I-Cycle began with a simple observation: local farmers were throwing away perfectly nutritious food — just because it didn't look the part.
Growing up in Sammamish, I spent a lot of time in local farmers markets and community events. I kept noticing something that bothered me: crates of perfectly good carrots, beets, and fruit — set aside because they were the wrong shape, too small, or slightly discolored. Farmers told me those items couldn't sell at retail. Retailers confirmed it. The produce just got discarded.
That felt like a solvable problem. I started researching food waste statistics and found that 30–40% of all food produced in the United States goes to waste, with cosmetic standards being the single biggest driver at the farm and retail level. Farmers were losing $13 billion per year on produce that never reached a shelf. That number stopped me.
I decided to build something about it.
I-Cycle was developed and refined through DECA's Start-Up Business Plan event, which challenged me to build a complete, investor-ready business from scratch — including market research, financial modeling, competitive analysis, and a go-to-market strategy. Competing at the state level validated that I-Cycle is more than a class project. It's a real business addressing a real problem.
I-Cycle is a tech-enabled food platform that partners with local farmers and grocery stores in King County to collect imperfect-looking produce — then transforms it into delicious, healthy snacks and smoothies. Our products include beet chips, spinach chips, coconut chips, strawberry banana chips, and a line of six fruit-and-vegetable smoothies.
Customers can subscribe through our mobile app for weekly deliveries, or find I-Cycle at retail and fitness locations across the Seattle Eastside — Sammamish, Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, and into Seattle proper.
The business model is designed to benefit every player in the system: farmers get a buyer for produce they'd otherwise discard, grocers reduce shrinkage, consumers get great snacks at accessible prices, and the local food system gets a little more circular.
After noticing consistent produce waste at local farms and markets, I began researching the food waste problem and sketching the outlines of what would become I-Cycle.
I enrolled I-Cycle in DECA's Start-Up Business Plan competition. Over months of iteration, I built the full business model: financial projections, customer segments, competitive analysis, supply chain, and go-to-market strategy.
Chips and smoothies emerged as the right product categories: shelf-stable, scalable, and capable of using the widest range of imperfect produce types. The I-Cycle brand identity — the carrot logo, dark packaging, bright product photography — took shape.
I-Cycle reached $900K in annual revenue — 56% from retail sales and 44% from app-based subscriptions — with a 70% gross margin and an LTV of $600 per subscriber.
I presented the full I-Cycle business plan at the Washington State DECA competition at Eastlake High School, competing against student entrepreneurs from across the state.
I-Cycle is seeking $450K for 10% equity — based on a $4.5M post-money valuation anchored by our $900K 2025 revenue. The capital will fund supply chain expansion, app development, and new retail partnerships across King County.
I-Cycle isn't just a snack company. It's an argument for what the local food economy could look like — one where waste is minimized, where farmers are rewarded for the full range of what they grow, and where sustainability isn't a premium add-on but a built-in feature of how food is produced and consumed.
I reached out directly to Mayor Kent Hay of Sammamish and local farmers to understand what systemic changes would help. The response confirmed that the problem is real, the demand for solutions is there, and that student voices in policy conversations are welcomed — not dismissed.
If you're a city official, county representative, or state legislator thinking about food waste policy, food access, or local sustainability initiatives — I'd love to talk.
Every I-Cycle product starts with produce that would have been discarded — and ends up as something genuinely delicious. No artificial flavors, no preservatives, no compromise on taste.
See Our Full Product Line →
Whether you grow food, sell food, shape food policy, or just eat food — there's a role for you in the I-Cycle ecosystem.
Partner With I-Cycle →