My Food Job Rocks!

Alison Montford is the founder of Ends and Stems. A web platform where they send you recipes to help you be more mindful about food waste. This isn’t the first time around the block for Alison. She’s had a business before and is a master bootstrapper Alison used a ton of tricks that bootstrapped entrepreneurs have to use such as tapping into groups that share, and focusing on your Minimum Viable Product. For example, do you actually need to spend a quarter million on an app? Or would a simple website do? Also learn with how much the average person wastes and how much CO2 people emit when you waste food using pizza! Show Notes What do you tell people you first meet?: I’m a chef with a mission to eradicate food waste I have a web app where I send out ways to reduce food waste using recipes I interviewed over 1000 different families and got a lot of valuable data How did you get 1000 people to answer your survey?: Why are you struggling at dinner time? Viral effect on busy mom’s groups For surveys, you really need to target the target market Yummly How did you develop an app? I talked to a lot of people and a web app is much easier than mobile. Right now, I do it but eventually I want machine learning. However, people charge a ton for AI companies Kapwing – Why most MVPs should be a web app How did you get to where you are today? I studied Anthropology I got a sales job selling cryogenic storage for stem cells Why did you move from New York to San Francisco?: For the adventure One day I googled “What should I do with my life?” and I found “personal chef” Why did you sell a business?: I got burnt out, but it was a really hard decision Tell me about your pizza statistic Impact Consultant The average person wastes a pound of food a day It’s very hard to have people see the value of 1 kilogram of CO2 so we compare it to pizza. We want to target a certain part of food waste, people who pay attention to wasting food now Project Draw Down Paul Hawken ShamePlane.com My Food Job Rocks: I’ve been able to focus on what I’m interested. I’ve always wanted to do something a little bit different What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Farming Dan Barber: Third Plate What are some helpful resources you use?: Surprisingly, Facebook Groups San Francisco Women Chefs Facebook Group T-shirt company Mini Activists Advice for someone in the food industry: If you have no food industry experience, go volunteer into food How do we find you?: Go to www.endsandstems.com @endsandstems, facebook, etc It’s free for the first two weeks It’s two dollars a week   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have 15 stories throughout the WeWork Food Labs Ecosystem (and some of my personal friends) based on one simple prompt: A career in food can be incredibly difficult, and we believe it requires true love to work towards positive change within the industry. What moment or experience initially sparked your love of food and keeps you going when you’re having a tough day? we recorded what they said and put them all in this episode. Thank you for contributing: Trish Wesevich - Brand & Mortar Group Emily Kealey - Naturally Austin Nicky Chang - Junzi Gordon Crane - Apple and Eve Elliot Begoun - Intertwine Group Michel Nischan - Chef, 4 Time James Beard Award Winner Amin Bahari - Elite Sweets Alison Cayne - Haven's Kitchen Stephen Zagor - Consultant and Educator Mike Lee - Alpha Food Labs Kevin Newsum - Steamm Espresso Valerie Chouquet - Encore Gourmet Experience Daniel Scharff - JUST Vanessa and Kim Pham - Oxtale Co Adam Yee - WeWork Food Labs and a bunch of other stuff   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We interview several people who benefit from the SQF conference and you’ll be hearing case studies on how SQF has benefitted them from copackers to consulting. What I find really cool about this episode is how people get into the quality field and how they progressed throughout their roles. I find it beautiful that no matter where you are in life, you can end up in a career in food. What I find amazing is just how aligned in purpose the people in the quality field are. You’ll also hear from a special past guest and we catch up on what he’s been up to. A disclaimer is that this is in a live setting in a noisy conference room so it might be a little noisy. We’ve tried our best to mitigate the noise, so just be mindful when listening to the episode in whatever setting you’re in. Mandy Jennifer, QA Manager from Pillar’s Fine Foods Piller’s Fine Food It’s my first time visiting I brought my husband over There’s a new code this year. Ver 9.0 Leclerc Foods Alba Velasco SQF Practitioner of the US Waffle Company US Waffle Company We make store brand gluten-free pancakes and waffles We do foodservice and retail brands Food Safety Consortium Denise Webster Food Safety Consultant Food Safety consultancy Mark Crowell Certified SQF Trainer and Consultant Eurofins How do you