Tomorrow's Bites with Andrés and Sjacco

How to sell ritual tea in a world that only wants convenience?In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we sit down with Sergey, a curious nomad who went from underground DJ culture to building one of Europe’s most ambitious tea movements. After spending years traveling deep into China, learning the language, living with farmers, and sourcing from abandoned plantations and ancient wild tea trees, Sergey is now on a mission to bring real tea culture back to Europe.This is not a story about trends or convenience. It’s about obsession, patience, and starting over.We dive into:Why 95% of Chinese tea doesn’t meet EU standards, and how Sergey sources around itThe difference between wild, ancient, and plantation tea (and why it matters)How speaking Chinese unlocked trust, quality, and long-term farmer relationshipsThe brutal reality of starting from zero again after war and relocation.Why tea might be the healthiest replacement for alcohol, caffeine, and fast rituals.And much more...From scaling tea houses across countries to convincing farmers to stop fertilizing their land, Sergey’s journey reveals what it really takes to build a values-driven business in one of the world’s oldest supply chains.🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform – even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show! 👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠😊 The Guest: Sergey Shevelev

What actually changes when you spend a full year talking to the people trying to fix the food system?In this New Year’s special episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, Andres and Sjacco sit down for their final conversation of the year to reflect, honestly and openly, on what 12 months of deep conversations with founders, farmers, scientists, and system-changers have taught them.This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a distillation.Drawing from more than 30 long-form conversations, they each bring six lessons—twelve in total—that challenged their assumptions, reshaped their thinking, and revealed uncomfortable truths about food, startups, sustainability, and human behavior.They unpack questions like:Why solving food problems is more about systems than productsWhy regenerative agriculture might be the least risky optionWhy startups are pushed to scale in ways food never canWhy there is no such thing as a “perfect diet”Why adding value at origin may be the only future for farmersAnd why mission-driven founders must learn to say no, to survive.Listen now to start the new year with clarity, perspective, and hard-earned lessons from the frontlines of agri-food.If you’ve been part of this journey, thank you. And if you’re building what comes next, this episode is for you.🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW We know that hour-long conversations might be too long, so we have distilled a lesson from each conversation in 2025 and compiled them into an e-book for you. Download the e-book with 32 unique lessons here.👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠

What if the biggest risk for your startup isn’t product, funding, or scaling, but talking about the wrong thing?In this Build in Public episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we zoom in on one of the most uncomfortable (and crucial) questions founders avoid for too long:Are people actually waiting for what you’re building?To unpack this, we bring in Elise Bijkerk, a marketing and food transition expert with years of corporate and global experience, to sit down with Andres Jara, co-founder of Favamole. Together with Sjacco & Andrés, they dissect Favamole’s value proposition live, no pitch decks, no filters, no safe answers.This is not a branding theory episode. It’s a real-time founder intervention.We explore:Why marketing is not the final step, but the starting pointThe danger of trying to be “everything” and ending up as “nothing”Why purpose alone doesn’t make people change their behaviorHow emotional needs often matter more than functional benefitsWhat Andres will actually change in the next month as a founderIf you’re building a food startup, impact brand, or mission-driven product, and you’ve ever struggled to explain why someone should care, this episode will hit close to home.And if you want to know more around marketing, here is the episode with Elise Bijkerk itself. 🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform – even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show! 👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠

What if the real food crisis isn’t calories, but diversity?In just the last century, we’ve lost 75% of global crop diversity, and today 90% of our food comes from just 15 plants. The rest? Slowly disappearing from fields, diets, and cultures.In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we sit down with Kamogelo Thumankwe, founder of Tsarona, an African superfood brand with a mission that goes far beyond nutrition. Born and raised in Botswana, Kamogelo shares how her personal roots, climate justice work, and lived experience led her to build a business that fights biodiversity loss, empowers smallholder farmers, and challenges the global food system’s obsession with trends and monocultures.We explore:Why indigenous crops like Bambara groundnuts and tiger nuts could be key to regenerative food systemsHow European consumer choices directly shape what farmers grow in the Global SouthWhy Tsarona is not trying to create the next “superfood hype”The tension between scaling a startup and staying true to your valuesWhat it means to build a food brand rooted in identity, culture, and justiceAnd much more...👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠📸 ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠🌎 ⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠😊 The Guest: ⁠⁠Kamogelo ThumkaweLook into the company: ⁠⁠⁠Tsarona

Vanilla is one of the most complex and labor-intensive crops on the planet.Each flower is pollinated by hand. Each pod takes months to cure. And for decades, Madagascar has dominated the market.But what if the best vanilla of tomorrow comes from somewhere else?In this short episode, we talk with Godfrey Kiwumulo, founder of Vanilla Point in Uganda, about why his country might be the next global hotspot for high-quality vanilla.We discuss:→ Why Uganda’s climate gives it an edge.→ How regenerative farming supports better flavor and soil health.→ The hidden labor and value behind a kilo of vanilla.In just 10 minutes, we challenge the story behind every spoonful of vanilla, and explore a new one growing in East Africa.

