For California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) agricultural business alumni Joshua Van Tassel and Alex Pope, giving up dessert was never an option. Instead, the pair set out to reinvent it by creating Nibble Foods, a company that produces healthier, protein-packed versions of indulgent desserts.

​After being assigned the category “impulsive indulgers” for a dairy-based entrepreneurship class project, Pope and Van Tassel set out to create a sweet treat that wouldn’t carry the same guilt as traditional desserts. The result was Nibble’s first product: a bite-sized, healthy, protein-packed cheesecake bite formulated with clean ingredients. 

“We wanted to eat something that tastes like the real thing, one of our favorite desserts, cheesecake, but actually feel guilt-free about what we were putting into our bodies,” Pope said. 

Pope and Van Tassel’s friendship began during Cal Poly’s Week of Welcome, when the two met as neighbors in the Yosemite Tower Three dorm building. From sharing at least one class every quarter to building a business together, Van Tassel said they “worked well from the start.”

“Once you start building an idea full-time, it becomes more than just a group project. This experience is definitely going to push our friendship to places it’s never gone before, but it’s only made us stronger and better for the long run,” Pope said. 

​The team learned more about the Cal Poly Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) through their senior project course, where agribusiness professor Dr. McGowan  suggested that they participate in the CIE Elevator Pitch Competition. The experience led them to continue participating in CIE programs, including Builder Bootcamp, Innovation Quest and, most recently, the Summer Accelerator. 

​The Accelerator is a 10-week intensive program that provides Cal Poly students and recent graduates with resources to turn their innovative ideas into full-fledged start-ups. Participants receive $10,000 in seed funding, mentorship, an entrepreneurial workshop, and a dedicated workspace in the HotHouse, the CIE’s downtown San Luis Obispo office. 

​“I would say one of the things that we struggled with in the very beginning, especially myself, was presenting in front of people, being able to talk to others and being more open and willing to connect with people,” Van Tassel said.

​Not knowing what to expect initially from the Accelerator program, the team has enjoyed the amount of resources and connections they have made so far.

“In just the first two weeks, the speakers and mentors we’ve been introduced to have already been incredibly helpful,” Pope said.  “One of the co-founders of Yerba Madre was an amazing person to talk to and get help and insight, and that’s just one of the many.” 

Nibble co-founders Alex Pope (left) and Joshua Van Tassel (right)

​Both coming from an agricultural business background, the team initially did not have experience in food formulation or cooking in general. Creating their recipe involved extensive trial and error, with roughly 15 different iterations of the recipe before landing on their final formulation, highlighting Greek yogurt as their hidden win.

“It was hard to create a formulation that actually tasted like the real thing, so once we found it, we stuck with it,” Van Tassel said.  

Growing Nibble in the Summer Accelerator, the founders have agreed that the program has helped them accomplish more work in less time. 

“We’ve accomplished more in the last three weeks than we have in the past two months,” Van Tassel said. “It’s been nothing but beneficial, and has really pushed us to our absolute limits to bring out the best results.”

​By Demo Day, Nibble hopes to launch California-wide shipping and secure local retail partnerships. Looking beyond the Accelerator, the pair plan to grow beyond cheesecake bites by reinventing more classic desserts with healthier ingredients. ​“I think the sky’s the limit in establishing Nibble really as Nibble Foods,” Pope said. 

“The biggest thing we’ve learned is that so many startups fail — they tell us that all the time,” Van Tassel said. “But for us, we don’t fail until we give up. As long as we keep showing up every day, learning, improving, and working toward our goals, we consider that success.”

Watch Nibble and our six other Accelerator startups pitch live at Demo Day here.

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About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit cie.calpoly.edu.