Forbes 30 Under 30 · Food & Drink

Building the future of flavor, one venture at a time.

Fred Marlowe is a serial entrepreneur reshaping how the world eats and drinks — from carbon-negative coffee to AI-crafted hot sauce. Three companies. Two exits. Zero boring meals.

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The Portfolio

Ventures with taste.

Each company starts with the same question: why does this taste boring, cost too much, or hurt the planet — and how fast can we fix it?

☕

Nimbus Coffee Co.

Carbon-negative cold brew grown in vertical greenhouse farms. The first coffee brand to print its climate ledger on every can.

Live · Series B
🌶️

Scoville Labs

An AI flavor engine that designed "Heatwave №9," the best-selling hot sauce on three continents. Acquired by a global CPG giant in 2025.

Exited · 2025
🥡

Foldbox

Compostable smart packaging that keeps delivery food crisp for 45 minutes. Now standard in 4,000+ restaurants.

Exited · 2023
🍸

Phantom Pour

A zero-proof spirits house making non-alcoholic negronis people actually order twice. Launching worldwide this fall.

Launching 2026
The Story

From food truck to founder.

A decade of betting on flavor — and winning.

2017

The Grilled Cheese Incident

Fred maxes out a credit card on a food truck called "Melt Down." It sells out in six days and teaches him more than business school ever did.

2020

Foldbox is born

Frustrated by soggy delivery fries during lockdown, Fred prototypes compostable packaging in his garage. 18 months later it's in every major delivery app's preferred-vendor list.

2023

First exit, first moonshot

Foldbox is acquired. Fred immediately pours the proceeds into Scoville Labs and Nimbus Coffee — because one company at a time was never the plan.

2025

Heatwave goes global

Scoville Labs' flagship sauce hits 40M bottles sold and gets acquired. Fred lands on the Forbes 30 Under 30 and keynotes the World Food Innovation Summit.

2026

The zero-proof revolution

Phantom Pour opens its flagship "spiritless speakeasy" in Brooklyn. Reservations booked out four months. The next chapter is just getting started.

Press & Praise

What they're saying.

"Marlowe doesn't disrupt food categories — he seasons them until they're unrecognizable, in the best way."

— Bon Appétit

"The rare founder who can pitch a term sheet and plate a tasting menu in the same afternoon."

— Fast Company

"If the future of food has a face, it's probably grinning over a can of Nimbus cold brew."

— Eater
Get in Touch

Let's cook something up.

Speaking, investing, partnerships, or just an unreasonably strong opinion about hot sauce — Fred's inbox is open.

hello@fredmarlowe.com