become a trainer?: The application process, live training, test, and being shadowed Social Responsibility Standard How did you find out about food science?: Michigan State I wanted to be a chemist but I never had the personality of a chemist Tesco’s Fresh and Easy In any time in your career, you have to make critical decisions Bryan Armentrout VP Eurofins Past interview Eurofins actually does training and consulting Dr. Doug Marshall FSMA Connecting corporate and industrial to fill in gaps with the corporate supply chain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was invited to the SQF Conference in San Antonio to do some interviews. If you’re not familiar with the SQF Institute, it’s a certification body that ensures our food is safe. After all, SQF stands for Safe Quality Food, but it’s a lot more than that! I was fortunate to be invited to their annual conference last year to learn a bit more about the concepts behind SQF and the people who run it. We got quite a bit of content so I’m splitting it into two parts. I’d say this first part describes the ins and outs of the SQF program and the second part focuses more on, past guests and connections! It’s always so interesting meeting people in new places. Guests and Show Notes Sarah Mullunich  – Marketing and Sales Director of SQFI Food Industry Association Ethical Sourcing and Certification Systems SQF Certified: email me at s.mullenich@sqfi.com How to become SQF Certified: Find a certifying body and auditors come and verify your plant sqfi.com Only locations can be certified 12th year at SQF The conference is 2 and a  half days of learning and networking in the SQF industry Each year, we have a theme: this year’s theme is: Shaping the future of food safety together What’s super fun about SQF? Here in Texas. We're going to the Kinibbie Ranch that has a rodeo and live steers and celebrate Texas My Food Job Rocks: I get to keep food safe. Yawinder Sighn - Student from Cornell University  2nd-year phd from india I won a  scholarship to go to this conference How did you find out about the scholarship?: Cornell aggrigates student scholarship and I found this one IAFP IFT PCQI certification – part of FSMA, more global HACCP certification – generalized certification What do you win when you win the scholarship?: Travel expenses waived at $3000 dollars Reshmine from Galaxy Desserts – QA Manager I get interrupted in this one, but I decided to leave it here. I think it’s funny. We actually met at NCIFT SQF is important for everyone Why are you here?: It’s my first time here and I’m so glad I’m here. I get to network, learn more about certifying bodies, and learn about Edition 9 How did you convince your boss to go to SQF?: We’ve been SQF and you need to improve your skillset What have you learned today?: Improvement in the food fraud, environmental program, pretty much getting the most up to date methods The codes and standards keep changing and you have to keep up to date A person can be a SQF Practitioner a company can be a SQF Company My Food Job Rocks: We eat food every day. You’ll always have a  job Deni Otovemi -Quality Assurance at Wayne Farms Emerging Leaders Network We talked about risk and risk is a factor of profession Daniel Akimamayan IT Tech for SQF Bachelors of Economics Kainen Ryse Manager of the Ethical Sourcing and Sustainability Standard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel has had a multitude of very impressive jobs but nothing satisfies him as much as showing data for a good cause. Daniel’s job is to gather data sets through either tests that he sends out or gathers other data points to convince huge, conventional companies to use their products such as JUST Egg. If you’re in the plant-based industry, there’s a lot to think about such as: who is your actual target market? Or What’s in a name? You’re also going to learn the value of networking. Perhaps the value of hard work is something you can’t put on a resume. I think what’s fascinating about Daniel is that he puts a ton of effort in his roles and people recognize it in each part of his career path. So much, he started his own networking group, SF CPG. You’ll also learn… one fun thing about JUST. They have a  band called the Super Fantastics and Daniel’s the drummer and singer Stay tuned. At the end of the episodes, you’ll hear a song from them We do this episode at the JUST office. Show Notes Smart Kitchen Summit SF CPG Or San Francisco Consumer Products Group Next Gen Chef MISTA Seeds of Change Burning Man What’s your role?: I’m the director of Strategy and Analytics and Insights How many Eggs are in JUST? 8 eggs per bottle Downstream Processing People are looking for plant-based are health reasons. Even if they don’t eat a lot of plant-based, it’s healthier. This plant-based product isn’t 2% of the population, but 40% of the population Primary Research: Surveys and trying to understand plant-based consumers Most research about customers and labels Just Egg: Made from plants, not chickens What’s a good survey plant?: You can do a 20-50 person sample and get good data as a litmus test Why did you choose psychology?: Kenyon College in Ohio, both of my parents are psycologists After my MBA, I got a job at Deloitte After Deloitte, I got into Mars How did you get into Mars?: I met this guy from old fashion networking. I would get referrals, and if anyone wanted to meet with me, I would ask them for time to meet and I met them in person. How did you get a job at JUST?: JUST reached out and asked for someone to understand pricing In general, the approach to pricing is to find the options (competition), test it, and see what works. What resources do you have on your disposal How did you change from pricing to analytics?: I saw the sales go in and pitch a story, but they need data SPINS Data Surveymonkey My Food Job Rocks: I get to do something meaningful and impactful Food Trends: Cultured Meat What is one thing you’d like to know more about?: It’s a privilege to hear about such exciting stuff that’s happening in other companies What type of resources would you like to share?: Think about your dream job and then find ways to get there. Podcasts: Taste Radio, How I Built This JUST has a house band with a band room The Super Fantastics Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lilian Cruz-Hand, is a Quality Specialist, but she does so much at her job at Save A Lot. From building a sensory lab, to working with product development. She's a rockstar, and listens to all of my episodes. So much, that her boss actually contacted me to interview her! Eric Iserman asked me to interview Lilian and I think that really says something about the team in Save A Lot and supporting one another. It's a sign of a good culture. Though a fun little segment, Lilian brings a ton of knowledge on the table about white-labeling, building labs, and an example of lifelong curiosity. Perhaps being a superstar specialist isn’t about digging deep into one field, but understanding how each field affects one another. You’ll also learn what goes behind making a white label product, you know, the store brand products in grocery stores. Lilian does an amazing job on describing what goes into it and what you might need to pay attention to in that role. About Lilian Lilian Cruz-Hand is a Quality Specialist Sensory Lead at the headquarters of Save A Lot Food Stores in St Ann, Missouri. With over 9 years of experience in the food industry, she has created prototypes to test with consumers against marketing concepts; and worked on bench top product development through commercialization. Lilian has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and is currently earning her Culinary Arts degree at St Louis Community College. Lilian has had the opportunity to explore many facets of the food industry ranging from quality, to R&D, and sensory in both small family-owned companies and global food competitors. Lilian combines all of her previous experience in her current cross-functional role working in a test kitchen and sensory laboratory where she is responsible for new product development, quality assurance and continuous improvement of products marketed under Save-A-Lot's private label portfolio. Show Notes Save-A-Lot is limited Assortment which is why products are a bit cheaper St. Anne Missouri We opened a space last year with a ton of open tablespace. Lots of equipment and lots of storage and equipment How did you find out about food science?: I have a chemistry degree and focused on biomedical research at first. Sometimes I shout EUREKA just to boost morale My first job was entry-level lab assistant stuff and worked more on analytics. Then I worked in Quality in a spice company Abbott Nutrition – Learned all things sensory DuPont in St. Louis with protein shakes Skillset: While you work, you’re always developing your technical skill How do you develop a sensory lab?: The bible for sensory labs: The Sensory Techniques Textbook Reference Organization of Sensory Professionals My Food Job Rocks: I get to make an impact, my team is amazing and I get to do something new. Where do you go to find food trends?: My local grocery stores but also many other competitors so I can see who’s there and what options exist? There’s a lot of growth on private labels What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: Lack of high quality but low cost products Favorite Quote: I think food, culture and landscape are completely inseparable Favorite Book: Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook Junior’s Cheesecake Favorite kitchen item: Kitchen knives such as Henkel knives, Advice for the food industry: Don’t be afraid to try something else Where can we find you?: LinkedIn Sensory professionals: I’m in the directory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve had a couple of Fairtrade focused episodes such as Kim Chackal from Equifruit, so