creating a New Business For years, Kruvi had wrestled with a way to bring that global, restaurant-quality hum- mus experience to shoppers at grocery stores and gourmet markets. He wanted to develop a unique super-smooth, store-bought ver- sion that would stand apart from the brands in the refrigerator case. "Hummus is one of those items you want to eat right when it's made, when it comes out of the mixer," Kruvi says. "It's so creamy and delicious, and when it settles, the consistency changes." The hummus on-demand idea was shifted to a back burner for a while. He wasn't sure how to execute a shelf-stable product without using artificial preserva- tives. "I was constantly looking for ways to do that," Kruvi explains. "Then I real- ized if I deconstruct it, I can create a kit for people." By nature, salt and cumin are shelf- stable. So is tahini paste. Cooked, pureed chickpeas were the problem. He didn't want a canned product. Seeing shelf-stable tuna in a pouch at a grocery store was the epiphany. Kruvi did more research and real- | 1980sā1990s After his discharge from the Israeli army, Alon Kruvi joins his family business of running a chain of hummus and falafel shops. | 2007 Kruvi and Rakesh Barmecha open Crisp, a vegetarian restaurant in New York City. Kruvi buys out his partner in 2013. | 2014 Kruvi and Barmecha start developing an idea for shelf-stable, deconstructed hummus. | 2016 Kruvi co-founds Baruvi Fresh, maker of Hummustir, with Barmecha and Vineet Bokaria. | 2017 Hummustir wins the inaugural Front Burner Foodservice Pitch Competition at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. HIGHLIGHTS Kruvi presenting at the Front Burner Foodservice Pitch Competition. 60 ā SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com