{"id":54208,"date":"2025-06-30T09:45:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=54208"},"modified":"2025-06-30T09:45:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:45:43","slug":"allegorie-jiang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/allegorie-jiang\/","title":{"rendered":"Money May Not Grow on Trees\u2014But These Plant-Based Wallets Did"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Heather Jiang, MBA \u201916, launched All\u00e9gorie, a high-end accessories brand whose vegan \u2018leather\u2019 is made from fruit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Melissa Newcomb<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">What do you get when you combine fruit pulp with the dream of starting a sustainable business? For Heather Jiang, MBA \u201916, the answer is a line of luxury accessories for men and women made from an unusual form of plant-based \u201cleather.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Jiang is the founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/allegoriedesign.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">All\u00e9gorie<\/a>, an online retailer based in NYC that makes its products from fruit\u2014including apples, mangoes, and pineapples\u2014that would otherwise become waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, each Gala Puzzle Cardholder\u2014a fan-favorite product, priced at $86, that features an overlapping, geometric design\u2014requires the pulp from 25 apples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The $165 Gala Bifold Wallet\u2014each made from 100 apples\u2014was featured in a <em>Forbes<\/em> guide of Valentine\u2019s Day gifts for men; the brand has also appeared in fashion media like <em>Vanity Fair<\/em> and <em>Marie Claire<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Heather Jiang smiles wearing a light brown button down standing in front of a brick wall.\" class=\"wp-image-54215 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-632x790.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-316x395.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-280x350.jpg 280w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-140x175.jpg 140w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-70x87.jpg 70w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-400x500.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-200x250.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B-100x125.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M165158-edited-scaled-B.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><figcaption class=\"rkv-image-credit\">Samuel Moskowitz<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cStylish and smart,\u201d said <em>Forbes<\/em>, \u201cthese wallets offer an alternative to the usual leather wallet and give a sustainable cachet to your significant other\u2019s fashion and accessory choices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other All\u00e9gorie offerings include crossbody bags, purses, wallets, totes, and backpacks\u2014all colored in deep hues using vegetable-based dyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company also partners with NYC-based artists to create limited-edition offerings in other categories, like clothing and hats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignwide has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"54216\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A card holder from Allegorie made from mango, surrounded by three mangos, that shows flecks of orange mango in the dark brown leather.\" class=\"wp-image-54216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-1264x1264.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-632x632.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-316x316.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Mango_6-A.jpg 1575w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"54213\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A black purse from Allegorie with brightly colored fruits painted on it in purple, blue, green, pink, orange, and red.\" class=\"wp-image-54213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-1264x1264.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-632x632.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-316x316.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/2024_8_allegorie_0163-A.jpg 1575w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">A mango-based cardholder and a fruit-themed handbag.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery time I tell somebody that my bag is made from fruit, you can see their eyes light up,\u201d says Jiang, who launched the business in 2019. \u201cThey often think it\u2019s a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jiang had the idea for accessories made from fruit leather while working at a financial technology start-up\u2014and she later crafted her initial prototypes from a popular children\u2019s snack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Every time I tell somebody that my bag is made from fruit, you can see their eyes light up.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe whole idea behind the material that we use is Fruit Roll-Ups,\u201d she says. \u201cWe wanted to take it to the next level, so people could say, \u2018Hey, my bag is made from apples or mangoes,\u2019 and still have it be cool and sophisticated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jiang had been craving something more engaging than number-crunching, and was looking to launch a company that would contribute to environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Heather Jiang looks at swatches of her colorful fruit leather on a table in front of her.\" class=\"wp-image-54217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-1264x843.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-632x421.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-316x211.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/M166960-1024x683-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"rkv-image-credit\">Samuel Moskowitz<\/figcaption><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With colorful swatches in the All\u00e9gorie workshop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And food waste is a major issue: according to the United Nations Environment Programme, up to 50% of food produced worldwide isn\u2019t consumed\u2014with some 931 million tons ending up in landfills each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Says Jiang: \u201cThe idea is about making things that people can use every day, and that serve as a reminder that there are different ways to do business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p>According to the United Nations Environment Programme, up to 50% of food produced worldwide isn\u2019t consumed\u2014with some 931 million tons ending up in landfills each year.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, All\u00e9gorie partners with juice producers looking to upcycle their food waste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After being collected from juice factories, the fruit pulp is dehydrated, slowly dried at low heat, and compressed into strips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A.jpg\" alt=\"A close up of apple pomace food waste that is used to make Allegorie products.\" class=\"wp-image-54212 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-632x632.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-316x316.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/apple_pomace_5-A-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption>Apple pomace, ready to become fruit leather.<\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>The leather-like material is shipped to NYC, where the final products are made in small batches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since some fruits\u2014such as mango\u2014are more seasonal than others, All\u00e9gorie\u2019s offerings are constantly evolving. With apples most readily available throughout the year, they form the basis of many of its products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the other plants that are upcycled into All\u00e9gorie accessories: <em>nopal<\/em>, or prickly pear cactus, a popular ingredient in Mexican cuisine.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou can have a circular business model,\u201d Jiang says, \u201cwhere you input food waste that would end up in the garbage, and it comes out as something beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Top: All\u00e9gorie&#8217;s Gala Puzzle Cardholder. (All photos provided, unless otherwise indicated.) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Published June 30, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heather Jiang, MBA \u201916, launched All\u00e9gorie, a high-end accessories brand whose vegan \u2018leather\u2019 is made from fruit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":54218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-54208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Money May Not Grow on Trees\u2014But These Plant-Based Wallets Did - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Heather Jiang, MBA \u201916, launched All\u00e9gorie, a high-end accessories brand whose vegan \u2018leather\u2019 is made from fruit\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/allegorie-jiang\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Money May Not Grow on Trees\u2014But These Plant-Based Wallets Did - 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