Good Detour is a trailblazing, freeze-dried food brand dedicated to bringing authentic South Asian vegetarian cuisine to all types of adventurers who want delicious, nutritious, and nourishing meals while exploring the great outdoors.
The inception of Good Detour took place during the pandemic when founders Pooja Naik and Rutwij Devashrayee embarked on their first wilderness adventure as a newly dating couple. At the end of a long day, the duo was exhausted, hangry, and in need of a warm, nourishing meal.
Instead of being able to fill their bellies with a hot, healthy meal brimming with the comforting taste of home, the duo found themselves disappointedly forcing down some flavourless, dehydrated vegetarian camp cuisine that they had found at the outdoor store.
But, the final straw came in September 2023, as the couple hiked Half Dome with some friends.
“We prepared a meal just before the final climb, and felt nourished nutritionally, but not in terms of flavor,” explains Rutwij. “Even more disheartening was seeing that our friends had brought Subway sandwiches among other cold foods and carried them all the way to the top for sustenance.”
“Honestly, that was the final nudge we needed.”
Embarking on a New Adventure
Motivated to make some big changes in the cuisine scene, the duo enrolled themselves in the Embark Program (Path Ahead Ventures and Founded Outdoors Early Incubator Program) and started to turn Good Detour into a reality.
They spent countless hours learning about the different approaches to creating healthy, nutrient-dense adventure meals before deciding to produce 100% freeze-dried foods.
This means their meals are cooked as a full recipe first, then frozen, and then dried under pressure to remove the water content.
“Freeze-drying is one of the best methods to dehydrate food as it not only preserves the nutrition and quality of the food better than other techniques, but it also retains color, shape, aroma, and bioactivity better than other methods,” explains Pooja.
As Authentic as it Gets
While Pooja and Rutwij split their time between Toronto and San Francisco, all of Good Detour’s meals are crafted in Gujarat, India, ensuring only the most genuine of South Asian flavors and ingredients are present in their authentic backcountry meals.
This dedication to quality, flavor, and healthful food offerings hasn’t gone unnoticed, and for Rutwij and Pooja, the feedback has been one of the most rewarding things about starting Good Detour.
“When we sample our food and people have those first 'yum!' moments with their eyes wide open, and when for the first few seconds they want to say something, but they are still savouring the food — we’d say those are the best moments!”
For Good Detour, it’s these heart-warming moments that make the bumps in the road easier to handle.
“Logistics and social media seem like the most challenging parts to us at the moment,” says Pooja. “Every problem seems to have a million solutions out there and deciding on the best one can be difficult.”
But Pooja and Rutwij keep showing up, solving problems as they arise and staying focused on the positive impact that they know Good Detour has on people’s nutritional needs and on the inclusivity of the outdoor adventure industry.
“Access to nutritious and flavorful vegetarian food in the outdoors minimizes the burden and barriers of entry and existence for those with varying dietary preferences and requirements,” says Pooja. “There isn’t another proudly vegetarian brand that specializes in authentic recipes from the South Asian subcontinent!”
In their first year, Good Detour has already released eight amazing Indian inspired meals, including a nourishing Five Lentil Dal simmered in spinach and aromatic spices, Idli Sambar which offers up soft, fluffy fermented rice cakes paired with a rich, lentil stew, and their protein-packed Paneer Scramble.
Looking ahead, Pooja and Rutwij aspire for Good Detour to become a well-known name in the outdoor industry and hope to see their meals nourishing a global audience on their exciting adventurers.
The duo plans to expand their range of products to include beverages, world cuisines, and energy bars, offering a wide variety of nutritious, flavorful food choices to their fellow outdoor explorers.
Ali Becker is a freelance writer and adventure storyteller who spends half the year backpacking and bikepacking and the other half sleeping in strangers' beds as a professional house sitter. She and her partner, Mathieu, share their ups and downs on their IG channel at @trip.longer and hope to inspire others to get outside, adventure in nature and find their own freedom. You can learn more about them here: triplonger.ca.