familiarize yourself with that episode if you haven’t already. Now we’re going to the East Coast and we’ll be talking about the amazing effect Fair Trade has on farmers and why big companies such as KIND are buying fair trade products. Learn about Bryan Lew’s career path and his advice for anyone when it comes to climbing to the top. You can do it too, even if you’re a cashier at a small grocery store. About Bryan Bryan Lew is the chief operating officer for Fairtrade America, where he leads the effort to expand awareness of Fairtrade America’s mission among U.S. businesses and consumers to ultimately increase revenue and grow the organization. Bryan brings expertise in the natural foods industry from his previous roles leading operations for Sur la Table and MOM’s Organic Market. Bryan was also an executive vice president at Whole Foods Market.  Show Notes Whole Foods (first started when there were 10 stores) Why did you decide to join Whole Foods?: Something felt different. They took advice to heart. What do you do?: Fair trade is simple. We try and balance the value of trade for things that we all love to eat. Chief Operating Officer: We mainly talk with other companies and see how we can streamline the process KIND BARK: They use fair trade cocoa in their product exclusively Most popular Fair Trade Product: Coffee!! Trip to origin Endangered Species Chocolate: a chocolate company who went to West Africa to see the process. How do you get Fair Trade?: For the farmer, it’s not super hard. When you’re ina  community of Farmers, people see the differences when Farmers can build a school or a hospital with a  fair trade certified. Why is coffee so cheap?: Brazil and other countries have invested very heavily in coffee What makes Fair Trade appealing?: Consumers want it, brands think it’s valuable and stores want it My Food Job Rocks: I love being in something my daughter can be proud of What trend or technology, is exciting you right now?: LOFT-Local, Organic or Fair Trade. On transparency: What are the tools to better communicate transparency? QR codes didn’t work. We have an App that might help too. What’s one thing in the food industry that you’d like to know more about?: Blockchain. I think it will do really well in showing where or food comes from The brand map that shows all of the companies owning something Greenwashing Leadership Books: Good to Great by Jim Collins Any advice for the food industry?: There are a few skills that are indespensible in any industry. The ability to Hustle is really important. You have to continue to follow up. What do you consider a finish?: Simplify, focus and execute. Sometimes it can take a while   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m sure when you started your job, you had to go through training videos that help you understand the importance of something. Before this was powerpoints but nowadays, the videos are much more engaging. Whether about car safety, good manufacturing practices, or even food safety, to get people to understand and care about important topics, it helps for the video to be engaging. This is where Austin Welch and Richard Fleming come in. Their company, SAGE Media, create engaging video stories by hacking into the behaviors of a culture and showcasing them in high quality training videoes Bare with me at the beginning of the interview as we try to crack down some really complex stuff. As soon as we get through that, and understand the underlying concepts, that’s where you get the nuggets of wisdom. If you want to know the insides and insights of making great, engaging stories, this episode will really get you interested. Since these guys do training videoes, you can find examples at sage.academy About Austin and Richard AUSTIN WELCH His learning films have earned three Brandon Hall Award’s and he has spoken about the emerging role of media and learning at the International Association of Food Protection, the International Conference for the Association of Talent Development, and TEDx. As a Kirkpatrick Certified Professional, Austin is always looking for ways to create emotionally intelligent training films that lead to measurable behavior change. RICHARD FLEMING Applying film theory, behavioral economics, and myth structure to his work at Sage Media, Richard designs and produces stories that impact action and modify the behaviors of viewers. With an extensive background marketing for companies like Microsoft, GP Strategies, and Hershey, Richard is no stranger to using stories to drive predictable emotional responses. He now uses his superpowers for good, helping to transform the lives of employees. Show Notes What do you guys do?: We’ve been struggling with this, but I think we’ve figured it out. We study how the human brain understands information and uses media to help understand it. Essentially, they’re a videographer that makes video training programs. We’re really trying to teach people how to be emotionally intelligence Emotional Intelligence: To read and glean information that is non-verbal Why we’re different: We take a consultancy approach where we give advice on storytelling. It’s hard for non-storytellers to tell stories Flannery O’Conner Aesop Fable Poisoned: A book about E.coil How do you research complex things like Food Safety?: We do our research and ask the client if we’re on the right course. Where did Hershey find you? Trade Show: Association of Talent Development – Hershey found us there and liked what we were doing We made a crime scene video with Hershey talking about Food Safety culture Foursight/JR Puccio’s 4 stages of Creativity: Clarify, Ideate, Develop, Implementors: A question well stated is a problem half-solved Great Courses on Foursight What do you outsource?: We do soup to nuts. We do everything In fact, a lot of companies ask us to consult for them to improve their storytelling value How do we get an actor?: We usually have a  casting director but now we know the strength and weaknesses of the actors in the community. How did you first meet?: At a local film event. We were introduced by a mutual contact IAFP Food Safety Culture and Food Safety Communication How do you solve criticism?: Read Marshall-Rosenburg’s Nonviolent Communication. Non-violent is all about clarification and communication How do you get buy-in from staff?: Sometimes you have to talk about multiple topics and you have to see their reaction The Challenger Sale The Challenger Customer Find the internal champion and cater to them What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to do what you do?: Learn about cognitive science. We’re very soft-skill driven. Though we get asked a lot of technical questions, the soft skills are what we accel at. Where can we find you?: We have some videos at sage.academy Richard@sage.media Austin@sage.media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since this podcast is unscripted, I don't have a giant paragraph of text and complex show notes. To summarize the first 10 or so minutes: My excuse for not posting an episode is because I was playing video games all month Thanks to a few people, especially Karen Lee and Shahram Shafie for the warm welcome to Austin, Texas. It shows that you never know who'll reach out when you tell everyone on the internet you're moving My Food Job Rocks will probably end this year but Adam Yee podcasting will probably still happen Why Hampton Creek/JUST is a great example of the issues with bad publicity and what to do when it happens More writing. More advice on the food industry, more deep cuts about the ugliness of business  You probably won't change your ways unless something tragic happens Links Original Business for Good Podcast Shownotes for this episode Hampton Creek Bad Press JUST Good Press (2 years later) WeWork Food Labs and Adam is a Serial Entrepreneur I guess Life is about moments, not years     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you haven’t listened to episode 200 part 1, you can find it at myfoodjobrocks.com/200Wow So the past three weeks looked like this: I drove from Sacramento to Texas, met some friends in Los Angeles and Phoenix, and then flew to New York. Met up with my friend David Despain in long Island and then the next week, had an orientation in New York with my Friday getting familiar with the brand new Food Labs in Austin Texas, in the SXSW Center, my new home. There’s a ton of things planned, and I am thrilled to see what happens. For the second part, you’ll get a lot of the same as part 1. You’ll get aspiring new companies, inspiring past guests and everything in between. You can find timestamps on who’s on this section at our shownotes: myfoodjobrocks.com/200Wow2 So enjoy this live recording of the 200th episode at My Food Job Rocks. Thank you Alyssa Pizzaro from the San Francisco We Work Food Labs for the space. If there are any audio quality hiccups, let me know but keep in mind, that some things are out of my control because it is a live recording. But first, here’s a note from a guest who couldn’t make it because she was in another state, Katie Jones from the Food Heroes Podcast. [Timestamp: 1:40] Eleana Hsu – Koji Related Food Products [Timestamp: 3:25] I met Elana the week before this event at a house party hosted by Phil Saneski and friends. Elena will be leaving her job soon to start her own Koji company. Learn a  bit about the Koji world, where it comes from and what common foods it grows on. Learn also how to make your own and the types of experiments to explore further than soy sauce. My Food Job Rocks – You have to do what you love Sohail Nadepour – A La Carte Connections [Timestamp: 14:20] I met Sohail through a mutual friend, a college friend who’s not even in food science. Ken just happened to be in the same company as Sohail and one day they talked about passions. Sohail told him about food science and the first thing that popped up in Kendall’s head is me! After helping Sohail network, he ended up working for Rachel Zemser which is allowing him to start his food science career. Sohail is a really awesome example that it just takes one person to change someone’s life for the better and it makes me feel amazing. This short segment is the sole reason why I love doing the podcast and talking to people so that they too can have a career in food. My Food Job Rocks – Despite having the temptation to eat my products, I get to be creative. Amanda Drexler – Product Developer at CCD Innovation [Timestamp: 3:25] Next up is Amanda Drexler, an alumni from Cal Poly who just graduated this year. Amanda works at a consulting firm in Emeryville and for her first job, she’s gotten a lot of interesting projects. Because she's fresh out of college, I thought it would be a great opportunity to ask how she got her job. We give a shoutout to one of our favorite Cal poly professors too My Food Job Rocks – I can see a product from the first stages to the end Lauren Joyner, Founder of Loca Foods [Timestamp: 30:15] We catch up with Lauren Joyner and a lot of things have happened since about thirty episodes ago. Lauren found a manufacturer, will be launching a new formula, and Loca is growing. It’s so exciting seeing your friends grow so fast in this industry. Lauren also brought a friend, Lindsey, founder of Food-La-La who made these really interesting savory macarons. They are artistically made very well and the flavors are extremely well balanced. We do a live audio tasting with these macarons and they are really good. My Food Job Rocks – Connecting with people in the space that care deeply in what they’re doing Rachel Zemser – Consultant at A La Carte Connection [Timestamp: 38:55] We also catch up with Rachel Zemser, who had a kid! And now she’s learning a ton on taking care of a little human. The great thing about Rachel is that she can control her schedule. Well, sorta. Rachel also announces that she’ll be on TV in the very near future, which is super exciting. My Food Job Rocks – Every job I’ve ever had as a food scientist was fun and exciting Ellice Ogle – Food Safety Consulting Tamdem Food [Timestamp: 45:50] I think I met Elice at an IFT event, but not sure. I see her often in a variety of events in the San Francisco area. She’s a hustler, for sure. Elice recently started her own company and I asked about how she likes it so far. Lots of talk about startup life here My Food Job Rocks – I love food and meeting people who love food Darryl Neal – Podcast Host of Beer Talk Now [Timestamp: 49:00] I met Darryl at an IFT event. Definitively. I had such a good talk with him the first time I met him, he took me out for beer and we talked for hours. At the end of the night, he wanted to do a podcast and started…6 months later! But every time I met him, it reminded him to start step by step. Eventually, he started Beer Talk Now and it’s so amazing seeing his creativity flourish because of this little project. Darryl also had a kid! So congrats to Darryl! My Food Job Rocks – It’s fun to see people get engaged in food safety. Phil Saneski – VP of ReGrained [Timestamp: 55:30] Last but not least, is Phil Saneski, who’s been in two episodes, one where he was an intern at Rachel Zemser’s company and then last year with ReGrained! Phil and I have helped each other out throughout the years, with business, charity events, and other super fun stuff. Phil has been one of my greatest supporters and one of my best friends throughout my time doing My Food Job Rocks and I can’t thank him enough for his support. With some final introspection thanks to Phil’s question, I think this is the perfect ending interview for the night. My Food Job Rocks: Self-explanatory I’ll be taking a creative break from the podcast and will start again with episode 201 at the end of the month. Regarding the future of My Food Job Rocks, all I can say is that I’m seeing the end. I love podcasting, but I think theirs is much more to do than just My Food Job Rocks. There are many many other projects I want to explore using this platform. Because I don’t want to be known as the guy who does My Food Job Rocks, but perhaps the food scientist who does podcasts. But who knows? Like I told Phil, I don’t like to think that far. If I thought far, I would have never have ended up with a  podcast, or starting a company, or working in a beautiful building in Austin, Texas but I’ve learned that doing these things have made my life exciting! I’m just an average person with an average podcast but the people I’ve helped are special to me and perhaps that’s all you need to do something great. Again, I can’t thank you enough for listening to My Food Job Rocks. Whether you’ve consumed all 200 or just this episode, it really means a lot to me that you chose this podcast to listen to. Thanks for joining us, I’ll see you next time on My Food Job Rocks   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices