Esco Eats Turned a Pie into an Experience
When Anita Lamb tells people what Esco Eats does, she starts by correcting a misconception.
"One of the biggest problems we had early on was people thinking we were a pie company," Lamb said.
The confusion is understandable. Esco Eats built its reputation on a single dessert, their World Famous Apple Cobbler PIE, that customers describe in superlatives. But Lamb, the company’s CEO and co-founder, sees the pie as a means rather than an end. "Pie isn't just a dessert, but it’s an experience," she said. "It’s a tool to engage people and build community. We use it as a vehicle."
That distinction sits at the center of a company that started as a food series, weathered a pandemic, and earned a place into Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X Startup Launch program. Now, in a full-circle moment, Esco Eats returns to Tech Square—not to introduce another product, but to unveil the next evolution of the brand: the immersive experiences it has always envisioned creating.
On August 14, Esco Eats will bring its tea and pie experience to Tech Square as part of the Tech Square Tech Hop during Atlanta Tech Week.
From Food Series to Accidental Hit
Esco Eats began in 2020 as a food series. The premise flipped a familiar format: food critic turned chef, and chef turned food critic. Lamb’s co-founder, Esco, visited restaurants to review their food, then invited others into his kitchen to review his creations.
The pie arrived on February 29, 2020, by accident. During the final episode of filming, Esco and a guest followed a simple apple pie recipe they found online. Except Esco did not follow it closely. "He didn’t read the instructions," Lamb said. "I took the recipe home and made it, and I was like, there’s no way you read anything on this paper." What came out of that misstep became the company’s signature product, now known as the World Famous Apple Cobbler PIE.
When Esco Eats first sold the pie in October 2020 to promote the show, the response caught them off guard. Customers said it's the best pie they had ever tasted and asked how to order it for Thanksgiving. The show had been the point, but the pie became the business. The vision was never to be a pie company.
"I told Esco, I understand you want to do the show, but right now what’s making revenue is the pie," Lamb said. "It doesn’t matter how you start. It matters how you finish."
Tech Meets Food
Lamb brought a builder’s instincts to the venture. She holds an undergraduate degree in computer science and a master’s in management of technology from Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, and she moved to Atlanta to work for Southern Company. Before Esco Eats, she launched a clothing line for tall women. "Business", she said, has always been the throughline.
That perspective shaped the company from the start. The vision was never dessert for its own sake. "We wanted to build a brand around experiences," Lamb said. "My whole personal philosophy is that life is about experiences, and you have to be open to new people, places, and experiences."
The pandemic, which shut down the restaurant filming that anchored the original show, ended up sharpening the team’s skills. The forced pivot pushed Esco Eats deeper into digital media and video editing; capabilities that now markets the brand.
What CREATE-X Unlocked
Esco Eats applied to CREATE-X in 2021 and did not get in. Lamb suspects the program did not yet have the resources to support what seemed like a dessert company. This was also before programs like the Georgia Tech Food & Beverage Accelerator existed. When the team reapplied in 2022, it came back with proof. Esco Eats had already generated revenue and landed two Fortune 500 customers, Georgia Power and Amazon, both of which used the pie to show appreciation to employees returning to the office.
"We already had business and companies," Lamb said. "People were paying us for our pie, and they were reordering."
Inside the program, the team explored new markets, refined their positioning, and developed the branded packaging Esco Eats still uses today. Lamb credits CREATE-X with helping the company understand the framework behind lasting brands. "There are particular methodologies and ways that you go about building a company," she said. "We went into CREATE-X understanding how we continue to build and what that looks like."
For Lamb, the fit was always about more than technology. "Esco Eats is about innovation," she said. "Innovation isn't just building new technology-it's reimagining how people connect. We challenge ourselves to create unique experiences that are intentional and unlike anything people have encountered before."
Building Community, One Experience at a Time
Today, Esco Eats brand partners with businesses to design experiences that bring people together and create measurable results. From employee engagement and community-building events to entrepreneurship education, Esco Eats helps organizations create moments that strengthen culture, spark meaningful conversations, and leave a lasting impression. The company designs experiences such as its curated wine and pie tasting, where specific wines are paired to draw out different flavors in the pie. It also holds a contract with Georgia Tech Dining, where its World Famous Apple Cobbler PIE ice cream sold out after launching this spring.
At the Tech Hop, Esco Eats will partner with the Scheller College of Business to debut T + π with Tech, an immersive guided Tea & Pie experience where unexpected flavor pairings, conversation, and hospitality come together.
"Everyone has employees, and everyone wants to build their community," Lamb said. "We want to position ourselves as strategic partners in helping other businesses build experiences that actually engage and build community."
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