My Food Job Rocks!

Joseph Robertson's job is to convince politicians to focus on Climate Change, and we get into many strategies and stories on how to do just that. Joseph’s a powerhouse when it comes to working together with political bodies to get them to understand and act on the impending climate change issue. He not only plays a key role in getting Congress to focus on sustainable solutions, but he also has a great way of rallying up great people to join the cause. This episode gave me a bit of hope in the world. That with so many frequent catastrophes this year, more and more people are finally noticing what’s going on. And that people like you and me can actually make a difference in not just food, but policy, and so many other avenues. Thank you, Darin Detwiler, for this amazing guest. Perspectives like these really shock my system and it’s so cool getting a different, positive perspective on what’s going on in the world. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the West Coast Nuriv Music and Tech festival a free music festival on March 6th, or the day before Expo West opens its doors. We have bands like The Bombpops, Direct Hit, Dog Party (opened for Green Day tour, 2017), Get Dead and a "Mystery" Headliner! FAT Wreck Chords presents, NURIV 2019 at the E Sports Arena in Santa Ana. email: innovate.today@virun.com to get on the list and a chance for a VIP spot as well. invite your friends! If you want to sponsor, email customer.service@virun.com ..we have a few open spots for sponsorship. Show Notes Citizens Climate Lobby – A grassroots organization focused on education Geocitizen – A staff for free lifelong education Geoversity Foundation- Connecting and collaborating people in the policy space. Focus on sustainability How does the US view sustainability?: My World Survey. The general public feels like it’s common sense to solve sustainability options. Institutions and leaders have constraints Is Shifting Policy Difficult?: yes, it’s very difficult. You have to keep on coming back again and again to get them to say yes. Farm Bill Describe the Steps it took to where you are today?: I studied Philosophy. Then a masters in Spanish Language Literature, then I started a publishing company. After writing a ton, I ended up at Citizen’s Climate Lobby. Frontier Work Article on Joseph Robertson’s blog How do you inspire people to do more Frontier Work?: You never really get anyone to do it. People become inspired. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari  Why Does Your Food job Rock?: I get to work on ideas that people seem to be impossible and make them possible. How long does it take to convince someone that what you’re working on is a good idea?: A split second. What is our biggest problem in food?: Scale. The population is growning and the more wealthy a country becomes, the more they consume resource intensive food. There are so many moving parts. We’ve used technology to improve the food supply, but we are quickly exhausting that technology. We need to regenerate the soil. Our food system is very stressed. There will be a huge focus on data and food. Someone who wants to work on food, and food systems, there are many opportunities. Stockholm Food Forum - The Eat Foundation in Norway David Brooks Aspen Ideas Festival NPR: Community will allow the US to save itself Reinventing Fire, Amy Lovins The Big Lebowski – The whole script is based on words that other people have said. The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass (autobiography) How do we work with Citizen’s Climate lobby?: citizensclimatelobby.org Twitter: @poet_economist JR@citizensclimate.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have our final Podcast Showcase Series with Alex Sharzi. He does the Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast. His guest is amazing, Peter Verstrate is the CEO of Mosa Meat, a clean meat company in the Neatherlands. If you’re familiar with the clean meat and cell-based world, then you might know this company, because the Chief Science Officer, is Mark Post, the man who made the first lab-grown burger. You’ll learn a ton of actionable tips about the Clean Meat Industry, and Alex’s portfolio of guests is all about this field. From the firms in the United States, to Japan, everywhere. If you’re interested in Cell-based technology, Alex Shirazi has the best portfolio of guests. A little story about Alex is that I first found him online. Paul Shapiro just did an interview with him and he showed me this simple website where his interview was posted. I thought Alex was a newbie, so I wanted to reach out and give him some tips on podcasting. We coincidentally met at Food Funded and I ended up giving him some coordination and technical advice when it came to content and stuff. Alex’s podcast took off, as he relentlessly posted and posted interviews about the clean meat industry. He upgraded his site, he started hosting events, this guy was so passionate about it. And he’s not even in the industry! Alex actually works at a digital marketing agency in San Francisco, but his passion for learning about this space exploded. He not only was consistently churning out, amazing episodes, with guests I could only dream of getting, but also created the packed event, the Cultured Meat Symposium, where I moderated a panel there. Alex was able to also throw me into public speaking opportunities. I was able to talk about food science to a crowd of 30 people at first. Then 50, then…. 