NotCo's brand purpose is to build a sustainable world by subbing animal meat out of the food system for plant-based alternatives, using their AI chef Giuseppe. To boost brand awareness, consumers and industry sectors needed to see Giuseppe's capabilities. So, we set out to replicate the endangered Green Sea Turtle and created NotTurtle.

Everything culminated in a year-long journey to make the recipe, taste-testing it with locals in Piura, Peru (where turtle meat is consumed the most) and cooking classes for local chefs to learn how to make the alternative. The result? NotTurtle was indistinguishable from real turtle soup.

The Green Sea Turtle species has a long history of being hunted. It's been poached, harvested, and consumed for more than 150 years. Today, despite being a protected endangered species, almost 100,000 are consumed every year; contributing to a declining population even with efforts to restore the species from conservationists. Among its threats: Turtle Soup, a traditional stew with incredible cultural significance to native and coastal communities in China, Nigeria, Mexico, and Peru. Historically, the dish was created by fishermen hundreds of years ago and has been passed along through generations, to the detriment of the species. While alternatives to Turtle Soup have been around globally since the 18th century, the recipes focus on taste. As a result, these fall short of recreating the right mouth feel, texture, and flavor. On top of that, none are plant-based.

NotCo, a global tech brand from Latin America, believes in the power of combining human power and AI. This was the perfect opportunity to prove it by helping save Green Sea turtles, keeping these coastal culinary cultures alive with a delicious plant-based NotTurtle soup.

NotCo is a global tech-food startup that utilizes a revolutionary AI named “Giuseppe,” which analyzes 300,000 plants in its database to replicate the taste, texture, and viscosity of anything in the world at a molecular level.

While the plant-based market is oversaturated, NotCo's proposition is unique because it uses AI to solve food industry challenges. However, the brand’s awareness was low and dependent on its performance per market. We had three main objectives. First, raise awareness of Giuseppe's capabilities. Second, position NotCo as the B2B partner that re-imagines and solves any culinary challenge from the food & restaurant industry. Third, break through a very crowded plant-based alternative category.

Our brief was clear: make Giuseppe famous by getting it to solve a culinary challenge it has never done before.

With the Green Sea Turtle's population declining fast, NotCo wanted to shift its gears from recreating its usual portfolio of plant-based animal products and help an endangered animal get a much-deserved second chance. To achieve this, NotCo needed to truly test its AI chef Giuseppe. NotCo was able to recreate the taste and texture of endangered Green Sea Turtle meat in 4 days, culminating in a dish called NotTurtle: the first endangered animal dish without the endangered animal, created by AI for the good of a species. A 100% plant-based dish that could help a species and preserve local traditions.

Until this point, NotCo and its AI, “Giuseppe,” have been known for their ability to replicate the taste of chicken, burger patties, and milk. However, the full extent of its capabilities remained unknown among consumers and the entire food industry.

To raise brand awareness and break through the clutter, NotCo needed to showcase Giuseppe's capabilities to the world by challenging the limits of its technology, while attracting business opportunities with restaurants, food brands, and manufacturers looking to incorporate Giuseppe into their processes. We targeted two industries: Business & Tech, and Food & Restaurants. Our approach: push Giuseppe to recreate an endangered animal dish with plants, that not only tasted exceptional but brought humanity and AI together to help a species in need."

Because Giuseppe can't taste or cook, NotCo partnered with globally-acclaimed chef Diego Oka to bring culinary knowledge and help make NotTurtle.

Together, NotCo and Diego went on a journey to the Cayman Islands; with their findings, they went to NotCo headquarters to work with Giuseppe to analyze over 300,000 plants and 260 quintillion possible combinations, narrowing it down to one recipe that replicated the texture, taste, and molecular structure of turtle meat; and finally, they went to Peru and tested NotTurtle with locals who grew up with the traditional taste—which they thought was identical to the original.

The entire journey was documented and crafted into content. We launched infographics, teasers, and trailers globally on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. We open-sourced the recipe to local chefs and restaurants with a unique experience: NotTurtle cooking classes.

Every execution created awareness about the turtle issue and the prowess of Giuseppe.

Because NotTurtle is a product created for the purposes of changing local behavior, we decided to open-source the recipe for anyone to make. The brand provided a direct plant-based alternative to communities where traditional Turtle Soup was consumed most, achieving a 100% adoption rate as the locals who ate it couldn’t tell the difference.

Global media coverage saw the potential and pathway forward for NotCo, recognizing the power of its AI to do good for the globe.

“A culinary innovation with AI for the preservation of sea turtles” -WIRED

"Imagine what else we can do with this technology." -FORBES

"You'll be doing the world some good when you eat it." -YAHOO

1.3B Media impressions. NotCo’s most engaged campaign in history.

95% positive sentiment.

Featured in 190+ publications.

And NatGeo is picking up the story and journey to launch a 30-minute feature documentary.