Regular readers of entreVIEW may be familiar with my enthusiasm for Wisconsin sports. As an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it is particularly exciting to see other alumni experiencing professional success — especially when it links sports, entrepreneurship, and my (required) dietary restrictions.I, along with an estimated 3 million other U.S. adults, am allergic to tree nuts. This can make for awkward social situations (eating alone at weddings because it takes so long to get a nut-free meal) and challenging grocery store selections (if it says it was “processed at a facility that also processes tree nuts,” it’s probably fine, but on the off-chance it’s not, I’m stuck with an entire box of granola bars). So, when I heard the story of a former Wisconsin Badgers football player who had developed a line of allergy-free seed based snack and protein bars, I was intrigued.
Blake Sorensen, a Minnesota native and budding food entrepreneur, was recently featured in a forbes.com article. Between 2007 and 2010, Sorensen was a linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers. Like me, he has a tree nut allergy. While getting his MBA at Indiana University, Sorensen took a social entrepreneurship class from which a business idea was born: Blake’s Seed Based, a line of snack bars featuring a combination of seeds and fruit free from the major allergens of nuts, dairy, and gluten.
