My Food Job Rocks!

I’m glad after 94 episode we have someone to represent the packaging side of. Derryl Kostynuik lives in a small town north of Calgary and he works with a lot of food companies to bring out the best in their brand. How do you do that? With creative and innovative packaging. Derryl gives some great examples of brands that went to him to get their packaging reworked. So in this episode, we go into a great detail on the creative process of designing a killer packaging design. We also get pretty into things, on how to make your own design firm (if you’re into that) but I think the most valuable lesson in this interview that I got out of it, was a really interesting method on how to be creative. You can sign up for Derryl's newsletter at: pencilworks.com About Derryl There are so many ‘me-too’, ‘blend-in’ and ‘boring’ package designs and not enough ‘stand-out’ package designs in the marketplace. Sadly, a lot of packages are collecting dust instead of ‘selling themselves’. It doesn’t have to be this way. My mission is to change the way packaging presents itself on the shelf by designing packaging that becomes your companies best sales person. This is so your company can truly enjoy the benefits of increased sales and the consumer enjoys the benefits of the products that they purchase. From my early childhood years, I knew that I was more creative than most. In fact, I’ve been playing in the world of creative design before I knew it by that term. As a 6-year-old boy, I just called it ‘doodling’. I’d doodle as I designed hockey uniforms for my imaginary team and I’d doodle while I crafted my own line of muscle cars. Creative and expressive before it was cool to be so. My mission is to create dynamic packaging that becomes your company’s ‘best sales person’ through my 7 Step Best-Selling Packaging Design System. This system analyzes your packaging, then provides a market positioning solution that immediately helps you ‘stand-out’ from the competition and attract more business. So now all your packaging efforts have a unique and strategic story that not only is different but declares your position in a ‘stand-out’, market dominating way. Specialties: Best-selling packaging design, packaging audits, stand-out marketing strategies, corporate and product brand identity design, product naming, product and service positioning/analysis. All these engagements are considered 'In-Frame' context. This means consideration is made to ‘what’ makes you different and then crafting your image and message in a way that appeals to your audience. It’s the only way I can have you stand-out where and when it matters most. Sponsor - FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor - ICON Foods What’s worse than marketing saying, ‘we have to clean up these sugars?’ They want clean label sugar reduction because that’s the trend. So I advise you to skate to where the puck is going. Whether it’s to make your product a bit healthier or following the ever-changing FDA laws, my friends at Icon Foods – formerly Steviva Ingredients – are here to help. They have more than 20 years of R&D experience with natural sweeteners and sweetening systems in a wide range of applications. With a product list of twenty different sweeteners and plug-in sweetening systems that keeps growing, you can’t go wrong. Check out stevivaingredients.com to learn about the newest all-natural sweetener solutions and collaboration opportunities. For more information, visit ICON foods at ICONfoods.com Key Takeaways - It’s hard to tell someone’s baby that it’s ugly - Dealing with rebranding versus brand new products when it comes to packaging - Beef Jerky story – the “Bite Me” slogan changed a brand completely - How to be innovative and think creatively Question Summary Describe yourself in a sentence or less?: I have a design firm that makes packaging pop off the shelves Quick Tip: Your packaging could be causing you to lose sales. If they are not buying from you, they are buying the competitor Beef Jerky story – the “Bite Me” slogan changed a brand completely Dog Food story – Wanted to develop a natural dog food line, developed new packaging. Now sells 1 dog food every 48 seconds How do you go through the ideation process?: I have a 7 step process. Research everything about the consumer. “What does use quality ingredients mean?” Walk around in stores or go to the websites. The last thing you want to do is to have a package that is like everyone else. It’ll blend and disappear Discuss with the brand owners to make a package that will still be familiar with their product based Describe to where you are today: I had a graphic design company, and got a food client. I got really interested in how food was packaged including placement, processes, and material. How did you get into design?: I loved to draw as a kid and when I was going to college, I had to take an entrance exam and got in. A lot of people there were so much better than me. Quick Tip: If you want to be a designer, learn how to draw. You have to keep on practicing How can you learn to be creative: look a lot, read a lot, always look at what everyone is doing. Be observant. Imagine things, dreaming of things. Day Dreaming, blue skying. Spend time doing nothing. Are you born creative or can you learn it?: Everyone is creative in their own way. Was there anything you read or observed or day dreamed that you designed?: A gaming system. Their gaming rig was jungle themed so I made a jungle themed box. Quick Tip: People don’t buy because you’re good or creative, it’s because they need your service. My Food Job Rocks: I get to create amazing packages and creating a package to be their best sales person Food trends and technologies: The science of eye movement to see what packages are more enticing. One thing in the food industry that you’d like to know more about: I’d like to know more about the materials in packaging Favorite Quote: I try to think but nothing happens!  - Bugs Bunny Favorite Kitchen Item: a fork Any advice on going into the packaging/design industry?: Learn the business side of things, people will buy based on your services. Then study EVERYTHING about packaging Business resources used to help you: There are books Society of Graphic Designers: resources about graphic design and how to sell them Quick Tips: Be honest, have integrity, not all things work out. They have to win. Where can we find you for advice?: papercut@pencilworks.com Other Links Arduri Canada – Calgary Alberta Canada Montreal, Quebec RXBar Disabled artists can draw graffiti in the hospital bed Heat map Canadian thanksgiving Ukranian food   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m a big fan of interviewing small businesses that are rocking it and Pepper North is no exception. For one, I can ask them practical questions on how to get started and I get really grounded and tactical answers. Another reason? I get to try their amazing products. Ana Stevens found me on linkedin and asked to be interviewed. She then sent me some of her amazing products for me to try, big fan of their blueberry barbecue sauce. Canadian listeners, these products are exclusively for you (for now). So a big thing that really surprised me about Pepper North is that not only is it completely family ran, but they are selling at over 200 stores in the Toronto area. I dive in deep to find out how they try to get their products in stores and I found it really informative. Other highlights in this episode includes how important a story is on a label, the huge local movement going around in Canada and a great dissection on what makes these two founders such a great team. About Pepper North Pepper North was born out of a love for growing super-hot peppers and handcrafting delicious gourmet hot pepper products. We believe in using the freshest locally sourced ingredients possible in order to create a flavour experience that will be enjoyable for all.We are a family run business established in 2013 located in Oshawa, Canada. We began our journey into the hot sauce world much like many others, by growing hot peppers in our home garden and turning them into delicious spicy products for friends and family. As demand began to grow, so did our batch sizes. Adding eye catching labels, we started attending local farmers markets and festivals to rave reviews from our customers and fellow hot sauce lovers. Before long, we were making a name for ourselves across Canada with our line of delicious super-hot sauces. Currently our award winning hot sauces and condiments are all natural, free from added preservatives, gluten free, and can be found in over 200 stores across Ontario and beyond. "We are truly excited and humbled to bring great hot sauces and condiments into Canadian households because we put a lot of love, passion & dedication into each hand crafted batch". Sponsor - FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor - ICON Foods What’s worse than marketing saying, ‘we have to clean up these sugars?’ They want clean label sugar reduction because that’s the trend. So I advise you to skate to where the puck is going. Whether it’s to make your product a bit healthier or following the ever-changing FDA laws, my friends at Icon Foods – formerly Steviva Ingredients – are here to help. They have more than 20 years of R&D experience with natural sweeteners and sweetening systems in a wide range of applications. With a product list of twenty different sweeteners and plug-in sweetening systems that keeps growing, you can’t go wrong. Check out stevivaingredients.com to learn about the newest all-natural sweetener solutions and collaboration opportunities. For more information, visit ICON foods at ICONfoods.com Episode Highlights -Why putting a story on your label is really important -Why controlling everything gives you amazing control -Why it’s harder to grow Peppers in Canada (duh!) -The power of local food in Canada -The power of having a creative and administrative founder -A discussion on sales -Why sorting M and Ms Describe your business in a sentence or less: We produced all natural gourmet hot sauce using locally sourced ingredients When someone noticed your sauce first, what do they notice specifically?: The labels first because we do our own labels Romance Panel- describes the panel on a food label Favorite part about your job: Drew: Creating new sauces. Anna: Build relationships What was the hardest thing to learn in making your business?: For Ana, learning the different aspects of the food industry Describes the steps it took to get to where you are today?: Been a long 4 years. Started out selling seeds. People wanted hotter and hotter and we kept on giving them hotter and hotter Where do you get the peppers?: We grow them ourselves but we supply the farmers the seeds. How did you grow?: Food and drink shows, fancy food shows, contacting local stores. We are currently in 200 stores. How do you get into these stores?: Went on Google, typed up specialty food stores, sample to store managers, You have to be there in person Do your research! The place has to sell sauces. Call on phone or email them (if they ask) Ana has a wholesale list that explains the products, ingredients, story, and cost (quantity/case) Why did you decide to start a food business?: Drew always loved cooking and growing fruits and vegetables. Ana loves interfacing with customers. Quick Tips: Walt Disney and Roy Disney’s dynamic is the same as Ana and Drew How do you think of new products?: I think of an idea in bed and create a new product. For example: Blueberry Hot Sauce My Food Job Rocks: It’s never a dull day. There is something to do every day Is your product seasonal?: Different SKUs sell more depending on season Quick Tip: Canadians don’t like pectin What type of food trends are popular?: Hot sauce is exploding. Fermentation is also growing huge such as Kombucha One thing you’d like to know more about?: Food Science, shelf-life things, consumer behavior Quick Tip: A sale 1 to 1 is easy. Selling in a grocery store is really hard because the competition is fierce How did you get inspired to get into food?: Drew: Mother taught him how to cook, his wife encouraged him to start on his own Did you quit cold turkey before jumping into business?: No, Drew did things on a  side for the year. Ana went on maternity leave Favorite Kitchen Item: Slow cooker using Pepper North Sauces. Ana likes to make snacks and whipping up rice krispy squares Quick Tips: Analyze the ways people cook or eat and notice why they are in the roles they are in, Favorite Food: Drew makes sandwiches like Philly Cheese Steaks and Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Favorite food is pizza Starting a Food Business: Ana: Do your research, ask the questions, do the regulations, find the logistics. There’s a lot. Drew: Be prepared that not everyone is going to love what you make. Do you have any advice for starting a food buisness?: Stay true to yourself and your product and yourself will shine. Just keep going, don’t give up. Where can we find you guys for advice?: Pepper North. Facebook. Ana is on linkedin Other Links Stargazer: 75% all pepper based 7 pot primo – Troy Primo in Louisiana Fancy Food Show experience Local in Canada versus local in United States - Half of the people who go up to Drew ask where it’s made Canada’s maternity leave is a year Equifruit interviewUse their blueberry