The local entrepreneur behind San Bruno’s Hangry Planet, billed as North America’s first fully plant-based gas-station convenience store, has sold the property and business for more than $12 million.
The sale of Hangry Planet came after the San Bruno convenience store had spent four years testing whether an all-plant-based gas-station market could actually work. As KPIX reports, entrepreneur Bobak Bakhtiari sold the property and business this year for more than $12 million, a price that exceeded what he had once expected the site to be worth.
Located at the Tanforan Shell station at 1199 El Camino Real, the nearly 1,500-square-foot store opened in 2022 in partnership with Shell Oil, according to Hangry Planet’s website.
Bakhtiari told Convenience Store News he came up with the concept after seeing an undercover investigation into organic dairy farms by Animal Recovery Mission and set out to create a convenience store where everything, from grab-and-go meals to snacks and desserts, would be free of animal products. He said products were evaluated based on their taste, nutritional profile, additives, and environmental impact.
Bakhtiari said he chose the Bay Area for the launch due to the region’s interest in plant-based food and access to vendors producing vegan products. At first the concept initially took a hit, with sales reportedly dropping about 20% after the store went fully plant-based.
That changed as customers began seeking the store out specifically, per KPIX. Bakhtiari said sales eventually increased by about 30%, with Hangry Planet developing a following among shoppers looking for vegan and plant-based food.
His larger goal, though, was to use the familiar convenience-store format to encourage non-vegans to reconsider what they buy and eat, rather than catering exclusively to people who already follow a plant-based diet.
The store's offerings include breakfast sandwiches made with Beyond Meat, JUST Egg, and Follow Your Heart Cheese, along with Daiya burritos, Dr. Praeger's veggie burgers, vegan empanadas, and hand pies. It also carries vegan hot cocoa and golden milk, prebiotic sodas, kombucha, and an assortment of plant-based snacks, according to Convenience Store News.
Hangry Planet's dessert selection features certified organic vegan pastries from Santa Cruz's Black China Bakery, vegan cookies from Kerri Kreations, and doughnuts made with locally sourced ingredients by Oakland's Donut Farm. ABC 7 reported last year that the business also partnered with Oakland chef Vegan Mob to operate a food truck in the station's parking lot.
The property also offers more than food. Bakhtiari turned the area around the gas station into a colorful attraction featuring sculptures and live music, along with a touchless "VR Car Wash" that uses projections and audio to create an immersive experience.
Based on photos of the exterior, the store's roof features funky statues of an ice cream cone and a stern-looking merman, while the parking lot is flanked with giant mushrooms.
Hangry Planet is reportedly part of Bakhtiari's broader environmental advocacy and entrepreneurial work. He has also focused on challenging what he considers unsustainable or anticompetitive business practices, including greenwashing, while promoting companies he believes are operating more responsibly.
*The story was updated with details about the store's decor.
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