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Artificial intelligence is getting a lot of attention these days, and many are wondering how it can be harnessed to help today's bakers. While it's too soon to understand the full extent of AI's capabilities, this technology is already being used to reduce product loss (https://bakerpedia.com/how-to-avoid-product-loss/), boost quality assurance (https://bakerpedia.com/food-safety/quality-assurance/), and much more in bakery plants. In this episode of BAKED in Science, host Mark Floerke is joined by five bakery experts to discuss the future of artificial intelligence in the baking industry and how it can be used to improve yield and productivity, as well as minimize waste in bakery plants. As a Certified Executive Coach with over 20 years in the bakery manufacturing industry, Dr. Lin Carson has pioneered the way for knowledge sharing through BAKERpedia. Starting with a BSc degree in Food Science & Technology from The Ohio State University, and a MSc and PhD from the Department of Grain Science at Kansas State University. She has led teams for bakery manufacturing companies like Wendy's International and Dave's Killer Bread. A career baker, Jim Little has more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of products and production methods within the baking industry. Currently, he is the Senior Vice President of R&D and CI at CraftMark Bakery (https://www.craftmarkbakery.com) in Indianapolis, he has been challenged to develop an even deeper knowledge of formulation and production across frozen bread dough, cookies, muffins and flatbread. Yuegang Zhao is the Chief Commercial Officer for KPM Analytics (https://bakerpedia.com/kpm-analytics/), a global quality assurance and food safety solutions provider serving food, agriculture, and environmental industries. Yuegang has over 20 years of extensive global experience creating, developing, and growing enterprise value in various industries ranging from aerospace to fluid analysis. Phillip Stringer is the founder of Comprehensive Process Solutions, LLC (https://bakerpedia.com/comprehensive-process-solutions/), and an accomplished Engineering and R&D professional with 14 years of experience in the Food, Agriculture, and Pharmaceutical industries. His global expertise, gained from working in over 30 countries across six continents, equips him with a deep understanding of diverse client needs. Tremaine Hartranft, Vice President of Technical Growth and Strategy, is responsible for supporting the development of the vision, value and organizational structure at Reading Bakery Systems (https://www.readingbakery.com). Prior to joining Reading Bakery Systems, Tremaine worked at Brentwood Industries as a Research & Development Engineer, and at Lucent Technologies as a Process Analyst. How AI Can Help the Baking Industry Some topics covered include: Utilizing artificial intelligence to automate standard operating procedures Leveraging AI during the formulation process Vision inspection systems for improving quality The opportunity to use data for predictive maintenance Training AI to keep production standards up while experts are away The challenges of confidentiality around data sharing Developing an AI strategy for your bakery
While iba may have been last fall, there are still plenty of creative and innovative solutions to delve into from the world's leading trade fair for bakery, confectionery, and snacks. Mark Floerke visited the trade show to learn about the biggest bakery trends, as well as equipment and ingredient solution innovations on behalf of BAKERpedia. In this episode of BAKED in Science, Mark is joined by three baking industry professionals to discuss bakery equipment for customization and thermal profiling, as well as upcycled ingredient solutions presented at iba 2023 (https://bakerpedia.com/iba/). Jennifer Loegering is the Director of Marketing at Primera Technology (https://www.primera.com/eddie-edible-ink-cookie-printer). Primera is one of the world's leading manufacturers of specialty label printing equipment, including Eddie® the Edible Ink Printer. Stephane Fjelddahl is a Thermal Profiler at Stephane Thermal Runs (https://www.stephanethermalruns.com). Leveraging his 26 years of experience in the baking industry, he has introduced FALK, a bun-centric solution for industrial bakers. FALK combines hardware and software to accurately understand what is happening inside the oven. Marta Benedet is the Key Account Manager at Agrain (https://agrainproducts.com). Agrain is a food-tech company based in Denmark, specializing in the upcycling of spent grain. The company processes spent grain into aromatic and versatile flour ingredients, perfectly fit for a wide range of food products. Futuristic Technical Baking Tools & Ingredients As these three baking industry professionals highlight their equipment and solutions, some topics covered include: Baked goods customization Improving the bakeout phase with optimal data collection The potential for implementing artificial intelligence into S-curve analysis Kill-step validation Minimizing food waste Environmentally-friendly flours This podcast is brought to you by: Vantage Food This podcast episode is brought to you by Vantage Food – your ultimate baking partner. From release agents to specialty ingredients, they cater to your every baking need. Enjoy cleaner label solutions like allergen-free, non-GMO, organic, as well as Kosher, and Halal options. Discover more at info.food@vantagegrp.com or visit www.vantagegrp.com. Elevate your baking experience with Vantage Food today! J&K Ingredients This podcast is brought to you by J&K Ingredients. Their Bred-Mate line of clean-label mold inhibitors will keep your baked goods mold-free all while enhancing natural flavor and aroma. To learn more about how J&K Ingredients is leading the way in natural preservation, visit their website at www.jkingredients.com today!
While commercial baking relies on skills, productivity, and innovation, networking is also an important part of this industry. That's why attending industry events, like the American Society of Baking's BakingTECH, are important for professional bakers. This conference, known to many as the Best Week in Baking, invites experts, industry leaders, and professionals from around the world to discuss the latest advancements, innovations, and challenges facing the industry. In this episode of BAKED in Science, Dr. Lin Carson speaks to Kristen Spriggs (https://bakerpedia.com/asb-announces-new-executive-director-ahead-of-bakingtech-2023/), Executive Director at The American Society of Baking, about what's new at Baking TECH 2024 alongside collaborations with BAKERpedia (https://bakerpedia.com/bakerpedia-donates-its-encyclopedia-of-knowledge-to-asb-to-collaborate-and-foster-knowledge-sharing-in-the-baking-industry/). What to expect at BakingTECH 2024? Some topics covered include: Celebrating 100 years of the American Society of Baking Benefits of becoming a member of ASB Year-long learning opportunities ASB's regional meet-ups The newly re-launched Ambassador program Encouraging making new connections
Last year, BAKERpedia was on the show floor at iba 2023 (https://bakerpedia.com/iba/)! As the world's leading trade fair for bakery, confectionery, and snacks, it is one of the best places to see the latest industry trends and innovations. Mark Floerke was there to report on bakery trends, equipment, and ingredient solutions, and share them back to our commercial baking community. In this episode of BAKED in Science, host Mark Floerke is joined by three baking industry professionals to explore equipment, ingredient, and ventilation solutions at iba 2023. Julio Aviles is the CEO and founder of A&A Baking Solutions Corp (https://bakerpedia.com/aa-baking/). He is specialized in Business & Marketing and has been a baker since he was 7 years old. Over the years, he has worked as a technical advisor and Bakery R&D Director. Julio is a Baker-to-Baker evangelist in the Americas. Remi Reguero is the Technical Director at Benexia (https://bakerpedia.com/benexia/). He has 20 years of experience in R&D in the Food Industry, with half of it being at Benexia, designing chia ingredients and developing applications, implementing those worldwide. His technical and commercial experience alongside his passion for chia (https://bakerpedia.com/ingredients/chia-flour/) make him a technical “Chia guru.” Martina Austin is the Brand & Marketing Manager at A.M.G. Reichenbach (https://amgreichenbach.com/en/). A.M.G. Reichenbach combines the innovative power of science, engineering, and craft, which enables a hygienically safe atmosphere for the production of baked goods at a constant high level. Bakery solutions for every baking operation As these three baking industry professionals discuss their expertise, some topics covered include: Maximizing capital with the right bakery equipment Ingredient solutions for adding nutrition to baked goods Balancing soluble and insoluble fiber bakery applications Ventilation systems and proofers in bakeries This podcast is brought to you by: AB Mauri North America Featuring premium bakery ingredient solutions backed by both leading technology and technical support, AB Mauri North America is proud to help industrial and artisan bakers be successful and reminds you that WHO'S BEHIND YOU MATTERS. To learn more, please visit abmna.com.
This autumn BAKERpedia attended iba 2023 (https://bakerpedia.com/iba/) in Munich! iba is the world's leading trade fair for bakery, confectionery, and snacks where the latest trends and innovations in the industry are presented. Usually, this trade show takes place every three years, however, due to the pandemic, it was postponed. From October 22 – 26, 2023 iba will open its doors once again and Mark Floerke was there to report on bakery trends, equipment, ingredient solutions, and much more directly from the show floor. In this episode of BAKED in Science, host Mark Floerke is joined by Matthijs Sillevis Smitt from S&S Baking Solutions about their solution for baking with steam. Steam Baking Technology In Asia, buns and other bread products have been cooked with steam for centuries; however, in the baking world, steam injection (https://bakerpedia.com/processes/proofer-design/) technology has yet to be widely applied to many applications. Mark and Mattijis discuss steam technology and efficiently applying it to product formats in the baking industry. Some topics they cover include: Steam tunnel & pan technology How steam baking can save time and money Minimizing bake loss Cake and dough steam applications This podcast is brought to you by: Lesaffre This podcast episode is brought to you by Lesaffre. You may know Lesaffre for their world-class baking yeast and 170-year heritage, but you may not be familiar with their elite technical team and the other innovative ingredients we've developed. In addition to their fresh, dry, and deactivated yeasts, Lesaffre offers a range of innovative and high-quality baking ingredients for any application or process, from buns and rolls to pastries, bagels, pretzels, tortillas, and more. To learn more, visit www.lesaffrebaking.com Ingredion This episode is brought to you by Ingredion. Ingredion turns plant materials into value-added ingredients in over 100 countries – making life better for brands, consumers and the planet. As demand for healthier and sustainable snack products grows, Ingredion has the portfolio, people and proprietary insights to help your brand create consumer-preferred, market-winning products. To learn more, visit www.ingredion.com
Each year the baking industry gathers to learn, network, connect and explore at BakingTECH, a show hosted by the American Society of Baking (ASB). This year was marked by the introduction of new leadership, discussions on hot topics like AI, and making space for a new generation of bakers. In this special episode recorded live from the show, Dr. Lin of BAKERpedia sits down with Kristen Spriggs, the new Executive Director of ASB. Kristen has over 20 years of experience in membership-based organizations and is known for creating and supporting communities. Although new to the baking industry, she has already started building relationships with industry partners, feeling a strong bond between professionals in this field. With a passion for innovation and a collaborative approach, she looks forward to working with other trade organizations and service partners to advance the industry's success. Lin and Kristen cover a lot of ground in this episode, including glimpses at what is in store for the future of ASB and things we should consider to modernize our approach to baking to utilize technology. Some topics covered include: - Trends in the industry - BakingTECH highlights - Implementation of AI in baking - The possibility of a lights-out bakery - Supporting the next generation of bakers Join us next year at the 100th ASB BakingTECH show in Chicago, February 27th to 29th, 2024. Learn more at https://asbe.org/ THIS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: J&K Ingredients Their clean label mold inhibitor, SOR-Mate, will keep your cakes and other sweet goods mold-free without the need for artificial preservatives! To learn more, go to http://www.jkingredients.com today! KPM Analytics KPM Analytics is working alongside industrial bakers for quality assurance and process control at every stage of their production to improve efficiency, ensure quality and protect their brand. Their comprehensive range of analyzers provides critical quality measurements of incoming ingredients, analysis of products during the baking process, and inspection of final product quality for consistency. To learn more, go to http://www.kpmanalytics.com Grain Millers They're a trusted ingredient partner specializing in organic and conventional whole grain ingredients that boost nutrition and taste. Their products and partnerships allow us to provide simple, clean food that helps people live healthier lives. Find out how at https://www.grainmillers.com/.
Being a skilled baker is a continuous process of refining your craft. It starts by mastering new techniques, comprehending the science behind it, or learning the skills to keep up with emerging trends. That's why the team at BAKERpedia shares information: to empower, inspire change and improve food manufacturing processes. So how did we become the digital epicenter for baking? From a 200-page resource to a comprehensive database of over 980 pages, along with multiple forms of media like videos, podcasts, and seminars, BAKERpedia has come a long way. Here to share the journey and what's next is BAKERpedia Founder and CEO Dr. Lin Carson. Along with host Mark Floerke, she's joined by Bob Schnyder, VP of Growth. The group shares about their efforts to create a central hub for all things baking, plus what's in the works for 2023 to give you access to more resources and knowledge! Want to learn more about how to get involved with BAKERpedia as a supplier and sponsor? Email bob.schnyder@bakerpedia.com! This episode covers: - What's new and what's coming up - Ways to learn and grow with BAKERpedia - A peak behind-the-scenes - Keto Pocket Guides: https://bakerpedia.learnupon.com/store/3101091-baking-keto-pocket-guide - New programs launching - Our community of food and baking professionals: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bakingindustryprofessionals/ Stay updated with the latest trends and techniques in the world of baking! Join our mailing list to see new content and ways to get involved: https://bakerpedia.com/sign-up-for-the-bakerpedia-newsletter/
The baking industry gathered from around the world at IBIE 2022 to talk shop and explore the latest trends and innovations. Since this baking expo only happens every three years, there's always plenty to catch up on and discover. While we can't capture everything we saw in just one podcast (check out our IBIE hub for that: https://bakerpedia.com/ibie/), BAKED in Science host Mark Floerke shares a few favorite highlights and interviews he recorded live from the show floor. IBIE Trends Roundtable First up, Mark is joined by Dr. Lin of BAKERpedia, Arnaud Dubat of KPM Analytics and Dr. Sophia Pai of Tate & Lyle. The group of seasoned professionals discuss what's been catching their eye at the show and the industry overall. Topics include sugar replacement, quality control and tracking data for success, dealing with ingredient shortages or replacements, and vegan grilled cheese sandwiches. Did you know that you can use KPM Vision Inspection Technology to improve product quality and consistency at full line speed? Virtually any food product can be measured using 2D/3D/color imaging technology, either directly during the production process or using a Benchtop Inspection System for at-line quality checks. To learn more, go to https://www.kpmanalytics.com/. Baking with Organic Oats As healthy, functional and clean label ingredients continue to be in high demand, Mark shares an interview with Pat Shannon, Business Development at Grain Millers. The two talk about how oat and grain-based solutions offer bakers a variety of applications and options when formulating for top trends. Grain Millers is a leading manufacturer of organic and conventional whole grain ingredients focused on supplying safe and healthy ingredients that add value. Check out their gluten-free oats, fibers, wheat, barley, and rye ingredients at https://www.grainmillers.com/!
Here to tackle the biggest issues and top questions in the baking industry is the BAKERin team (https://bakerpedia.com/bakerin/)! As part of BAKERpedia's influencer program, these seasoned professionals share their knowledge and keep you up to date on the latest innovations. In this roundtable discussion, the group talks through some of the frequent problems they see in their respective fields, such as: - What needs to be changed about manufacturing in the baking industry - Improving productivity and consistency for bakeries - Understanding flour quality and how to communicate more efficiently with your miller - Explaining raising cake prices and necessary ingredients to customers - The need for more accessible training in the industry - Our most frequently asked questions on social media Meet the 2022 BAKERin Team Gideon Butler-Smith Hailing from Kansas City, Gideon is a Kansas State alum with a degree in Bakery Science and Management. He now resides in Rogers, Arkansas with his wife, Kourtney, working as a baking supervisor at a manufacturing co-op where he also helps with continuous improvement projects. Connect with Gideon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gideon-butler-smith-5327b910b/ Dr. Jayne Bock Dr. Jayne Bock works at the Wheat Marketing Center as the Technical Director. She established herself as an industry expert in flour and dough quality testing as an adjunct professor at the University of Guelph before joining C.W. Brabender Instruments as their Global Technical Leader. Jayne has published refereed publications covering topics including wheat and flour quality, dough rheology, and gluten structure-functions. She has worked extensively with wheat breeders, agronomists, producers, millers and food processors. Connect with Jayne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayne-bock-a040165b/ Mafo M. Adeniji Mafo M. Adeniji is the Co-Founder of Mistribite a food business in Nigeria.With over three years in the food and baking industry, she currently works to provide quality, safe and nutritious food products and offer food trainings. She is a passionate and skilled baker with expertise in the art of cake baking and decoration. She is from Nigeria and currently lives with her family in the Federal Capital Territory where she works and runs her business. Connect with Mafo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mafo-adeniji-285074193/ Mark Floerke Mark is a baking industry veteran with over 45 years of experience. He classically trained as a pastry chef in Germany where he also picked up bread baking before returning home to Canada where he's worked as a senior applications scientist and been a baking instructor. Nowadays, he's retired but continues to teach and participate in a number of different baking organizations. Connect with Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrpastry/ Dr. Lin Carson Dr. Lin is the baking industry's influencer who has had a love affair with baking for 30 years. Starting with a BSc degree in Food Science & Technology at the Ohio State University, a MSc and PhD from the Department of Grain Science at Kansas State University. While working at Wendy's and Dave's Killer Bread, her technical teams experienced the lack of technical baking information on the internet. Seeing that this was not freely shared, Dr. Lin decided to launch BAKERpedia to cover this gap. Connect with Lin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lincarson/
As a baking professional, there's always something you can do to further improve your craft. Whether it's learning more techniques, understanding the science behind it, or learning new skills for popular trends, more knowledge is out there. At BAKERpedia, our goal has always been to share that knowledge with you. In this episode of BAKED in Science, host Mark Floerke is joined by Dr. Lin Carson who shares how BAKERpedia has created new online training and learning opportunities through the pandemic, and what's in store for 2022. The BAKER Academy Last year, we launched the BAKER Academy, an online learning platform that gives easy access to videos, technical papers and live seminars. This year, we have a full line up of content based on the hottest trends and trending topics. Here are some upcoming seminars: March 10th: High Protein Baking March 24th: Hamburger Buns Production April 7th: Thermal Profiling for Cakes April 21st: Vegan Indulgent Desserts May 5th: Donut Quality May 19th: Gluten-free Flour Quality Analysis June 2nd: Product Development for Bread June 16th: Effect of Fermentation June 30th: Artisan Bread Production July 14th: Clean Label Cake August 4th: Frozen Dough Production Sept. 8th: Gluten Free Bread Oct. 6th: Egg Replacement Oct. 20th: Sugar Reduction Nov. 3rd: Gluten Free Cake Nov. 17th: Croissant Production Sign up and view past seminars on the BAKER Academy: https://bakerpedia.learnupon.com/store Want to stay up to date on new content from BAKERpedia? Sign up for the BAKERpedia newsletter! You'll be the first to hear about new blogs, courses, and upcoming sales. Plus, get weekly tips from our technical digest. Join the community here: https://t2m.io/Ex4Px4wn
Patrick interviews Dr. Lin Carson, founder and CEO of BAKERpedia, a go-to digital resource for all things commercial bakery and food innovation. Dr. Lin has had a love affair with baking for 30 years. Starting with a BSc degree in Food Science & Technology at the Ohio State University, a MSc and PhD from the Department of Grain Science at Kansas State University. While working at Wendy's and Dave'... Source
Patrick interviews Dr. Lin Carson, founder and CEO of BAKERpedia, a go-to digital resource for all things commercial bakery and food innovation. Dr. Lin has had a love affair with baking for 30 years. Starting with a BSc degree in Food Science & Technology at the Ohio State University, a MSc and PhD from the … Continued
For episode 32 of 17 Minutes of Science we are pleased to be joined by Dr. Lin Carson of BAKERpedia. BAKERpedia is the largest technical resource for the commercial baking industry globally with the mission of driving innovation and sustainability in the commercial baking industry. Dr. Lin Carson is a food scientist who uses math and science everyday to help explain what is really going on when we bake. As the holidays approach, we are all probably going to be spending a bit more time in the kitchen so tune in to 17 Minutes of Science to hear from Dr. Carson herself and learn more about the amazing science behind some of your favorite recipes.
Here to kick off a new year—and brand new era of BAKED in Science—is Mark Floerke! With 45 years of industry experience, he knows the ins and outs of baking. And now he’s here to host this podcast, sharing all his knowledge and insight with you. From working in small to large bakeries, to preparing food for royalty and popstars, Mark has had an eventful career in baking. It all started with an apprenticeship in Germany as a pastry chef. He credits his humble beginnings as the root of his practical and scientific understanding of baking. From there, he gained many experiences in various facets of the industry, from retail bakeries, cafes, restaurants, catering companies, hotels, resorts, conference centers, commercial commissaries and commercial bakeries, to corporate experience in technical service, product development and ingredient research. Over his career, Mark has mentored future industry professionals as a baking and pastry instructor for community colleges and private baking schools. He is well connected throughout the industry and enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences. So although currently retired in beautiful Cape Breton Nova Scotia, Canada, he’s working with BAKERpedia to help freely share knowledge with baking industry professionals! As a preview of what’s to come in this year of BAKED in Science, Mark shares some of his favorite moments from past Q&A sessions in BAKER Academy seminars. A few topics covered are: - Flour quality - Dough processing - Laminated dough - TTA and fermentation - Shelf life - And more! What topics would you like to hear more about? Let us know in the comments!