300. All thanks to Alex, I learned how to be comfortable public speaking. I can’t thank him enough for that opportunity. So big news, is that I invited Alex, and two other past guests who have built amazing platforms in the online food space, to speak with me at IFT19 in New Orleans to talk about the rewards of building an amazing platform from scratch. Alex is amazing, as this guy who has no ties in the food industry has now become an influencer in the space, and an inspiration that tells you, that you can do this too. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the West Coast Nuriv Music and Tech festival a free music festival on March 6th, or the day before Expo West opens its doors. We have bands like The Bombpops, Direct Hit, Dog Party (opened for Green Day tour, 2017), Get Dead and a "Mystery" Headliner! FAT Wreck Chords presents, NURIV 2019 at the E Sports Arena in Santa Ana. email: innovate.today@virun.com to get on the list and a chance for a VIP spot as well. invite your friends! If you want to sponsor, email customer.service@virun.com ..we have a few open spots for sponsorship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To continue with our Podcast Showcase Series, we have an episode from Katie Mleziva, podcast host of real food brands, a podcast that gives great insights on food marketing and how to get your amazing brand on the shelf. She will be interviewing Alli Ball, a well known retail consultant in the industry. I don’t think I would do justice talking about Katie, as she’s been a recent friend and addition to the food industry podcast space. So I decided to do a quick interview with her, to learn about what she does, and why she decided to do a podcast. Enjoy! Real Food Brands is a podcast that focuses on brand strategy concepts, and the main concept is to give actionable insights to scale food companies. Some fun facts Kaite started working at Kraft Foods and worked in the cheese industry in Wisconsin I then started consulting. Didn’t start with food, but ended up in food because I really want to be part of the solution. Katie has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, she used to draw “business plans” as a kid. Katie wanted to blog, and someone told her that her skill set was perfect for podcasting. Katie and I found out we had the same guest or the same company and that usually has to do with PR firms. Katie recommends the following podcasts on her channel. She has solo episodes and guest episodes. For example: How to Find Your Unfair Advantage Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the West Coast Nuriv Music and Tech festival a free music festival on March 6th, or the day before Expo West opens its doors. We have bands like The Bombpops, Direct Hit, Dog Party (opened for Green Day tour, 2017), Get Dead and a "Mystery" Headliner! FAT Wreck Chords presents, NURIV 2019 at the E Sports Arena in Santa Ana. email: innovate.today@virun.com to get on the list and a chance for a VIP spot as well. invite your friends! If you want to sponsor, email customer.service@virun.com ..we have a few open spots for sponsorship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To continue with our Podcast Showcase Series, we have an episode from Katie Jones from the Food Heroes Podcast. In this episode, she interviews a cool startup in the UK, a company that makes beer out of old bread. Katie Jones popped out of the scene last year when LinkedIn had this weird power of getting individuals to talk more. I was fortunate to ride the wave of this, and so did Katie. Katie has a very interesting story. You can actually listen to it on her podcast. I believe it’s episode 20. It’s a really good episode and you learn a ton about Katie’s background. Also, I get a shoutout on this episode, if you’re interested in seeing the inception of this, I’ve posted it on the show notes. So Kate is also an expert in plant-based foods such as vegan ice cream and vegan cheese. This is because of her experience at So Delicious, a very popular vegan ice cream company. Katie, who is inherently entrepreneurial, stayed in the company for 6 years building the company and creating vegan products and creating systems to execute these vegan products. After being laid off at So Delicious through an acquisition, she took time to find herself. How did she do this? Well, she took her dog and her RV and traveled around the United States. Through her RV journey, she really explored herself.  