My Food Job Rocks!

Today we’re interviewing Alyssa Eng, Innovation and Improvement Executive at Qra, a small but growing startup retail chain store in Malaysia. I met Alyssa once during my event a long time ago in WeWork Food Labs. It was my going away party to Austin Texas where I spent $2000 dollars on catered food. I didn’t remember at first. Grace told me about Alyssa so I reached out and the memories flooded in. At the time, Alyssa worked at CCD in California. Phil Saneski and a few of his friends also worked there so it all clicked together. It was so nice to catch up with Alyssa over some delicious Turkish food like 5 minutes from the hotel. So what’s unique about this interview Alyssa has worked in the United States and she talks about her experience being an intern in the United States What’s really value about this interview is Alyssa’s transition from Malaysia to The United States to Malaysia again and how the pandemic, which seems like ages ago, affected jobs QRA is growing fast and Alyssa is along for the ride. After opening 3 stores in a year, Alyssa has jumped into all sorts of job roles over there and talks about the dynamics of working in retail, developing products, and the expectations of working in Malaysia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and learn what they do, how they got there, and insights on the future of food. I’m your host and food scientist Adam Yee. Today we’re interviewing Grace Huei Tan, Business Development Manager at Oatside, a plant-milk company. Grace also does projects with Malaysia coffee companies and marketing. So Grace and I have been online penpals for years and I remember she reached out when I first started My Food Job Rocks, but I don’t remember why. Over time, we’ve worked on a few small things together such as a My Food Job Rocks article miniseries where I asked guest students to write their experience in food science from different countries. It’s so amazing to finally see her in person. I really enjoyed this episode for a lot of reasons. Grace is exceptional at talking about what she loves to do and you’ll learn her really fun journey in the food industry as she has gone through being a celebrity from winning a food competition, to traveling around the world showing people Asian flavors, and now has landed in the marketing field. What I also found insightful was Grace’s viewpoint on Malaysia and the food industry and how the country perceives education, careers, and health. You’re also going to get a bit more of a deeper insight on Malaysian lifestyle. From the diverse groups that are here, to the delicious food Grace goes out of her way to go. I think what’s really impactful is a common thread is starting to bubble up with that a lot of talent leaks out of Malaysia into countries such as Singapore, Australaia, or the United States. Grace also knows where all the good food is in Malaysia so make sure to get a notepad handy when you plan your trip to Malaysia! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re interviewing Sew Chang Chew, Head of R and D at Hybrid Dairy Alliance, a new business that focuses on dairy manufacturing. Welcome to Malaysia! This is the first interview I did hours after I landed. I actually met Sew 9 years ago at IFT when our colleges were both competing in a product development competition. I believe it was Developing Solutions for Developing Countries. Sew has a lot to say about the food industry in Malaysia and gives a good introduction to what the food is really about. Not just industry, but he describes food really well. I think what’s great to take away from this interview is the point of view. What’s amazing about traveling to all of these countries and interviewing everyone is you get to see not only the differences but the similarities between what’s going on and Sew highlights a lot of challenges that I feel I’ve faced in my career. You’re also going to get a lot of practical advice! Sew is essentially a manager and gives some good tips on how to teach and motivate your employees! His advice is very simple, and methodical. I never realized how similar I was with Sew, we both have worked many jobs, around 2-year stints, and he himself traveled the world.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re interviewing Widya Putra, CEO, and co-founder of Meatless Kingdom. They are a company that makes delicious Indonesian CPG products using mushrooms. I was fortunate to talk to Widya when he was visiting Singapore and did this interview at the Big Idea Ventures Office. I find that super cool! As you’ve been listening to this episode, Singapore is such a focal point to the whole investment scene and food is no exception. Talking to entrepreneurs locally in Singapore, from China and now Indonesia has been so interesting and shows just how centerpoint the city is. Anyways, I don’t know much about Indonesia and it wasn’t really in my plans to visit when I was planning my world trip so I’m fortunate to have interviewed Widya to learn more about the ecosystem. Maybe next time. In this interview, you’ll learn about Indonesia’s perspective on plant-based meat and what Meatless Kingdom is doing to help introduce Indonesians to plant-based cuisines. You’ll also learn why Meatless Kingdom applied to Big Idea Venture’s Cohort 5 and how Big Idea helped Meatless Kingdom grow its business through its accelerator program. There’s only like 5 players in Indonesia each tackling different products so it’s pretty small. But for me, I see a glimmer of excitement in a whole new market looking for delicious new products.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m so excited to have my good friend David Kay on the My Food Job Rocks podcast. David is employee number 1 at Upside Foods, which used to be called Memphis Meats. You may know them as one of the leaders of the cultivated meat movement. As we all know, bringing new technology to the world can be risky so you’ll learn a ton of the strategies David has used to what he says, derisks bringing cultivated meat to market I got a tour of the Upside food facility, called EPIC. Before it was bought out 2 years ago, it used to be a grocery store in the heart of Emeryville. When you enter the building, you are greeted with an open kitchen and then David gave me a tour. Upside Foods is working on a bunch of stuff. Though I heard a bunch about them when I was in California, it’s nice to see the visual progress. They’ve found a way to produce any type of meat by developing a robust process to generate cells. By the way, haven’t tasted Upsides’ stuff yet! Some day. Upside Foods is valued at around $1 billion dollars and is one of the most well-funded contenders in the space. One could say they’ve always been the tip of the spear when it comes to this industry and it is actually quite interesting to compare Upside with the other global players I’ve interviewed. The facility can produce 50,000-400,000 pounds of meat a year but that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the meat industry. You’ll also learn the regulatory framework for cultivated meat and what still needs to get done for this to be commercialized! There’s still a lot of work for cultivated meat to go mainstream. After all, it took 9 years for the concept to light a fire but progress is happening. If you’re in the weeds for this industry, it’s making progress. Most expect the outcome sooner, who doesn’t? but for me, the journey in how this technology has been developing has been amazing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re interviewing Durgalakshmi Sathiakumar, or Durga for short. She’s the COO and first employee for Shiok Meats, one would say the most ahead of the cultivated meat ecosystem in Asia. It’s currently, in Series B and raised $21.5 million according to CB Insights and is valued around $99 million. Though a modest amount in United States standards, this is huge when it comes to Asia. So I learned shiok is basically a term for deliciousness which embraces the focus of Shiok Meats as it is specifically headquartered in Singapore. What was surprising is that Shiok actually does more than just shrimp. It’s also doing Wagyu beef thanks to an acquisition. Do they synergize? The answer’s fuzzy. You’ll not only learn why Shiok focuses on seafood but also the perception on cultivated meat in Singapore, and we compare it to places in the United States. Though the data is ever-changing. Durga herself gives some valuable advice on some of the skillsets you need in the industry as well as trying to find your ikagai, or purpose in life.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re interviewing Dr. Dalal AlGhawas, Director at Big Idea Ventures, a global accelerator focusing on protein technology. Well, Big Idea ventures isn’t just an accelerator, it’s also a venture capitalist arm, a networking hub, and all around, global player in the food tech space. I remember interviewing Andrew Ive, the CEO of Big Idea Ventures. Pre-pandemic just when they were getting started and Big Idea has grown so fast. Last I’ve heard, they’ve been going global hosting competitions and demo days in Korea and Japan. Now I’m interviewing Dalal, who’s been so helpful in connecting me to not just some amazing interviews in Singapore, but also in general, meeting some awesome people personally and professionally! Dalal is a wealth of knowledge and I’ve noticed she has a great understanding of the history of whole industries, which allows her to gather insights to give out practical advice. If you’ve been following this series since the beginning I hope after this episode, you might be seeing a sort of congealment in all of the guests we’ve had and how they work with and synergize with each other. It’s probably the most beautiful thing about Singapore, in that everyone truly knows and wants to help each other. You’ll hear several companies in this interview that we’ve been able to talk to and it’s so nice to hear just how networked the whole Singapore ecosystem is. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/264Dalal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re interviewing Max Rye, co-founder and Chief Strategist at Turtle Tree Labs. Which is a precision fermentation company focusing on lactoferrin, a supermolecule in cow’s milk. One of the most unique things about Turtle Tree is that they have hubs in Singapore, Davis California and Boston Massachusetts. I know a few companies who are taking this approach because certain areas have certain talents. To level set, Turtle Tree has raised around $40 million dollars so you do need a lot of money to prepare for managing a global company. Though the world is changing thanks to technology and it seems like event startups can take advantage of location. Max tells us how turtle Tree manages that. Talent is surprisingly more location dependent than you think. This is generally why despite what anyone says, the United States still produces the most talented employees in the world. Ok enough bragging. Max ran a software company for about 15 years before handing it off and diving into solving sustainability problems. I found Max’s talk to be insightful and there are a plethora of inspiring insights and stories that might help you consider going into this space. You’ll learn about Max’s journey on building Turtle Tree and it shows that he is an example of the many people who are transitioning from tech to solving big and meaningful climate problems. It’s really inspiring and he’s inspired others to do so too. Special thanks to long-time fan Vien-An Freidel for connecting me with the Turtle Tree Team I would have never gotten a chance with such a high profile interview without her. show notes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/263Max Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  Today I’m interviewing Mihir Pershad, co-founder of Umami Meats, a cultivated seafood company in Singapore. Mihir has great in-depth knowledge of the fish farming industry and does an amazing job explaining and articulating the complexities in traditional seafood agriculture. What I really enjoyed is that he captures the nuances and the problems quite well. This gives him a significant advantage when he launched Umami Meats, which focuses on cultivated seafood. After this interview, Umami Meats had people try their product in Singapore’s fine dining among other cultivate meat brands so they are innovating fast! Be prepared to swim in fish and seafood facts in this interview. Mihir is super knowledgeable in not just the fish industry but understands just how the whole world works and that insight enlightened me a lot in just how it’s all connected. If you’re planning to start a business, Mihir does a great job explaining just a lot of things that are really useful for entrepreneurs such as understanding your market, funding in Singapore, and finding research on research that doesn’t even exist. One thing is prominent in this interview is that Mihir knows fish facts! Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/262Mihir Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I’m interviewing HonMun Yip, currently asset manager for KICL Group which manages investments but he does a lot of stuff. Mainly, he’s invested in a ton of alternative protein companies as an early-stage investor. His list can be found on LinkedIn but some of his portfolios includes but is definitively not limited to: Impossible Foods, Eat JUST, Motif Foodworks, Gingko Bioworks, and Youkuai Meats. HonMun has been through it all in his career seeing the rise and fall of the dot com era and the eventual adoption of the smartphone era and now he’s in the action of the food tech era. In this interview, you’ll gain deep insight on a bird’s eye vision. HonMun compares the current food tech landscape like the smartphone industry. It took 30 years to fruition so as an investor, you have to recognize trends and stay for the long term I caught HonMun right after his trip to the United States, and he tells me just how exciting it is to see the technology progressing and the energy that exudes from meeting with founders face to face. What’s important to mention in this interview is that HonMun sees one thing that resonates in this sector. Purpose. Compared to the digital age, food is so connected and so personal, the potential benefits to the world are blatantly obvious, that the investor community notices the intense passion of these entrepreneurs. One quote I always love from mark Twain is that history doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes and I think it bares repeating this over and over again. I think we need this focus whenever it comes to exciting new technologies. Enjoy this Interview with HonMun Yip. We do this in some corporate office in Singapore. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/261HonMun Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices