Carlos Andrade - Healthy Ghost Kitchens in Peru and Abroad (Manzana Verde)
It was 2014. Carlos Andrade had just gotten his degree in Mechanical Engineering and was ready to start a demanding, yet lucrative career as an engineer in Peru. And after accepting his first job offer, a routine medical exam revealed something Carlos had never expected -- especially at the age of 23. He had cancer. So Carlos, for the time being, completely forgot about work. Instead, he turned to a healthy diet and underwent chemotherapy, thankfully going into remission 10 months later. And at the age of 24, with an entirely new perspective on both life and health, he and his friend Larissa started ‘Manzana Verde’, meaning Green Apple in Spanish. It started as a modest ‘healthy food delivery’ platform, where he and Larissa would buy groceries...by themselves, cook healthy meals...by themselves, and deliver them to customers...by themselves...all within the small city of Piura, Peru. But four years, two fundraises, and five cities later, Manzana Verde has raised millions of dollars at an 8-figure valuation, is on pace to do 1,000,000 deliveries in 2021, and has a lofty, yet what seems to be a very realistic goal: Become the biggest wellness e-commerce platform in all of Latin America. Carlos’s story? It’s one of fight, of inspiration...and of victory.