Have you had issues with mold developing on your product? Or maybe some of your baked products later have a small amount of water gathered? Water activity is one of the biggest reasons why breads and pastries have fast mold growth. So on today’s podcast Richard Charpentier and Dr. Lin answer your mold and shelf life questions. If you want to go in depth into improving your cake or bread shelf life, go to the BAKERview section on our BAKER academy (https://bakerpedia.com/academy/) to download the episodes on cake and bread shelf life extension techniques. They are absolutely free to our users, thanks to our amazing sponsors. Shelf life questions and answers Dr. Lin and Richard cover a few different aspects of stopping mold and extending shelf life. They answer these questions: -What is water activity and how do I measure it? -How can I stop my cakes from molding? -Can I make my no bake cookies last 90 days? -How can I extend the shelf life of my donut for more than 24 hours? -How can I keep my coconut cookie from becoming rancid? -How can I keep my icing shelf stable? -Why does my pastry with honey mold less? Does honey have anti--mold properties? -Are preservatives safe? I don’t like to use preservatives. -Does packaging help with molding? If you want to seek an alternative go to our natural preservatives page and seek solutions from there. https://bakerpedia.com/ingredients/natural-preservatives/ Low water activity can help inhibit microorganism growth. Learn more about water activity in baking. https://bakerpedia.com/processes/water-activity/ BAKERpedia is reaching 2 million page views a year! Thank you for using our website. We are thankful for all of you all and your questions.
The vegan trend may have started off small, but it’s a force to be reckoned with these days. For bakers, it means replacing key functional ingredients. However, it’s also an opportunity for innovation and powerful solutions. So what do you need to know about it? Our first guest to weigh in is Mark Floerke, the community and forum manager with BAKERpedia. Trained as a pastry chef and confectioner in Germany, Mark is a seasoned baker who has recently retired after 25 years with ADM. He shares with Dr. Lin how he has seen the vegan trend evolve over the years and the driving factors behind it. A few topics they discuss are: - How to design a food product for the vegan trend - The key functional ingredients to replace - Innovative solutions that work well - Why egg replacement is a big deal in this story - Why the vegan trend is driving innovation and new products Speaking of innovation, our next guest is Tyler Lorenzen, CEO of PURIS. Tyler grew up helping his father pollinate peas. Now, that family company is positioned right in the middle of the booming plant based trend. PURIS sells ingredients derived from peas: starches, fibers, protein and more: https://purisfoods.com/ What’s unique about their story is their origins. Tyler shares how long before the plant protein, sustainable-food trend, his father made non-GMO seeds specially bred to grow high-yield, disease-resistant crops during the 1980s with the goal of finding a way of getting protein to the world. 20 years later, they have 400 farmers growing peas from California to Georgia and almost everywhere in between as a sustainable double crop system. Tyler and Dr. Lin talk about the company’s journey over the years and where it’s headed now. Want to talk about vegan baking, or other big trends? Join the BAKERforum to find solutions and ask questions: https://bakerpedia.com/forum/
In this third and final installment of BAKERpedia’s tour of IBIE 2019, Dr. Lin talks protein, heat stable emulsifiers and how to make gluten-free nutritional! Every 3 years, the baking industry gets together for the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE). And every 3 years we love exploring it to find new innovations, solutions, and trends. Follow along on the show room floor with Dr. Lin, as she learns about what’s new at IBIE 2019! Resistant Starch with MGP: This year resistant starch was approved by the FDA as a dietary fiber on food labels. This cross linked starch offers some great benefits, both in nutrition and function. Here is more background about this starch, and its baking applications. Learn more at https://www.mgpingredients.com/ Flavor Premix with Lallemand: Time to spice things up! Tortimix is a dry powder mix of natural ingredients with different flavors, ranging from mole to pico de gallo. Oh yeah, it’s also vegan. Just add flour, salt and water. Learn more at https://www.lallemandbaking.com/ Pea protein and Potato Starch with Ciranda: Crop rotation is key in organic farming. Ciranda has found that peas fit in perfectly with the soil and timing for potato rotations. Their brown pea protein products add a favorable taste and rich nutritional properties. Learn more at https://www.ciranda.com/ Dry Vapor Steam Sanitation with Electro-Steam: It may sound like a contradiction, but this method of sanitizing is both efficient and effective. The dry steam is safe to touch, and eliminates water waste and wet floors. Dr. Lin learns how this technology works, and how it can help your cleaning process. Learn more at https://www.electrosteam.com/ Gluten-free and Nutrition with Ingredion: Gluten-free baking can raise some challenges, like replacing the texture and nutrition that wheat flour provides. Ingredion shares their product lines of starches that provide specific textures, help with volume, and boost the nutritional profile of the baked good. Learn more at https://www.ingredion.com/ Alpha Dextrins with WACKER: Alpha dextrins are ring shaped sugar molecules, made out of starch. When mixed with water and fat, they work as an emulsifier that does an excellent job of retaining fat. Uses range from frozen goods, to heat stable icings to gluten free and egg free applications! Learn more at https://www.wacker.com/cms/en-us/home/home.html Smart Bakery with Doyon: Run your bakery smoothly and consistently with the Bake Suite. The machine connects to all the bakery’s equipment, from preping to baking. It helps you manage workflow, keep track of your inventory, store your formulas, and scale up. Plus, learn about Doyon’s highly efficient ovens! Learn more at https://www.doyon.qc.ca/
The biggest baking show deserves more than one podcast! Part 2 of BAKERpedia at IBIE 2019 includes virtual reality, innovative bake lines, and delicious toppings. Every 3 years, the baking industry gets together for the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE). And every 3 years we love exploring it to find new innovations, solutions, and trends. Follow along on the show room floor with Dr. Lin, as she learns about what’s new at IBIE 2019! Virtual Inspector & BakePro Certification with AIB International Training continues to evolve, and more facilities are looking for convenient options. So AIB has come up with online classes, and customized training based on the company’s equipment and products. There’s also the virtual inspector, which teaches employees how do self inspections in an engaging, game-like way. Learn more at https://www.aibonline.org/ PGP International | Gluten-free Solutions Learn about this range of organic rice products. From functional flours like pre-gel to extruded goods that can be topical or inclusions, PGP has solutions for your gluten-free products. Learn more at https://www.pgpint.com/en/ Digital Humidity Sensor from Reading Thermal Understanding moisture content and dew points is important for more than one reason. And Reading Thermal has just launched a digital humidity sensor with anti-saturation technology, which means it measures very high dew points in very high temperatures. Learn more at https://www.readingthermal.com/ MECAFLEX Line from MECATHERM In today’s baking industry, it’s all about finding ways to have a high output with great flexibility. That’s what the MECAFLEX Line does, allowing you to produce all kinds of products like croissants, breads, baguettes and muffins all on the same line! Learn more at https://www.mecatherm.fr/en/lines/mecaflex-line.html Fiber Solutions with Grain Millers Oats are a great way to add fiber to your products. And with Grain Miller’s new milling facility, you can get their range of products with gluten-free certification. Learn more at https://www.grainmillers.com/ Dream Line by Auto-Bake This massive line has an output of one ton per hour. And it can be operated by just one person! Plus you can get it installed in a fraction of the time of other lines. Learn more at http://auto-bake.com/ Smart Equipment from Burford Do you need to cover your bread in seeds? Here’s a way you can do it with no water! It uses a dry sanitation process. But first, learn about their smart water scoring equipment. Learn more at https://burford.com/ Fleurage Semolina & Seed Toppings by Lesaffre Looking for a way to enhance the flavor of your bread products, while adding texture and visual appeal? Dr. Lin tries fleurage semolina and seed toppings in a vegan cheese bread. Learn more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoiZ3ktZPYw
Take a close look at flour, and you’ll find a lot of valuable information there. Understanding the makeup of flour gives insight into baking factors such as protein, starch, and moisture. Another key aspect of flour science is analyzing it. Because types and even batches of flour can differ in composition. In this episode of BAKED in Science, Dr. Lin Carson is joined by grain and flour expert Dr. Jayne Bock, Technical Director for the Wheat Marketing Center. Dr. Carson has her PhD in grain science, and is the CEO and founder of BAKERpedia. Dr. Bock, Technical Director at the Wheat Marketing Center, has publications covering topics including wheat and flour quality, dough rheology, and gluten structure-function. The two discuss components of flour, functionality and different flour analysis methods.This covers topics such as: - Just what flour is made of - The function of the components of flour - Flour moisture - Other grain flours like sorghum, corn, barley and rice - Testing flour quality As a baker, it’s absolutely critical to have some basic understanding of flour quality testing – it’s a way to clearly communicate with your miller or supplier what the optimal flour is for your process and product. And this podcast is the perfect place to start.
Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a weekly podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and hear about their career path, their insights on new trends and technology and their love of food. I’m your host, Adam Yee and You are listening to episode 157, where Dr. Lin Carson from Bakerpedia and Dr. Debi from the American Institute of Baking, answer complex questions about the baking industry. This isn’t just “how do I bake bread” or “why is my bread pale” questions, these two are the experts of the baking industry. If you are not familiar with the baking industry, you might need to search something up, but there’s a website for that. Bakerpedia, a long time sponsor of My Food Job Rocks, houses hundreds of articles that help the novice commercial baker learn about the potential of baking. Bakerpedia can tell you what to add to help you optimize your bread, dives into complex processes by breaking them down, and this is all for free. Lin also has a podcast called Baked In Science, which can be found on iTunes and on their website bakerpedia.org. Though she does interview podcasts too, she also does these nifty Q and A sessions where she gathers questions from her social media accounts. I am always impressed by Lin’s ability to go above and beyond the industry standard. I interviewed her back in episode 81 and her obsession with the subject of baking was big enough to create an amazing website with thousands of views a day. Anyways, sit back and relax and get ready to learn a ton about the questions the modern bakers have today. Sponsor This episode is sponsored by the West Coast Nuriv Music and Tech festival a free music festival on March 6th, or the day before Expo West opens its doors. We have bands like The Bombpops, Direct Hit, Dog Party (opened for Green Day tour, 2017), Get Dead and a "Mystery" Headliner! FAT Wreck Chords presents, NURIV 2019 at the E Sports Arena in Santa Ana. email: innovate.today@virun.com to get on the list and a chance for a VIP spot as well. invite your friends! If you want to sponsor, email customer.service@virun.com ..we have a few open spots for sponsorship.
When you go on a journey to improve a skill, there are likeminded people who will support you, and there are people who will do the same as you. You either choose to treat them as competition, or treat them as cohorts. Over the past two years, I’ve communicated and even worked with people who have their own interview podcasts. These podcasts follow the same vein as My Food Job Rocks. Interview food experts and chronicle their life, advice and predictions. However, each podcast I’ll be sharing is focused on a specific type of the food industry. From Research Chefs, to Clean Meat Scientists. Some of these podcasts I am proud to say, credit My Food Job Rocks as a source of inspiration. Others, I’ve had the pleasure to help improve their podcasting craft. I do this because I can’t tell everyone’s story, and everyone’s story needs to be told. By having a support network which motivates people to share the stories in the food industry is very important to me. And hopefully, by the end of this series, you might also take on the reigns of a podcast. I’ll be keeping their guests a secret, but here is who will be on in the next 5 weeks: Paul Shapiro and Toni Okamoto – Business for Good Podcast As many know, Paul Shapiro has been not only a guest on My Food Job Rocks, but also has been my business partner for more than…half a year. Paul and his soon-to-be wife Toni Okamoto (who runs the very popular platform Plant-Based on a Budget) decided to do this small venture called The Business for Good Podcast, a podcast that focuses on the buisnesses and people who are doing good in the world. Though the podcast is not just in the food industry, there are some great gems in regards to how food business is impacting the world. Paul and Toni are both influential figures in the plant-based and animal welfare movement and use their connections to bring in awesome guests. This Wednesday, we’ll be launching their episode with a guest that’s pretty famous around these parts. Kim Schaub from Peas on Moss Kim and I started our platforms at the same time. We actually met in a facebook group called Podcaster’s Paradise, an online course which helps build your own podcast. We had one mutual connection, another guest, Andrea Zeng, who worked under her. Kim created the Peas on Moss Podcast, a podcast that has different types of guests which mainly focusing on R+D and innovation. There are also many Research Chefs and regular chefs on the show, so if you are into that field, Kim goes more in-depth on that. Peas On Moss still regularly launches episodes and the guests are always insightful with a slight entrepreneurial flair. I usually see Kim in almost every expo and we have a good time just chatting over good food. Lin Carson from Bakerpedia Past guest and sponsor Lin Carson created the Bakerpedia platform through her own sweat and blood and has built it into a fully sponsored masterpiece which houses a wiki that has all the baking knowledge in the world. And this is not just the simple stuff like gluten or ascorbic acid, but maybe you want to know what’s diastatic malt or how garbonzo bean flour acts in your product. Their podcast Baked In Science takes on multiple formats. They not only do interview podcasts, but they also do Q and As, and more technical focused podcasts. I’m always amazed on how much content, from writing to podcasts, the Bakerpedia team dishes out. Katie Jones from Good Food Heroes Podcast Katie Jones has a pretty amazing story. She got laid off after an acquisition, traveled around the world in an RV car, then decided to go into copywriting for the food industry. I met Katie through her content on LinkedIn and she was very engaging the way she talks with her peers on the platform. Much better than me engaging on LinkedIn posts. So Katie decided to start her own podcast and I had a hand in helping her a bit set up the format. Her podcast interviews food businesses that have a bigger mission. Whether that’s food waste or ethical sourcing, that’s what she loves to do and that’s what she focuses on. If you’re into learning more about food businesses that are mission-driven, then this podcast gives great insights on how it works. Katie Mleziva from Real Food Brands Podcast Katie is a food brand consultant with whom I also met on LinkedIn. I think it first started when we coincidentally launched Carrie Arndt’s podcast on the same week. We’ve had some over lap in guests ever since including the executive team from Soom Foods. Katie generally focuses on branding and not only does she bring in some really awesome guests with practical advice, but she herself does solo episodes that talk about the tactics in branding. Alex Shirazi from the Cultured Meat and Future Food podcast Paul shared with me an interview that Alex did with Lisa from Stray Dog Capital. This was episode 4 out of 4, but seeing his guest list be top GFI brass and Paul himself, I wanted to reach out and help him with his podcast, because I didn’t like his design or audio quality. Surprisingly, he was happy to take my advice and even better, I was able to meet him during the food funded event and we’ve been friends ever since. Alex Shirazi is what I’d call a cultured meat enthusiast. He’s a managing director at a software development firm at his day job. Not a scientist or CEO, but he cares so much about the topic, he not only did a full-fledged podcast where he interviews CEOs of cultured meat companies, but he also did a full-on symposium in the heart of San Francisco on a small budget and impressive marketing. I was honored to be a moderator at one of the panels, and I can’t thank Alex enough for giving me opportunities to publically speak in Boneville Labs and Indiebio. I love the topic of cell-based meat. Everyone knows this but if you really want to learn more about the many companies behind it, Alex’s podcast has some really impressive guests from all over the world. If I were to map it out, My Food Job Rocks is considered a broad podcast. It’s a podcast about career advice and showcasing the food jobs that are present today. The podcasts listed here are part of this, but are much more specific and also have their unique twist on things, and maybe you want that type specificity in your podcast library. And if there isn’t a podcast that fits your need, perhaps this will show you the opportunity to create your own.
I’ve been following Elaine Watson ever since I started working on the food industry. Every time I wanted to know a new trend or something happening in my industry, I read her articles. I’ve even commented in a few of her articles but most recently, I had the honor of being interviewed by Elaine when we debuted our article for Better Meat Co. Paul and I planned to get Elaine to debut Better Meat Co, we had this master plan to do a tasting with Elaine with our blended products only to learn she was vegetarian! So we just went with a phone interview. Over time, I’ve bumped into Elaine in conferences such as the Good Food Conference and so I decided that she would be an amazing guest for the podcast! In this episode, you’ll be introduced to what an editor for, what Elaine quotes, a technical magazine does for a living, how she organizes and prepares writing articles, and we have a great discussion on food trends and technologies. If you are in the food industry and do know Elaine from her articles, this interview also dives into some really cool hobbies Elaine does in her spare time. Namely listening to history podcasts and singing in a barbershop quartet. About Elaine Watson, editor, FoodNavigator-USA An award-winning journalist with more than 18 years’ experience in multimedia business-to-business journalism and events management on both sides of the Atlantic, Elaine has covered a diverse range of topics from nutrigenomics to corporate espionage. Elaine moved from the UK to the US in 2011, and as editor of FoodNavigator-USA.com – a leading online b2b title in the US food and beverage industry – she has helped to establish the site as a pre-eminent source of news and analysis on hot button issues from novel sweeteners to labeling conventions in plant-based foods and beverages. Elaine has also organized and chaired face-to-face and online events from seminars and round table debates to conferences for William Reed Business Media and other companies on topics from food for kids to investing in cell-based meat. About FoodNavigator-USA An award-winning online business-to-business publication covering start-ups and industry giants, FoodNavigator-USA provides a 360-degree view of the North American food and beverage market, spanning food investment and incubation, labeling, litigation, and legislation, to consumer trends, new products and new technology, from new shopping or nutrition apps to synthetic biology and personalized nutrition. A multimedia publication with 200,000 unique visitors a month and a daily newsletter with 47,000 subscribers, FoodNavigator-USA provides daily news, features, analysis, online events, face to face events, a weekly podcast and video coverage of the issues and stories impacting CEOs, marketers, brand managers, R&D execs and regulatory affairs experts. FoodNavigator-USA also runs the annual FOOD FOR KIDS event in Chicago, a three-day conference that shines a spotlight on the companies – large and small – that are doing most to drive innovation and champion change in foods and beverages for children; and TRAILBLAZERS, a new initiative designed to celebrate early stage food & beverage companies that are bringing something genuinely new to the table from a formulation, sourcing, branding, marketing or business model perspective. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes FOOD FOR KIDS What do you do in a sentence or less?: I write for a technical publication. It’s hard to say I’m a food writer. Food Navigator Kids Nutrition Conference Chobani Kids Line Fred Hart Justin’s Nut butter Edible Insects and Jeff Flake Just Date Syrup Better Meat Co Article La Croix lawsuit Evaporated Cane Juice DH Lawrence The National Grocer What skills do you need for a reporter?: Develop a thick skin History Unplugged Tides of History American History Tellers Hardcore History – Black Death What else would you do besides reporting?: Talk about history Why does your food job rock?: I get to interview smart, talented people who might change the world and learn something new in any day What are your favorite food trends?: Many things: Plant based proteins on how to replace meat, Cell-based meat and sustainability, meal kit subscription models, Triton Algae Corporation Geltor JUST framed the question right so people like it GMO was an example of bad framing Soylent Pink Slime Kid’s food versus niche things What should we really be focusing on? Korean Yams Gochujang Keto Paleo Tasty the Art and Science of what we eat By John McQuaid Krave Jerky What is one thing you’d like to know about the food industry?: There is still so much about the food industry. But I really want to learn about Plant-Breeding or Wine/ alcohol industry Saskatchewan Canada How do you find the best way to get information from people?: Research the topic and the person. You need to look technically competent to talk to people because it opens the discussion a lot better. Favorite Kitchen Item: Marmite – Unilever - British Vegemite – Kraft - Australia Good source of Vitamin B12 Siracha Poutine Sonoma Brands Krave Jerky Any advice for people in the food industry?: You don’t need to create the iPhone of food. Elaine does Barbershop Quartet Sweet Adelines Pentatonix Pitch Perfect Where can we contact you?: LinkedIn and email. My email can be found on food navigator
The Nourish Food Co is a meal delivery company that has a beautiful menu of healthy southern comfort food that can be delivered straight to your door. Located in Birmingham Alabama, they distribute to 38 different states and have a wide array of dishes to choose from. Mary and Tiffany have humble origins. Met at a test kitchen, started a catering business, pivoted to meal delivery and scaled to the moon, but the details that made their journey successful is captured in this interview such as how to hire people or the steps to scale, or how to build a support network for tough times. We did into these details as we find the twists and turns that make working in the food industry so exciting. If you're interested in the concept of bootstrapping, and the meal delivery industry, this episode is for you. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Shownotes Where do you eat at Birmingham Alabama?: Bottega Café’s Cheese Burger Chez Fonfon What do you do for a living?: Tiffany: I own a food company. We make fully prepared meals and deliver it to 38 states. We distribute everything from Alabama We really showcase how our meals are changing the lives of other people We do deliver to California but it’s very difficult and too much competition Do you guys have different functions as co-founders? Both have culinary backgrounds Mary: Sales, marketing, Tiffany: R+D, packaging, procurement How did you guys meet?: At the Cooking Lite Test Kitchen (closed this year). At that job, we were testing and cooking recipes. We wanted to start a high-end catering company in 2007. What made you pivot?: Difference between meal kit and meal delivery service?: We do all of the work. All you need to do is to microwave it. Blue Apron What’s the hardest thing about starting a business?: Hiring well What was an essential person you onboarded in your business?: Jose, our first production manager. We hire people who take the work from us. Being autonomous and taking the role of what they’re supposed to do. Important Soft Skills: Motivation, teaching, Can you describe your first sale?: Before launching our own brand, we were doing private label for fitness companies. How does the operation work?: We used to change our recipes weekly. Then we ended up doing a 4-week recipe cycles What kind of products do you serve?: We create southern comfort food that’s healthy for you. For example, we make cauliflower grits and almond milk Why does your food job rock?: We get to see how our products positively impact our clients What type of food trends and technologies are exciting you right now?: Plant protein innovations What trends do you find in your industry?: The novelty of receiving the ingredients have worn off so they are going into supermarkets. People actually don’t have time to cook, so we think we’re on trend. Biggest Challenge of the food industry: educating our kids about healthy food. My kids choose to consume junk. What is one of the things you’d like to know more about?: Better thermal packaging and startup investing Meal Kits use Soft coating with Mylar coating Tips on logistics: Accept failure is part of the process. Have money in the bank. Bootstrapping vs Funding: If you can figure out how to grow a business and not give away your equity, then do it. Early, we ran as lean as possible. We would do all of the work the first year. There is nothing that we couldn’t do in the company. You have to understand all of the job roles. Also, find mentors and groups of people who have something different How do you find mentors and like-minded people?: Through my college, or even your neighbors might have their own business. Different jobs will always have the same problems. How did you get into food?: We had different origins. One from family, one from working ina college restaurant. Favorite Quote: from Mary’s family. “I hate when grown folks don’t act like they’re grown” Favorite Book: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Favorite Kitchen Item: Immersion Blender Any advice about food business: Do your research! There’s a lot of noise and it’s hard to figure out the noise. What do you stand for? There has to be more story. Where do we find you for advice?: We’re both on linkedin. All of our food is sold on our website. They can reach out to us on our website on the contact list. Mary's LinkedIn Tiffany's LinkedIn
