Founder Feature: How Miki Talebi Turned Smoked Tofu Into a National Growth Story

Every month, we’re handing the mic to a real founder from this community.

No highlight reel. No polished talking points. Just the real story.

Miki Talebi won Canada’s Total Mom Pitch in 2024. A Vancouver mom with a bet on smoked tofu—and a mission most founders wouldn’t touch. Two years later, Oomé is on its way to becoming the leading smoked tofu company in North America.

She didn’t have the “obvious” idea. She didn’t wait until it felt safe. She said yes to the stage when it still felt like a long shot, and that is exactly what turned it into a launchpad.

If you’re sitting on an application right now, wondering if your idea is too niche, too early or too different, remember: so was smoked tofu.

From the stage to national shelves

Winning Total Mom Pitch was a moment. What has actually shifted for Oomé—and for you—since then?

Since that moment, so much has changed. We built and moved into our own dedicated facility and have tripled our door count, launching into Metro, Save-On-Foods, Whole Foods nationally and Longo’s, as well as expanding into Quebec. There’s lots more on the horizon that we can’t wait to share.

What’s one thing you finally delegated and wish you’d done sooner?

We recently brought on a fractional sales rep, and it’s been such an amazing experience to watch her run with the business. I’m still heavily involved in strategy and head-office meetings, but watching someone who is seasoned in this business take on the execution piece—to sell our products into market—has been amazing and so liberating.

What would you tell the version of yourself who was still deciding whether to hit submit?

What will you regret more—choosing to hold back and wondering what would have happened if you did, or hitting that submit button and letting unlimited possibility and potential for more take over? For me, it’s always the latter that outweighs.

Real Talk: What a Tuesday actually looks like

We asked Miki to walk us through the version of a real Tuesday she would never post.

It’s waking up and reminding myself I’m meant to do this. Almost every morning, there’s a moment of hesitation and imposter syndrome. Then: workout, get ready for work, juggle kids’ lunches and school drop-off, and head into the office.

On this Tuesday, my day was about filling product for samples going to a potential new customer, putting together a PR box for an influencer, driving to the lab to drop off tofu for nutritional-facts analysis, getting back on the computer to answer emails, and reviewing production to make sure we smoked our tofu correctly and hit all of our critical control points for food safety.

None of this is glamorous. All of it is essential. Tomorrow will look different. There are always pivots, unexpected priorities and new goals to overcome.

Take the shot

Miki’s story is not proof that building a company becomes easy. It is proof that visibility, support and one brave submission can create possibilities that did not exist before.

All Total Mom Pitch and Business Awards applications close November 15, 2026.

Explore the opportunities and put your business forward at totalmompitch.ca.