#WCW: Veestro’s Monica Klausner Makes Eating Vegan Easy

How does a mami juggle a family, a business, and a healthy eating regimen? Monica Klausner has perfected her recipe for success.

The mother-of-three is the founder of vegan meal delivery service Veestro. She, along with her brother Mark, pride themselves on creating only plant-based meals that are hand-picked, flavorful and filling. Klausner, a native of Costa Rica, grew up on fresh foods, and was inspired to create the same for those around her. 

We chatted with her on her work ethic, eating vegetarian and more. Read on to see why she’s this week’s #WomanCrushWednesday! [pagebreak]

Tell us about your upbringing in Costa Rica. How did it influence your career path?

Every meal was a big family affair. We lived next door to two of my aunts and uncles and each of our families had four kids all in the same age rang, so at any given meal, there were always at least ten people. Eating was not just something you did to live, but a great social event, especially on “Olla de Carne” day – basically, a soup made with every vegetable under the sun, plus a few pieces of meat in a giant pot. It felt like the entire barrio showed up to “visit”. Fresh fruits and veggies were always abundant in our house, and all the meals were made from scratch. It also helped that the standard Costa Rican diet is basically made up of rice and black beans, plantains, tortillas, picadillo and a small piece of meat.

My family is made up of all sorts of entrepreneurs, so all the kids had to work every Navidad to earn some money that we could use to buy gifts for all the cousins. We were always surrounded by discussions of everyone’s businesses and as we got older, we were welcomed into the financial side of the business so we could learn, and eventually run our own.  

How and when did you decide to start Veestro?

Veestro was actually my brother’s idea. He was a single, young professional struggling to eat healthy because he was working long hours and eating terribly. When he approached me with the idea, I thought it was brilliant! You see, I was having similar problems in different circumstances. I’m a mom of three young kids with a husband and a dog, and at the time, I was a stay at home mom which meant (unlike what people might think) that I was in the car all day shuttling my kids from activity to activity and often skipping meals – or worse, going through the drive-thru. Since I had spent 20 years in sales and marketing before ‘retiring’ to be a stay-at-home mom, my brother asked me to help him; and pretty soon, we realized Veestro had the potential to be a very large business. He handles all the finance and operations, and I handle all the marketing, advertising, and customer service. 

Why did you choose to make your products plant-based only?

Starting a new business is difficult, but when you’re addressing a need in the marketplace, your chances at success increase.  So when you’re addressing a need and doing it in a way that benefits people’s health, their schedule and the planet, you have a pretty good chance to make a real difference. [pagebreak]

One of your “plantifesto” points is “We believe busy people deserve it all: flavorful, healthy, easy, fast.” How do you think your meals help those always in a rush?

Busy people want something quick and easy, without compromising flavor and quality, so we figured out how to do just that. Our meals are chef created and handcrafted. They’re delicious and made with the best plant-based organic ingredients. The meals arrive fully prepared and frozen so you can store them in the freezer for up to 8 weeks. You can heat and enjoy within 5-20 minutes. So if you’re a busy person, you can just open your freezer, take out a meal, pop it in the oven/microwave and sit down to delicious dinner in less than 20 minutes.

How did you first come up with the variety of menu options, including juices, desserts, etc.?

Our chef has 30+ years of experience in vegetarian cuisine, and he was instrumental in creating the wide variety of options on our menu. [

The options are diverse in their cuisines, many of which are Latin! Do you think our readers would find these options compare to abuela’s old-school recipes?

I hope so! Our chef was born and raised in Bolivia and went to culinary academy in Argentina, so he has a very strong Latino influence which is what makes our food so delicious and different. 

What does it mean to you to be an active part of the meal delivery service boom, especially as a female in the industry?

This is an incredibly exciting time because there is a significant shift in the way food is consumed. Not only is the meal delivery space booming, but we are also much more aware of the impact nutrition has on our health. The craziest thing is that at the same time, we have less and less time to shop, cook and clean!  So, it is truly a challenge to be able to eat healthy food when you don’t have the time. I feel very fortunate that I am able to be part of the conversation and that through Veestro, we are able to make a difference in people’s lives.