Ben Pasternak.

Ben Pasternak is the Co-Founder and former CEO of Simulate, the food technology company behind NUGGS, the plant-based chicken nugget brand that grew into one of the fastest-growing frozen food brands in America.

Pasternak became known as a teenage tech prodigy, creating a viral mobile game called Impossible Rush at age 15 and appearing on magazine covers by age 16. He moved to New York from Australia and founded several startups before launching Simulate in 2019. NUGGS differentiated itself from other plant-based foods through bold marketing, unapologetic branding, and a focus on nostalgic, craveable products rather than health positioning. The brand quickly gained distribution in major retailers and became a cult favorite among younger consumers. Simulate raised funding from notable investors including Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Pasternak's approach to building a plant-based food brand through a cultural, consumer-first lens rather than a pure sustainability angle represented an important evolution in the plant-based food category. His entrepreneurial journey demonstrates how young founders can build innovative consumer brands by applying modern marketing sensibilities to traditional industries.