Ep. 192 - From Advocate to Entrepreneur and Tuna to Tomato with David Benzaquen, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Hugger Foods

I met David Benzaquen, CEO and Co-founder of Ocean Hugger Foods, and his company at multiple different events and tried some of their sushi. As someone who’s in the space, I was super impressed.

I’m always impressed with David’s network and because he’s so intertwined within the plant-based industry, I wanted to ask him why he decided to go into building businesses and how can we all can get started creating something impactful.

Learn step by step how David built Ocean-Hugger Foods. From building his skillset at Plant-based Solutions to meeting the chef who had this crazy idea to turn tomatoes into tuna, to scaling big enough where they produce in the United States, Europe, and Asia. It’s an incredible story and I guarantee you’ll take something valuable out of it.

About David

David Benzaquen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ocean Hugger Foods, a company which manufactures plant-based seafood alternatives to address the overfishing crisis. The company has received innovation awards for its flagship Ahimi product from Whole Foods Market and Sysco, and has been heralded in the New York Times, USA Today, CBS Morning News and more. David has also served as an advisor to numerous plant-based food companies, accelerators and investors. Learn more about his company Ocean Hugger Foods at www.oceanhuggerfoods.com

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Show Notes

Who are you?: I’m the CEO of a plant-based fish company, Ocean Hugger Food James Corwell - CSO Tsukiji Fish Market – The auction off 4 million pounds of tuna How did you meet James?: I read about him and he launched a Kickstarter campaign I actually reached out to James on LinkedIn. My background was launching and scaling plant-based companies so it was a great skillset We hear each other speak in the conference and went from there Certified Master Chef Ahimi – tomato tuna We sell Ahimi in food services such as restaurant chefs and college and universities Can you describe your history?: I used to be an advocate, but I felt like it wasn’t impactful. I would start measuring marketing campaigns by doing experiments that changed their behavior Bolthouse farm and the baby carrot Paul Shapiro – Advocate to Entrepreneur Why do you think people switch from Advocate to Entrepreneur?: Food is emotional because it affects our emotions (taste, price, etc). Most people don’t have the time to educate, but they can make choices when they buy How have you seen the process of animal advocacy?: I learned that taking it slowly and meet them where they’re at and enter our world slowly. Flexitarian Mintel’s definition: half their meals are vegetarian What are the components to make a plant-based company?: Team, grit, and endurance Naming matter: We tried Tomato Sushi and it didn’t work. But Ahimi – Spirit of Tuna What does CEO mean to you?: Defines the path and direction and mission We produce in North America, Europe, Asia Unami – Unagi Eel Shelf-life: We flash-freeze our product to maintain maximum freshness National Restaurant Association Show My Food Job Rocks: I get to impact the world with delicious food DOT Foods Algae products Duckweed, Water Lentil What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face right now?: Inefficiencies in the system. The reason why we’re selling garbage is that we still believe that the consumer wants to have everything we want right now. This is changing Cargill – Head of the protein division is focusing on plant-based Tyson Foods is doing the same How do you compete on the price of meat?: The meat industry puts a lot of band-aids. It’s cheap and scale. For plants, we will get there, and that’s about investing in the growth of the crop and products Annie Ryu Jackfruit company What are the health benefits for Ahimi?: Fish has a lot of mercury and plastic in it. Our biggest fans are pregnant women actually. We haven’t found consumers to care about protein but they are about omegas What would you like to learn more of?: Molecular gastronomy Jeremy Piven Favorite book: Mission in the Bottle (Seth Goldman, Founder of Honest Tea, chairman of Beyond Meat) Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to start their own plant-based company?: Call me. But also go for it. Why does the world care about your product? There are many channels to get the word out there Perfect Day Foods Perfect Day ice Cream Plant-based Solutions - plantbasedsolutions.com Online Masterclass

 

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