322: From Shark Tank to Success: Inspiring Journey of Atlas Monroe's Founder Deborah Torres

Maya Acosta  00:00

All right, friends, welcome back to another episode of the healthy lifestyle solutions podcast. I have Deborah Torres, and she is the founder of the Atlas Monroe. Hi, Deborah. So I'm so excited to learn about you. We're here at the vegan Women's Summit. And one of the things that I want to tell my listeners, first of all, is that you're known, I mean, of course, for your fried chicken. But you're, you're also known because you were on Shark Tank. So tell us a little bit about that experience of being on Shark Tank. And tell us about why you did not take the million dollar offer that Mark Cuban wanted to give you?

Deborah Torres  00:37

Well, you know, we went to Shark Tank. Very early in our business, we were just like a year into babies basically. And it was just kind of like, hey, you know, putting our best foot forward, we know we have an extraordinary product, and let's see what we can do. And they basically said, hey, you know, you're not going to anything, you're not going to buy without the knowledge that you're asking to us. And then five minutes later, they changed it. And they said, Okay, we can offer you a million dollars and go through it, let me know right away like, Oh, you do not you do know what we're worried you understand that. You just want it all for yourself. And you could get away with anything, you can get away with it, because we're so young and nervous. And, of course, I turned it down. And from there, we had so many people that are bored. And they're like they could see right through when the show was trying to do. And they just supported us. And now we own our own multimillion dollar manufacturing plant in San Diego, California. So it's been an extraordinary journey and just seeing like, hey, you know, stand stand up for what's right and what you believe in and the universe, God will take care of you. Yeah, this

Maya Acosta  01:51

is an incredible story that you're so successful. We saw recently that Time Magazine named do the you know, named your product, the best fried chicken, and you competed against regular chicken?

Deborah Torres  02:05

Exactly. And I was like, it was crazy. Because it was so weird. They had contacted me, and they just asked me for like basic information. I didn't know what they were gonna say. And so when the article came out, as I was reading it myself, he was saying like, Oh, yeah, I tried to chicken die in a chicken drum from this company. And I'm like, what I thought, Oh, he's not talking about us. And then he's, like, bulging have a bone. And I was so confused. I didn't know what was happening. I'm like, talking about us. And then, you know, he's like, that was the best thing that we had. That was the best thing on that we tried. Hands down. And I was like, blown away. And I'm seeing it on Yahoo. Like, in the morning. I'm like, what everybody was texting me like, Oh, my. So yeah, that was pretty extraordinary. And it just goes to show you like, hey, you know, if you work hard at something, and you put your quality like, good, pure ingredients into it, quality stuff into it, everybody's gonna see it, it's gonna get no, you know, you're gonna win. If you do the right thing, you'll win.

Maya Acosta  03:08

So let's back up a little bit for the listeners to learn about your story. Because you know, you created this product as a result of health issues that were in your own family. So let's start with that. Tell us what was going on.

Deborah Torres  03:21

Yeah, my father was diagnosed with type two diabetes, my family and I decided to go on a raw vegan diet for 90 days in an effort to heal him. And in the beginning, we were having like salad, fruit salad and smoothies, because that's all we knew. And within a week, we're all like, pissed off and hangry at each other because we're so hungry. And I'm like, Okay, we gotta eat good food. We can't be this, we're not gonna, we're all gonna cheat the diet and whatever results we want to see it's not going to happen. So I just started going to work in the kitchen and experimenting with plant textures and flavors, and getting really good at it and making like raw lasagna, raw tacos, raw burgers, raw chicken nuggets, vegan everything. And it was really, really good. It was delicious. And at the end of the 90 days, we found out that he was completely healed from type two diabetes. That is

Maya Acosta  04:16

incredible. And say, I want my listeners to kind of to really pay attention to that because we know that if you were just to clean up your diet, even in 10 days, you can see improvements in your blood sugar, your cholesterol, your blood pressure, but your dad did he get all his medications completely no medications to this day. Congratulations that you really support it your family, your your dad in this because a lot of times two family members don't want to jump on board. They're like, nope, the family member that's sick. That's the person that's got to go to the change. It's it hasn't affected us. Yeah. So now Alice Monroe, and at what point did that come about that you decided, You know what, I'm going to make an alternative so that the family doesn't have to eat regular chicken anymore.

Deborah Torres  05:01

After the diet, all my family were like, Oh, we're definitely going to stay vegan, like, you've already been doing it, it opens your third eye they say and like you, your mind is open, like, oh, this has changed my life. Why would I go back? I feel amazing. Like spiritually, mentally, emotionally, everything. And so we're like, Okay, stay vegan, but we want to eat cooked food again. So it's back to the drawing board like, okay, experimenting with more plant textures and flavors, but this time temperatures as well, because it's cooked. And I'm just getting really good at that and making like vegan fried chicken, vegan ribs vegan lasagna. And that's pretty much how Atlas Monroe was born.

Maya Acosta  05:43

And so now, it's one of the better brands out there, it's incredible that you've been able to have now create a plant in the San Diego area. So how long have you been in business? When did you realize, Wow, this is going to be my full time job like it's taken off and tell us that story about the line that you had in one location where it was as long as a football field?

Deborah Torres  06:06

Yes. So we started technically, in 2017, like, up towards the very end of 2017. And we started off doing festivals. And we were invited to actually I saw I worked for Verizon at the time. And like my co workers only knew like, oh, I wanted to start a vegan company. But like I didn't, because you're so comfortable in your job, and you don't really do what you say you're going to do. And I was like pretty scared. You know, I'm like, Oh, I have this time I how the how are you going to do this? And so I thought, oh, we'll do catering. And so I made a website, but I didn't do anything with it. And somebody contacted us. And they were like, Oh, come to this vegan festival in Chicago where Lollapalooza is held. And I'm like, first of all, who even found this random website that nobody knows exists? I haven't done anything with it. So I actually didn't respond for months. And then I was like, You know what, let me let me say something, and maybe it's real. So I contacted them, they're like, yes, come out. The event is like, in two weeks, we're like scrambling to get died, I sold my family a dream, I told them, oh, we're gonna make all this money and like, we're gonna smoke from the vegan ribs will go up, and they're gonna see it. And so we drive to Chicago. And, of course, we get a flat tire on our trailer in the middle of the night, we get to the event at like, midnight, on the day of we're setting up all night in the middle of a field, like building a kitchen from the ground up. And so as the day started coming in, I see the line forming around the festival and I'm like, Oh my gosh, we're not ready, like, whatever, you know, there's only one thing you do is like, just do it, you just do it. So we're like going to work in in in the tent, and my head is just down like making food. I'm just making food as fast as possible. And 15 minutes into the event. My dad says Devorah look up and I live my head. And I see that our line is longer than a football field. And I'm like, what it just how what's happening right now. And the crazy thing was where it was traveling around the festival from via word of mouth and also the event organizers had done like a little advertisement for the product. Everybody was just coming in non stop to try the food. And at the end of the event, the organizers came and they're like, Oh, that was the best fried chicken we've ever had vegan or not. So it was just like, Okay, we're we're on the right track. We're doing the right thing. Let's keep going.

Maya Acosta  08:42

Oh my god, this is incredible. That and then here we're at the vegan Women's Summit. So you have a booth so people have been able to sample at lessman row and is it just strictly Chicken Do you have anything else associated with Atlas Monroe?

Deborah Torres  08:55

So we actually now we have vegan fried chicken we have beggin strips vegan popcorn chicken. We also have Korean barbecue we have jerk chicken we have orange chicken we have fajita chicken, we have bacon we have like all these signature sauces. So we've expanded our product line quite a bit to fit let people are making at home so like oh you know you want to make tacos and say we have vegan fajitas Oh, you want to have a grilled chicken sandwich. Okay, we have grilled chicken. You want to have bacon and we want to make a bacon club we got bacon you know like what what you're already making? Not just like, what what we've grown to know in veganism, which is burgers and chicken nuggets. It's not just vegan fast food, like we want to eat real food with our family.

Maya Acosta  09:39

So you know what I find interesting is that when it comes to the vegan products, not all the consumers are vegan. So what are the people that are not vegan saying about why they're eating Atlas Monroe? A lot

Deborah Torres  09:51

of them find out about my father having type two diabetes and so they come like, Oh, we're not even vegan. I just heard that story and I I want to start incorporating vegan products with, you know, the veggies IE. And we had so many people that contact us that say, oh, you know, I've lost 200 pounds, I felt lost 100 pounds, 150 pounds, like, I beat it, I've done it like I'm and they're not even, they're not even doing raw vegan, they're just doing like, I'm just pairing your food with cooked vegetables and potatoes or, you know, whatever. And this is what I eat. And I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. And I've become a much healthier it's transformed my life. So I'm very proud. I'm very like, okay, the purpose of what we started for to help people like I helped my dad is being met and lots what matters.

Maya Acosta  10:42

Yes. And now, like I said, we're at the vegan Women's Summit. So now we are among women who are either creators of a product like you, or investors that want to invest in women, or other women that are interested in starting their business. So tell me, what does it mean to you to be here at the vegan Women's Summit? As a participant as a product? Or as a brand? What does it mean to you to come together with all these like minded women?

Deborah Torres  11:11

Oh, my gosh, you know, I feel like, um, you know, we're always like, in a box, like all of us, we're all in our own worlds, like, you know, on the computers in our office doing all you know, working hard. And then you come to events like these, and it's like, oh, this is my family. This is where the love is, this is why we do this. This is the community that we really have and what we're all really working for, and seeing it here. It just brings it to life. It's like the universe of veganism. It's just a happy, beautiful place like this has been amazing.

Maya Acosta  11:45

Yeah, there's a lot of kindness, kindness here and a lot of collaboration that happens. So as we're wrapping up, tell us what's next for you. What, are you taking a break? Are you going to continue to work hard?

Deborah Torres  11:58

What's our break? No.

Maya Acosta  12:00

I know, you pass on that one.

Deborah Torres  12:03

Thing, literally, I gave birth to my son two years ago. And my my midwife was like, stop working like you need to stop working. She comes over the day after I give birth and my laptop's on my lap, and she's like, I told you to stop working. I'm like, it's not going to happen. So hey, it's like, you know, you just keep going. I mean, people don't stop eating. So you just gotta you keep going. But I have a wonderful team that's like, really, really amazing. Very, very supportive. And I wouldn't be here without them. So I'm, they do it. We work like a well oiled machine now. But

Maya Acosta  12:41

yeah, well, congratulations on what you've built. And one final question, Where can people find out less Monroe, if they want to try the chicken, especially the fried chicken?

Deborah Torres  12:50

Well, big time, you can always order it on our website, Atlas maryknoll.com, and we ship nationwide. But we're also at Copper branch, which is the world's largest vegan chain restaurant, 50 plus locations across the globe. And then we wholesale to us foods and Cisco. And then we are in some grocery stores in SoCal. And we're expanding that reach as we speak. So yeah, wow.

Maya Acosta  13:18

i It's been a pleasure getting to know you. I'm really excited for what you've created. Congratulations, and how you're changing the world. So thank you, again, any social media website that you want to share?

Deborah Torres  13:30

Yes, Instagram, Atlas, dot Monroe, you can find us easily and we're always have sales and stuff. So definitely follow us on there because we're always releasing new information about where we're going, what's happening.

Maya Acosta  13:43

So I also feel that a lot of women are probably interested in learning from you. As you've gone down that path of being successful and so many, there's probably so many women that are interested in in learning, but thank you, Devorah for being here. Thank you, Maya for having me. Thank you. All right.