Around that time, she researched Copywriting and jumped into it. After a few months of writing, she decided to well, start a podcast! Her fascination with B-Corp spurred the development in podcasting and with 20 episodes, Katie has had some amazing guests who are doing good work in the food system we live in. Many of her episodes focus on things such as food waste, or ethical sourcing of unique ingredients like saffron or eggs. If you’re into hearing the stories of the people who are making the world just a little bit better, this is the podcast for you. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the West Coast Nuriv Music and Tech festival a free music festival on March 6th, or the day before Expo West opens its doors. We have bands like The Bombpops, Direct Hit, Dog Party (opened for Green Day tour, 2017), Get Dead and a "Mystery" Headliner! FAT Wreck Chords presents, NURIV 2019 at the E Sports Arena in Santa Ana. email: innovate.today@virun.com to get on the list and a chance for a VIP spot as well. invite your friends! If you want to sponsor, email customer.service@virun.com ..we have a few open spots for sponsorship.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a weekly podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and hear about their career path, their insights on new trends and technology and their love of food. I’m your host, Adam Yee and You are listening to episode 157, where Dr. Lin Carson from Bakerpedia and Dr. Debi from the American Institute of Baking, answer complex questions about the baking industry. This isn’t just “how do I bake bread” or “why is my bread pale” questions, these two are the experts of the baking industry. If you are not familiar with the baking industry, you might need to search something up, but there’s a website for that. Bakerpedia, a long time sponsor of My Food Job Rocks, houses hundreds of articles that help the novice commercial baker learn about the potential of baking. Bakerpedia can tell you what to add to help you optimize your bread, dives into complex processes by breaking them down, and this is all for free. Lin also has a podcast called Baked In Science, which can be found on iTunes and on their website bakerpedia.org. Though she does interview podcasts too, she also does these nifty Q and A sessions where she gathers questions from her social media accounts. I am always impressed by Lin’s ability to go above and beyond the industry standard. I interviewed her back in episode 81 and her obsession with the subject of baking was big enough to create an amazing website with thousands of views a day. Anyways, sit back and relax and get ready to learn a ton about the questions the modern bakers have today. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the West Coast Nuriv Music and Tech festival a free music festival on March 6th, or the day before Expo West opens its doors. We have bands like The Bombpops, Direct Hit, Dog Party (opened for Green Day tour, 2017), Get Dead and a "Mystery" Headliner! FAT Wreck Chords presents, NURIV 2019 at the E Sports Arena in Santa Ana. email: innovate.today@virun.com to get on the list and a chance for a VIP spot as well. invite your friends! If you want to sponsor, email customer.service@virun.com ..we have a few open spots for sponsorship.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of you know the story between Kim and I. We started our podcasts at the same time. I was able to reach out to her when I saw her posting on a super secret podcast facebook group. I reached out, because My Food Job Rocks was also in its infancy. We decided to do a podcast swap. I would interview Kim, and she would interview me. I launched episode 12 starring Kim, and now we’re here, on episode 156. Time flies, doesn’t it? But still, we persisted. Kim and my guests overlap a bit. We’ve had interviews with people such as Phil Saneski, Jessica Goldstein, Alan Reed, Rachel Zemser, and plenty more probably. However, Peas on Moss does a much better job on the culinary end of the equation. Since Kim lives the Research Chef life, she does a very good job interviewing high profile culinary geniuses in the industry. Kim was one of the people who helped me in a dark time early on in the podcast realm, I think it was in episode 20’s range, I was dropped from my host provider and was debating on dropping My Food Job Rocks. She encouraged me to stay, and also mentioned that “people don’t listen to you until you’re 30”. At the time, I was 25, and that quote motivated me to keep on going, that I needed to prove myself. Over time, Kim and I have become kindred spirits when it comes to the food industry. We connect with other people, we talk about the struggles of being ambitious and being valuable in product development. In fact, one of the most underrated episodes I did with Kim was just a one-hour break room session where I just rant about ambition. It’s a bonus episode, and it’s on the show notes. I don’t listen to my own podcast episodes after I publish them, but I always enjoy that one. Anyways, Kim is probably one of the hardest workers I’ve known. Her role at Bulletproof means she’s always traveling, making new products and I’m always impressed seeing her churn out episodes. So enjoy this episode, as Kim talks to her mentor, Graham Kerr. If you like this episode, you can find so much more at Peas On Moss.