Alissa Miky cares about the environment and about people’s health.
She combined these two interests when she founded Cashi Cake in 2019. It’s a sustainable marine plant-based food-tech company that found an innovative way to create high-quality foods, beverages, alternative packaging and medical capsules from seaweed.
It’s created two products, Misaky Toyko and OoMee, using the technology.
Misaky Tokyo is a luxury candy delicacy. OoMee is a fruit drink. Both contain red algae extract, a form of seaweed.
Miky also founded Marine Plant Based in 2019, a certifying organization to recognize the ecological and health benefits of marine flora-based consumer products.
The startup has raised $1.8 million over two rounds. The latest was a seed round in 2022.
The main investors have been Japanese entities, including Chiba Dojo, an entrepreneurial community with a venture fund in Tokyo that supports startups in various stages.
Cashi Cake is currently in the midst of a pre-Series A round, seeking to raise $3 million. It would use those funds for marketing and hiring for OoMee.
There are a few difficulties when it comes to processing marine plants, Miky told L.A. Inno.
First, they’re “very delicate, and the quality drastically changes depending on the place, time and water temperature,” she explained.
“It's difficult to adjust the proportions of different components of marine plants to maintain a consistent quality,” she said. “We maintain consistent quality by adjusting the blending of raw materials from different regions of origin.”
Second, it can be difficult to remove the unique smell and saltiness, she said. Vitamin C, one of the most important elements for flavoring and processing food products, attacks the delicate dietary fiber of marine plants, damaging its taste and texture, which can cause an “unpleasant” texture and taste, she added.
So Cashi Cake uses an innovative manufacturing method that controls vitamin C, “an essential component of deliciousness,” without the smell of seaweed, she said.
Cashi Cake’s product Misaky Tokyo is a crystal jelly candy that’s gluten-free, vegan and additive-free.
Prominent customers that carry this delicacy include luxury hotels, restaurants and retailers, including Nobu and Cartier.
OoMee is a fruit-infused water which can be consumed daily to support good gut health, Miky said.
This product is currently in a soft launch. Early next year, Cashi Cake is planning to do a hard launch of OoMee.
This drink is tailored to millennials who focus on the environmental impacts of what they eat.
In March, this drink was selected as the finalist for “Best New Plant-forward Product” at the 2023 Expo West NEXTY awards.
Miky told LA Inno that in contrast to the competition, which typically relies on gelatin derived from animals, Cashi Cake uses marine plant-based ingredients like agar-agar.
Agar-agar is a mix of carbohydrates that have been extracted from red algae, which is a type of seaweed.
Gelatin in the U.S. is typically sourced from pig skin. More than 110 million pigs are slaughtered annually, resulting in approximately 2.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emission, according to statistics from 2014.
By replacing gelatin with “highly-viable macroalgae derivatives,” Cashi Cake is aiming to “significantly” reduce this carbon footprint, Miky said.
“Marine plants play a vital role in the blue carbon ecosystem,” she added.
Cultivating them provides a sustainable alternative and fights ocean acidification, she added.
“We actively tackle environmental challenges, particularly carbon emissions and agricultural sustainability,” Miky said.
Cashi Cake’s HQ is in Torrance. Currently it sells its products online and through retailers. There are four full-time employees.