sauce on chicken wings and ice creamAfterglow hot apricot jelly – apricot zuchinni   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weber Stibolt contacted me on our My Food Job Rocks facebook page and I got him on the show. He is a fanatic in both the coffee realm and the quality realm and I learned a ton about what makes coffee great. Weber shares his passion for agriculture and food science even sharing how he got into food science and how he’ll be teaching the next generation. Being of a very technical mindset, you will also learn some amazing things, such as the art of coffee tasting, how to be analytical and critical of your own work, and why communicating with your peers, is the most important skill in the world. About Weber  Weber Stibolt is a Quality Assurance Specialist for Eight O’ Clock coffee based in the Washington, D.C. area. Eight O’ Clock is a 150-year-old brand born out of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), a chain of now-defunct supermarkets. When A&P was struggling financially in the early 2000s, the Eight O’ Clock coffee brand was spun off and later purchased by Tata Global Beverages. TGB is a India-based company with a vast array of tea and coffee products under various brands across the world - a perfect fit for a global product like coffee.   At Eight O’ Clock Coffee, the three-person quality team oversees the food safety and quality of 20 million pounds of coffee annually. In this role, Weber plays a large part in the day-to-day operations of the facility by monitoring both the coffee and its packaging. He works with the production team, mechanics, and the rest of the management staff by communicating quality updates and addressing issues that may arise. In addition, Weber designs and conducts experiments with the ultimate goal of re-evaluating specifications to make the best finished product possible.   Weber’s interests while studying Food Science at the University of Delaware primarily resided in food safety. His collegiate internships working with produce food safety at the farm level have launched him into the role he is in today. He is the Alternate HACCP Coordinator at Eight O’ Clock Coffee and is responsible for many programs that the food safety plan at the facility is built upon. Sponsor - FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor - ICON Foods What’s worse than marketing saying, ‘we have to clean up these sugars?’ They want clean label sugar reduction because that’s the trend. So I advise you to skate to where the puck is going. Whether it’s to make your product a bit healthier or following the ever-changing FDA laws, my friends at Icon Foods – formerly Steviva Ingredients – are here to help. They have more than 20 years of R&D experience with natural sweeteners and sweetening systems in a wide range of applications. With a product list of twenty different sweeteners and plug-in sweetening systems that keeps growing, you can’t go wrong. Check out stevivaingredients.com to learn about the newest all-natural sweetener solutions and collaboration opportunities. For more information, visit ICON foods at ICONfoods.com Episode Highlights -The different Coffee Beans Industry Uses -How Weber got into food science -An indepth analysis on how to taste coffee -Acrylamide in Coffee Question Summary Sentence or less: I’m the Willy Wonka of Coffee. I’m a Food Scienitst and work for coffee and I get I’m a Barista East Coast What is the Niche for Eight o’ clock coffee?: Our niche is to be decent coffee. McDonalds, Starbucks, Dunkin Official Job Title: Quality Assurance Specialist – Specifically Packaging, and Food Safety roles Favorite thing about your job: I like sending great products to people Quick Tip: In most manufacturing, Production and Quality are in the same vein, in Eight O Clock, we are separate and work cooperatively How did you get to where you are today?: University of Delaware had a Food Science Exploration Day at the end of the day, I wanted to go into Food Science How did you get your first job?:  Maryland isn’t really known for food. Ended up working with a recruiting chose between the West and Maryland TIC Gums McCormick Gardien Lab Support What is the most important skill you need for your job?: Being analytical and always question everything. People in quality sometimes get into a rut. You have to analyze even your own work to become better the next day. It’ll help you immensely How do you quantitatively approve good coffee?: Good seal integrity. We use both tensile strength testing and  people My Food Job Rocks: It brings me a lot of joy giving out great products to people Do you drink coffee?: Yes, and I do sensory testing, which I love. Example: Columbia versus Original Starbucks’s cupping method The cupping method Ceramic cup, level out a certain amount of coffee, let it sit, have specialized spoons, and vigourously slurp it up. You have to properly aerate it to get the full flavor of the coffee (like wine). You have to be as obnoxious about slurping as possible Same thing about Olive oil What would be your dream job title: Food Scientist for NASA Food Trends and Technologies: Automation. We have installed 3 new case packers. Machine breakdown sucks Biggest Problem in the Food Industry: Food Education. More and more people want to know what’s in our food but there’s a lot of misinformation. Who is doing a good job educating the consumer?: Domino’s Foods. Our farmers know the best for these cows Trix natural colors switching back to artifical Coffee complaints: one of my tasks is to review complaints. A lot of people inquire if their coffee is GMO but there’s no such thing as GMO coffee Quick Tip: You will die faster overdosing on caffeine than acrylamide Favorite Quote: Insanity is doing something over and over again and expect a different results. For quality, challenge the process. Is it hard to invoke change in Quality?: Yes, but you should still try to keep on changing things Favorite Book: The last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Imagineer at Disney Land Favorite Kitchen Item: Hand blender Any Advice for Food Industry? Write a good cover letter What do you think schools should teach you more in the industry?: As someone in quality, I wish I remembered more about statistics. Take writing classes and learn how to communicate effectively. Intro to business class. Public speaking experience: Adam – Podcasting. Weber – 4H Club Other Links University of DelawareDonuts use Premium Coffee. We use Arabica beans 4H Club- House Program. Weber spent 10 years in the program Sodium Alginate Beads Unwrapped Good Eats California lawyer wants to label coffee as a carcinogen Acrylamide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This