The California Startup Selling America on Tofu

Hidden behind gray walls and metal window guards on an industrial street in Oakland, Calif., Hodo Inc.’s tofu factory has a Willy Wonka-style energy. Vats full of soybeans bubble before they travel down chutes to be pulverized, strained, and compressed into giant cakes. In another area, workers toting supersize mesh strainers in each hand deep-fry cubes of tofu in oil. Later, they’ll add seasonings for products such as Hodo’s best-selling Thai curry nuggets.

On an average day, Hodo goes through 30,000 pounds of American soybeans to produce 40,000 pounds of organic soy-based products ranging from plain firm tofu to fully cooked, ready-to-eat meals of flavored tofu cubes. The products are sold across the country, from gourmet markets in San Francisco to health food stores in Brooklyn. Hodo is used by the salad chain Sweetgreen and the Michelin-starred State Bird Provisions in San Francisco. In a June Nielsen data report produced for Whole Foods Market Inc., Hodo was cited as one of the fastest-­growing companies in the plant-based protein category, which includes competitors such as Sweet Earth Foods, Wildwood, and Tofurky. Hodo’s current revenue is $15 million, with year-over-year sales growth of 35.9 percent.