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the first in our Podcast Showcase Series with Paul Shapiro and Toni Okamoto interviewing John Mackey. He started this little company, grew it, and then sold it to Amazon. You might know it as Whole Foods Market. Though Paul and Toni can tell you all about their guest, I can tell you a little bit about Paul and Toni. This super star duo is hosted by none other than Paul Shapiro, animal activist, author and now CEO of the Better Meat Co, and Toni Okamoto, who is a cookbook author, and the creator of Plant-based on a Budget, which encourages people that eating plant-based doesn’t have to be expensive. Toni was featured on What The Health and has a pretty viral youtube video where she and her business partner Michelle Cehn compare the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger.   As many know, Paul and I met on the My Food Job Rocks podcast and through chance, I got the opportunity to found Better Meat Co with him. Paul chose Sacramento to be the HQ of Better Meat Co, not because of strategy but because that is where Toni lives, his fiance’s home town. I was happy about the location for my own personal reasons as well. As Paul learned about how I did my podcast through the many talks we’ve had, he was very impressed with the number of connections and knowledge I’ve amassed throughout a couple of years of doing this and thought it would be valuable and fun to do a podcast with Toni. Business for Good is a podcast that focuses on the businesses that solve humanities biggest problems and one of those problems being food! Today, we go into the mind of John Mackey, Paul’s friend, but also the CEO and CEO-founder of Whole Foods. Business for Good as many other episodes that focus on food, such as slavery-free chocolate and investors for plant-based companies. But they also have an impressive list of other guests such as coral reef revitalists, musicians who are making a sustainable impact, and… toilet paper companies where if you buy their products, they will build toilets in third world countries. Without further ado, enjoy the first episode of the Business for Good’s podcast, their episode with John Mackey. You can check out more of Paul and Toni’s episode at businessforgoodpodcast.com Shownotes As a student, John Mackey was an idealistic hippie who worked in a vegetarian co-op while studying religion and philosophy. He never took a business class during his whole academic career. In other words, he wasn’t exactly the guy people would’ve placed bets on to become a businessman, let alone one who’d launch a natural foods empire called Whole Foods Market that would get purchased by Amazon for $14 billion. (Note: John long ago stopped taking a salary and even donated all of his Whole Foods stock, so he didn’t see a penny of the sale.) Listen to John discuss with Toni Okamoto and Paul Shapiro his thoughts on everything from venture capitalists and labor unions to Whole Foods’ sale to Amazon and of course how to do good in the world via business. John’s Books: Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity John’s book recommendations during the show: Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the Worldby Brad Stone The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder Books by Peter Drucker More info: Conscious Capitalism, the organization John cofounded   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you go on a journey to improve a skill, there are likeminded people who will support you, and there are people who will do the same as you. You either choose to treat them as competition, or treat them as cohorts. Over the past two years, I’ve communicated and even worked with people who have their own interview podcasts. These podcasts follow the same vein as My Food Job Rocks. Interview food experts and chronicle their life, advice and predictions. However, each podcast I’ll be sharing is focused on a  specific type of the food industry. From Research Chefs, to Clean Meat Scientists. Some of these podcasts I am proud to say, credit My Food Job Rocks as a source of inspiration. Others, I’ve had the pleasure to help improve their podcasting craft. I do this because I can’t tell everyone’s story, and everyone’s story needs to be told. By having a support network which motivates people to share the stories in the food industry is very important to me. And hopefully, by the end of this series, you might also take on the reigns of a podcast. I’ll be keeping their guests a secret, but here is who will be on in the next 5 weeks: Paul Shapiro and Toni Okamoto – Business for Good Podcast As many know, Paul Shapiro has been not only a guest on My Food Job Rocks, but also has been my business partner for more than…half a year. Paul and his soon-to-be