title was inspired by this article If you’re a fan of this podcast, I talk about taco bell a lot and I finally got a chance to talk to the registered dietician from Taco Bell. And I did not hold back. I talk about pretty much everything from the Naked Chicken Chalupa to the Power Bowl and praised every single item on Taco Bell’s menu. But of course, there’s some takeaways. One huge thing I want you to notice is how Missy carves her path. After working in 6 months in Taco Bell, she said “I want to own Nutrition in Taco Bell”. Not only that, but she continues to learn how to become a better and better employee by finding mentors in different departments. Other than that, we’ll talk about how being a dietitian in the fast food industry works, how to customize your taco bell order, and we share our experiences eating Guinea Pig in Peru About Missy Missy Schaaphok is the Senior Nutrition Strategist for Taco Bell Corp. spearheading the strategic global efforts for nutrition and product development. Within this role, she is responsible for sensible menu development, regulatory compliance, stakeholder engagement, animal welfare, and sustainability. She works closely with executive, legal, brand marketing, and public relations teams to communicate Taco Bell’s commitment to quality and affordable food experiences. Missy plays a big role in how Taco Bell creates food that is fun, innovative and craveable, food you want to eat again, and food that fits customers’ evolving lifestyles. She has been the voice in telling Taco Bell’s “food for all” journey while also leading efforts behind the scenes. Most recently, Missy led the development of the Power Menu, a menu featuring high-protein bowls and burritos under 510 calories. She is also the driving force behind the brand’s commitment to simplify its ingredients, reducing sodium across the menu and removing artificial flavors and colors, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil and unsustainable palm oil; bringing customers a vegetarian menu certified by the American Vegetarian Association – the first of its kind in the Quick Service Restaurant industry, and leading the switch to cage-free eggs and serving chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine, in all U.S. restaurants. Missy has been recognized for her leadership serving on expert panels and presenting at key industry events like World of Healthy Flavors, Healthy Menu Collaborative, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, National Restaurant Association and California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. While working at WIC, she wrote and published her first cookbook titled, WIC Tested, Dietitian Approved. Since then she has contributed to the book on Recipe Nutrient Analysis: Best Practices for Calculations for Chemical Analysis and co-authored, “Uniform National Menu Labeling: Review of the Regulation and the RDN’s Role in Effective Implementation" for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food & Culinary Practice Group. Missy is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, currently serving as the Chair-Elect for the Dietitians in Business and Communications Dietetic Practice Group. She also holds volunteer positions within the National Restaurant Association's Nutrition Executive Study Group and The Culinary Institute of America’s Healthy Menu Collaborative Protein Working Group. Sponsor - FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor - ICON Foods Big announcement from our friends at Stevivia. They now go by ICON Foods and you’re seeing a rebranding in action which I find really exciting. Their vision is brighter, their strategy is stronger and their all-natural, clean-label product portfolio is ever growing. So why are they doing this? Even though stevia is an amazing product, there are just so many sweeteners coming up and it’s becoming a bit overwhelming. Monkfruit, Allulose, Agave, you name it. This is what ICON Foods is here for: to help you find sweetener solutions so you can focus on other challenges in the product development process. For more information, visit ICON foods at ICONfoods.com Episode Highlights How Missy developed the Power Menu 70% of our businesses is in our drive-thru The challenges to super innovative things like chicken chulupa Important skills you need to be an amazing product developer Missy and Adam compare notes on how Peruvian Guinea Pig tastes like Question Summary When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I’m a Dietician….from Taco Bell Best thing about your job: Eating taco bell every day Soup’d Up Bean Burrito Custom Recipe: Bean Burrito+ Cheese + Pico De Gallo + Grill it + Diablo Sauce Feed Articles on the taco bell website: How to hack taco bell. Vegan, healthy, etc Dietetic Internship: super competitive and grueling How did you got to Taco Bell?: Once was a Food Science Product Development Rubio’s Intern. Past Coworker from Rubio’s told me to apply 6 months into the job: “I want to own Nutrition in Taco Bell” How do you deliver amazing taste but healthy?: We are still trying to figure it out What is the most important skill you need?: A science foundation and how to convince people without scientific knowledge that what you’re doing is the right thing to do Do you feel stigmatized from other dieticians from working in the fast food industry?: I understand, but I stand for my company. I’m doing great things at taco bell. For example, 46 million people a week, reducing sodium means I am reducing millions of pounds of salts My Food Job Rocks: I’m the dietitian in Taco Bell What type of food trends and technologies are you really excited about?: The plant forward trend Do our beans have lard?: No! They are actually certified vegan Mobile Ordering, online ordering, menu boards: You can showcase individual ingredients You can sub black beans and romaine lettuce Make it Fresco Taco Bell needs to be mainstream and Mexican and they use beans as their plant forward options The biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: There is a lot of problems. Reducing sodium but sodium is very functional (taste and preservation) Animal Welfare and sustainability In terms of corporate decisions, what makes a company decide to commit to health?: The consumers are the ones who have a say. We want to reduce sodium. Taco Bell will reduce sodium by 10% We eliminated the 40 oz soda (800 million grams of sugar from consumer’s diets) Hidden Skills: Quantifying your impact Press Release: Taco Bell New Years Resolutions What’s one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Finance and numbers. how commodities can change instantly and how big investments change finance I seek out mentors: I meet monthly with a finance mentor Who inspired you to get into food?: My mom inspired me. She had Missy and her brother to make dinner once a week. Favorite Quote: Eat well, Travel Often First Travel adventure in Europe – I found France to be the most unique. We dug for clams Weirdest food I’ve eaten: Guenia Pig in Peru Any advice in getting into the food industry?: Dietitians ask me this. It’s networking and who you know. If you’re just starting out, just start volunteering at anything food related What is one thing you’d like to dispel about the food industry?: There is a dietician in every food establishment so there is always someone fighting for nutrition. Where can we find you?: I’m the only Schaaphok in the world. Also in @workoutwithali Other Links The power menu bowl Quest RDN – Registered Dietician San Diego State University - Food and Nutritional Science Glanbia Foods Jessica Gavin Episode Article about Suddenly becoming the Healthiest Fast Food Chain Naked Chicken Chalupa Chick-Fil-Le – Free breakfast when they download the app Clean Meat – Lab Grown Meat Taco Bell Cantina Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the past couple of months, students and professionals have contacted me all over the country to ask for advice on how to apply their degree in food science. I answer via linkedin message, email, phone calls, or sometimes, even skype. Most students are scared to have their interview posted in public, but one rose up to the challenge. Undergraduate Kelly Pan from the Ohio State University has reached out and asked for advice and I answer the best I can. A common theme in this episode is that we get into how to find out what you really like and turn it into a paid profession. We also talk a lot about the value in classes and going above and beyond. Important lesson is that schools will give you a baseline knowledge pool but won’t really teach you much about industry until you get into industry, whether that’s a problem or not, nothing I can do about it, but it’s just something to be aware of. No ads this time, this one’s a freebie How did you find us?: professors forwarded your podcast email to us The Ohio State How to Get Involved in College/ Making College Worth It Product Development Info meeting Smart Snacks Why did you choose food science as your calling?: I liked food and cooking but I had good grades so I decided to go to college. I googled food and science and got food science. The many jobs of food science How Kelly found her interest through this interview What do you think you’re good at?: Wrong question What do you do in the spare time?: I like to look at where food is placed in the grocery isles Food Marketing Mintel Market Research What kind of podcasts do you listen to?: Mental Health Podcasts Nutraceutical Ingredient suppliers hire people fresh out of college to apply their ingredients Refractometery Why pH is important: Student perspective versus Industry Schools teach you how something works, but not why it works Get a job on campus as a production assistant or research assistant How to talk to your professor: research them and talk to them about your research and try and get a job from it My favorite classes: Did not like food safety, loved food chemistry once you understand the proper biochemistry Food Engineering vs Food Science Food Engineering: Using engineering concepts for processing systems Beyond Meat Episode Texas A and M Extrusion If you graduated, did you think this would be where you are now?: Not during my first job, but now, maybe Louis Edmond Episode Pre-Vets likely go to Meat Science How to hedge your bets for a job: meet more people, do a lot of networking and leadership role Are you happy where you are Adam?: I am very fortunate Where do you see yourself in 5 years?: You never really know Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special episode where I’ve had the opportunity for some students to ask me some questions. I’ve had many, but I chose these two episodes as great examples of the advice I give to students. So first up is Weslie Khoo, a PhD student who wants to know more about Product Developemnt and stuff like that. I do my best answering them and talk about my experience, but also name dropping a lot of companies that I found If you guys have any problems with the audio, let me know. Weslie’s audio is a bit hard to listen to, and if it bothers you, let me know through podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com or linkedin. I’ll have a replacement episode with my audio switched out. Sponsor - FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor - ICON Foods Big announcement from our friends at Stevivia. They now go by ICON Foods and you’re seeing a rebranding in action which I find really exciting. Their vision is brighter, their strategy is stronger and their all-natural, clean-label product portfolio is ever growing. So why are they doing this? Even though stevia is an amazing product, there are just so many sweeteners coming up and it’s becoming a bit overwhelming. Monkfruit, Allulose, Agave, you name it. This is what ICON Foods is here for: to help you find sweetener solutions so you can focus on other challenges in the product development process. For more information, visit ICON foods at ICONfoods.com Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Questions Asked After you test flavors, do you launch all at once or one at a time? How startups can collect market research When am I sharing too much information before launch? Why would you go with a copacker? How to find copackers? Why do grocery stores private label? Do you argue a lot with copackers? Is there anything between a copacker and a incubator? What is a Pilot? How to get Packaging What startup resources do you like? How do you get a product out there? Question Summary Just collect data for sensory. More data the better How do you know a product is good? Seth Godin: If ten people tell ten friends about your product, it’s a good product Am I sharing too much information before launch?: You should be as transparent as possible, because people want transparency. If you put in more effort, then most people won’t copy you until you get big Legal disputes can be important regarding how products work Why would you go with a copacker?: Upfront cost of manufacturing is huge When do you engage with a co-packer?: When you validate your product will work. One example is getting Whole Foods to demand your product, then you need to get product fast Cottage Industry Permit How to find copackers?: Word of Mouth, Google, some websites do this, Copacker websites suck, go to trade shows, Private Label Manufacturer Association, also friends with someone who sells a lot of things, any book that talks about making your own product Why do grocery stores private label?: It gives higher margins Do you argue a lot with copackers?: Yes, but you have to be competent Is there anything between a copacker and a incubator?: Commercial kitchen or your basement How to get Packaging: Ask the copacker to see what they recommend. Also go to Pac Expo How do you get a product out there?: You have to go there and talk to people. Who you’re targeting, why, what they really want Give away your product for free Taste wins, having it healthy is better You can have a bad tasting product, and be healthy, and it will sell, but you won’t be the best The best Food Scientist have a mix of science or art, and it’s the consumer opinion that matters What startup resources do you like?: Good Food, Great Buisnesses, Conferences, Fancy Food Show Other Links Examples of strategic market launches Halo Top Taco Bell The first "health" bar Hershey Chocolate Bar Examples of Target Marketing Niching – Super specifying your target market Paleo bar – I should only focus on paleo people, nothing else matters Keto bar Quest Bars Soylent Hampton Creek Beyond Meat Airbnb Examples of startup research Susie Wyshak – Good Food Great Buisness Fancy Food Show The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Who Private Labels? Private Label vs Contract Manufacturing Costco Safeway Target CVS   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m a big fan of talking to product developers because the more and more I talk to them, I realize they have the same problems I do! Sure maybe it’s rice, or gummies, or jerky, but once you realize the common thread of dealing with people, it makes it a lot easier to ask for advice. And that’s kind of the commonality in this episode. I exchange with Brian all sorts of helpful product development tips such as who to ask for help when you can’t figure out something out, or advice on how to get internships. By the way, you’ll also find out in the interview, that I totally forgot that Hershey bought out Krave. We even get into a good discussion on eating protein and the beauty of bone marrow. About Brian Brian Gouldsbury is a Senior Food Scientist for Krave Pure Foods, a subsidiary of The Hershey Company. Brian’s role is to develop new jerky flavors and meat snacks for Krave, in addition to identifying margin expansion opportunities for the brand. Brian has an associates degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America, and a bachelors in food science from Cornell University. While working for Hershey, he also obtained his MBA from Penn State University, and most recently an advanced certificate in management and leadership from MIT Sloan. In his spare time, Brian is an avid bodybuilder, and has competed in several state level competitions. He is also a life learner, and is currently attempting to teach himself Mandarin when he is not chasing his two year old son around the house.  Key Takeaways Adam didn’t know Krave was bought by Hershey How acquisitions work with Hershey Can you run all meats on the same line? Yes How Brian and I found food science Brian’s theory on gaining muscle Would vegetarians eat meat? Question Summary What do you do: My job is to make X or Y First Job: Margin Expansion. Using cheaper products with no drawbacks from the consumer ends Krave ideation to commercialization: 9 months to commercialize Hershey ideation to commercialization: 1 to 2 years Hershey and Krave can move launch dates. Isagenix can’t Best thing about Krave: It’s the people. It’s small and interactive and in California. I love interacting with all sorts of people Steps in Brian’s career: Culinary Institute after highschool, Chef life was brutal for Brian and he wanted a work life balance, found out what a food scientist was, Cornell University BS, hired on for Hershey, moved to Krave Certifed Research Chefs What is the most important skill that you need for your job?: When it’s ok to ask for help How do you ask for help?: Internal subject matter experts and the secret mad scientist in Hershey How Adam does it: talk to copacker technologists; think of your production staff My Food Job Rocks: I love working with people and I love protein Brian’s philosophy on protein: eat a lot of protein. Some people eat 5 grams of protein Dream Job Title: VP of R+D or Supply Chain What do you look for most in a job?: If you don’t like what you do, it becomes a chore. Also, companies who give back Food Trends and Technology: Synthetic meat production and bug protein Who inspired you to get into food?: My mother, I accidentally snorted cayenne pepper as a kid Favorite Book: Financial Accounting for Internal Decision Making I’m teaching myself Mandarin Chinese Article about someone overloading on protein Kitchen item: the chef knife Best thing I ever ate: Roasted Bone Marrow: Blue Ribbon Brassiere. It’s delicious Best piece of advice in the food industry: Internships, internships, internships. Define what niche you fit in, best way you can get this is internships How do you recommend people getting their first internship: Walk into a career fair and get ready to go. Dress to impress Brian’s first internship: it was actually Hershey! Adam’s first internship: A slaughterhouse What would you tell yourself the first day of your job?:  Just have fun. Don’t take yourself so seriously How do you want people to contact you?: Linkedin. Brian Goldsbury Other Links Article about someone overloading on protein and dying CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility Project Peanutbutter EXO Bitty foods Brandy and Bone Marrow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you want to know ALL ABOUT CROWDFUNDING, you must listen to this episode. Let me introduce you to Cheryl Clements, one of the most delightful people I’ve ever interviewed. She owns the startup, Pie Shell, which helps food startups raise capital using crowdfunding. What makes Pieshell a unique crowdfunding platform is that it is super focused on food. All they fund is food companies but more importantly, they help food companies prepare to get ready for the crowdfunding journey. So this episode is jam packed with so many tips on how to name a company, how to ask for help, and how to most importantly, raise money to achieve your dream. Pieshell is currently in a crowdfunding stage itself and here's how you can be part of the pie. How to invest into the early stages of Pieshell. All you have to do is go to https://www.seedinvest.com/pieshell/seed and invest at minimum, $500 dollars. After I edited the interview, I hopped on and invested and this is not because they are my friends or anything, but it’s because I really believe in pieshell’s mission, and I hope after this episode, you do too. Crowd Funding Statistics Why 75% of food startups fail Why it takes 3-4 months to prepare for a crowdfunding campaign and how PieShell prepares for this and gives you tools for success 1 spelling mistake can reduce funding by 13% Venture Capitalist will only work with Food companies that make 1 million to 3 million 85% of people in Expo West will not be there next year Question Summary When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I help make people’s dream come true. We are building a community of food entrepreneurs and businessmen How did PieShell get its name?: It was actually my mom’s company. People loved it. What the best thing about your job?: Working with all of the projects How PieShell gets founders: People find us all over the internet. We also have over 60 community partnerships who send us people. How did you learn about crowdfunding?: I did a lot of homework. And then I crowdfunded to start pieshell. I made $13,000 dollars from that crowdfunding campaign The steps to get to where you are today: I’ve been in a family who loves food. I spent a lot of time installing SAP to businesses, Cheryl understands process and can translate it to many fields. How did you reach out to mentors?: You have to be brave. You have to be open to building relationships, Charming robot web design – met through an internship One tip on networking: Talk to everyone. Don’t be shy. You need to be talking about yourself all the time. You never know who will show up. Why Does Your Food Job Rock?: I do what I love everyday. I love helping people. Food Trends and Technology: People really want to know where things are coming from. Transparency in the market place. What companies are being transparent?: A lot of smaller companies. However, the bigger companies are doing wonders like Unilever and Chobani What’s one of the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: People don’t understand how much money and time goes into food. It takes 3 to 5 years for a food company to get established. Other Links Foodgrads Barnraising Kelp Jerky Fund-a-feast Ripe.io - Blockchain Technology SAP Adam Simon – Head of innovative brands in Clorox Austin’s Underdogs  - Pieshell New Equity Crowdfunding Law Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  I think this might actually be our first quality manager on our podcast and I am very excited that it’s Bryan. He’s had over 25 years working as a Quality expert in the dairy industry. Bryan is also offering his new book: The New Manager Mindset to our viewers and all you have to do is go to fsmaexpert.com and just pay for shipping. I read this book, as I’m thinking of management, and it really gave me some great tips and resources to not only understand people, but to build systems. We go pretty in depth on food safety, quality, leadership and management so if you are interested in this pathway, pay close attention to this interview. My favorite part of this interview is about 20 minutes in where Bryan explains how to have everyone agree on how to deal with warm milk. Sponsor - FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor - ICON Foods Big announcement from our friends at Stevivia. They now go by ICON Foods and you’re seeing a rebranding in action which I find really exciting. Their vision is brighter, their strategy is stronger and their all-natural, clean-label product portfolio is ever growing. So why are they doing this? Even though stevia is an amazing product, there are just so many sweeteners coming up and it’s becoming a bit overwhelming. Monkfruit, Allulose, Agave, you name it. This is what ICON Foods is here for: to help you find sweetener solutions so you can focus on other challenges in the product development process. For more information, visit ICON foods at ICONfoods.com Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs How mentorship brought Bryan to success Why hiring a consultant is a good idea (especially in growth phase), and when to focus on it A really good example of how quality and production can work together (20:00) How to use personality subsets to work together How the FDA works and how to take advantage of it Question Summary How do you introduce yourself: I make sure your food is up to standard (Quality) and make it safe (Food Safety) Quality is making things consistent, Food Safety needs to be in place What do you do?: I’m a quality consultant What’s the best thing about your job?: I love working with different companies Steps it took to get to where you are today: Planned to go to medical school, ended up working in cheese, had to decide between contributor to manager If you want to make a bigger impact, you might need to be a manager A quality manager’s job: to find out why stuff is happening, not fix things right away How to create a great quality system - Examine a process - Talk to the worker - Determine the key attributes - Develop a buffer (red light, yellow light, green light) that production can understand - Make smart decisison on a yellow light situation Best skill you can have in quality: Technical competency and the ability to talk to people How do you do better at talking to people?: See if you can find a person’s philosophy and how they view things. Then communicate in a way they relate to it. Managing versus Leadership: You need both, but leadership is a focus on creating new leaders and trusting people to do their job Exciting Food Technology: Blockchain as a tracking mechanism for food Biggest Issue: FDA will eventually target corporate headquarters. Most corporate HQs don’t have systems in place What’s one thing you’d like to know about?: To keep updated on food safety How do you keep up to date?: GMA through Smart Brief, Bill Marler Food Safety News Report, take the info and cut and paste Favorite Kitchen Item: My mom’s ice cream scoop Best thing you’ve ever eaten: a 7 course meal in Copenhagen, Denmark. Michelien Restaurant Advice for people in the quality realm?: Gather up your technical skillset and find things that really exciting If you were to teach something to a class in college, what would you teach?: How to understand the consumer. (found in his book). You shouldn’t base your opinion on CEO feedback, but fanatic customer feedback. Food Leadership Group.com Bryan’s Book is available for free. FSMAexpert.com. Book a 30 minute convo Other Links Marajuana business in Colorado Boulder Colorado Naturally Boulder Leprino Foods Class 1 FDA sample ENTP ISTJ Darin Detwiler Frank Yannis at Walmart -Walmart is partnering with IBM to blockchain CRISPR Whole Genome Technology Gary Danko Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the title says, this is another Food Safety Fanatic that I just loved talking to! Still young in his career, Ben Chapman does so many things in his field such as being a professor, writing on a blog, and of course, co-hosting a podcast with our previous guest, Don Schaffner. Ben’s focus on food safety is on the food service side as a lot of his work deal with how to have chefs and other people in the food service industry work with food safety, that not only includes teaching, but he also gives people the tools, whether gaget-like or not to mitigate the complex world of food microorganisms. Other than that you’ll get a lot of great food safety resources, a great discussion of how food safety is portrayed in the media, and where Ben takes his kids when they grocery shops. Sponsor - FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. You can create a profile, add your resume and search for co-op, internships and full time opportunities just for Food Grads. Employers can find you too, they can recruit you for jobs and projects they need help with to give you the relevant industry experience you need. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor - Steviva Ingredients Has marketing ever asked you to pull a rabbit out of a hat? I know they have with me. They want clean-label sugar reduction because that’s the trend. And in addition to clean label, we need to follow the ever-changing FDA laws, meet low cost parameters AND create a product that tastes EXCELLENT – with no aftertaste issues. They want us to make magic happen. Who do they think we are - Houdini? Let me tell you who the real magicians are. Steviva Ingredients. Steviva has more than two decades of experience in R&D and clean-label sugar reduction in a variety of applications: beverage, baked goods, fillings, frostings, condiments. Give em a call. They’ll create a solution for you. If they can help me, they can help you. Go check them out at stevivaingredients.com. Housekeeping If you like what you heard, like us on facebook or write a review on itunes. It helps wonders. I am also inviting you to sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com. I am doing this new thing called the 5 course meal where I send you 5 pieces of hand picked content and deliver it every Friday morning. Like a meal kit… If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the podcast, don’t be afraid to email me at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com Knowledge Bombs How I got my butt kicked my freshman year in college The hidden benefits of podcasting when you’re in conferences How I read Ben’s article before I even knew about it What do you do?: I spend time making people less sick. I give people tools for people to not get sick What do you do if I know a little about the food industry?: Give resources to food production or consumer;s homes to help them find food borne illnesses. 4 reasons why people get sick: Handwashing and poor personal hygiene Cross contamination Temperature – improper cooking Storage temperature These are generally poor decisions. We help track them What’s the best thing you do for your job?: We have the opportunity to make a difference. If it stops people from getting sick, it’s worth it. How did you get to where you are?: In high school, I was super interested in microbiology and diseases. Got a summer job in food safety. Masters degree on keeping salmonella off of tomato’s. PhD thesis:  How much handwashing it takes to get rid of bacteria. Applied to NC State. Been there for 9 years. What do you teach students?: I mentor graduate students, give them the skills to ask food safety questions What type of skillset or personality do you need to be good at your job?: Being inquisitive and critical. Critical of others work and your own work. In science, we have peer review and we have to be critical How did food safety talks start?: I was a graduate school student and I met Don. I got Don to speak at a freshman class and I had to have him stay at my house. Don and Ben signed up for Storycore to talk about Food Safety, and Don kept on inviting Ben to be a panelist and then decided to make a podcast. How do you make your podcast enticing to viewers?: We’ve noticed the least prepared you are, the better your episode might be What makes a Good Podcast: Excellent Story-tellers, they can paint a picture of what’s going on, and harmony between guests. The best podcasts is where we’re sitting on a bar, drinking a beer What kind of Podcasts do you listen to?: Bill Simmons Podcast (BS report). 5x5 podcasts. Back to work - Dan Benjamin. John Roderick - Roderick on the line. Pod Save America. I recommend: Stuff you should know Barfblog: Most memorable article. Michael Jordan Flu game was linked to bad pizza. Barfblog used to be a forum for people to talk about food poisoning. When we launched, nobody did it, so we did it. Since you have kids, where do you shop?: Everywhere. My kid loves to shop and we go pretty much everywhere. Ben knows a lot of people in the grocery industry and can text them to see what’s up. What type of food trends and technology are really interesting you right now?: Chefs are becoming more aware and appreciative of people in Food Safety Why are food safety outbreaks showing up more? Is it just me?: Media now has more space because it’s online now. Foodborne outbreaks makes great stories. More conversations about food safety are good. Chipotle Outbreak analysis: Foodborne outbreaks are scars for life. Chipotle hasn’t done a good job sharing information BBC’s article: 2 years ago. We actually get norovirus outbreaks every day What’s one thing about the food industry you’d like to know more about?: the food industry does a really good job when saying food safety is a priority. However, I’d like to know more about the process for food safety and how people make decisions day in and day out. We don’t do a  good job saying things aren’t perfect. Favorite book?: Vivian Howard, North Carolina Chef Deep Run Roots: My Favorite Recipes from the South. TV show: A chef’s life Favorite Kitchen Items: Thermometer. Cobart PDP 300 Digital Instaread thermometer. Only $20 dollars Any advice for anyone going into the food industry: Don’t do anything unless you’re passionate about i. There are a lot of jobs in the food industry, and it’s growing in food safety Find Ben at: Barfblog, Food Safety Talk,  Twitter: @benjaminchapman, Instagram: @barfblogben Links International Association for Food Protection Collard Greens Norovirus Bluebell Outbreak Chipotle Outbreak Peanut Butter Outbreak Peanut butter Outbreak in Australia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices