Today on Forbes, how a $200 million pea protein business is fueling the OZempic Generation.

As the OZempic generation seeks to make its calories count, one Minneapolis-based manufacturer

of pea and soy protein powders has been quietly grown into an AgTech powerhouse amid shelves

lined with protein-packed cereals,

pastas, and sports drinks.

Tyler Lorenzen, CEO of Purist Proteins, says, quote,

What GLP-1 users all want is to get more protein in their diet.

It needs to taste great and be more nutritious.

That's really why Purists is growing faster than

our peers. People love what they eat, and then great taste is the on-ramp to healthy habits,

and the flywheel for longevity begins. It's taken 40 years for family-owned purists to be primed

for this moment, and now what started with breeding soybeans at night out of a

family basement has become the largest pea-protein manufacturer in America. The 40-year-old

Lorenzen, whose parents started the company in 1985, says, quote, you invest a lifetime on an idea,

and when the idea starts to work, then it gets exciting.

With $200 million in estimated annual revenue, family-run Puris has grown from filling a major

void in the seed industry. Purists sell soy, corn, and pea seeds to hundreds of farmers in 20

states, who produce around 3 million bushels a

year. Its seed breeding business is complemented by an ingredient processing division that supplies

pea protein and other ingredients to 200 major food brands, from America's largest private company,

Cargill, to buzzy startup ritual.

Lorenzen's 42-year-old older sister, Nicole Atchison, the CEO of Purist Holdings,

...