wife Toni Okamoto (who runs the very popular platform Plant-Based on a  Budget) decided to do this small venture called The Business for Good Podcast, a podcast that focuses on the buisnesses and people who are doing good in the world. Though the podcast is not just in the food industry, there are some great gems in regards to how food business is impacting the world. Paul and Toni are both influential figures in the plant-based and animal welfare movement and use their connections to bring in awesome guests. This Wednesday, we’ll be launching their episode with a guest that’s pretty famous around these parts. Kim Schaub from Peas on Moss Kim and I started our platforms at the same time. We actually met in a facebook group called Podcaster’s Paradise, an online course which helps build your own podcast. We had one mutual connection, another guest, Andrea Zeng, who worked under her. Kim created the Peas on Moss Podcast, a podcast that has different types of guests which mainly focusing on R+D and innovation. There are also many Research Chefs and regular chefs on the show, so if you are into that field, Kim goes more in-depth on that. Peas On Moss still regularly launches episodes and the guests are always insightful with a slight entrepreneurial flair. I usually see Kim in almost every expo and we have a good time just chatting over good food. Lin Carson from Bakerpedia Past guest and sponsor Lin Carson created the Bakerpedia platform through her own sweat and blood and has built it into a fully sponsored masterpiece which houses a wiki that has all the baking knowledge in the world. And this is not just the simple stuff like gluten or ascorbic acid, but maybe you want to know what’s diastatic malt or how garbonzo bean flour acts in your product. Their podcast Baked In Science takes on multiple formats. They not only do interview podcasts, but they also do Q and As, and more technical focused podcasts. I’m always amazed on how much content, from writing to podcasts, the Bakerpedia team dishes out. Katie Jones from Good Food Heroes Podcast Katie Jones has a pretty amazing story. She got laid off after an acquisition, traveled around the world in an RV car, then decided to go into copywriting for the food industry. I met Katie through her content on LinkedIn and she was very engaging the way she talks with her peers on the platform. Much better than me engaging on LinkedIn posts. So Katie decided to start her own podcast and I had a hand in helping her a bit set up the format. Her podcast interviews food businesses that have a bigger mission. Whether that’s food waste or ethical sourcing, that’s what she loves to do and that’s what she focuses on. If you’re into learning more about food businesses that are mission-driven, then this podcast gives great insights on how it works. Katie Mleziva from Real Food Brands Podcast Katie is a food brand consultant with whom I also met on LinkedIn. I think it first started when we coincidentally launched Carrie Arndt’s podcast on the same week. We’ve had some over lap in guests ever since including the executive team from Soom Foods. Katie generally focuses on branding and not only does she bring in some really awesome guests with practical advice, but she herself does solo episodes that talk about the tactics in branding. Alex Shirazi from the Cultured Meat and Future Food podcast Paul shared with me an interview that Alex did with Lisa from Stray Dog Capital. This was episode 4 out of 4, but seeing his guest list be top GFI brass and Paul himself, I wanted to reach out and help him with his podcast, because I didn’t like his design or audio quality. Surprisingly, he was happy to take my advice and even better, I was able to meet him during the food funded event and we’ve been friends ever since. Alex Shirazi is what I’d call a cultured meat enthusiast. He’s a managing director at a software development firm at his day job. Not a scientist or CEO, but he cares so much about the topic, he not only did a full-fledged podcast where he interviews CEOs of cultured meat companies, but he also did a full-on symposium in the heart of San Francisco on a small budget and impressive marketing. I was honored to be a moderator at one of the panels, and I can’t thank Alex enough for giving me opportunities to publically speak in Boneville Labs and Indiebio. I love the topic of cell-based meat. Everyone knows this but if you really want to learn more about the many companies behind it, Alex’s podcast has some really impressive guests from all over the world. If I were to map it out, My Food Job Rocks is considered a broad podcast. It’s a podcast about career advice and showcasing the food jobs that are present today. The podcasts listed here are part of this, but are much more specific and also have their unique twist on things, and maybe you want that type specificity in your podcast library. And if there isn’t a podcast that fits your need, perhaps this will show you the opportunity to create your own.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’ve been following Elaine Watson ever since I started working on the food industry. Every time I wanted to know a new trend or something happening in my industry, I read her articles. I’ve even commented in a few of her articles but most recently, I had the honor of being interviewed by Elaine when we debuted our article for Better Meat Co. Paul and I planned to get Elaine to debut Better Meat Co, we had this master plan to do a tasting with Elaine with our blended products only to learn she was vegetarian! So we just went with a phone interview. Over time, I’ve bumped into Elaine in conferences such as the Good Food Conference and so I decided that she would be an amazing guest for the podcast! In this episode, you’ll be introduced to what an editor for, what Elaine quotes, a technical magazine does for a living, how she organizes and prepares writing articles, and we have a great discussion on food trends and technologies. If you are in the food industry and do know Elaine from her articles, this interview also dives into some really cool hobbies Elaine does in her spare time. Namely listening to history podcasts and singing in a barbershop quartet. About Elaine Watson, editor, FoodNavigator-USA An award-winning journalist with more than 18 years’ experience in multimedia business-to-business journalism and events management on both sides of the Atlantic, Elaine has covered a diverse range of topics from nutrigenomics to corporate espionage. Elaine moved from the UK to the US in 2011, and as editor of FoodNavigator-USA.com – a leading online b2b title in the US food and beverage industry – she has helped to establish the site as a pre-eminent source of news and analysis on hot button issues from novel sweeteners to labeling conventions in plant-based foods and beverages. Elaine has also organized and chaired face-to-face and online events from seminars and round table debates to conferences for William Reed Business Media and other companies on topics from food for kids to investing in cell-based meat. About FoodNavigator-USA An award-winning online business-to-business publication covering start-ups and industry giants, FoodNavigator-USA provides a 360-degree view of the North American food and beverage market, spanning food investment and incubation, labeling, litigation, and legislation, to consumer trends, new products and new technology, from new shopping or nutrition apps to synthetic biology and personalized nutrition.  A multimedia publication with 200,000 unique visitors a month and a daily newsletter with 47,000 subscribers, FoodNavigator-USA provides daily news, features, analysis, online events, face to face events, a weekly podcast and video coverage of the issues and stories impacting CEOs, marketers, brand managers, R&D execs and regulatory affairs experts. FoodNavigator-USA also runs the annual FOOD FOR KIDS event in Chicago, a three-day conference that shines a spotlight on the companies – large and small – that are doing most to drive innovation and champion change in foods and beverages for children; and TRAILBLAZERS, a new initiative designed to celebrate early stage food & beverage companies that are bringing something genuinely new to the table from a formulation, sourcing, branding, marketing or business model perspective. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules?  The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis.   We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes FOOD FOR KIDS What do you do in a sentence or less?: I write for a technical publication. It’s hard to say I’m a food writer. Food Navigator Kids Nutrition Conference Chobani Kids Line Fred Hart Justin’s Nut butter Edible Insects and Jeff Flake Just Date Syrup Better Meat Co Article La Croix lawsuit Evaporated Cane Juice DH Lawrence The National Grocer What skills do you need for a reporter?: Develop a thick skin History Unplugged Tides of History American History Tellers Hardcore History – Black Death What else would you do besides reporting?: Talk about history Why does your food job rock?: I get to interview smart, talented people who might change the world and learn something new in any day What are your favorite food trends?: Many things: Plant based proteins on how to replace meat, Cell-based meat and sustainability, meal kit subscription models, Triton Algae Corporation Geltor JUST framed the question right so people like it GMO was an example of bad framing Soylent Pink Slime Kid’s food versus niche things What should we really be focusing on? Korean Yams Gochujang Keto Paleo Tasty the Art and Science of what we eat By John McQuaid Krave Jerky What is one thing you’d like to know about the food industry?: There is still so much about the food industry. But I really want to learn about Plant-Breeding or Wine/ alcohol industry Saskatchewan Canada How do you find the best way to get information from people?: Research the topic and the person. You need to look technically competent to talk to people because it opens the discussion a lot better. Favorite Kitchen Item: Marmite – Unilever - British Vegemite – Kraft - Australia Good source of Vitamin B12 Siracha Poutine Sonoma Brands Krave Jerky Any advice for people in the food industry?: You don’t need to create the iPhone of food. Elaine does Barbershop Quartet Sweet Adelines Pentatonix Pitch Perfect Where can we contact you?: LinkedIn and email. My email can be found on food navigator   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Nourish Food Co is a meal delivery company that has a beautiful menu of healthy southern comfort food that can be delivered straight to your door. Located in Birmingham Alabama, they distribute to 38 different states and have a wide array of dishes to choose from. Mary and Tiffany have humble origins. Met at a test kitchen, started a catering business, pivoted to meal delivery and scaled to the moon, but the details that made their journey successful is captured in this interview such as how to hire people or the steps to scale, or how to build a support network for tough times. We did into these details as we find the twists and turns that make working in the food industry so exciting. If you're interested in the concept of bootstrapping, and the meal delivery industry, this episode is for you. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules?  The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis.   We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Shownotes Where do you eat at Birmingham Alabama?: Bottega Café’s Cheese Burger Chez Fonfon What do you do for a living?: Tiffany: I own a food company. We make fully prepared meals and deliver it to 38 states. We distribute everything from Alabama We really showcase how our meals are changing the lives of other people We do deliver to California but it’s very difficult and too much competition Do you guys have different functions as co-founders? Both have culinary backgrounds Mary: Sales, marketing, Tiffany: R+D, packaging, procurement How did you guys meet?: At the Cooking Lite Test Kitchen (closed this year). At that job, we were testing and cooking recipes. We wanted to start a high-end catering company in 2007. What made you pivot?: Difference between meal kit and meal delivery service?: We do all of the work. All you need to do is to microwave it. Blue Apron What’s the hardest thing about starting a business?: Hiring well What was an essential person you onboarded in your business?: Jose, our first production manager. We hire people who take the work from us. Being autonomous and taking the role of what they’re supposed to do. Important Soft Skills: Motivation, teaching, Can you describe your first sale?: Before launching our own brand, we were doing private label for fitness companies. How does the operation work?: We used to change our recipes weekly. Then we ended up doing a 4-week recipe cycles What kind of products do you serve?: We create southern comfort food that’s healthy for you. For example, we make cauliflower grits and almond milk Why does your food job rock?: We get to see how our products positively impact our clients What type of food trends and technologies are exciting you right now?: Plant protein innovations What trends do you find in your industry?: The novelty of receiving the ingredients have worn off so they are going into supermarkets. People actually don’t have time to cook, so we think we’re on trend. Biggest Challenge of the food industry: educating our kids about healthy food. My kids choose to consume junk. What is one of the things you’d like to know more about?: Better thermal packaging and startup investing Meal Kits use Soft coating with Mylar coating Tips on logistics: Accept failure is part of the process. Have money in the bank. Bootstrapping vs Funding: If you can figure out how to grow a business and not give away your equity, then do it. Early, we ran as lean as possible. We would do all of the work the first year. There is nothing that we couldn’t do in the company. You have to understand all of the job roles. Also, find mentors and groups of people who have something different How do you find mentors and like-minded people?: Through my college, or even your neighbors might have their own business. Different jobs will always have the same problems. How did you get into food?: We had different origins. One from family, one from working ina college restaurant. Favorite Quote: from Mary’s family. “I hate when grown folks don’t act like they’re grown” Favorite Book: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Favorite Kitchen Item: Immersion Blender Any advice about food business: Do your research! There’s a lot of noise and it’s hard to figure out the noise. What do you stand for? There has to be more story. Where do we find you for advice?: We’re both on linkedin. All of our food is sold on our website. They can reach out to us on our website on the contact list. Mary's LinkedIn Tiffany's LinkedIn     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices