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History: Evansville-based ZeroCarb Lyfe was launched by co-founders Omar Atia and Mohamed Aly in April 2020. But the company’s origin story begins in 2006 when Aly, who is diabetic, developed a chicken-based pizza crust as an alternative to carb-heavy traditional crusts. Atia, who was born in Chicago but grew up in Indianapolis, has engineering degrees from Purdue University and work experience at large food manufacturers. When the two met and Atia learned of Aly’s invention, the idea for ZeroCarb Lyfe was born. “Once I met Mohamed, I realized that there was something there, and we could invent more foods together,” Atia said.
Indiana footprint: The company manufactures its products in the Elkhart County city of Wakarusa. Its offices are in Evansville and Fishers. Atia lives in Fishers, and Aly lives in Evansville.
Product lineup: The company started out selling pizza crusts wholesale to restaurants in August 2020. It added frozen pizzas in April 2022 and shelf-stable snack chips this June. The company plans to focus next on launching additional flavors of snack chips, which now come in House and Barbecue flavors. The company is also looking into developing new products, possibly taco shells.
Availability: Currently, Atia said, 350 restaurants across the country offer ZeroCarb Lyfe crusts on their menus. The frozen pizzas are available at small retailers as well as the Missouri-based Schnucks and Arizona-based Sprouts Farmers Market grocery chains. The grocer Fresh Thyme recently began carrying ZeroCarb Lyfe’s snack chips in its Indiana stores. ZeroCarb Lyfe also sells its products online.
Fun fact: ZeroCarb Lyfe is not the only Evansville-based and pizza-related company with Purdue connections. ZeroCarb Lyfe’s first customer was Evansville-based Azzip Pizza. The restaurant chain’s founder, Brad Niemeier, is a Purdue grad.
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