Astreas: Chocolate In Space
Have you ever wondered what astronauts consume in space? Are their meals limited to powdered foods and packets? Can gourmet chocolate reach space and inspire our culinary experiences on Earth?
Shahreen Reza, a proficient entrepreneur in the food and beverage industry, shares her journey from a technology startup to revolutionizing astronaut food. In her discussion, she elaborates on her innovative approach to creating chocolate that combines peak performance with the pleasure of eating. Shahreen dives into how nootropics, adaptogens, and precision nutrition all play a crucial role. She offers insights into creating better food for space missions and high performance on Earth and provides a glimpse of the future of savory options for space travelers.
On this episode of the Firebelly Social Show, Duncan Alney talks with Shahreen Reza, Co-founder and CEO of Astreas, about creating better chocolate for both space missions and high performance on Earth. Shahreen explains how Astreas came to be, how it crafts brain food for astronauts and elite performers, Astreas’ victory in the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge, PurifAid, and the savory future of space food beyond sweet treats.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
[01:37] Shahreen Reza explains how Astreas came to be
[03:18] How Astreas crafts brain food for astronauts and elite performers, pairing pleasure with performance
[07:12] How nootropics and adaptogens enhance mental focus and clarity
[12:03] Shahreen talks about her first start-up, PurifAid, and its function
[15:58] Atreas winning the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge
[19:02] The savory future of space food beyond sweet treats
[22:41] Shahreen’s Astreas favorite product
About Shahreen Reza
Shahreen Reza is the Co-founder and CEO of Astreas, a food innovation company developing high-quality nutrition blended with the finest dark chocolate to fuel your exploration. She is a serial entrepreneur with a history of successful start-ups, including her first company, PurifAid, which developed CleanTech using the byproduct of Scotch whisky to decontaminate industrially polluted water in Europe and bring it to the villages of Bangladesh to tackle the arsenic water crisis through adsorption technology. Following PurifAid's acquisition, Shahreen worked as Deputy Head of Global Business for Palantir Technologies, a Silicon Valley start-up focused on big data integration. Her commitment to enhancing human performance through diet is influenced by her extensive research and collaborations with food scientists and culinary experts, aiming to revolutionize how we think about food in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments.