University of Connecticut students can now get vegan hot cocoa at UConn dining locations this holiday season.
Ali Lazow is the founder and CEO of Bare Life, the brand behind the dairy- free hot cocoa. She explained that most hot cocoas are not vegan because they contain powdered milk ingredients, and another unexpectedly non-vegan ingredient.
“We use dehydrated organic coconut milk to replace this in our hot chocolates,” Lazow said. “Also, the type of sugar used can also make it not vegan. Take cane sugar as one example. While cane sugar sounds vegan, it is often processed with bone char, gross I know, and that makes it not vegan.”
The history of Bare Life came about in a doctor’s office, Lazow explained. While in college, she continuously experienced exhaustion, migraines, joint aches and extreme pain, which she suspected as effects of her diet.
“I discovered that I was living with several chronic illnesses, including cancer and Lyme disease. I also found that eating clean, whole ingredients, made a huge difference in how I felt,” Lazow said. “Unfortunately, the few foods I found that worked for my lifestyle didn’t taste good and most importantly didn’t fit all of my dietary needs. Mainly, everything had tons of sugar, dairy, or some type of preservative in it.”
With this discovery, Lazow decided that she wanted to make foods that fit into her lifestyle and created Bare Life.
“Everyone can enjoy Bare Life’s delicious, award- winning, sustainably sourced, organic, plant-based, and gluten- free hot chocolates and frozen hot chocolate,” Lazow said.
Since this past fall, Bare Life has become available to UConn students.
“I was connected with UConn in a few different ways. For one my parents and a ton of my family are alums,” Lazow said. “Then through my work with UConn’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law Clinic and your YSEALI program, I was introduced to your Supplier Diversity Department. The rest is history.”
Lazow expressed her gratitude to UConn dining services for supporting Bare Life, as it is a local and women- owned brand.
“Our hot cocoa is on the menu at all of the 15 cafes across campus. Just ask for the vegan or dairy- free hot chocolate or frozen hot chocolate and you’ll be drinking our local hot cocoa,” Lazow said.
Currently, Bare Life’s products are available for purchase from roughly 150 retailers in 20 states across the nation.
Those interested can find the products at Whole Foods, ShopRite and Amazon. Bare Life is also available in some cafes, hospitals, offices, and the University of Hartford. For a list of all locations where Bare Life is sold, prospective customers can look on their website.
As a Connecticut native herself, Lazow is proud to have created Bare Life in-state.
“I didn’t realize at the time, however, how incredibly supportive the vast entrepreneurial ecosystem is in Connecticut,” Lazow said. “Take UConn’s wonderful Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Law Clinic for just one example, they’ve helped us with trademarks and patent applications, which would have been completely out of reach for most small businesses, and that has really helped us compete.”
Great Hot Chocolate