In the Season 8 premiere of Forktales we sit down with Clara Lahlouh Paye, founder and CEO of UNiTE Food, a company shaking up the protein bar industry with globally inspired flavors. 

Clara shares her journey from the plumbing industry to entrepreneurship, highlighting her mission to create a more inclusive wellness community by offering diverse and nostalgic tastes that resonate with a wide range of consumers. 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START UNITE FOOD?

“I was stuck behind my desk at the family business, always just looking for quick fuel to get me through my day. That was kind of when I had the epiphany for UNiTE. Our main point of differentiation is that we use global flavors. Half the population are immigrants, or people that are just really interested in other cultures and foods.”

WHAT DOES THE NAME ‘UNITE’ MEAN, AND WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LOWERCASE ‘I’?

“The ‘i’ is small because if you’re trying to connect two sides, you yourself have to get smaller to understand the other side. We live in such a time of division, so having a name like UNiTE is really the essence of the brand. Seek to understand and find common ground instead of how we’re different.”

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR FLAVORS?

“It’s really intuitive for me. My hero flavor is churro. I live near Disneyland and the line at the churro cart was always around the corner. Churros are familiar, approachable. I also visit ethnic markets—Hispanic, Korean, Japanese—and study what people are eating. I probably made 15 or 20 different flavors before I started.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK MANY NEW FOOD ENTREPRENEURS GET WRONG?

“Trying to pretend you’re a big brand when you’re not. Can you support that shelf the same way a big brand does? One quality issue can sink your company fast. If you’re not paying attention to your product so closely, that can really be a landmine.”