PeasOnMoss Podcast

Chef Wiley Bates III is a popular speaker for the young professional networking group, and he held our attention for over an hour sharing his lived experiences as well as the recommendations for pivoting a career "when the SHIFT hits the fan." Adam Howell co-hosted the discussion. 

The Founder of the Food Edge Conference, Lauren Abda joined us for an entrepreneurship conversation with the RCA Hustlers Under 40.  Food Edge is an annual conference that brings together the food industry's largest brands, dynamic start-ups, disruptive leaders, and leading researchers to discuss the future of food. Packed with 2 days of inspiring speakers, innovation workshops, and fireside chats, the summit explores trends, strategies, and capabilities that help food innovators and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Food Edge explores food innovation with a focus on sustainable sourcing, recipe innovation, product design, customer experience, and social media.

This podcast continues to be sponsored by . Get information about sugar replacement and optimizing your high intensity sweetener systems. Let them know that you heard about them on PeaOnMoss.

PeasOnMoss discusses career management and active growth to help you get and promote in product development roles with Justin Kanthak, and ; Jacob Burton, executive chef at Renaissance Hotel, Reno, NV, and founder of ; and Wiley Bates III, Sales at

To start by saying that 2020 has been the most insane half-year ever is a gross understatement. In some ways I've seen our world and communities come together, focusing on a distant horizon of "better," while recognizing that a lot of work needs to be done to get there. In others, I've seen fear and suspicion lead to traumatized relationships. In all this, people have continued to eat, and our food industry has continued to produce, but in different areas, at different volumes, and at different costs. I've kept the podcast schedule essentially on track, with a very brief acknowledgement of today's challenges, because the show is focused on the industry, not on social justice. But, a holistic view of the industry does have to include the challenges that each of our members take on, and I will not be silent about this.  As we move into the next season, we are pivoting the podcast from guest-focused interviews to topic-focused features. Now you'll be able to hear more diverse perspectives about a single subject in the same episode.  I have loved the insights shared by the guests who have joined the show, whether they were experienced research chefs sharing their hard-earned lessons, or entrepreneurs discovering the complexities of the food industry. Thank you for following it for the past four years, and I'm hopeful that it can continue for the years to come.  As we pivot to the new style, I decided to indulge in a monologue about my journey, to share with you some of the influences that led me to the product development world. Next week, we'll look at career management and how involvement in a professional organization can shape your growth as a worker and eventually a leader. TraceGains is a proud sponsor of PeasOnMoss. TraceGains is a cloud-based supplier relationship and quality management platform that helps food and consumer-packaged goods companies deliver on brand promise.   

Stephanie Robbins and Kimberly met at the 2019 in Chicago when she served as the VP of Marketing at La Terra Fina. She, alongside her colleague Dan Howell, shared a compelling presentation on fostering collaborative relationships between product development and marketing. They described how the development of a trusting and synergistic cross-functional team led to more product success, quicker launches with fewer errors, and a better workplace. Stephanie joined us on PeasOnMoss podcast to expand on that presentation and to tell us about work she's doing post-La Terra Fina. Stephanie does individual for food businesses in marketing (and gives perspectives about food business entrepreneurship) and is working with a business partner in a new snack concept, soon to be announced. Get in touch with her at

Former VP of Marketing at La Terra Fina has a bright outlook for her future and doesn't carry regrets about her last work. From working to foster a strong cross-functional team at LTF, to learning to respect and trust the expertise of her teammates, Stephanie possesses a strong self-awareness of her internal strengths. In this preview, Stephanie and Kimberly catch up in 8 months of life and work and consider the next steps. Our connection is an example of how important networking events are to expand our circles and relationships, but the honest and vulnerable conversations that we get to have among a few are the marks of connections that go beyond professional introductions. You won't make friendships like this at every event, but when you do, they're so valuable and are the highlights to our careers. Since 2017, IconFoods has sponsored the PeasOnMoss podcast. Icon Foods specializes in supplying the health food industry with natural alternatives to sugar. We have nutritive and non-nutritive solutions to your clean label conundrum. Whether you are an established brand looking to reformulate for your consumers, or a food startup looking to break into the low-carb industry, we can get you the ingredients you need. We specialize in Ketogenic, Diabetic, Paleo, and Sugar-Free product solutions.

We're taking a break this week from our usual interview show to give our community time to consider the events of the week and our individual and social responsibilities to seek social justice for every single member of our food and beverage industry and of our society overall. I have been so blessed and honored to share the stories of our diverse food and beverage community, and it's in the spirit of sharing the stories that I stand with our black community as we all struggle through recent violence, murder, and subsequent protests and riots. Racism has no place in our community, and we all hurt when one member is hurt. Right now, it's our black brothers and sisters who are being hurt disproportionately to others.  There are various organizations that provide information about the issues, the systemic racism, and actions we can take, including changing how we talk about race issues, how to identify racist behaviors and attitudes, how to educate and learn from each other, and how we can work together for solutions.  Here is a list of resources I've referenced to help me learn. They're from several perspectives, from businesses to specific advocacy groups, spiritual (Christian) perspectives and industry announcements. If you have some others that I could share, please let me know.  

Justin Kanthak wears several hats, notably as the head of the snack segment for Griffith Foods and as the president of the professional trade organization, the Research Chefs Association. In March 2020, the US food industry was tremendously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with the cancellation of international and trade conferences, and the RCA annual conference was forced to cancel the in-person gathering. The weight of understanding what could be done instead weighed on the RCA board leadership, and Justin joined the podcast to share his thoughts about how the industry will change and what we can do as product development professionals.  The Research Chefs Association conference is currently on-going as RCA PoweredUp. It is open to members and non-members alike. Get more information at their conference home page: Tune in next week for the full special episode with Justin.