What if the real battle for our food future isn’t in the fields, but in the market system itself?In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we sit down with Dr. Caspar Krampe, Assistant Professor at Wageningen University and co-founder of VGreens, to unpack the hidden dynamics shaping today’s agrifood industry. From the struggle between big corporations and startups, Caspar reveals why change in food systems is so complex, and why both Goliaths and Davids need each other more than they think.We explore:Why markets act more like ecosystems than machinesThe invisible power structures that keep small innovators from scaling and the enablers out there. How Corporations blocks disruption, and how startups can outsmart themWhy “technology” can be both an enabler and a weapon in food transitionsHow to turn market competition into true collaboration for sustainabilityThe Growth Journey of Caspar’s Own Startup VgreensAnd much more…🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform – even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show! 👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠

Many purpose-driven food brands are rich in values, but struggle to connect with customers.In this episode, Roos Roelofs, founder of OlvLimits and regenerative olive farmer, shares how she had to shift her communication approach.At first, she focused on scientific facts and sustainability data. But she quickly realized: data doesn’t sell olive oil. Emotions do.Now, Roos leads with storytelling.In this 10-minute segment from our original conversation, we talk about:Why logic isn’t enough to win heartsThe power of emotional connection in food brandingHow purpose-led founders can find their voiceA must-listen for any founder who wants to make people feel their mission and not just understand it.In 10 minutes, this might change how you speak to your audience.

What if you spent 38 years developing pesticides, only to later realize the industry never told you the full story?That’s exactly what happened to Herb Young, a retired plant pathologist who spent nearly four decades in industrial agriculture before discovering the science Big Ag had ignored all along: soil health, microbes, and nutrient density.In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, Herb shares his eye-opening journey from the chemical labs of Big Ag to running his own regenerative citrus farm in Florida. He explains how understanding soil life transformed not only his farm but also his beliefs about food, farming, and health.You will find in this episode:Why the term “regenerative” was never once mentioned in his 38-year careerHow industrial farming practices quietly destroyed soil healthThe shocking difference in nutrient density between regenerative and conventional fruitHow microbes (not fertilizers) build flavor, resilience, and nutritionWhat happens when a lifelong scientist applies research rigor to regenerationAnd much more...👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠📸 ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠🌎 ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠😊 The Guest: ⁠Herb YoungLook into the company ⁠⁠Squeeze Citrus LLC

What if you could follow a startup’s evolution in real time, as it happens?Welcome back to Build in Public, the monthly Tomorrow’s Bites series where we sit down with Andres Jara, co-founder of Favamole, to document the highs, lows, and lessons of building a food startup from the ground up.In this second episode (recorded in Barcelona) Andres reflects on a month of tension, focus, and growth. From chasing listings and building social capital to confronting imposter syndrome, we get a raw look at what it really means to keep a mission-driven food company alive.We explore:Why founders must balance focus with perspectiveHow to turn “no” into momentum through long-term trust buildingThe surprising role of social capital in B2B salesHow to communicate differently with investors, farmers, and consumersHow can entrepreneurs face imposter syndrome?Listen now to join Favamole’s journey, month by month, challenge by challenge, and see what it really takes to build a regenerative food brand in public.🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform, even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show! 👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠📸 ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠🌎 ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠😊 The Guest: Andrés JaraLook into the company ⁠⁠Favamole

What do you do after creating the UK’s first alcohol-free beer?If you’re Steve, you take your creativity, your culture, and a few family recipes, and you turn them into the world’s first Asian snacks sold in beer cans.In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we sit down with Steve, co-founder of Curry Smugglers, to explore his journey from the fashion industry to brewing and now to reinventing an entire snack category. From branding born out of a customs joke to packaging inspired by sustainability and nostalgia, this is a story about turning memories into movements.We unpack:How Steve created the UK’s first alcohol-free beer when no one believed in it.The moment his wife and daughter sparked the idea for Curry Smugglers.Why the snack industry needs a design revolution and how this should look like.The link between fast fashion and snacks, and what both can learn from each other.The business lessons from creating UK's first alcohol-free beer.🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform, even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show! 👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠😊 The Guest: Steve D SailopalLook into the company ⁠Curry Smugglers