Check Out Jenny Goldfarb’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Goldfarb.

Jenny, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started Unreal Deli literally barefoot and pregnant in my tiny LA kitchen. I grew up the great-granddaughter of NYC deli owners, and good quality deli meat was in my bloodstream, but after becoming vegan for the animals, health, and the earth, I was looking for alternatives for my family. Pregnant with my 3rd child in October 2018, I had a hankering for a corned beef/pastrami sandwich I hadn’t eaten in years and started playing with vegetables, plant proteins, and seasonings to create Unreal Corned Beef. Friends and family thought it was so delicious that it wasn’t a recipe but a business.

I started cooking and selling it to local delis around LA and got into Whole Foods. Applied for Shark Tank, made an epic deal with Mark Cuban for more than double the cash I was asking for, and ultimately grew Unreal Deli into several products across thousands of stores across the country.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Never, but no one said it was gonna be easy.

Covid threw a wrench in our plans to grow in the restaurant business, so we were forced to painstakingly pivot into retail.

One of our food manufacturers left us stranded with no one to make the product a couple of years ago.

The capital markets dried up this past year, and valuations went crashing, which impacted our ability to raise money.

It’s been a lot of learning on the job and being thankful for what we do have.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work to make a better kind of sandwich accessible to people across the country and the world.

We make the world’s finest plant-based deli meats made of real vegetables.

I’m known as Mrs. Goldfarb, who made a deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank.

I’m most proud of the team we have at Unreal Deli, dedicated hard working, brilliant people who have created phenomenal meats and help proliferate them around the globe.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love learning Torah. It’s a connection to my roots. It explicitly talks about a plant-based diet (literally on page 1) and about how we cannot cause animals excess harm. And it is my bedrock for doing what is right in the world. It makes me happy to learn and practice Judaism, and it fuels my business and leadership in my company.

Contact Info:

• Website: unrealdeli.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unrealdeli/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unrealdeli/

Image Credits
For the image of me, please credit Kathleen Lantos Photography. Thanks!