BAM, a plant-based milk crafted from buckwheat and nurtured with Cornell Food Venture Center support, was in the spotlight on ABC’s “Shark Tank” March 21, when entrepreneur Paige Hansen pitched her pandemic-born creation to potential investors.
An acronym for “Because Agriculture Matters,” BAM initially stood for “buckwheat alternative milk,” but Hansen envisioned a company that extended beyond buckwheat and milk. It hit shelves in Southern California in November 2023, and just six weeks after launching, Hansen received an email from “Shark Tank,” encouraging her to apply for the show. Although she felt her company wasn’t ready, she decided to apply, knowing the show receives approximately 45,000 applications annually.
“I thought, you know, at the very least, if I were lucky enough to get a shot to actually air, it would be a great opportunity to talk about this incredible crop, buckwheat, and this incredible ingredient. And so I went for it,” she said.
Hansen, with a background in journalism, directed marketing at an agriculture tech company in Brooklyn in 2019. This experience, she said, highlighted the importance of soil health, a focus she wanted to carry into future endeavors. And during the pandemic, she learned about buckwheat’s soil-regenerating properties.
Not only is buckwheat a phosphorous scavenger, meaning it helps balance soil nutrients, it also suppresses weeds and attracts pollinators. Many farmers grow it as a cover crop to keep soil healthy in between planting other food crops.
Furthermore, she thought that buckwheat could contribute to dietary diversity, noting, “15 plants make up 90% of our diets.” She thought about turning it into plant-based milk, something 44% of households purchase regularly and a product she herself consumes. She sought out the Cornell Food Venture Center in 2021, in part, because New York is the fourth-largest producer of buckwheat in the U.S.
The Food Venture Center, she said, “was a really awesome opportunity to learn about buckwheat and then also learn how the heck could I make a plant-based milk from this seed that I think is very underutilized.” The center assisted her in scaling up the recipe she had first made in her kitchen. Currently, she is working to tweak BAM’s formula to make sure it is consistent at scale, with plans for a relaunch this June.
The venture capitalists on the show sampled the three BAM milk products: Original, Hint of Vanilla and Extra Creamy – as well as a smoothie, iced coffee and chocolate pudding made with the milk.
“I tried the ‘hint of vanilla.’ It’s nice; I can taste the buckwheaty taste, like when you drink oat milk and you get the oaty taste,” said Lori Greiner, one of the investors on the show.
Although the investors ultimately declined to fund the product, Hansen considers the experience a success, noting a significant surge in her web traffic since the episode aired.
“I do think that this has accomplished something for me, which is now a lot of people are talking about buckwheat,” she said, “and I think my opportunity is to just continue the education and to improve upon the product and to just keep going.”
Christina Szalinski is a freelance writer for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