I met Ana Maria Quiros during the IGNITE Session at IFT 2018 where she did an inspiring talk about the food industry in Costa Rica and the young professionals that are driving it. Now she not only helps small businesses in Costa Rica grow their businesses, but she also has had a chance to talk to Congress about food science. The Costa Rica Food industry has some interesting twists on how they educate their workforce on food science and you’ll learn a lot about how they train professionals and the way they support businesses over there. Yet the issues in the Costa Rica food industry are the same issues Americans when it comes to small businesses, and science communication, in which I feel like the issues everyone faces in the food industry isn’t a national issue, but a global opportunity. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business.. Show Notes Bryson Bolton How did you find out about IGNITE?: I got an email about it. We are both in the Leadership program What do you tell people in a sentence or less?: I’m a food engineer, then people ask “what is that?” We actually changed the name from technologist to food engineer for public perception. It’s pretty much the same thing though Can you describe the course?: It’s a 5 year program and the final year, you have to do a thesis, which can take 2 more years. So it will take 7 years to get a Bachelors degree We have 3 universities that teach food science. The public colleges are very good in Costa Rica Where do you currently work now?: I was a consultant assistant for 5 months and now I work at the University My role is in extension programs. You have to know everything which is why I love the role. Can you give me an example of some projects in Costa Rica?: Since Costa Rica is really close to each other, everyone can collaborate Cacao vs Cocoa What is the Food Technologist Association?: We activated it in 2012. I joined in 2014. This is a professional association and even though it’s started from students, but the students who graduated stayed with the club. In 2017 I became president What are some important skills that you’ve learned in your role?: Have passion when volunteering. Also, connect people who do tasks, to the actual goal How did you find out about food science?: I didn’t know much about food science, but my cousin talked about it, and my mother taught culinary classes in high school. She gave me a book called Food Microbiology. My mother asked me to speak to my cousin who is a food scientist and I was convinced to go into food science. After I did food-based community service, I wanted to do this. What type of food technologies are interesting right now?: Food safety, public health and public perception. Do people understand clean label and perception? Ultra Processed Foods – Specific only in Latin America – Published in the WHO Ultra-Processed foods are: Soda, ice cream, Cheetos. But because the definition is from a Dietitian and not a food engineer, there are a lot of holes in the logic What is the biggest challenge the food industry has to face?: Consumer perception Favorite Quote: Do something that scares you every day How would you convince a shy person to do something?: Just keep on doing it. Whatever you have to say, if people need to hear what you have to say, you need to be heard. New Hampshire Gallo Pinto – Rice and Beans in Costa Rica Fried Plantains Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry?: It’s a very awesome, relevant, and important. You are going to be happy here. If you were to tell something valuable to yourself that you know now in the first day of work?: You can’t do everything in one day, not even one week Where can we find you for advice?: Linkedin
Darius has been a long time fan of My Food Job Rocks, who emailed me when we were in the episode 50 range. This year, I was able to meet Darius at IFT where we talked, and I loved how he talked about his job and his love of chocolate. Wow, I had to get him on the show! He has the coolest job in the world, playing his part making candy! Darius is in the procurement field, we talk a lot about this, as I find that it’s one of the most lesser known fields in the food industry. Procurement is super important in the food industry and you’ll learn a ton about how to get into this field. It’s not a well taught academic field, but it can be learned while doing your job. Procurement people can come from anywhere. Finance, supply chain, or even R and D all make amazing procurement people. And if you’re interested in negotiating and learning about the impact of ingredients, then maybe procurement is for you. Also, best thing about meeting people from Mars is that they will give you a shoe box size full of your favorite Mars chocolates and confections! Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business.. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do in a sentence or less?: I manage the mints and confection buyers. We have 14 manufacturing sites in US and Canada What the difference between mint and flavors?: Really based on the market they operate in. Vetting Process: How do you know who’s a really great vendor? It’s the sourcing manager’s job to find players in the market. My function is really about buying it well and defining buying it well We’ve been working without vendors What’s your favorite thing to do with your job?: I have a sweet tooth. I love having a say and making the products come to life. Bringing what’s coming out from 2019 to 2020 to 2021 What’s your favorite Mars’ candy?: In my childhood, Skittles. Now twix is getting more popular. Portion control Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?: I went to college at St. Joves and majored in Food Marketing. I actually did projects for Candy. Then I went to C+S Grocer Store for 2.5 years. Then joined Mars. Managed the ingredients like salt. We merged with Wrigley recently. How did you get to Procurement?: If you were to ask 9 out of 10 people how you got into procurement, they will say they got their job by accident. Very few major in procurement. Some R+D folks go to procurement and we like them because they have more depth in understanding Emperors of Chocolate: Hershey had to lower the gram weight of the chocolate, but Mars was pretty safe. What is the most important skill you need for your job?: Intellectual curiosity. Marry that with a good work ethic, you become so valuable. What is your definition of a good work ethic?: Don’t make any commitments that you can’t keep. Why Does Your Food Job Rock?: I’m a kid in the candy store Singapore What keeps you in Mars?: The opportunity to be challenged Food trends and technology: Regional flavors and authenticity of flavors. Whenever I travel, I give them awesome flavors to try Small meals or no set meals Favorite regional flavor: Incorporating a whole dessert into different products. For example: Birthday Cake 3 Muskateer Bar. We just launched that. We have edible glitter in that product Adam’s favorite dessert: S’mores Cooling technology: Menthol and mint. We also have warming perspectives. For examples Spicy Sprinkles Cross-Functional Collaboration Flaming Hot Cheetos What are the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face right now?: From a procurement standpoint, it’s a traceability and transparency standpoint. It’s great, but it’s a huge challenge. Every year we have to maintain the same level of flavor, but food changes every year Vanilla Crisis Legacy Brands have an advantage to shortages because our long-term suppliers can save us For smaller, niche ice cream shops, not the case What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: How can the Japanese make money on gifts? Type 1 and Type 2 grocery stores The convenience stores in Japan can be completely different from one another Work ethic in Japan Culture of Work How did you get into food?: I grew up in Singapore Crazy Rich Asians Favorite thing you’ve eaten recently: Hokkaido crab (snow crab, king crab) Favorite Kitchen Item: I went to a casino, won money, and spent it all on a rice cooker Zoji Rushi Top of the line rice cooker Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to join the food industry?: Find what area of the industry really interests you. What should colleges teach you about life?: It’s really about what you like. The individual needs to make that call Where can we find you for advice?: LinkedIn
Every day we get questions on the BAKERpedia website. With over a thousand visits a day from people all over the world, it’s no surprise! When it comes to the commercial baking industry, there’s a lot of processes and ingredients that have to be just right so the product comes out perfect and delicious—and unique to the brand! So today to help with your unique questions, we’re going to give you some technical answers. I’m joined by Dr. Debi Rodgers, the director of baking services at AIB International. Dr. Debi teaches about the function of ingredients,science-related bakery functions and more for AIB’s classes. Together, we tackle your questions! We cover a lot of issues, like how to solve shelf life issues for both mold and staling or how to troubleshoot mixing, proofing and finishing problems. Through it all, we talk ingredient functionality, where to use what, and the science behind baking. Here are a few of the questions we answer are: - What additives are added to flour and their function - What’s the best shortening to use for a shinny, smooth finish - Everything enzymes - Cultured wheat: get it wet or dry? - How to do deal with high or low water absorptions - How to bake in dry and humid weather - How to extend shelf life - Clean label - Proofing dough - And lots of cake questions! And if you’d like to dig even deeper into these topics and processes, there is still time to sign up for AIB’s Baking Science and Technology Resident Course. Learn more here: https://www.aibonline.org/Start-Your-Training/Baking/Baking-Applications/Baking-Science-and-Technology-Resident-Course Until then, keep asking great questions on BAKERpedia!
Cultivating an ecosystem is extremely important in any industry. The most common example of this is Silicon Valley in the Bay Area. When everyone thrives in one place, and they all work together to build some amazing things I’m always curious how great ecosystems can be built, living in Phoenix and Sacramento, where the ecosystem is at its infancy, I was curious on how to grow these types of functions. As I found out interviewing Alan, it does indeed take a village, or perhaps a city, but it also takes a mediator. Alan is in charge of bridging food companies, big and small, in Chicago and heads the non-profit, the Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network. This non-profit hosts events and discussions to get the already thriving food industry in Chicago together with a common theme that helps these different food companies understand each other. For example, a big company can learn innovation from a small company,and a small company can learn corporate structure, from a big company. Alan’s history is also pretty amazing. We get into the details in his 14 year stint at Dairy Management including sage advice on how to network and how to learn, and how knowing the whole process, can set you up for success. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. About Alan Reed Alan Reed. Executive Director of Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network. Prior to this role, Alan was Executive Vice President, Strategy & Innovation at Dairy Management, Inc. He was responsible for creating and driving innovative strategies to grow dairy demand. Alan has a degree in Telecommunications from Indiana University and an MBA in Management & Strategy from Northwestern University. About Chicagoland Food and Beverage The Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network (CFBN) launched in 2017 to bring industry players together, to provide a forum for collaboration and support, and to better connect the 4,500 companies in the industry across Chicagoland to drive innovation and growth in the region. Our Mission is to drive inclusive economic growth in Chicagoland by bringing together the region’s food and beverage industry stakeholders to pursue collaborative opportunities. Show Notes Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network Who’s all in Chicago Kraft Hinez Mars Wrigley Mondelez Tyson ConAgra McDonald's and many more! The History of Chicago’s food industry At least 100 years ago. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is based in Chicago Advantaged in terms of transportation Advantaged in terms of agriculture Easy access by air and train. It’s the significant middle of of the country It’s in the center of the North America region O’hare Airport Midway Airport What do you prefer? O’hare or Midway?: O’hare has international flights. Midway lands in better flight paths When someone asks you what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I bring together the food and beverage industry of Chicagoland and grow the economy, industry and jobs. We’re a next generation trade association. History of the non-profit: We started 18 months ago, so we’re relatively new. We have 75 corporate members with members like Kraft Wrigley, Mars, etc. We launched with the idea to foster innovation. We’re the mediators to get big companies and small companies together. One program is the Food Manufacturing Workforce Development Program which trains potential employees to work in manufacturing jobs. Young people and manufacturing: Before, you could see a career path with manufacturing. College made a gap in the manufacturing industry. However, many of the jobs are very technical and digitally enabled. You can still get paid a good middle-class wage. About $58,000 a year + benefits. High performing companies help employees in the manufacturing area to go to college and excel in their career. We are trying to tell those stories. SAFE+FAIR What do these events look like?: Sometimes they’re topical discussions. Other times, we bring them to cool restaurants or incubators One example: have a startup come in and tell large companies how to innovate. Large companies also share their interested. Another example of a topic: 5th and 6th generation companies. We have to reinvent themselves for every generation Chicago: The silicon valley of food and beverage What was your career path?: Indiana University: Telecommunication, English Literature, Spanish, and Business. I spent 8 years working in Advertising in an agency. Got a masters in Northwestern which put me on a different path. I ended up getting a job with the Got Milk people (Dairy Management). I spent 14 years and did their long term business management. The MacArthur Foundation reached out and recruited me to launch this organization with them. After 14 years in Got Milk, what did you learn?: The people that you work with today will always come back. The people with whom you do a great job they’ll be your boss or employee later on in life. Never burn a bridge. Learn as much as you can. Find a mentor and be a mentor. Why does your food job rock?: We are growing something nobody else is able to do How do you deal with the weather in Chicago?: Wear a coat and telecommute Most people I know telecommute a day or two a week. There are specific things when coming into the office What type of food trends and technologies are exciting you right now?: What is transparency? How much is enough? How much is too much? Who is doing a good job about transparency?: In Chicago: Simple Mills, RX Bar, Farmer’s Fridge Blockchain Anti-trend: Really good high fat, artisianal butters Dicotomous trends: Plants and Meat are both growing upwards, but not fighting against each other. Flexitarian Drone technology Microfertilization Favorite Kitchen Item: Pizza Stone Chicago Deep Dish Cauliflower crust pizza What’s the weirdest thing you ate on a pizza stone?: Brussel sprouts. They turned out awesome. Girl and Goat Tanta Purple Pig Fat Rice Alan’s choices: Alinea, Rick Bayless Topololabamba Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go in the food industry?: Work hard, learn a lot, be serious about it. Those who learn their craft then to do the best. Really invest in your career and learning. Where can we find you for advice?: www.chicagolandfood.org. You can reach out to any of us. Alan@chicagolandfood.org especially moving to Chicago or working in Chicago.
SAFE+FAIR is a food company that believes everyone should have safe and allergen-friendly food at affordable prices. As many know, sometimes these types of products are quite pricey but for Will, he makes it his mission for these products to be affordable. He does this with a nimble and passionate team, a strict allergen program, and years of experience in the food industry. Pay attention to how Will talks about his staff. I found his gratitude for his staff extremely inspiring. Will knows everything about his staff, and his team feels like one big family. Not only that, but Will talks about his amazing kids and fiancé throughout the episode and you can tell just how much he loves the people he surrounds himself with. Will has probably some of the best advice in terms of building company culture. He knows the mission he’s in, the company he wants to run, and the impact he wants to bring to the world, and you can definitively tell in this episode, he walks the walk, and talks the talk. About SAFE+FAIR Over lunch one day, longtime best friends Dave Leyrer and Pete Najarian found themselves sharing food allergy frustrations. Both dads were stressed out by the lack of safe foods for their kids, Abby and Remy, who both happened to have nut allergies. Fed up with scrutinizing labels and constantly reminding other parents to do so, Dave and Pete agreed: Safe products were hard to find or too expensive. Plus, pricey "food allergy brands" totally failed to appeal to the nut-allergic kids—much less the non-allergic ones. Dave and Pete set out to make living with food allergies easier and more delicious for families like theirs. The founders set their sights on creating products both safe for food allergic kids AND so appealing that all kids love them. To make products SAFE + FAIR means offering clear information and affordable prices—so whoever does the shopping can make easier, faster, more inclusive choices. And that's how The Safe + Fair Food Company was born. That's our story, and we'd love to hear yours. Reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram with #safeandfair. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I make allergen-free food that is safe and affordable. How do you make the foods affordable?: It’s easy to make very expensive food but it doesn’t work for everyone. We want to be thoughtful on our business model and as long as we are net positive, GMA cost – General Administration Costs. Toddy Rezende - COO Jessica Callan – Brand design Jessica Girrelli – Head of R+D Matt Blackman – Head of school sales Ashley Maynard – manages relationships for our copackers Conrad Sue – Head of manufacturing Christina Burns – Market Activation Do you find people who have the attributes to work for Safe+Fair?: There are people who are comfortable with it, or not. If you have a family matter to go to, go for it. If I need to call you at 9pm, then it’ll just be a few minutes. What does a CEO mean to you?: I break ties. I make the decision when there is conflict. I also need to make sure the business is operating correctly. I communicate externally, which is a real privilege. Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?: I had my first kid at 25. So I had to make money. When I worked hard, I got a lot of opportunities “Don’t worry about the person next to you or behind you, just work” How did you make the jump for entrepreneurship?: First and foremost, the most important thing in your life is to take care of your family. I had enough financial stability to make it happen. I wanted to make a great impression for my kids. National Grocers Association How is your allergen program?: We source our ingredients carefully, our copackers also can’t eat peanutes on the line, and we test for allergens as two different locations You should partner with your copackers, and you shouldn’t make people uncomfortable in the relationship or it will bite you. We have a relationship from Stanford University. Allergens are an epidemic What does Growth mean to you?: We operate on revenue growth and customer growth. I wear the SAFE+FAIR shirt every day because people will always ask me what it is. The best way to market is to articulate the best you can. Be smart – only because you know what other people don’t know Be relevant – I’m telling something that matters to you Be inspiring – Enough so you can talk to us again You can only be the best version of you What type of food trends are you noticing in the industry?: Being authentic. It’s not just sugar-free, but how much sugar is in my soda. Soom Foods Advice: It’s better to serve one purpose, rather than hitting everything. At a small business with few folks, you can only focus on one thing What’s the challenge the food industry has to face right now?: Margins versus healthy food. Junk food has higher margins, but healthy food is very difficult. What is one thing in the food industry that you’d like to know more about?: I’d like to look in corners more. I wish I could see the trends from the beginnings Owyn Protein Supply Side West Who inspired you to go into food?: My father was the CEO of a grocery store and got me a job at Pepsi. He made me start at the very bottom. The food industry has evolved in such an interesting way. Pepsi young professional executive training Any advice for someone climbing up the corporate ladder?: Just work hard, you won’t be at the same job forever. You can decide how hard you work. What’s your favorite kitchen item?: My fiancé. She cooks everything well Wedding Soup Any advice for starting a food business?: It’s a good idea, don’t think that your idea is something everyone will pay for it. Think early on how you can make money off of it. How do you find traction for a product?; Ask your kids or your loved one. Or the most objective people in your life. Where can we find you for advice?: On LinkedIn, or Safe+Fair.com. Let the customer service know that you want to talk to me and we’ll be connected.
It’s been 2 years since Phil reached out to me when I was just starting My Food Job Rocks. After an interview, of course, we kept in touch. Through his period as the President of the RCA student association, to his job search, where he ended up in the famed upcycling startup, ReGrained. Who just got funded $2.5 million dollars last month. Moving back to California for my own startup, I kept on running into Phil because of the work we do at Kitchentown, a sort of shared production space for many startups. Seeing him zoom back and forth with his ReGrained swag, I wanted to interview him again, since so much as changed. I have this interview across the street at their warehouse, where ReGrained stores all of their products. Phil and I discuss the startup life and the challenges and rewards that come from it. One huge discussion that comes up is on how to use your mentors and resources to fill in what you don't know. After all, your friends have decades of experience and know what they're doing, unlike us. This is an amazing episode for food scientists who want to get into entrepreneurship. We as scientists think we really have to know everything to make the jump, but Phil and I are two examples on that there are ways to get through the parts you don’t know, with a little help from your friends. Lot’s of name dropping in the episode, but we’ve got you covered on the show notes. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes Kim Schaub - Peas On Moss Phillip Saneski Episode 17 ConAgra Hannah Dresden and Hailey Bell - CuliNex Karen Diep - Beyond Meat ReGrained – Upcycling bar Editor’s choice of Supply Side West ReGrained’s Seed round of 2.5 million Barilla Pasta Equity Based Crowdfunding Campaign – 700 supporters. $700,000 Elliot Begoun from the Intertwine Group Kim Shaub Ali Bouzari - Speaker at the RCA Catherine Proper - RCA Larry Tong Sr. Scientist at McCormick Spices RCA board What does Innovation mean to you?: How can we turn historically wasteful ingredients to a new supply? We need to streamline better Ethan Brown-CEO of Beyond Meat: Sometimes people want innovation on their iPhone, they don’t want it in their mouth. Woodside, CA called the Village Pub Garde Manger - Protector of Salads AQ 7th and mission in San Francisco Modern California in 2014 Granada Bistro Bob’s Walbread in Los Alamos Rachel Zemser Research Chef Association Food Waste Production Development Competition Griffith Foods Foodbytes Terra Accelerator North taste Ingredients (Sea Food Concentrates) Open IDEO Food Waste Alliance Rockafeller Foundation Waste with Anthony Bourdain Phil and Dan met in IDEO Jordan Schwartz Danielle Gould – Food is a labor of love. When she tasted a food, it tasted so good then she sees the founder and she’s like “oh wow” Why does your food job rock?: We’re one of the companies who are promoting upcycling in beer grains and we are making good food and great impact Forbes 30 under 30 Food Trends and Technology: Plant-Based Protein Innovation Onion article Nut Sweat One thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: The regulatory. Especially for a waste ingredient How do you set up a sensory panel?: Talk to your flavor house Savannah GA has a restaurant called The Gray that has Grits like risotto Cheese cake dish with beat 3 ways Sorrel – fruit shaped like a heart Climate Action Summit Ali Bouzari book: Ingredients You can find me at Phil@regrained.com and also on linkedin
Foodgrads recently partnered with Taste Your Future and you might have seen Nicole Gallace do more video shoots and social media collaborations. Chelsey is the woman behind the scenes. Chelsey Walker wasn’t intending to join the food industry, in fact, she never thought she would do marketing and communications, but through her friend in the dessage business, this changed. Chelsey helps me with some social media pet peeves like posting on a schedule and working with hashtags. In exchange, I inspire her to peruse her side hustle. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Like This Episode? Then You Might Like These two episodes talk about social media: Sophie Mendes Van Delft, Content Marketing Specialist for Restaurants Canada - Sophie and I have a great discussion on social media for Restaurants Canada Rachel Cheatham, CEO of Foodscape Group - Rachel and I talk about the right media to consume and what both her and I read, watch and listen to weekly. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living what do you tell them?: I’m a digital communications graphic designer I taught myself graphic design How did you teach yourself Graphic Design?: I took a few classes, but the internet and blogging courses are great. Just go to adobe creative cloud and practice Photoshop Illustrator Lightroom Tips from photos: Good photos take less work. What is Taste Your Future: A food and beverage Ontario initiative. The idea is that we’re building awareness in the food and beverage industry. Right now, there’s not a very good idea of the jobs around the industry. The new food jobs aren’t being filled and Taste Your Future is trying to raise awareness to tell the stories about the food industry. Buffer.io What is one misconception you’d like to dispel?: The food idnsutry has just as valuable jobs as engineering. These jobs are in food pay just as well. Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?: I started as a Paramedic and hated it. Algonquin College Diploma in Public Relations Isabelle Docta – Taste Your Future How did you meet Isabelle?: Through horses actually. We met through the equestrian world. We do Dressage Dressage: A dance with the rider. It’s an Olympian sport How do you communicate better about yourself?: Be a human on facebook. Go to as many networking events as possible. Networking is more valuable than online communication How can you be the best in social media?: Be authentic and showing up. Answer things a lot. It’s just like getting a job. Just show up just like a job. Twitter is best for hashtags and so is Instagram What do you look for most in a job?: I’m trying to get side Hustle going with Social Media Management. Flexitarian/Reductarian Flexitarian cartoon How do you like working with Foodgrads: I love it! Nicole is awesome. We do a ton of video Unwrapped What type of food trends and technologies are really exciting you right now?: Every time I go into the food industry, I see something new Food Industry Social media trends: There aren’t many trends about the careers of it Ital Pasta Sticky Note Food Science/Nutrition stickynote cartoons What is the biggest problem in the food industry?: We are running out of people in the food industry and our job is to show awareness. Most factories are in rural countries in which young people don’t want to go there Favorite Quote: Surround yourself with people who are going to take you higher Favorite Book: Harry Potter fan Favorite Kitchen Item: garlic Press Best thing you’ve ever eaten: Some kind of cookies Garlic Ice Cream Any advice about getting into the food industry: Be open to every opportunity and connect with everyone working with you Where can we find you for advice if you want to be found?: You can message me on the taste your future page. Our biggest social media platform is Facebook. We just launched Instagram and I’m excited for that.
Supply Chain is one of the most complicated things in the food industry and managing 100s of ingredients that might need to be gluten-free, non-GMO, sourced in another country, whatever it is, you need documentation and database to help sort and store it. Many companies who are at this level rely on supply chain management software to manage all of their documentation. This is where FoodLogiQ comes in, a rapidly growing startup to help manage your mess of a supply chain. CMO Katy Jones and I have a great discussion on just why managing the food supply chain can be overwhelming, but also why it’s extremely important for people to manage it well. We also get into a good discussion of the ever-topical topic, blockchain and why blockchain might be the future of supply chain management, and talk about the rising trend of being authentic in the food industry, and how it relates to good marketing. As we all know, it’s getting more important. About Katy Since joining FoodLogiQ in 2015, Katy Jones has served as a thought leader within the food industry, providing insight and education on the importance of supplier management and traceability across the food supply chain. She has held various leadership roles with increasing levels of responsibility at FoodLogiQ, including Vice President of Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer, and most recently, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer. In this position, Katy oversees all aspects of marketing and creates, communicates, executes, and sustains the strategic initiatives of the company’s cloud-based supplier transparency and traceability solution called FoodLogiQ Connect. Under Katy’s leadership, FoodLogiQ has consistently earned recognition and awards for innovation, performance and investor funding. Katy holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in data marketing communications from West Virginia University. In addition to her membership in the Chief Marketing Officer Club, she is a 2017 recipient of the Triangle Business Journal C-Suite Award. Katy is an avid runner, reader and foodie, and she cherishes family time with her husband and two boys. About FoodLogiQ FoodLogiQ® LLC is the leading SaaS provider of traceability, food safety and supply chain transparency solutions. FoodLogiQ Connect is the most comprehensive, data-driven software solution that enables supplier management, food safety compliance, quality incident management, recall management and whole chain traceability – all on a single platform built exclusively for the food industry. To meet mounting regulatory requirements and consumer demands for transparency, food companies are leveraging FoodLogiQ Connect to validate supplier compliance with food safety and act with confidence in the event of a food safety or quality issue. To request a demo, please visit http://www.FoodLogiQ.com/demo. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Like This Episode? Then You Might Like These two episodes talk about blockchain! Mitchell Weinburg CEO of Inscatech - talks about the cons of blockchain because it will only work if people are honest before. Cesare Varallo Founder of foodlawlatest.com - He was the first person to answer my questions about blockchain. This was a year ago, when things were a lot more chaotic than they are now. Show Notes What does FoodLogiQ have?: Supplier Management, Traceability, Recall software Tom Mastrobuoni When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I’m a Marketing officer for a food startup. Like FedEx for the food industry We just got our Series B. We grew out of our parent company and launched 3 years ago What does FoodLogiq do?: We are a SaaS management platform that helps manage supplier relationships Allows easy access to what products are approved and what is needed to be approved. FoodLogiq is specifically designed for the food industry because all things aren’t the same Features: Text to voice, on the cloud, Why is food a different supply chain?: Food is living and breathing and there are many factors that can be issues, The systems are also archaic How do you get documents and they don’t give it to you?: The platform runs a supplier through an onboarding workflow What is one thing you’d like to dispel?: Getting food on the table is really hard. Europe Non-GMO SGS IP preserved corn Advice for startups: Not become obsessed on what your job is or isn’t For new people, just listen to the customers for feedback Tyson Ventures How has working with Tyson benefitted you guys?: They are an amazing company. Very salt of the earth people. We’re now Tyson’s Supply Chain customer What type of food trends and technologies are you interested?: Plant based protein and the food industry’s focus on these things Flexitarian Market Blockchain: Distributed leger technology used to verify transactions. There are lots of opportunities in this space and a lot of companies are niching down on the trend ripe.io IOT Sensors Rapid Pathogen Sensing The main point of blockchain is traceability and a unique way of storing data Bitcoin The biggest challenge the food industry needs to face: Meeting the challenge between consumer needs for transparency and running a business There is a fine line between what consumers want to know versus what they don’t want to know What food is versus where food is and also the how What is one thing in the food industry you want to know more about?: I’d love to learn more about food marketing. Especially authentic marketing Who inspired you to get into food?: My son has a nut allergy and he inspires me to make a better food system. Food safety and food transparency is not competitive, it’s collaborative Can you give any advice to anyone in the marketing industry to go into the food industry: Be authentic and have a keen focus on being authentic on what your product means How do you attain knowledge that you don’t know?: You need to talk to people outside of your org. Depends where, but someone is always willing to share the knowledge Where can we gfind you for advice?: At katy@foodlogiq.com. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Why the Q in Logic?: The Q means IQ
I met Dan through Brian Chau, you might recognize him in episode 3. In the past couple of years, Dan has been slowly building this incredible, much-needed space within the Bay Area. Dan thought of Tinker Kitchen when he was in college. One of his class had a “Learn-by-Doing” workshop that he loved. Combined with his fascination with cooking, this dream was decades in the making. Having the chance to explore the space, you have food service equipment, so much table space, and any machine you can think of. From freeze dryers to centrifuges. We go into great detail on building this space, such as the challenges in construction, and the rewarding feeling of completing a dream. Tinker Kitchen is now open for business and the price you pay to play there is phenomenal. Check out their website at Tinkerkitchen.org and I hope to see you at Tinker Kitchen some day. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Like This Episode? Then You Might Like These two episodes talk about constructing a food space Mike Mohammed and Randy Wyner, founders of Chronic Tacos - These two buisness owners talk about the tough beginnings of constructing Chronic Tacos and how they developed systems for franchising to make it so much easier. Julie Bernarski - Founder of Healthy Crunch Company - Julie's team creates their products in house and their product requies a lot of attention becaus eof how fragile the kale chips are. See how she manages her team. Show Notes Tinker Kitchen Brian Chau Phil Saneski How did you get into the food industry?: I came to the US to work for Mozilla Firefox in 2006, worked 12 years and then decided to open this kitchen How big is Tinker Kitchen?: 17,000 square feet. Tinker Kitchen is a makers space for food and cooking What got you the idea?: I took a class in biology and this professor had this class where we made biology models. it was a Learn by Doing process. I cooked as a hobby, at first I never knew how to cook so I had to call my mom when I had food Commissary Kitchens Part R+D member and part How did you find this space?: We looked around for a year What were the troubles of preparing the space?: Water, gas, city permits, and bad contractors which had to be replaced Fume Hood Advice for building a kitchen space: Spend more time in the planning stage and spend more on the planning space. Make sure you understand what needs to be upgraded The meta-advice is to find someone who’s done it before and ask for advice Learn from the Shoulders of Giants Wok Centrifuge McCormick Innovation Center 3D Printing Induction heating How did you know about this kitchen equipment?: Just asking around, going to blogs, and asking how things are made We have a freeze dryer A batch freezer A pacojet Eventually a Frozen Nitrogen document to add in frozen nitrogen Beyond Sausage Combi Oven Gastronomy Modernist Cuisine Reverse Spherification Sous vide What are the challenges the food industry has to face?: Creating a community around food and cooking The better food in a community aspect, the more tightknit the community is Outsourcing grocery stores What is something you’ve noticed between tech people and food people?: Food people are more diverse. Food people also have a different outlook. Tech people look for solutions, food people looking for community Fancy Food Show Expo West Expo East IFT Expo Taste is King Venezuela Hallaca – The Venezuelan Tamale Any advice for anyone about the food industry?: Think a few years ahead and go talk to people who have been there. The more you find out, the better. Rohini Dey - Vermillion Apprentice is a good step Where can we find you for advice?: Thinkerkitchen.org. Contact Dan at Dan@tinkerkitchen.org 3233 Mission St. 22nd Street and Mission
Soom Foods started 5 years ago, with one of the Zitelman sister’s boyfriend, introducing them to their family’s Tahini in Israel. One taste of this Tahini, convinced the sisters that it had to go to the United States, no matter what. 5 years later, chefs and influencers alike love the stuff, and it’s now popping up in East Coast whole foods stores. I personally got a ton of value from Shelby’s interview because as I started Better Meat Co, we are running into a lot of the same situations Soom Foods ran into. The questions I ask are quite timely, and hopefully, they’ll help you understand the complexities of a food business. I appreciate Shelby’s honesty in the interview and we go into things such as the risk of marketing campaigns, the complex sales channels of the food industry, and a lot of talk about the health perspectives of this seed based butter. About Shelby Shelby is the CEO & Co-Founder of Soom Foods, and is the oldest of the three Soom sisters. Inspired by her entrepreneurial family, Shelby graduated from the Wharton School with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Management. Shelby is responsible for developing the company’s strategy, managing the finances and accounting, managing the team and overseeing contractor relationships. She spends her downtime exploring kid-friendly Philadelphia with her husband, Dan and their two sons, Malcolm and Julius. Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I am a tahini saleswoman, I’m a food importer and distributor. I’m the CEO of Soom foods What does CEO mean to you?: I’m the captain of the ship and I direct where the ship goes. What’s the best part about being a CEO?: I love the opportunity to be a CEO What is something surprising to you about food?: The marketing costs were surprising. Especially in retail. Slotting or Coupons are also a surprising thing The return on marketing campaigns are a gamble, but it works when it works Advocacy and trusted influencers helped a ton for our business Describe the steps to where you are today: I studied entrepreneurship, went into venture capital (Ops) and then worked in a non-profit. My middle sister Jackie dated Omri, who’s family owned a tahini operation. Eventually, I asked to sell this amazing product over to the US. My two sisters and I started the business and we all have important skillsets It took us two years to get the tahini to the United States and that was a huge amount of work figuring it out No Business Plan Survives First Impact Is a business plan useful?: Yes, it provides a general framework What’s special about your Tahnini?: We get our sesame seeds from Ethiopia. The oil to meat ratio makes for a great butter What do people use the tahnini for?: Mostly hummus, however, drizzled on roasted vegetables or eaten with yogurt. We also have squeeze packs and they work great in trade shows and in portion control Do you label an allergen for tahini sauce?: Yes, seeds. We receive positive affirmation for being an alternative to peanutbutter or almond butter What is the most important skill you can have when starting a company?: Know who and when to ask questions. Due diligence and surrounding yourself with people you can count on How did you get your first sale?: We knew a chef and wanted some advice. So we had him evaluated the product, he tried it, and he instantly bought it. We can solve a lot of pain points using our tahini, especially on improving tahini output Why does your food job rock?: I really believe in what we’re selling is a good product. It’s so rewarding hearing our customers love our product. Tahini Sauce Chocolate Tahini Silan – Date Syrup What are the negative feedback you’ve gotten in your product?: Calories and fat. For us, we realize we can’t be everything to everyone. Any positive feedback from the keto community?: Not yet, but we are hoping to get more people to use tahini. We’ve worked with Keto bloggers and put our products in Keto boxes. Sometimes we get black specs in the product, and we have to explain to the customer that it’s natural What is the biggest problem in the food industry right now?: Food Waste and Supply Chain. One of the hardest thing for me to do is to throw away products. Even though we see poor people who can’t afford our food Sarah Ramirez Blockchain What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: the economics of a grocery store. How can they afford what they do? How are your online sales?: 80% of our revenue is food service, 20% is retail 15% Ecommerce, 5% Retail. We ask ourselves why do retail? Good distribution. JUST Foods Retail has a powerful brand effect Favorite Quote: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – Wayne Gretski Favorite Book: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite Kitchen Item: A corkscrew – for opening wine! Advice for anyone starting a food business: Retail and grocery stores are not the only way to sell food. Healthcare for instance, is its own world. How do you like working with your sisters?: Love it, we have different skill sets. We’ve all messed up and just said how we can fix it. Where can we find you for advice?: Online, or Amazon.
I met Bryson Bolton at the IGNITE sessions, a session where 5 new professionals were asked to present their path through food science. Bryson and I got to talking and I loved his enthusiasm so I asked him to be on the show. We have a pretty timely interview, as many listeners might have heard, La Croix is getting sued on their natural flavors. Bryson gives great insight into the world of sensory and consumer sciences that might allow you to understand how working with flavor houses work. Bryson is also heavily involved in IFT along with many other sensory organizations. You’ll not only get some great resources in the field of sensory science but also learn how Bryson rose up the ranks to become a well-connected, successful professional. About Bryson Bryson C. Bolton is the Manager of Sensory and Sample Collections at Synergy Flavors. He leads a team that strategically partners with RD&I, Quality, and the Commercial Team to integrate sensory understanding into the flavor and application design process. In this role, he also manages a team that selects and sends flavor samples to internal and external customers. Prior to joining Synergy Flavors, Bryson was the Sensory & Consumer Research Manager at Product Dynamics. There he provided leadership, guidance and insight on sensory and consumer research activities. He was a primary customer contact and served as a key client advisor and resource to many food, beverage, and ingredient manufacturers. Prior to Product Dynamics, Bryson was a Sensory Scientist at Kraft Foods, Inc. There, he provided sensory and consumer science support to the Grocery R&D Community and the Center of Excellence for Cheese and Dairy. Bryson is an active IFT volunteer and is currently serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors. He is a former Adjunct Sensory Evaluation Instructor at Dominican University and is an active member in the American Society for Testing Materials, E-18 and the Society of Sensory Professionals. NEW Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes Debra Zabrodil IGNITE Session When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you say?: I teach people how to taste. What is Food Science? What do you do?: I’m in sensory and sample collection as a manager. I work for Synergy Flavors Wauconda Illinois Sample Collection: Allows us to optimize sending out samples to customers. 10,000 of these flavors are on the shelf and allows us to quickly send to our customers. What is the best way to request flavors?: Ask an account manager. You must also know the claims, your budget, the price point for this flavor, shelf-life, processing, to help us choose flavors Maltodextrin Gum Arabic How did you find out about food science? I actually started to fall in love with it when I had to develop my own gelatinous sauces Bryson doesn’t like Cranberry Sauce, so he was able to make a pineapple and cantaloupe sauce. He did the whole process. I made Pantalope sauce! 9 Point Hedonic Scale Harry Lawless On Sensory Evaluation by Harry Lawless and Hildegard Haven Sensory Science is a multiple disciplinary fields. It combines psychology, physics, chemistry, etc Sensory Psychophysics Sensory Physiology Sensory Analysis – a branch of food science that uses human judges to measure the perception of goods Different stages of Sensory Analysis For example, different concepts of tests. For example, market research, comparison tests, description tests, there are so many tests in the sensory test Napping technique – Origin is from a Napkin technique Because Napping is 2 dimensional, it gets complicated For sensory tests and small companies, you have to work within your budget. How much do you want to mitigate risk? New Coke Scenario When you’re a big company, you are very risk adverse How did you get involved in IFT? I’m in my 2nd year for a 3 year term as a board of directors Alabama A and M University applied to the IFT scholarship. I won the scholarship and had no idea who they were. Institute of Food Technologists – Non-profit organization in 95 countries with 17,000 memberes. Mission is to advance the science of food. Western New York IFT section Sensory and Consumer Science Division - I was the content advisor Data Visualization Fundamentals of Sensory Course Adjunct Professor at Dominican University Riverforest Illinois Robert Grevani – Past IFT president Why does your food job rock?: I'm able to strategically partner with people within my organization 7 years to be a flavor chemist Methyl anthranilate – Concord Grape Flavor Flavor chemist is what makes organic chemistry make sense What type of food trends and technology is really interesting to you?: A year ago, I became vegetarian. Started as a meatless Monday and ended up feeling really good. I lost like 20 lbs. I noticed a couple of veggie patties are really good. More plant-based media is popping around Cognitive Dissonance Beyond Meat Biggest problem that the food industry has to face: Consumer fears of chemical foods How to fix this: read more scientific articles. Ask experts in the field What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: CRISPR – Gmo technology Clara Foods Favorite Quote, book or kitchen item: Quote: If you stay ready, you never have to get ready. My father taught me this. Kitchen Item: Batman shaker cup What protein shake do you drink?: Plant-protein shakes. Flavor is chocolate or peanut butter What resources would you recommend on learning about sensory?: There isn’t really one. Maybe I can start one What if you were a food scientist trying to get into sensory science?: There are plenty of short courses. Sensory short courses from Sensory software courses. IFT Society of Sensory Professionals Society of Sensory Professionals Conference Pangbourne Symposium Eurosense Conference in Europe LEEDS in Singapore UC Davis Short Course ASTM – American Society for Testing Materials- writes the standard for sensory templates Any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry: If you like to eat, you should go into food science. I got my cousin into food science by giving her a pass to IFT IFT Expo has cemented being a food scientist for sure IFT19 is in New Orleans The next 10 Expos will be in Chicago Where can we find you?: Find me on linkedin and just contact me on LinkedIn
After a stint of being a comedian, Sara Polon started to spiral downhill and it wasn’t until she decided to do a triathlon, that she started to move her life around. But how did she decide to feed herself? With her mother’s soups of course. And that’s kind of how Soupergirl started. With constantly changing innovative flavors such as Split Pea Mint and Mexican Black Bean Sweet Potato and speedy delivery service, Soupergirl is growing fast. Soupergirl has been featured in the press multiple times and has critical acclaims of the taste and health benefits of the Polon’s family soup. Rumor has it, they’ll be appearing on Shark Tank very very soon. Check the show notes for more details. Anyways, super insightful interview with Sara Polon. I learned a ton about passion, motivation, and high pressure processing. A quick note, we talk about Alexa during this interview and while editing, Alexa added 5 apples to my shopping cart… NEW Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes James Altucher – Comedic Journey We want Soupergirl to be happy, fun and approachable Washington Post Article about Soupergirl When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I’m Soupergirl, I deliver whole food, vegan soup to the masses “Sara Polon is going to clean your colon” We rebranded the cleanse concept and put it as more on the meal If you eat four soups a day, you’ll eat less but you’ll feel more energized New and innovating flavors every week Beet Gaspatcho Peach Gazpacho We try to get traditional flavors and give them a twist Lay’s Do Us a Flavor Queso Chips Frieka Bulgar New flavors work when you pair something new to something old My mom cooked from scratch. We started this company because we saw how many things are low quality and had so many preservatives Why did you start Soupergirl?: After I stopped doing Comedy, I slowly slid to rock bottom. I signed up for a triathalon and paid attention on what I eat. Michael Pollan – Omnivore’s Dilemma We first started in the kitchen. I just invited people to my apartment. When we started delivering, we got press because we were authentic. We started catering, then selling to Costco, then ship How did you get a first customer?: We had a launch party. I asked 6 friends who didn’t know each other and they spread it their friends and it brought 100’s of people. The invite went viral and got forwarded to the press. Daily Candy – begged them to not get the scoop What is the hardest part of the business?: Growth is hard. You have to keep people interested, loyal and still have great quality What are ways to manage growth: Try to hire proactively. Some of the worst mistakes I’ve made was reactively hiring. For example, we hired a kid to deliver soup and he got a hit and run and didn’t tell anyone. What is the most important skillset you can have?: Leadership. You need to learn how to delegate. Do you have any books about leadership?: Actually. No. It’s more about people. How do you choose advice?: You have to be passionate about it. If you're not passionate about the business, the advice you take can destroy you. Passion will sort out the right advice Soupermeals Any stories about your soup?: One of our customers got her bloodwork done and the Soup meals gave her the best blood results Cancer treatments, harsh illnesses Parents use their soup for kid’s diets Food Trends and Technology: For trends, plant-based. For technology, clean meat High-pressure Processing (HPP) – Our gaspacho is HPP HPP increases shelf life from 10 days to 95 days HPP used in Hummus and things HPP can have your product explode your product The biggest challenge a food producer needs to face: If you have an idea and you want to cook something, there’s not a lot of shared kitchen spaces to try a product. There’s barely any guidance for this. You need a lot of physical assets that are hard to get. More people are getting sick in food because your food comes from everywhere Maker’s Space shuts down Cottage Industry Laws One thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: The future. Things are changing so rapidly. The tension between retail, farmer’s market, so much technology is going on. Trends will boom, but there are niches that will never go away Coconut Oil Who inspired you to get into food?: My mother and Michael Pollan What’s your favorite kitchen item?: Just a knife and a cutting board. I also use my Vitamix. However, to make soup, you just need a knife and cutting board Food Mills Why are you closed on Friday and Saturday?: I’m Jewish and we’re a kosher company so I have to follow the law. Sometimes it’s frustrating, but I’m glad that it forces me to have a vacation How many of your customers are orthodox jewish?: A lot of my customers are not orthodox and vegan. Most of my customers just love good food. How do you like working with your mother?: I’m really lucky. My mom is so energetic How do you make vegan challah?: We make a water challah. We get it from a kosher bakery Any advice to get into the food industry?: Life is short, do it! Regret is the worst feeling in the world. Start small, don’t invest too much until you’re ready. You get to the point: Do this, or do nothing else. Every time I’ve had a Where can we find you for advice?: Our website. Just send me a message. Twitter: @soupergirl Supergirl Like This Episode? Then You Might Like Hugh Thomas - Ugly Drinks: Also exploding in the US, Ugly Drinks is a snarky, CPG brand that is just fun and enjoyable. I learn a ton about marketing from Hugh and this would give you the best steps to start small. Lisa Tse - Sweet Mandarin: Lisa heads Sweet Mandarin, a very popular restaurant and sauce line in the UK. It seems like in the restaurant world, press is king.
Carrie Arndt is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to seeing the hidden reasons on why you buy things. And not just color, or a name, but it’s so much more than that. I first heard of Carrie when I saw her post aesthetically pleasing infographics that compare brands. These infographics show the importance of not just color, but font aesthetics, and shape. It’s amazing! I really want these pictures to be achieved and not lost in space so I asked Carrie if I could put them on My Food Job Rocks. So Carrie’s LinkedIn posts will be achieved on My Food Job Rocks in a special article subsection called, Carrie’s Corner. We’ll be introducing them on the My Food Job Rocks’ website just like we did Flavor Investigator and Why does this…. Series Overall, great, lighthearted interview. Had a lot of fun with Carrie. Though this was the first time I met her, I feel like because we know each other by our content, it feels like I’ve known her for a while. NEW Sponsor - FoodLabelPro.com Is your product packaging compliant with the new FDA rules? The compliance deadline is January 1st, 2020. At FoodLabelPro.com we will upgrade your current panels for only $50. FoodLabelPro.com also provides package and claim reviews, laboratory analysis, shelf life testing, printer/graphics services, and menu analysis. We are your one-stop shop for food packaging: FoodLabelpro.com. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Show Notes Pictures on Linkedin Fred Hart Honey Jar Picture Millenials super into beekeeping Mint Color Products When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do in a sentence or less?: I work with clients to help them launch products that will line up with consumer expectations Is it not only food?: I try and follow the food industry type product Though we do use household care clients, we do get a lot of food and bev space Market Research is not marketing Market Research is data Marketing is creating a story Marketing actually focuses on Market Research as it’s so integrated What’s something that you find really fun?: I love looking at data and finding hidden meanings. For example, 2 names scored the same, but looking deeper, we found that the name associates with the brand. PAC- Packaging When people assess products, they will not only do taste BUT EVERYTHING For example, picking up a product is a metric in analysis, not just color Bathroom cleaners-blue Food is generally – Red Brown Sustainable labels getting more colorful Why is this happening? Carrie: Because it’s noticeable, trendy, and interesting Adam: Natural is getting more mainstream, also RXBar did it, and they made a lot of money Where you got to where you are today: I majored in Political Science Carrie was at a Startup in Houston – Operations and Marketing I am in MMR right now and it’s the best company ever My first job in MMR was an entry-level position However, I worked hard and MMR asked about my interests, and I got to persue them What should someone need to do to get started?: An interest or background in market research. For PAC research, it’s broader thinking with a creative edge Tropicana New Brand – Failure. Even though it was on trend, the emotion fell flatNew Coke New Coke Failure New Diet Coke Success Expo East Expo West Food trends and technologies: Minimalist style products. High-fat products. Fat Bar by Zayne Bulletproof- Fat Water Fat Bombs Consumers need shortcuts Favorite Kitchen Item: Chopsticks. Even with soup and salad If you were to say something your first day in MMR, what would you say?: Focus and don't be afraid. How to find you: Through Linkedin - Carrie Arndt
Due to some unexpected delays, we’ll be switching our currently scheduled episode with this current one, a Q and A session that dates back all the way to IFT 2018. So, Mandy Jian, now president of the McGill University Food Science club, interviewed me live in IFT. She did a great job hosting, as she not only asked great questions but compiled a list of questions from other students. We talk a lot about how IFT can really help you, not only in college but when you start your career. Other questions like graduate school, and how to get a raise also pop up. If you’re a student, I highly suggest listening to this episode. You’ll learn about what we realized is important in college, and it’s not grades. Overall, I teared up a bit when editing this episode. Sometimes when you’re stuck in the weeds, you don’t really have time to look up and see who’s listening. So again, if you’re a long time follower of My Food Job Rocks, thank you. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes The common things most guests say: be passionate on what you do. Never meeting Nicole Gallace in person Meeting with guest Gabriel Keith Harris On Video: It's a big investment, and we want to make it good. Introvert: How to be Outgoing and Super Confident Mechanism: Say you’re excited when you’re anxious Purpose: How can I convince people on my message? Lion Dancing Gary Vaynerchuk Blue Ocean Grave Keeper’s Association Cactus IFT - IFT sections are the best way to get friends fast if you’re new to town Meetup.com Cal Poly Food Science Club Cal PolyFood Media or Global Food Tasters Club (I guess it's gone...) Diversity Advocate for Multicultural Center College advice: The only point of class is to impress the teacher’s ruleset Clinical Nutrition Class Food Science Club Polos On the best example of being consistent: Jessica Gavin Emerging Leader’s Network Varuze Asked: Grad School, to go or not to go?: For entrepreneurs, no. There are huge advantages to go to Graduate School. Sapna Thontitali Emma from McGill: Have you noticed a gender pay gap in the food industry?: Guys are more likely to ask for a raise than girls Guys are generally more aggressive than girls when it comes for asking for a raise. There are a lot of biases when it coems to women and pay. Most are subconsciously cultural. Veronica Hislop asked: What do you see as the future of food?: Sustainability Flavor Investigator Series Impossible Foods Beyond Meat Most interesting episode: Tom Mastrobuoni Favorite Episodes: Missy Shaaphok Good Food Institute Series What's next: Susie Fogelson Big Questions Cal Fussman
’ve always wanted to know the machine side of the food industry. How do people build these machines that can create thousands of pounds of foods today? I found the answer when I interviewed Matt. Matt contacted me after he finished listening to Good Food institute Series and I asked if we could meet up. I’ve done interviews at libraries before, after all, they’re free and quiet, so we found the best small room in Fremont California to belt out the interview. Here we have great tips on managing big projects and explore the most optimal way to get from concept to commercialization. Matt also gives some great tips on how to tackle big ideas using some smart strategies that you might want to apply to your work. Enjoy! Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes Fremont Library Would you consider yourself a food scientist?: Yes, now, but I’m a systems engineer by training How did you fall into food?: I used to work in medical devices and applied to a job on extruders. I never knew you could use extruders to make food. Only thought you could use it for rubber or plastic How to make decisions: It’s not a matter of if, but rather when. Eventually, everyone will have a compromise whether you’re culinary, scientist or engineer How would you create a new product?: Two paths: either mimic or something new. With mimicking, you know exactly what attributes you want. How do you do things faster?: Communicate expectations and create modular platforms In most technologies, we don’t create something too new, we improve existing technologies What would you recommend a food engineer should focus on: Find something passionate. Always ask questions and eventually, you’ll find something you’re passionate about. Most problems can be solved by simple algebra My Food job Rocks: I get to see cutting-edge technology all the time, everywhere Food Technologies: Machine Learning in the food space What challenges does the food industry have to face?: Get with the times. People who try to discourage technology are usually the ones who don’t benefit when it booms. What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: How other products are made. Such as Chicken Nugget shapes and M and M colors. Timelines: How long do you think it should take for products to get to market?: Depends on the complexity of the product. Unfortunately, if it’s too complex, the consumer won’t follow the directions anyways. The trend for products is 2 years Who inspired you to get into food?: the Extruder. Also the visionaries I’ve worked for in the past. Kitchen Item: I love to grill. Love working with fire. I prefer Coal. Adam: I made a firepit in Phoenix. Favorite Food: Noodles. All types of noodles If you were to teach a college course, what would you teach?: A big part about innovation is to look at things in a different lens. For example, meal kits were created in this. Any advice you have in the food industry?: don’t overcomplicate the question. Look at the tech and learn as much as you can about it. Broaden your horizons Where can we find you?: www.mtcc.io I’m free to just talk about ideas.
Sophie Mendes van Delft is a world traveler and has lived in France, the United States, and now, Canada. She’s explored all walks of life trying to find what makes her passionate and what makes work enjoyable and ended up finding her place marketing in the food industry, where she absolutely loved how passionate the people are there. In this episode, we go into detail on social media, and the power of community, and talk a bit about the emerging Generation Z. We also talk about the really fiery hot Canadian trends in the food industry such as local food. But perhaps the most important part of the interview is the confirmation that the food industry is full of passionate individuals and that everyone, no matter if you’re a scientist, a chef, or a marketer, you’re welcomed here. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I create content and community and you can’t have one without the other What comes first, content or community?: I think content, but Sophie thinks community. The Wolfman, a chef in Canada How do you distribute content?: We have two platforms. A blog and a magazine with a different audience Restaurants Canada – Teach Industry Menu Mag – Inspires industry All social media has a different platform. For Restaurants Canada, advocacy is important so Twitter is the best Foodservice and Food Industry focuses on Instagram because it’s a very visual profile What do you like best about your job: I get to meet so many passionate people George Brown in the Ontario Region. We had a bunch United States students and they asked for advice. Someone said that in the food industry, it’s ok to change paths Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?:I went to medical school first, and hated it. Then I went to business school and hated it. I loved food in Ontario and wanted to get into the industry but didn’t know how. One day, a lady saw that I was upset and said “just do marketing for food companies” We eat food more than we talk about it Soft skills that are important in the industry: Empathy Technical tools: The platforms themselves have a huge amount of tools. For example, Instagram can track every single post and who is looking and use hashtags to find things. Instagram Direct Question ability. Instagram also might allow you to book a restaurant in the future. Twitter is super dependent on the audience. RC show: Restaurants Canada Show in February Toronto is the food capital in the world. What is the food capital in the world?: New York, but perhaps California Local food is a very important aspect in Canada. Most of the new chefs are focused on “local”, For activism, they focus beyond local Mark Brand – Uses his network and community to end world hunger #beinghungrysucks Greasy Spoon Dinners- a way to raise money to go to places to build ways for people to get jobs and eat properly Why does your food job rock?: I get to be the bridge between the physical world and digital world and connect and engage and learn and help people. Give and Take – Adam Grant -both Sophie and I recommend this book Originals – Adam Grant The biggest challenge the food industry needs to face right now?: Mental house. For food service, long hours and lots of stress. You can’t let arguments fester and management has to lead by example. Most chefs know about this culture and are trying to amend it What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: I would really like to talk to students and know why they joined the industry Generation Z – Use Snapchat, Instagram, but never facebook Musical.ly (Tik Tok) My sister is 8 years younger than me and we don’t communicate the same way. Millennials looking things up in the internet: puts up key words Generation Z: Will write questions directly to google She won’t trust the same websites I do Who inspired you to get into food?: It was an internal fire. My family was really involved in food. We would butcher animals on the kitchen floor. I loved to bake and took any opportunity to bake. What is your favorite book?: I have a ton of cookbooks. But there is one I keep going back to. Plenty and Plenty More from Yotam Ottolenghi Favorite food: Not sure. I know I have a limit of eating cookies Adam Yee: I love smoked seabass because you get a lot of different textures and flavor that meld well. Oh, now I remember: Tartare. Had some with wild game meat Ethiopia Tartare with ingeria Clarified Butter, Berber Spices, Tartare Do you have any advice for someone who would follow your path?: Go for it. You’ll be with very driven people, people with very interesting pasts that has influenced their positions. Their passion and enthusiasm is quite inspiring. Where can we find you for advice?: Instagram @SophieYOUPI
What do Tennis and Culinary have in common? Judi and Penny Lerner are a mother-daughter duo that leads AYS Sports Marketing, which kicks off an event called Taste of Tennis, an event that brings Tennis professionals and culinary professionals in a super fun event to showcase the best food in the city. How did this start? Funny story. Judi kept on getting asked by professional tennis players about good places to eat and that gave her an idea to bring the chefs to them. Now bringing amazing chefs such as Masaharu Morimoto under the same roof as Venus and Serena Williams, this event has gotten widely popular and is a way to showcase amazing food and food trends to the best in the tennis industry. We go over the trials and tribulations when it comes to planning an event like this. We also talk in depth on how to find the most talented and unique people in the city for your event, and go really in depth on the hottest food trends going on right now. At the end of the episode, I found out that Tennis and Cooking share the same passionate people, and no matter what profession you’re in, it’s always a blast to meet passionate people. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Shownotes What do you do?: We introduce tennis players to professional chefs How did this start?: I was having a bad time at my previous job and my mom noticed this niche and asked if she wanted to start something with me. AYS Sports Marketing Judi, how did you start this niche?: When I was doing these events, I saw that these tennis people wanted somewhere to eat and I thought this was a great opportunity. Taste of Tennis: When we first started, we had around 12 chefs. The tennis players didn’t know any We went from 200 people to 700 people. The chefs go from twelve to twenty five. When we started this twenty years ago, chefs were not chefs. Now chefs have a bigger meaning. Notable Chefs: Masaharu Morimoto Chef Shorne Kerry Heffernan Chef John Mooney Do other sports do this?: Yes, but we do it differently. We have the tennis people really get involve dwith the chefs. The tennis players even serve the food. What kind of experience do you want your guests to feel?: It depends on the city, but in general, we want it to b engaging. We have photo walls and have chefs and tennis players do cooking shows, DJ’ing. We like to give the people “Wow moments” or when a celebrity tennis player will do something unique Notable Tennis Players: Venus and Serena Williams Nick Kyrigois What is the stressful thing about setting up an event?: Hoping to have everyone show up on time. There are so many factors that can cause someone not to show up. For the tennis, for instance, tennis players don’t know when they play until the day of. We also worry if they don’t get injured. One time, we had a city-wide blackout right before the event and the chefs ran out of food. What kind of tools or services have helped your business?: We have a global network of people and we communicate very regularly. Our biggest resources are talking and eating. On eating: Sometimes I’ll be in New York and have 3 lunches What do you look for when you look for talent?: We have our network give us experience. Hotel bellman actually provides a ton of information. We then take the information and find the recommended talent and go from there. I am looking for new ideas and exceptional people Feedback Sessions: We send out surveys for the chefs and ticket buyers and talk with sponsors. We’ll always have a group brunch where we talked about what went good and what went bad. City taste of tennis after dark: We did an event focusing on desserts. Desserts are now the thing to focus on. We took 5 instragrammable desserts and showcased them. For example Wowffules Ice NY Food trends and technologies: We live in the world where we can use all of these ethnic spices Where do you find a great restaurant in New York?: Mainly word of mouth, or ask friends in our community What is specifically your brand?: We lift these people up in the sports community and turn them into lifestyle brands What is one thing you’d like to know more about in the food industry?: How chefs can go from one event to the next. They balance so much going through events Southern Fork – Stephanie Burt Who inspired you to get into tennis?: Judi – I actually just got involved in tennis and someone asked me to help out and I stayed ever since Tennis players now have a lot of dietary guidelines What are the trends for a tennis player’s diet?: Eating gluten-free (they get more energy). Never put out raw shellfish. They eat plain food before a match. They’ll eat pasta before the match. However, they love food and they eat it all. Tennis is an all or nothing game. You have to win aaroundto get paid. What’s your favorite food?: In a Philedelphia’s restaurant called Franzino. We had this delicious fish. Bidwell Union Square Market. John Mooney. What is your advice for event planning?: For culinary events, read the autobiographies of the chefs. Read books about their lives. Markus Sameulson Anthony Bordain Danny Meyer Markus Samuelson – Yes Chef! Next event just passed: New York - August 23rd September 20th in Chicago Girl and Goat Burrata
16 years ago, Chronic Tacos started out as this little taco shop, but with time and patcience, exploded into a Taco Empire. Randy started the shop because he missed Tacos and hired on a Mexican family to produce their tacos in his store. Mike took it a step further and put systems in place to grown Chronic Tacos to an empire, with over 50 locations all over the United States, and Canada and even Japan. We go through many things in this interviews such as tough beginnings, to what it really takes to pass on information from one franchise to another. You’ll also learn what makes Chrnoic Tacos a fun, authentic brand and how the team innovates faster and faster every day. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Shownotes Why the name Chronic Tacos?: Chronic means the best. Chronic means high quality As owners, what do you guys do?: We wear many hats What makes this job exciting?: Mike – you never know what will pop up. You meet some really cool people. Randy – I love feeding people and making people happy How Randy started Chronic Tacos: I missed authentic tacos in Orange, LA. I found a small store that needed a taco shop and I bought it. We then hired the Bonia Family – 3rd generation Mexican restaurant family. Chronic tacos got media attention and that caused it to explode. Soon, a lot of people wanted to franchize Chronic Tacos. Randy met Mike, who is from Vancouver. Mike brought infrastructure to Chronic Tacos. Took the time to really build its future So far, we have 54 locations and over 80 in the pipeline. We are opening 15 this year. More locations in Canada and Japan What was the hardest part of making a restaurant?: construction. Plumbers, electricians, plans, drawings, permits. The Daily Pilot – Orange County Register With the newspaper, we got a ton of new demographics Mike – How did you make Chronic Tacos scaleable?: Chronic Tacos was really good at making restaurants but they were not good at recording the things they were good at, down. Each Chronic Tacos Restaurant has a design book that incorporates the color, texture, and ambiance. The biggest art asset is the Day of the Dead Artist Choozer (Day of the dead Artist) How can I become a franchize owner for Chronic Taco?: All starts with a phone call with Randy. We look for a type of “authentic life” through Chronic Tacos. Who creates the building with Chronic Tacos?: We work together with the franchise. From location to design. Chronic Taco’s in San Luis Obispo Philosophy in food: Fresh, authentic, made how you like it. It’s all about flavor. We want to experience something different than your average taco shop. We’re always staying on top of it. For example, Chronic Fries We cook our carnitas 3 hours daily. We use Mahi Mahi, Shrimp, breakfast, etc Where do you get your new menu items?: Feedback from our customers. However, our menu doesn’t change that much. We are rooted in tradition Chronic Tacos does events Gringo Bandito Gringo Bandito Chronic Taco challenge: Big concert, 12000 people at the Sabrosos. We have it all over the country. For example, we brought Kobayashi, ate 152 tacos in 10 minutes. This is a big, competitive eating contest What’s the difference between having a Chronic Tacos in Japan than the US?: Portion size. Also, seeing Japanese eat Tacos with Nachos. People love the California culture. Monster Burritos Small Burritos What are your favorite trends and technologies?: Mike – I really love how people are becoming more knowledgeable about their food and this is great for businesses like ours. Randy – Where the food come from. We talk with the Avacado farms and the tomato farms and where the meat’s getting processed. How do you convey to your customers your transparency?: Our customers ask all the time where our ingredients come from and we answer truthfully, which spreads Doordash Grubhub Uber Eats What is the biggest challenge in delivering?: Consistent service. The biggest challenge in the food industry: Food industries and labor costs rising. Starbucks raising their coffee 10 cents What makes Chronic Tacos a good place to work with?: There are opportunities for growth. What’s one thing you’d like to know more about?: Randy: I’d like to know how supply chain works. Who inspired you to get into food?: Mike – Randy Weiner convinced me to get into food. For Randy – I ended up hanging out with the kitchen staff and loved hanging out with this family serving this cruise ship. As a child, I served all the kids in my neighborhood and spent all my mom’s groceries. Favorite Quote, book or kitchen item?: Greatness is a lot of things done well What should someone get the first time in Chronic Tacos?: Randy - Beer Battered Fish Tacos Mike – Our Surf and Turf Bowl Do you have any advice for someone wanting to start a restaurant: Mike - Love food, have patience. Randy – Surround yourself with other entrepreneurs in this business. Surround yourself with a good team What are the common problems other restaurant entrepreneurs have?: Real Estate, Design, Food and where the food’s coming from SiteZeus – ways to search up real estate Where can we find you for advice?: eatchronictacos.com, there’s a franchise section, all inquiries go directly to Randy.
When I was approached to interview Susie Fogelson, I recognized the name, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. However, after researching who she was, it all came torrenting down. Susie’s marketing directive at Nickelodeon and the Food Network had influenced my childhood. She was behind many of the shows that you might recognize such as Emeril Live, or Good Eats, or Iron Chef and you might recognize her as a judge in the Next Food Network Star. Now revving up her new strategic firm, Susie shares her amazing way of marketing for all of you. Get ready for an interview with a lot of amazing takeaways. This episode has it all, from this new concept we talk about called food connectivity, the strategy and concept behind key shows such as Iron Chef and Chopped, and the amazing things you can do in the internet today when it comes to accelerating your personal brand. Susie taught me a lot, and surprisingly, I taught Susie a lot! I talked to her about food science, co-packing, and sensory science. That’s the beauty of the food industry. There are so many facets and faces, and I learn from every one of them. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes How do you get a show on the food network?: If you know someone, that’s the best. But the truth is, if you havea concept, you should work with a production company and use the production company to leverage with the programming people It’s very simple to see which production companies are working on the show. For example, Rock Shrimp Who is your favorite Food Network Star?: What makes them so special and unique is that these food network stars are passionate about food. Emeril Lagasse was someone I really respect because he would cook and bring the food out. Bobby Flay is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known. The way he manages his team and how he rewards with people and deals with people matters. Guy Fieri is fun to hang out with, Ann Berelle is fierce, charismatic, etc. You might know Susie from: She was on the Next Food Network Star and the AltonBrownCast Now she has a: Boutique Strategic Firm and Agency Food Marketing Path and a Celebrity Chef Food Strategy and Storytelling Has Foodies been extinguished? New term: People are Food Connected Everyone is getting involved in being food connected. It’s the Dad who loves to grill or the two dads who bake. It’s the college kids going out to eat, it’s the lawyers going to culinary food How Susie started her Strategic Firm: I worked with food network for 16 years, left 2 years Discovery bought Scripps, corporate shakeup Susie left but didn’t get any offers, at least the ones she didn’t want. She realized that a lot of brands were trying to get food connected and she wanted to make a firm that was dedicated to connecting brands to food. On self-branding and connecting: You should focus on your brand. If you’re booked all the time, you won’t have time for those 1 on 1 lunch. It’s important to think about your brand and your company’s brand at the same time. Background: Sociology at UCLA a great foundation on how people think in groups. My first job was at an ad agency. Went into media, which ended up with me going to Nickelodeon. I’m a strategist at the end of the day. Use data to extrapolate strategy and let people rock it Example: In Food Network, in the day, people liked Stand and Stir, but in the night, they want excitement and competition An example is Iron Chef. We would market this show as a non-fiction entertainment seeker’s show. 3 shining objects. We would work as a sort of task force. We were looking to promote cooking as a sport. This includes getting well know chefs to do this as a way to hook them in. Iron Chef was shot on the 6th floor of Food Network. You have to have every ingredient the chef Iron Chef as a sport and that ushered into a whole new genre For Chopped, there are 30 professionally trained chefs in the background. They would use the Chopped Ingredients before the show aired to prove the viability. How do I become a Celebrity Chef?: First, don’t think of being a celebrity chef. Think of developing your brand. If you want to develop your brand, you can talk to us. First, I ask for a video of them creating a dish Then my partner writes a positioning document Then we do an hour-long interview (like this?) I won’t make a show, but I’ll help you make great content What is your favorite social media platform?: Video. Snapchat, Instagram stories, less is more musical.ly or Tik Tok– Gen Z app Crushing It – Gary Vaynerchuk Someone should get on that for cooking App: Panna – a collection of cooking videos Migelo does dumpling Rick Bayless does mole sauce Do you need the food network to be successful?: Yes, but it’s more than that. How do you get people to pay for your content? Number one place for recipes is social media now Content Strategy Know your brands: The three shiny objects. Create good content: That’s well thought through, and for your specific platform After starting, I’ve learned that the food industry is much bigger than I thought. Head forager for whole foods was talking to Susie about scaling up. They’ve been making it in small quanitites, but when they scale with copackers, there are a ton of things that can happen I never thought of design, private equity, everything Institute of Food Technologist in Chicago Fancy Food Show Beverage Conference NOSH Live Hippeas Daily Harvest – Direct to Consumer Food Trends and Technology Transparency: How can brands be more forthcoming on the process. A lot of companies are very nervous about being transparent. Small brands get it, big brands are struggling Wendys looks at Greenhouse Tomatoes Transparency is hard, but it’s all about storytelling Food Network has proven that storytelling is the best way to get people interested in food Ag Tech such as vertical farm and clean fish Blue Nalu – Clean Fish Company Impossible and Beyond Meat – lab based protein forward foods Plenty – vertical farms Aerofarms – vertical farm Fancy Food Show: Tyson Ventures has something called Up-Cycle. They take chicken waste and turn it into a chip Food Waste When I talk to startups, it’s all about scale. Not everything is organic or not The Abbott’s Butcher – focuses on flexitarians Food Network Star – Nikki Dinki – Meat on the side For plant-based: it has to taste amazing Taste is King Portland Flavor Article Adam talks about sensory science Do you have any advice for anyone getting into the marketing industry?: The best approach is that I started at an agency. I learned how to start a deck, or how to work with clients Start with a goal, agree on a strategy, devise the tactics It’s hard but gives you the best foundation All companies have a goal PR is also a great business to be in Food PR is really smart. You can work in a company, or freelance, etc Rini Ader Susie knew a guy who was really good at connecting and connecting with PR agents and that’s how we got Rini Networking A La Carte – a roundup You can sign up for the newsletter at F&Co's website.
I happened to be in San Francisco and met up with Siddharth at the JUST office. After an amazing tour of the place, we sat down in one of their rooms and I busted out my new equipment, a sound box where I could improve the audio quality of mics If you're interested in product development or want some skills to improve, I'd listen to this interview as we pour out our strategies and frustrations on scaling up. You’ll also learn some interesting tips on how to improve your own R and D process. A note, the audio might sound a bit off, and I apologize. New technology is tricky, but we’ll nail it. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Shownotes A quick story about my experience with Hampton Creek, or JUST shownotes: http://letters.eatjust.com/dear-23-year-old http://myfoodjobrocks.com/?attachment_id=2529 Shownotes on Siddharth Bhide When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you say?: I differentiate between nutrition and food science and research chefs JUST name change What do you do at JUST?: I do a lot, mainly scale up and commercializing products When did you start working for JUST?: I started in November 2015. What is the most exciting thing about your job?: Learning about all of these plant proteins How do you test all of these plant proteins?: We have a sourcing team, an isolation team, and then it goes to the application team What kind of misconceptions would you like to dispel today?: Asking a food scientist if they’re good at cooking is like asking an electrical engineer to fix your computer How did you find out about food science?: I always learned about food in my family. When it was time to choose my major, food science popped out as an option. I worked in India in the Nespresso line, then got my masters in Rutgers. I worked in General Mills and then the Rutgers Innovation Center How did you get into JUST?: Look for people who care about the mission. It’s also nice to work with very similar products What is the most important skill you need in your job?: Being inquisitive and thinking outside of the box because of this all new development. Critical Thinking is also very important How do you acquire knowledge on plant-based innovation?: I follow the news Good Food Institute Institute of Food Technologist Google Scholar with any keywords based on clean plant-based proteins, etc Saskatoon, Canada My Food Job Rocks: I get to work with a basic necessity that can impact lives Favorite JUST product: Cookie Dough What would be your dream job title?: I actually don’t know. I’m just trying to explore Is it ok to not know where you’re going?: Yes, but you should try different things What do you look for at the job?: I need to be challenged and always learning What department interests you the most?: Scaling up is what I find the most interesting because we don’t learn it in college Lumeng Jin – Sensory Scientist Do you recommend product development competitions?: Yes, you realize you need to solve a problem. You also learn a lot of nuances. It’s better to use this experience for a job interview Siddharth did Developing Solutions for Developing Countries Product Development competitions ask you how to ask for help The biggest issue is learning about scale up, especially from a copacker What is your favorite trend and technology?: Clean meat and plant-based meat. Also, high-pressure processing Holly Guacamole How do you feel about clean meat?: I think it’s the future. The media is expensive, but we hope our plant based database can help us pinpoint the right nutrient broth Fetal Bovine Serum R and D presentations JUST has 6 divisions and share information all the time The biggest challenge the food industry has to face: The population is rising and we need to feed them. Mea production is detrimental to the environment. Gustav Y-combinator podcast interview Zengineer podcast Who inspired you to get into food?: My parents. Nestle manager. Dr. Don Schaffner was actually my adviser (he was in My Food Job Rocks) Favorite Quote: Mahatma Gandi: be the change you want to see Favorite Foods: A spice, a friend of mine packages it in turmeric foods Turmeric needs to be solubilized in oil for it to take in effect. Any advice for anyone in the food industry?: Go for it, be inquisitive. Anyone can join the food industry What would you tell someone on the first day in their job?: Don’t be too fixated by the problem. You have to think of the bigger picture and some solutions don’t have to be perfect
Melveen and I met on LinkedIn, she actually worked with a classmate of mine, Greg Yasuda, and I wanted her on the show because she had some really good content on improving the next generation of the workforce, the millennials. Though as a millennial, I prefer the term young professionals. Not only that, but she’s been an HR rep in the food industry for a long time in really big companies. Recently forming her own company, her big focus is coaching millennial or young professionals to excel at our jobs and she strategies with corporations to help them unleash potential in their current workforce. In this episode, I ask a lot of questions a lot of people are scared to talk about when it comes to general career advice. We go into how to ask good questions at work, or how to write an email to your boss, how to dress for an interview, or write a thank you note and a great discussion about improving manufacturing jobs. You’ll also learn a bit about the Land O Lakes pet food and crop input business. Who knew? About Melveen Melveen Stevenson is the CEO and founder of M.S.Elemental, LLC, a human resources and business advisory firm based in Los Angeles, California. As a certified HR professional with a background in accounting and finance, she helps companies to navigate the human resources “jungle” of compliance, human capital, and leadership challenges. By using an encompassing business approach, she helps to strengthen the infrastructure of organizations from the inside out, specifically through leadership development, operations, training, employee engagement, and career coaching. Over the last 17 years, Melveen has held leadership positions in human resources operations, supply chain, and talent management at international companies in food manufacturing, medical products, and consumer products. She has also worked internationally. Melveen began her career in accounting and international banking. With an inspired desire to support and drive organizational success through human capital, she redirected her career and obtained her MBA at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad Graduate School of Management. Melveen is certified through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP) and the Human Resources Certification Institute (SPHR). In addition, she is certified in Extended DiSC® and is a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melveenstevenson/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/m.s.elemental/ Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. *NEW* Patreon Due to our ad cycle being over, we’re trying a different model for My Food Job Rocks. We have opened up a Patreon page! Now you can support My Food Job Rocks if you want to and the reward tiers go from a complementary career advice book, to ad placement and more. We’d love for you to be part of the process. Visit Patreon.com/myfoodjobrocks Show Notes What is a common characteristic of food employees?: A common curiosity. They want to know the whole industry. What do you do in a sentence or less?: I coach millennials and I am in HR consulting About Millennials: Myth about millennials about being lazy and don’t work hard. The best performing person on my team is a millennial. They were hungry and willing to do anything to help an organization Millennials can speak up to the older generation, but you have to speak up How can you speak up to upper management?:To put yourself out there is to ask questions. The best way to ask questions is to ask for feedback on how someone would approach the problem. How should young people write an email?: Condense and concise. Know the language like FYI. Sometimes, you might need to ask your boss about answering your emails after hours Can you describe the steps it took to get to where you are today?: I used to be in accounting. You have to make judgements even though it is a black and white situation. I worked as an accountant in two companies and I learned that I loved working with people, MBA: I went to Michigan State university for a human resources and strategy. MBA allowed me to get a clean slate in HR. Look for a university with high placement rate. Then got a job with General Mills Career Tip: Keep in touch with your old employers. They might hire you back Land O Lakes: They do animal feed? The non dog and cat animal feed Land O Lakes also does butter and crop input You jumped ship to start your own consulting firm, why?: I wanted to go into coaching millennials and my focus turned from a corporate HR leader to a HR consultant who can utilize the people in their workforce more effectively Tips companies can use to make the current workforce happy Flexibility: To have the ability to work at home Overall, you have to look into each individual and see what would make them happy. My Food Job Rocks: I can see the turnaround and shift from people from being stuck to being successful. For companies, I love seeing companies supercharge their workers Do you have any advice for manufacturing plants to improve production?: Observe the processing cycle and pick up the skills and knowledge. You can understand the nuances of manufacturing and improve efficiencies. You’ll get more leverage too. You also have to focus on yourself. You, Inc or Adam Inc. Pick up all of the skills you need and in 15 months, leave graciously. What are people looking for today to get a job?: Application Do your research. Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. the 2nd level connections are much more receptive on LinkedIn actually. Your resume or LinkedIn profile must be professionally professional. They also have to sync up correctly. Interviews Research the place you will be interviewing. It leaves a bad impression if you can’t complete the tour. Thank You Notes Handwritten: Thank you for talking to me, I really enjoyed talking about xyz. Send it ASAP. General Advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry: Be absolutely curious. To land a job, you should keep up with the trends to show you’re up to date. Bring in your experience or education. For example, if you’re interested in sustainability, you have to show that you’ve done sustainability projects in the past. If they see that they need your project, they will probably hire you. We are in a time where the employee can choose the job. Where can we find you for advice?: On linkedin Melveen Stevenson Generation Z
If you are still a high school or college student and you want to get into this industry, I hope this podcast will open up the pandora’s box of opportunities we’ll be laying out before you. But even if you are maybe a bit further along in your career, there is always time to jump in. Marie Gibbons is probably the most famous clean meat scientist for multiple reasons. She is funded by the Good Food Insitute, she is currently doing her research in Harvard, and she’s really passionate in what she does. Marie’s passion and kindness resonate in this interview. She is an extremely authentic and transparent scientist who explains the process of clean meat in simple yet dense detail. Do note, some of the experiences Marie has being a farm animal veterinarian are quite graphic, of course, to prove a point. We only talk about it in the beginning, but just be forewarned. Otherwise, I’m glad that Marie has a sense of humor so enjoy a bunch of smart alec scientists talk about clean meat among other things. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes On the shownotes, I did something special and labeled Opportunities that are available in the industry. Clean Meat by Paul Shapiro 80,000 hours podcast – effective altruism podcast Zak Weston Harvard medical school Gym Meats When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you usually tell someone in a sentence or less?: I grow animal cells for meat. Dr. George Church How did you get to work with Dr. George Church?: I met him at an Effective Altruism conference and I contacted him after the show. We got to talking and here I am! How do you get funding for Clean Meat?: You have to write a grant or a giant lab report. When did you find interest in Clean Meat?: It came from when I was 12 years old and my dad gave me two pet snakes. I had to feed them mice. In order for snakes to live, they have to kill and then I thought of clean meat. Then I became a veterinarian and became a farm animal vet. And I realized farm animals aren’t treated the same way as other animals. I had to do a lot of really gruesome stuff as a farm animal veterinarian. If they get a disease, we have to find painful ways to remove it. How do you get in the foot in the door for Clean Meat?: Just like the food industry, there are so many avenues to help with clean meat. How is clean meat made? Opportunity: If you want to get into the science, focus on 3D modeling to prepare for baby back ribs and t bone steak. I can grow a nugget for $400 dollars Opportunity: Replace Fetal Bovine Serum to make plant-based growth media Opportunity: Somatic Cell Technology:Use pluripotency and turn them back into Stem Cells. Media components: Gatorade and Protein Powder. The standard Protein Powder has Fetal Bovine Serum Fetal Bovine Serum is quite a painful process by stabbing unborn baby cows in the heart to extract the fluid The growth factors have to be part of the serum which is the hard part because they have to tell the cell to grow. Opportunity: You can create growth factors with Recombinant DNA technology. You can get bacteria to create growth factor Algae Soylent Green Opportunity: Cut out the middle man to get the cells to automatically grow their own growth factor How do you change cells?: DNA, RNA, gene editing, environmental media etc. Induced Plurry Potent Opportunity: Scaling up Clean Meat. Regulatory, what is it going to be called? Opportunity: Induced Immortalization. To get cells to continuously grow until we said no. We just need to tell them to grown certain cells. Embryonic Stem Cells should be immortal. Telomerase Telomeres – serve as a buffer for our chromosomes to create DNA. What kind of resources do you use to find out about Clean Meat?: Sometimes, it’s literature based, sometimes it’s the feedback from professors and industry folks. Opportunity: Though there isn’t a lot of clean meat research, there is a ton of research in regenerative agriculture. Pigs are so physiologically similar to humans, which is why there is tons of research on pigs. We still need a lot of hands to sift through the research My Food Job Rocks: I get to study how life works. And not only that, but I have a chance to help animals and end animal suffering What would be your dream job title?: Clean Meat Scientist. I am funded by the Good Food Institute Harvard is generally interested in clean meat. Clean Meat and Plant-based meat actually has a lot of overlap. What companies are doing a great job in Clean Meat? Memphis Meats Mosa Meats JUST Foods Finless Foods What’s your favorite quote book or kitchen item: Blender and George Foreman Grill. I can make BLAT. Vegan bacon. If you’re trying to go more plant-based, you need to start with products with a lot of things going on and eliminate meat. A vegan food you really like: Tofu Scramble with Salad Greens and Asian spices Kimchi and lactic acid Smoothies – vegan chocolate protein powder, blueberries, greens Soylent Drinks Necter Soylent Rice and beans, and Indian food Do you have any advice to be a clean meat scientist?: Get familiar with cellular biology. All of these companies are looking for people and if you want to get into this, reach out and apply. It doesn’t hurt to reach out. If you want to reach out, you can go to the GFI and contact them. What should colleges teach you about to prepare you for life?: Taxes haha. Business course. There is a lot of common sense in business. A mandatory class on how to grow food. Where can we find you for advice?: My email is on the Harvard website, also on facebook, linkedin, or Instagram. I’m kind of bad for getting on emails but be patient.
We talk a ton about sustainability on the podcast, being one of the most important topics food industry professionals are interested in solving. Isaac is the perfect person to talk about environmental impact. Having been in multiple disciplines, he’s been researching the sustainability from biofuels to chicken coops. We get to talk about the cool sustainability tools I never heard about. One topic, in particular, is lifecycle assessment, a complete analysis of any product in the world’s environmental impact. I hope that this interview gives you the tools necessary to save the world. I also notice that Isaac and I have very similar ways of cooking. For example, we love stir-frying in our favorite cast iron skillets. What does that mean? I have no idea. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I’m an environmental scientist and my focus is comparing the effects of food and environmental effects in food. Why did you decide to join the GFI?: The mission is really exciting. I’ve worked on sustainability for a number of different angles, human health also. The technology like clean meat and plant-based meat can really change the world. What do you do at the GFI?: I’ll read a lot of academic papers, and clean meat articles, and everything, and then connect the dots and share it with people What is one fact about what you’ve found out?: Animals are generally not very efficient in producing meat. Clean Meat will reduce a ton of landmass. Not only animals but the corn and soybeans to livestock. 15-35 x more average land mass Clean Meat Some land is made for animals, a lot of arguments about land usage Though that may be true, half of all land on earth is from agriculture. As the earth becomes more populous and prosperous, the pressure for land is tremendous. Talk to Isaac about environmental impacts on clean meatLetter to the editor to the National Academy of Sciences on switching to plant-based diet might not be environmentally friendly. White Paper critiquing the flawed analysis on animal agriculture If someone were to get more information on alternative meats, where can they go?: Unfortunately a lot of these papers are very technical. We at GFI hope to break them down. World Resources Institute Steps it took to get to where you are today: Whitman College Walla Walla Washington, biochemistry and molecular science. I still took classes in environmental issues Purdue, Ph.D. in biofuels. Learned a ton about the environmental aspects of biofuels. After that, I started to get interested in food. Most important skills you need for your job: Big picture thinking How do you get better at big picture thinking?: Everyone is different. Some people are naturally inclined to think big, others like detail. However, to solve big problems, you need to talk to people. Coffee Causes Cancer in California Wework Impact Hub in Seattle PeasOnMoss What would be your dream job title?: I’m pretty happy with my job title now! Someday, I’ll have my own department of scientists but now, I love my title. What would you do with a team of environmental scientists?: Sustainability is a big problem so we need more experts. Lifecycle Assessment: A new scientific tool that has a lot of potential. Not the lifecycle of a cow or chicken, but rather, the lifecycle of a hamburger or a car. What About Protein Isolation? Ricardo at UC Berkeley Land use might be the most important environmental factors for animal farming What kind of research papers are you working on right now? Poultry farming and manure pasteurization How do you take in research?: I learn a lot by writing. Writing things to summarize and then I think about what other people say. I synthesize different viewpoints and different resources. What’s your favorite thing to cook?: I tend not to do recipes. Stirfry and stews. Some day, I want to use clean meat to make my family’s traditional chicken pot pie. Favorite Spice: Cumin, Rosemary and Thyme especially for potatoes and stews. Turmeric is good, but it stains. Adam’s Favorite Spice: Chipotle. The peppers in a jar Favorite Kitchen item: Cast Iron Skillet Favorite Book: Cadillac Desert by Mark Briesner. About land and agriculture Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into your industry?: You can use your passion and skills on anything in the food industry. There are a lot of different ways you can apply your skills in food. What should colleges teach people more of?: The things that are really important are being reflective, being willing to admit your assumptions are wrong. Reflective thinking. The ability to write, the ability of have conversations on really important topics. Where can we find you for advice? The GFI website. Twitter: @doctordendrite
Erin Rees Clayton holds a diverse scientific background. A PhD in Genetics, a Masters of Public Health, and is in food. With this skill set, she has a very broad and insightful ability to connect the dots, which helps her a ton in her current job in the Good Food Institute. Erin and I spend a lot of time talking about questioning. I think it’s a really important skill to ask good questions and we go into how to do so. There are so many questions we still don’t know how to answer in food and Erin will share them with you, so you can be inspired to answer them. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes Did you know: Copper is an essential micronutrient When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I work with scientists and entrepreneurs to make healthy and affordable meat alternatives The GFI works as more of a consulting role. They will analyze the scope, and mobilize the resources What kind of people do you get who come talk to you?: A variety, academia, entrepreneurs, and big companies. We also want other industries to get involves such as the tissue engineering company. Are there any educational hubs that are forming for these industries?: Not really. We’re trying to change it. Tufts, Harvard, and Berkeley have labs and innovation centers are going through this. Allison Burke Everyone is pretty much doing this. Washington and Texas A+M are both universities that are getting involved, probably more. Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today: Not a linear or planned path. Science is really about asking questions Dennis Thiele at Duke University. Copper Metabolism Then got a masters of public health at Michigan to get a more holistic view of scientific impact How did you get interested in GFI?: I stumbled upon it. I loved their mission and I wanted to see what it would be like so I wanted to go into it because I would always wonder if I didn’t What skills were they looking for?: I’m a Scientific Liason. At the time, it was grant writing in which I wrote a lot of during my time working. What are some big questions the GFI is trying to answer?: Plant-Based Meat Questions: The sources of protein. For example, pea protein. We really haven’t explored the vast majority of plants out there. Also, what are we trying to do with plant protein? Can we find healthier ways to create the product? Clean Meat Questions: Clean meat can rely on biomedical to get our questions answered. Yet the price of making Clean Meat has to be drastically lower than biomedical. A big point is to find a media to create clean meat. Media recycling systems or remove waste or add in is also a big questions Do you have any tips for asking good questions?: Not being afraid to admit being wrong. We always want to be right, but with cutting edge technology, we don’t know the answer. No one does but we are all working to solve these answers. Ask questions that don’t have answers and enjoy the process. My Food Job Rocks: 1. I get to learn new things and be challenged on a daily basis 2. I can make a difference in a very positive and big way. I’m one small part of that, but the potential is impactful 3. The people that I get to interact with. My colleagues are super cool. What would be your dream job title?: Similar to what I’m doing now. Food Systems Strategist maybe? Can you name one specific gap that’s stumping you?: I tend to think about what does it look like to develop plant based meats in other countries? Extruders are huge, expensive pieces of equipment and a lot of nations can’t afford it. What companies that don’t get much love are innovating in this space?: American Pulse Association, USA dry pea and lentil council. These are not for profit entities. Pulse protein innovation summit in Oakland: We brough farmers, breeders, food scientists, and plant based meat companies to discuss innovation of plants. Will that summit be there again, next year?: Maybe, not sure. We are actually having our own Good Food Institute Conference Who inspired you to get into food?: It’s more of a what, than a who. I saw GFI as the potential to really change something and this will make an impact. Should Scientists be Idealistic?: Some should be, most have a touch of pessimism. Favorite book: Fiction: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Non-Fiction: Long Walk to Freedom. For the books applicable to my career: Living Down Stream by Dr. Sandra Stiengraber and Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Made an impact on thinking about health from not just inside our bodies, but outside as well. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into your industry?: There is a lot of space that needs to be accomplished. People are struggling to find technical talent just because there’s not really a degree for that right now. Don’t be afraid to try something new. If a class sparks your interest, or you find a seminar that’s interesting, go and do it. Talk to people. You never know what you’re going to learn and making connections are crucial. A lot of scientists are introverted. How do you convince them to talk?: Us being scientists and talking is really important. Scientists can talk to other scientists and feel comfortable. What should colleges teach you to be more prepared?: Exposing students to broad applications to their knowledge. Not “If you major in X, you can’t work in Y”. Interdisciplinary collaboration: GFI is not just science and technology. We have innovation, policy, corporate engagement,
Aylon Steinhart brings his entrepreneurial grit and amplifies it through convincing and motivating people to start plant-based meat and clean meat companies. But isn’t that hard? To start your own company? The short answer is yes, but it’s something worth pursuing. Aylon and I tag team to break down the tips and tricks to becoming more innovative and entrepreneurial. We go from tips on getting into Expos for free, why it might be a good idea to start corporate for a bit, and the amazing resources the GFI has, to help you start your plant-based or clean meat company. To give you some sort of disclaimer, this interview was conducted before I decided to team up and start my own company. But perhaps this interview was one of the factors that when the offer was presented to me, I accepted. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I work for a non-profit that is transitioning to animal alternatives. We’re trying to create a healthy and sustainable food supply through healthy innovation. I help startups and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to go into this space Watch out for Aylon Steinhart at a Stanford video How did you become an entrepreneur?: I was an account manager in Puerto Rico. I was studying business at Berkeley. Afterward, I took a leadership development training course at AT&T. I saw joining a leadership program to explore the learning ground of corporate life. Once I found out about industrial agriculture, things picked up fast and I wanted to make an impact. I saw that Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger were making an impact, and I wanted to be part of it. Impossible Burger vs Beyond Burger Even though I didn’t have a food background, I did a consulting to make a website for a food company. However, it was my innovation skill set that helped me with the GFI. Me not leaving the GFI alone is also another reason How to get to Expo West: Looking at the list and asking anyone to volunteer at their booth Startup Advice: Ask the right questions, make things as simple as possible, you need to think: “how easy will this be for the consumer to understand?”. Think of the end consumer. Are plant proteins premium?: Not really. It depends on a lot of different things Clean Meat is hard to commercialize, right?: Yes, but people are bright. The issue is to find Technical Cofounder Good Dot – Plant-Based Meat India Market Impact on both Plant-based Meat and Clean Meat is much more impactful than Academia How can we get more technical cofounders in the alternative meatspace?: You might know more than you think if you study muscle or plant knowledge. The GFI has 2 really good white papers on alternative meats and just email us. The GFIdeas community Slack Channel Kraft Heinz Incubator Good Catch Memphis Meats Many innovative companies in Israel We need more companies in both fields GFI company database What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: What do consumers really want? Do they care if the meat tastes exactly like meat? Or can we actually make a better meat? Rennet: used to be gathered form the stomach of calves and then we discovered that we can ferment it with bacteria. Same concept is being explored with clean milk and eggs Who got you into Veganism?: Kip and Keegan. I watched a documentary. Media is important Pat Brown and Ethan Brown convinced me to go to Food. Bruce Friedrich too. Favorite Book: Artisan Vegan Cheese. I'm am making a probiotic beverage made by soaking Quinoa, mixed with a cashew blend and makes a cultured nut product Zak’s Bechamel sauce using cashews Favorite Food: Tom Ka Gai Soup – Coconut Milk based soup using plant based chicken 24 Vegan – vegan fish sauce Any advice for anyone who wants to start a food business: If you want to start a food company, I would urge you to start a plant-based meat and clean meat company Plant-based meat is a quarter of 1 percent of the meat market. In 3 decades, it will be a 1/3 of the total market. This was before the plant-based meat was actually shown. 70 billion dollars of market share is up for grabs But that’s hard: Yes, it’s not easy. Things that aren’t easy are probably worth doing. GFI has a list of white space company ideas for you to start their own company The White Space Company Idea You could import plant based food in Asia and sell it in the US. There is pre-extruded textured products as well GFI Blog. Look for me and find the resources You can email me directly if you ever want to start a food company: aylons@gfi.org
Really excited to have the first of 5 interviews from the generous people at the Good Food Institute, the best nonprofit that deals with the plant-based meat and clean meat space. Zak Weston never thought he would end up in food but after finding how much he could impact the world, he persistently networked his way to a job as a corporate engagement specialist at the Good Food Institute Zak convinces companies to put more plant-based options on their menus and clients include restaurants, food service companies, and even manufacturing. One really important topic Zak and I get into is discussing the group, Effective Altruism, a very pragmatic group of individuals who want to do good in the world. This is where Zak found that food was his calling. If you are stuck in your life, then this episode will motivate you to keep going. The food industry is the perfect industry to impact the world. Quick note, I met Zak in person at the Protein Technologies Seminar. It’s always good to put a face with a name. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. ShowNotes What did you do before the food industry?: Sales and marketing in software or non profit. I once started reading about the food industry and found that I could help fix the food industry. When someone asks what you do for a living, what would you do in a sentence or less?: I talk to companies on why you should give plant-based options. Companies all over the world are looking for plant-based products A lot of the job is networking, attending conferences and trade shows and talking. Sometimes we need to cold call but we have noticed companies are very open. We can easily tell people that people are open to plant-based food. We try to ask for a resource How do you find information about plant-based news: We have a team of 33 people who are writing and aggregating about the plant and clean meat industry. Plant-Based Foods Association, Nielsen, other well-respected places. Better Buying Lab, Academic Research, Asking Private sectors for answers. World Resources Institute Faunalytics: A subset of the research and data they’ve aggregated is plant-based and clean meat food Do you think companies who want plant-based options have a moral reason or financial reason?: Both. We take a pragmatic approach and fully expect that they need to make the profit. What is one misconception you want to dispel about the food industry?: The Food industry really does want to repair the world and climate change. GFI works to make sure things can be more sustainable. Consumers such as millennials care about the environment and where food comes from. Describe the Steps it took to get to where you are today?: I majored in business development. I had a job in Ohio and then in Florida. I learned a ton about sales I wanted to get into the food industry so I read a lot and interviewed people a lot. Effective Altruism Bruce Friedrich How did you get your job? Through networking or job application?: I met people in the GFI, did food industry networking, etc Center for Effective Altruism 80,000 hours – career guide to maximizing your impact using your career. Helps when you’re uncertain on your career. What is the most important skill you need for your job?: Being entrepreneurial, also being a great communicator Do you need to learn communication?: You can learn it. You have to put yourself in situations to do that. I used to read books on small talk which I found embarrassing. Once you practice doing it, you become more confident. Adam’s perspective: I only became social because I needed to lead things How many companies do you talk to a day?: 2 to 3 companies. Sometimes small or big. We maintain a product database on plant-based food service and retail to deliver to places who need that Made restaurant scorecards of 100 restaurant chains to evaluate their menu What would be your dream job title?: This is the perfect job. If I wanted to progress, I’d do the but bigger and better. What do you look for most in a job?: Impact on important issues. Most millennials don’t know how to change the world. “I want to change the world and I don’t know how” Trends and Technology: Plant based and clean meat (duh!) Memphis Meats Beyond Meat Regenerative Agriculture Wendell Berry one acre fund Mark Post Mosa Meats Expo West: Improve Nature, Forage, faba bean (chickpea?) butter, there are a lot of starts that blow me away Daiya’s ice cream pop Daiya yogurts Beyond Sausage Who inspired you to get into food?: A set of people that impresse don me that food is important. What books did you read that started you the food path?: The Ethics of What We Eat - Why our food choices matter. It’s probably the most consequential thing we do all day. Clean Meat by Paul Shapiro David Welch Michael Pollan’s book – Omnivore’s Dilemma What the best thing you’ve ever eaten?: On date nights, we try different recipes. We have a lot of dietary restrictions. We found an amazing dairy-free cashew alfredo sauce. Creamy, great consistency, nutty. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry?: Get into the plant based and clean meat industry. Do as much research as you can and go to conferences. I promise you it’ll be very rewarding as this is the ebst time to get into food. What do you think colleges should teach you to be more prepared?: You should work in companies who value growth because it gives you career capital that will help you build success. It’s important to systematically explore career options. Eventually, you’ll get into a career space: hell yes, I want to do this every day. 80,000 hours career guide So Good They Can’t Ignore You You have to show high quality, passionate work that shows “yes, that person can do the job”
I met Lumeng Jin at the now discontinued Heart Healthy Competition in Chicago about 5 years ago. We participated in the same product development competition and kept in touch because that’s what you’re supposed to do as a student. In case you’re wondering, Lumeng’s team won that competition. I’m not bitter at all! Anyways, I wanted Lumeng on the show because she’s on the side of the industry that doesn’t get so much love on the podcast. Sensory Science and Consumer Research are both super important career paths in the food industry because it’s the science that deciphers how people will respond to your product. I would say in the hands of a master, this is one of the most important things to know when it comes to product success. Lumeng has worked many jobs and has even done her masters in this field and now lives in New York City where she conducts and analyzes large-scale consumer tests. So get ready for an exciting episode where we talk about the importance of this field. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Shownotes What do you tell people in a sentence or less?: I do marketing research in food and household products Carrie Arndt – Follow her on LinkedIn makes really awesome graphics on brands Chobani rebrand infographics MMR Research has a lot of sensory research, market research, and global research Steps to take to where you are today: Bachelors in Food Science, Masters in Sensory My masters was in sensory. Tasters verses Non Tasters. I worked with Beverley Tever Sensory testing eliminates all the variables except a couple of them. Any best practices?: What are you really trying to achieve? What about consumer research?: You want to choose your target market. For example, people who love burgers need to be experts on burgers. We also need the environment to be fluid. What kind of statistics tests do you do?: In school, you do the test. Actually, in the real world, you get a statistician to work with you. Usually, food scientists will use ANOVA What kind of software do you use?: Red Jade (cloud based), Compusense (consumer panel) How do you capture sweetness/second?: Using software What was the funnest thing you’ve done?: We got samples of air fresheners in India How do migitiate client expectations: Work with the client and ask the right questions What do you look for most in a job?: I like working in a team. I work in an open environment. I enjoy collaborating to find a solution. I also look for career path and progression. Can you have room for growth on a certain company? Is it hard to ask questions?: Yes, but if it’s a healthy work environment, you should ask questions and people should want to help you What’s your favorite kitchen item?: Instant Pot! I made bone broth, for example. Amazon Echo The best thing you’ve ever eaten: Japanese food. In New York City, there’s a Japanese Hot pot place that has pig feet. Has collegen. Hakata Ton Ton. Any advice to get into the sensory industry?: Network with people in the sensory area. I go to the IFT sensory science division as a start. People are open to help. What I should have done in college: I should have talked to my professors about career aspects earlier. What would you tell yourself if you just started your job?: The world is not that scary Where can we find you for advice?: LinkedIn (inbox or email)
Today we have an exciting episode with Claudia Sidoti, who not only owned her restaurant at 19, but also wrote recipes for the Food Network, and now is the head honcho at Hello Fresh’s North America’s division. As many know, meal kits have gotten a ton of buzz too, but I always wanted to know how the R+D process worked. I asked Claudia how her team develops recipes and wow, I was super surprised how it works. With over 100 dishes ideated a week, while accounting for supply chain, portion size, and ease of use, Claudia’s description of the process was really informative. So get ready for a really cool episode on how to be a culinary super star. Whether you’re in the restaurant industry, magazine writing, or meal kit business. Wanted to give a shoutout to HelloFresh, I’m not sponsored by them, but they gave me some meal kits for free. With moving, I only used one, and they’re very good for the busy professional. If you have no time to go to the grocery store or plan dinner, these are worth it. For me, I can live off beans and rice and free steaks I find, so meal kits aren’t for me, but they can be for you. About Claudia Claudia’s deep connection with food began in her grandmother’s kitchen and eventually landed her in the kitchens of Food Network where she was the Test Kitchen Director. For more than 8 years she directed the culinary content for Food Network Magazine, which reached over 13.5 million readers each month, and is the 2nd largest magazine in the U.S. From its inception, Claudia launched the magazine and contributed more than 3000 recipes. She also directed a host of other projects including brand extensions, such as Food Network Café’s and large-scale events and festivals. Her start as a young New York City chef and restaurateur at age 19 landed her recognition in Restaurant Institutions and Gourmet Magazine. After eight successful years in the kitchen at Onini restaurant, Claudia decided to shift gears and began food styling for television commercials, editorial and print advertising campaigns. Several years later, she launched Beauty & the Feast, a New York City catering company, which was noted in New York Magazine’s, Best Bests. Over time, the company added several divisions including a wholesale food department that supplied prepared foods to coffee bars and cafes including, Barnes & Noble. In addition, she launched Urban Market an international specialty food shop that featured authentic dishes, inspired by Claudia’s multi-cultural family, which also landed placement in the New York Times food section. As a marketing and catering director, she helped companies such as Eatzi’s, Cosi and Panera Bread, to grow their businesses. During this time, she also developed an interest in food and publishing. She began working as a freelance food writer for the New York Post and other publications in 2002. Currently, with over thirty years of combined experience, Claudia’s unique perspective gives her the ability to lead HelloFresh’s kitchen as the Head Chef and Head of Recipe Development. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Shownotes What do you tell people in a sentence or less?: I lead the culinary team of developers at Hello Fresh 5 people on the team Permalancer Freelancer What do you look for in freelancers?: expertise in the industry, temperament, people who work fast-pace Because of the changes in jobs, freelancers are becoming more available and I can hire them for their creativity Not all chefs are recipe developers, not all recipe developers in chefs How to make a Hello Fresh recipeFirst comes down from the top: choose the categories on what needs to be filled We analyze the constraints and the assignments (you must use pork tenderloin, or you must feed a family of 4) We then see what’s actually doable, we have time constraints, kitchen equipment constraints, to vet out the recipe Give the recipes to the team and split into categories. Not only that, but we have to itemize the portions. Each chef has a unique style which must be translated to the consumer. Usually this a week-long process. We use external focus groups to find out what they want How many recipes do you do a month?: Around 100 a month. Not all of them are through the process What’s one of the more popular dishes?: American comfort food dishes like pork chops, burgers, meatloaf Difficulty: We really take pride on how to make the dishes hassle free How do you cook a potato wedge efficiently: 425 in an oven, not too much oil, salt and pepper, roast for 20 minutes. Claudia’s website Steps it took to get to where you are today?: They weren’t not really steps, but dancing I opened up a restaurant at 19 The restaurant industry will teach you how to rush and think fast Grew up in Chelsea (NY?) 8th Ave was becoming restaurant row. I was fortunate enough to meet a chef who was just opening a restaurant. And I forced myself to become a chef. I acquired skills by learning from others and working really hard. How long did you work in the restaurant industry? I worked for 8.5 years at that restaurant What advice would you give someone who wants to open a restaurant: Understand your idea and understand your cost. “Are we actually making money on this dish?”. Most chefs don’t understand recipe development After the restaurant gig, I did a lot of freelance from writing to recipe development. I met a freelancer at the Food Network and we swapped jobs. I worked for the Food Network for 8.5 years and started with their first food network magazine What’s the best way to meet freelancers?: There are networking specific events and alliances such as culinary alliances, women in restaurant tourism, media tourism has a lot of events as well. Staying in it and word of mouth is best. Tips for recipe development: It’s extremely fast pace. 120 recipes per issue. Extremely rigourous testing. Pay attention to food trends and take inspiration anywhere We want people to innovate and build confidence and inspire them to take more risks My Food Job Rocks: The people. Not only my team, but the suppliers we work with and the customers we work with What type of food trends and technologies are exciting you right now?: Food waste and trying to reduce waste in the kitchen What are some initiatives Hello Fresh is doing for waste?: There isn’t really a waste component because everything is portioned very well. The beauty of meal kits One thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Sourcing, and the impact of where our food is coming from and who is it being fed to Who inspired you to get into food?: My grandmother What’s your favorite kitchen item?: Wooden spoon and zesters. I like very simple food tools. At hello fresh, all you need is a cutting board, a knife a pot, a pan, and a baking sheet What’s your favorite food: Pizza. So much I built a pizza oven. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry?: Wear a bunch of different hats and find out what fits the best. There’s a lot of opportunity to failure. How can we find you?: Twitter: https://twitter.com/csidotifood Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/csidotifood/
As you recall in episode 110, I interviewed at the intro to food science class in NCSU and had a blast. Now we continue with Dr. Gabriel Keith Harris’ story. Like many, his path to food science was unconventional, though he’s always had an interest with food, he went through the dietetics path until someone said he was interested in food science! Gabe’s main focus in the academic world is how food is processed through the gut. So get ready for an exciting episode where you’ll learn all about coffee and chocolate, inflammation of the gut, and how you can be a perpetual learner. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Shownotes NCSU Interview Marie Gibbons (spoiler) Don Schaffner Ben Chapman When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I teach food science and nutrition scientice. I teach at the food science and bioprocessing department Bioprocessing: pharmacy, brewery, fermentation, etc Dr. John Sheppard Cal Poly-My school is lumped into Nutrition, we are Food Science and Nutrition Dr. Chris Albert – Dean at Missouri Pharmaceuticals is bleeding into food science so we combine the two Keith’s Area of expertise: What happens when you eat food, particularly plant foods. I get to study chocolate and coffee and see what’s in there. Chocolate benefits: 1000s of years of anecdotal evidence that chocolate was a medicine. Lewis and Clark Coffee isn’t quite as extensive: Arab scholars and coffee houses might have spirred the enlightenment. Prop 65: Coffee as a carcinogen May prevent type 2 diabetes, or Parkinson’s. 3 cups a days Study about not drinking something first thing in the mornings Coffee Chocolate – Tierra Nueva Chocolate Coffee Raw Cacao It’s no surprise that people are drinking cacao. This was its original intent Steps it took to get to where you are today: I grew up with an interest in food and health. Then I joined the navy. In college, I did a bachelor’s of dietetics. I met a professor who moved to food science and he convinced me to go to IFT. The first people I met were NC State Graduate students. I went to the expo floor and ate everything Food Toxicology – Dr. Steve Schwartz. He invited me to be a part of his lab at Ohio state. Cancer center at Ohio State Post-Doc: Center for disease control and prevention. Spent 3 years on how cells deal with inflammation. Inflammatory: How do you feel inflamed?: It’s our body’s immune response like an injury, or sprain. It does good, but can also do harm Low-level inflammation in the gut: You probably can’t feel it. The signals that are produced might be damaging Tenure process: The tenure process is the idea that you arrive as an assistant professor. You set up shop and your work shows that your work is vital. After 5 years, you make a giant packet that shows that you’re worthy to senior faculty. Then you get to Associate Professors. You then have a board of professors from all schools evaluate you to get tenure. Most important skill in the industry: The idea to always keep growing. When you graduate, you are not done. Treat your students to prepare themselves 5 years old. Things change so quickly in terms of how knowledge is communicated and how things work. How do you convince students to learn beyond what’s expected?: Being enthusiastic really helps. Also bringing professionals to talk to students where all of the voices are saying the same thing to push students forward. Why does hour food job rock: I get to give back to the people who taught me to be a great food scientist. I also get to eat my experiments. Food is right there and everyone eats What type of food trends and technologies are really exciting to you?: Sustainability. An example is consuming insects will be the norm. Also Clean Meats and fermentation. Another trend is automation. Where are my students are going to work? The speed the food industry is automating is impressive. The contrast to automation is artisan. Hyperlocal production Vegan trends vs meat trends What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: I’m really fascinated by engineering. Just watching these machines astounds me. Fermentation: how to get these microbes to make something for you? What do you think is the best way to learn more about it?: To visit as many food companies as possible. Watching how a large company vs a small company produces food. In general, the food industry experts are quite gracious in sharing knowledge. In food science, there seems to be a desire or willingness to share information. It's easier to be friends with people than enemies with people in the food industry In my graduate years, I wish I could have networked with them in the food industry. At the end of the class, we have students get dressed and be technically interviewed Favorite book: the bible, For reading and rereading: The Hobbit. Kitchen Item: rubber spatula Pancake culture: flatbreads, tortillas, naan Bread and beer are a result of noticing things Vanilla and chocolate fermentation is a bit tougher Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into your industry: Go on more food tours to give people a sense of what to look for. You should also visit universities. Where can we find you for advice: Through linkedin. Also via email. Contact me at gkharris@ncu.edu
Julie Wilson is a serial entrepreneur who’s started multiple businesses in the comfort of her home. As many know, this is the dream! You see it all the time on facebook and youtube, right? Julie and I dispel the fictions on starting an online business and also talk about the best steps to start your own. But more importantly, Julie is the marketing arm of FreshCheq, a really innovative software that allows restaurants to operate more safely and efficiently. FreshCheq can measure temperature logs, checklist staff tasks, and now recently, can monitor how much food a restaurant is wasting. Learn from Julie’s experience the amazing opportunity in the online space. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Shownotes What do you do for a living?: I create businesses that solve problems. I love remote work because I’m not bound to anything How did you get into the online business space?: I was reprimanded for going to my son’s game and realized it wasn’t worth it. I started my first business at 2006. I bought a foreclosure business and managed it remote. I sold my business then, started an online business There are a lot of scams out there. For someone who wants to start an online business: Do a lot of research and find a mentor FreshCheq: Me and my 4 partners make up FreshCheq. Scott manages restaurants for 20 years. He noticed that recording food safety parameters in restaurants suck. So he digitized it. What did they hire you on as in FreshCheq? The marketing arm of the business. When you were on board, did you have an app?: it was an idea. Our co-founders are great coders How did you build an app?: We did market research, found out what people wanted in the beginning, then they develop a wireframe, and then we start testing things as a team. It took a lot of communication. The first version was created in 6 months. What questions have you asked to refine the app?: We ask our people a lot of questions and we almost have 400 restaurants under freshcheqs. Thanks to Scott’s network, we get really good feedback. Some questions are about accountability when people are busy. Our users said that they need text alerts What do your customers see the results on your app?: We can see how they’re using the data such as food temperature logs. Owners can see immediately who does their texts. Gamification: Using streaks (like snapchat) Rollout of food waste logs: Restaurant owners will be able to log how much food they will waste Ken Burgin Why does your food job rock?: Every day, I make life easier for restaurant owners. With the new food waste rollout, it’s even better. Notable people: Kristin Rainey – Food Acquisition for Google. She sources all the food at Google cafes. She focuses a lot of food waste and plant based diets What products are really exciting you right now?: Making food careers cool (thanks!) What is something you’d like to know more about: Food waste and plant-based diets. Expo West Daiya Ice Cream Popsicle – Coconut Based Beyond Meat Sausage Allysa Cowen – Living on live food Raw Diet Clean Meat by Paul Shapiro Why did the FreshCheq team interest you?: I was really excited about FreshCheq’s mission. It solves a problem in all the fields I’m interested in. How do you communicate remote work?: We do an Uber Conference at least once a week. We can screen share We also use Asana We’ve been fortunate with the people we work with What’s your favorite type of food?: Fondue Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to start their own business?: Find a mentor and talk to someone that you trust. What about your mentors?: Mine were serendipitous. People should ask to be mentored though. My old boss did all sorts of crazy side hustles. I watched him and took notes. I kind of figured out a lot of things on my own, which is something I wouldn’t recommend. What would you say to someone who has an idea but doesn’t know how to start: I don’t think it’s possible to research too much Where can we find you for advice?: Julie@freshcheq.com. I’m very active on Linkedin. Our goal for freshcheqs is to be involved in the food industry
This episode was recorded at Expo West! Shannon Gomes and I connected on linkedin and just decided to wing a podcast episode while I was there. We found a table early in the morning and just did an episode. The world of Public Relations is something I’ve always been curious about. What do they do? How do they reach out to media outlets? These and many other questions are what I ask Shannon today. So if you’re interested in public relations as a profession, be prepared for a crash course on the day in the life of one. Shannon’s 17 years plus of experience and knowing the in’s and out’s of the industry shines brightly in this interview. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes How do you feel about expo west?: I ran in here and found 5 people I knew. It’s just so cool to be here. How do you navigate Expo West?: Expo West app… but carry a notebook too The problem is that the booths you want to see are spread everywhere What do you tell people in a sentence or less?; My job is to get clients in the press. At the end of the day, I’m a food storyteller. Let’s talk about your company: I am an independent PR firm and live in California In the agency, then in Williams Sonoma for 3 years. I really liked doing anything and represent who I want to represent How do you go after clients?: I have goals on who to talk to. I have clients who I feel really strongly about. I reach out to them and use the power of linkedin First have an in person coffee meeting What makes you different?: I do everything from the intern to the executive. When clients hire me, they are getting me How do you cold call?: You have to do your research and get to know the outlet Can you give me an example of a session?: I craft 90 day plans. A 1 to two page word documents and add tactical and creative elements. Who are our targets and goals? PR is a creative process and you just have to be very creative, unique. You’re pitching Ideas “What are your dream outlets you’d want to be in?” Wrong answers: Get me famous. Right answers: I want to learn about you Williams Sonoma Agrarian Line We brought in these really cool makers and I had the media get to know these people Harvest tour for my olive oil clients and have the master miller talk about olive oil For towns: You don’t need to go into New York city to be on TV. You can do just as well as you target cities. Birmingham Alabama. Tons of food outlets over there and people are moving from NYC there. There are a ton of magazines there What is the most important skill you need for your job?: Be personable, authentic, be good at human relationship Why Does Your Food job Rock?: I get to tell the stories of farmers Trends and Technology: Rise and interest in Probiotics. I represented Farmhouse Culture and learned all about it there. Proteins Back to the basics @goodfoodgomes Instagram account #kidsinthekitchen My kids love Late July and there are brands like that. Simply Fuel – probiotics Bar in a bag Customization Just Date Syrup – Mejoule date syrup What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: Rising above the marketplace noise. How do you rise above the competition? Best is storytelling. Earned Media Paid Media Advertising Instagram Tip: Respond to people and respond quickly What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: The distribution channels and how things are packaged. These are the challenges my clients face. I come in when everything is developed Who inspired you to get into food?: I was born in Sonoma County and it was all about food and wine What’s your favorite quote, book or kitchen item?: Find something you are passionate about and keep on doing it Was there any time where you didn’t feel passionate?: I used to be in tech PR and learned about tech storage. Not really passionate about it, but learned a lot about it Storage World magazine Natural Bay Area not Natural San Francisco Brooklyn Food Stuff Nashville Tennessee and New Orelans are the new foodie cities What’s the best thing you ever ate?: A lot of food comes from Nostalgia Any advice for anyone who wants to go into the public relations industry: Talk to people. You gotta learn the ropes What would you want colleges to do to make people smarter?: bring in the people who are doing the work in the food world. One person might be inspired Shannon@goodfoodpr.com @goodfoodgomes. Let’s connect!
Today I help Debomitra Dey and Soniya Katekar design their website through a conference call. I’ve done this before, but I wanted to post this up so eventually, if you would like to create a blog, or Instagram account, or podcast, you can use this as a way to motivate you, or at least see how I get motivated to do things. In this episode, I drill down on the purpose on how I structure my website, and then talk about how committed you want this to be. More importantly, what are the steps and processes you need to focus on to go all out? I hope this episode will inspire you to create your own platform! Like Debomitra and Soniya, I’m always happy to chat with people who are trying out ways to educate people on science. After all, we are all in this together. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes The Food Tech Club Soniya Katekar - Pretzel Baron Food Safety Manager Debomitra Dey - Equinox Lab Sensory Analyst Did you know: In India, if you tell anyone in Food Science, people think it’s cookingMindset: Treat this like a job, the only way you will make an impact is to post every day Website: You should focus on a way to have your reader “binge watch” your content Use bought wordpress themes for a template to get things up and running Spending money on things because it’s an investment SEO is ok, but consistent content is better Example of a good website: Mr. Money Mustache Website Tips Home Tab About Section Articles or other media Contact Tab Social Media Tab Right side of the column is to have: recent or best posts. Category list, banners to buy products Should you tag your posts on your website? I do tags on profession or category Gather people’s emails because it’s much better in the long run to collect emails How to get social media tracking: Yea just post anything, often Books on Social media (Gary Vaynerchuk) Crush It Crushing It Jab Jab Jab Right Hook You should think about money when you make an online platform because you will be striving for value. This is a very hard thing to grasp. On guest blogging You should invite guest bloggers after you have a bunch of articles under your belt. Guest articles will help bring their audience over to your area On Linkedin posting Just test things out on social media until you find something that ticks On communicating to people about food scientist Talk big about food scientists. Don’t talk daily life. It’s too boring. Talk about how to feed the world through food. You have to take three steps back. Anyone can read a term paper, nobody reads textbooks, but people read stories On getting traction Post every single day Notable food influencers mentioned Meg and Cat Katie Jones
I’m sure you've heard a lot about Tyson Foods investing in a lot of cutting edge companies. Beyond Meat, Memphis Meats, and Tovala to name a few. I wanted to get to the bottom of this, so I asked Tom Mastrobuoni to talk about the reasons why Tyson is putting a stake into these companies. His answer surprised me. To get ahead and be truly innovative, Tyson knows that it has to be invested in these up and coming companies. I learned the complexities of why it’s a win-win situation for companies to partner with Tyson. For one, Tyson has a vast array of resources to help any food company out. The new food companies just have to innovative. One of the most valuable things in the interview is talking with Tom about the newest trends. Because Tom is at the cutting edge of the industry, I asked for his opinion on plant-based foods, clean meat, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, among others. If you want to know the hottest and most game changing food technologies, this is the episode you should listen to. I hope it inspires you to think big! Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes Michael Wolfe, The Spoon Fancy Food Show Do you have any airplane tips?: Nope! The aisle seat is better than middle sitting When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do?: We run the venture arm of Tyson foods and we’re reinventing Tyson Foods What caused this?: We saw a shift in consumer demands and we needed to keep up. Tyson is 80 years old We’re a 2500 team with 100 location We not only do meat, but preprared foods 2nd largest producer of tortillas Tyson Ventures, a subsidiary: Focus on two things, sustainability and the internet of food Reese Schroder: Expert at Corporate Venturing Justin Whitmore: Executive VP of corporate strategy Chief Financial Officer: What does that mean? Well, technically, I’ve extended the role. I’m CFO+ now. Even though I still have to do financials, I love to work closely and source new ideas. Was being a CFO+ a requirement or a passion?: A passion. You have to work with people and connect with people, and understand their story. What is the misconception you like to dispel about Tyson?: If we invest in a company, that doesn’t mean we’re shifting completely to this. Tyson is big, we need to think how to handle disruption, so we look down the road in 5 to 10 years. We’re not shifting, we’re exploring In a theory point of view, investing in “competitors” is easy, executing it is super hard. The top leadership must be on board. Corporate Venture can be a force multiplier Tyson petfood Tyson tannery business (leather) When we approach a company, we don’t want to acquire it, but we want to be around it Describe the Steps to get to where you are today: Villanova University in Public Accounting Worked in New York around the big accounting firms, ended up creating own firm Opportunity for Tyson came up, everyone eats and I’m having a lot of fun. Tyson isn’t about making a profit or sucking up IP, we want to add value to companies and we have the resources How do you get to Tom’s level?: Do deals. Get a degree in accounting or financing. If you audit them, you can do it How did you apply for the job?: I applied for this job at an online job board Advanced Venture Partners Augusta Columbia Capital Good reputations are hard earned, they give the bad ones for free How do you find your deals?: Mainly our two pillars. Sustainability: Either alternative proteins or food waste fits in these pillars. Internet of Food: Disruptive marketing techniques, factory monitoring, enhancement of sustainability Perfect Day Tovalo Foodbytes How do you pitch an idea?: We find them, and they find us. But, we also look for competitors in that space and see who disrupts them. How to find competitors: Pitchbook, google, etc. We find competitors who are doing things more quietly, more thoughtfully, etc. How does interacting a deal work?: We usually email you with info about Tyson Ventures. 98% of the time, the company is super excited. We then have a 60-90 minute interview with a Subject Matter Expert at Tyson to grill the company. The results can range from pilot to non-investment collaborations. We want to add value to day one. Tyson is doing this so intimately because Tyson is a people business. We invest in the network. We make those warm introductions for them and it builds the network. Why Does Your Food job Rock?: Global Corporate Summit in California, my boss said I have a really cool job. I have the opportunity to change Tyson and I’m empowered to do so What is the most prominent or popular place for food companies? There are so many emerging ecosystems 1871 Plug and Play Chicagoland Food and Beverage The Hatchery, Chicago There’s so many and we don’t have the time to go to them Tyson Innovation Lab Let’s talk trends and technologies Plant Based Meat: On the board for Beyond Meat. Because they are targeting a bigger target market, and they have crisp distributions, this made sense. This is proof that this is not going away any time soon Clean Meat: Commercilization is up for grabs, I predict that once someone gets ahead, they will buy up their competitors. Really interesting space, we’d love to talk to people and give them resources. Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas. Though a long way away, we still need to know how to market it. We think food deserts and emerging nations would be the best avenue Complex=Expensive Internet of Things (for Food): Tovala, for example. Direct to Consumer is not a familiar angle for us. In Michael Wolfe’s podcast, you mentioned that you can get data from consumers really fast. Data is king for a consumer product. It’s changed so fast. Before, I had to write a letter to an airline. Now I can send an email and get my rewards points 30 seconds later. By investing in Tovala, we can get so much data on what they like and what didn’t they like. Uber is like hitchhiking on your phone. Tovala has their own forum where they can troubleshoot and innovate. We brought Tovala and Beyond Meat to our R+D Lab and asked how we can partner up. Blockchain: We have had meetings on blockchain to have more meetings about blockchain. We’ve announced IBM and Walmart partnerships. Most blockchain companies are hyper-focused SOX Compliance Someone has to be the certifying body for blockchain Artificial Intelligence, AR, VR: Safety AR VR might help with making the factory more safer We are looking into robotics and exoskeletons. Also market research is important. Upward Academy In all aspects, AI, AR, VR best in safety for the workers. Food Desserts: We’re working on making food cheaper and more affordable. The challenge is that doing this is a triple bottom line issue with profits. We want more community leaders to tell us how we can help. This is important. Do you have any advice for anyone to tackle something big?: Have the passion for it. Any time you do something big, it’ll be hard. Understand their perspective, why they’ll say no, and get them to yes. Books: Good to Great Where can we find you?: LinkedIn. Please make your profile open. I’m on twitter. Google Tyson Ventures that you can submit a form.
Fred Hart contacted me after listening to my interview with Hugh Thomas and was so inspired by it, he contacted me to be on the show. Fred’s pretty legit, he’s been a speaker for Expo West, has an awesomely inspiring team, and the dude just oozes passion. We talk a lot about the power of branding, and the nuances it really takes to make a brand stand out. We don’t only say the power of say, words, but the power of color, the power of being different, and small design tweaks to make it stand out. Other big topics are about my favorite topic, how to be more creative, why Boulder has such a powerful natural food community and the beauty of being obsessed with your work. Fred also was generous to share his expo west experience. Attached is his team's massive photo collection of the expo. And his article about it! Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes How did you meet Hugh Thomas: Through BevNet. How did you meet Alex Oesterle: I’m in Boulder and he’s in Denver How did we all meet each other?: We’re obsessed When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them?: I build food brands. I work at a creative agency, with 16 people, We work exclusively with the food and beverage company and work on packaging and brand consulting How do you prepare to brand?: Holy trinity: Client, Category, Consumer Client: Who’s the client? Category: For example, water is a commodity but can be branded to anything go to 14 food and beverage trade shows If it doesn’t resonate with the consumer Scenario, what’s more important, more claims or fewer claims?: If I throw you 6 tennis ball at once, you’ll probably not catch any of them. But throwing one is easy to catch. We want you to catch one. However, claims can be used abundantly People don’t read, but they recognize. Romancing the brand: Sprite: Hip hop Artists are like Sprites. Cool, icy or crisp. Bobo’s Oat Bars: Beyond being an oat bar, what makes this product unique?: The bar is named after her own daughter. Coffee shops exude this too so we sell Bobo’s at coffee shop Creativity is so subjective that there’s only variying degrees of wrong Is creativity a muscle?: I do, and I think that as kids we’re the most creative and we lose creativity though most people can build it up How do you train creativity: I break down creative pieces like documentaries and see how I can make it How Adam gets creative: I argue with different people and that’s a good thing. How do you Do people come to you or you go to them?: Clients come to us either through referrals or trade shows. Entrepreneurs who talk to us just get it and want to go forward. At the end of the day, it’s about sharing a vision. If you don’t want to have a beer with them, you shouldn’t be working with them. Did you join Interact in the beginning?: I left San Francisco 2.5 years ago to grow Interact from 3 people to 16 people. We went to their own branding Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today: In college, I didn’t party too much, but I loved the design. For design, do what you love, and the money will follow if you work hard enough. Food and Beverage Industry: Food and beverage is probably the most stimulating and captivating industry because it’s competitive design. No other industry competes with each other for the “share of stomach”. I have to interrupt a consumer’s shopping behavior. Interview with Alex Oesterle What catches your eye in grocery store?: People don’t read, they recognize. For example, Coke is red, Tiffany is teal. Color is huge. Brand identity is huge. For example, Monster Energy Monster claw. Shape too. For example, Voss water bottle. Method cleaning. The tear drop bottle. A lot of natural categories are switching to bright color. You should always challenge your catrgory, but not your consumer. We’d have to find different ways to see if the color is different, but effective Goodbelly – did not want to do white. They owned black and black is the color of efficacy. Color Psychology: We don’t adhere to it a lot because if everyone did it, everything would be red. You have to keep in mind the context of the brand How do you become more innovative?: It takes a willingness and a confidentness to take a leap of faith. Tension leads to attention. If I describe a cookie, it can’t be just any cookie. It has to be unique. Do you guys use small tests to show tension?: Depends. Small brands trust their gut. Big brands is a bit harder. For big brands, you have to maintain equity and give a breathe of fresh air. On buyouts: You have the chobani’s and KINDs of the word where they maintain their independence. The small companies can innovate, the big food has the power of scale. As long as big food leaves their acquisition alone, then it becomes beneficial. Annie’s Foods RX Bar Justin’s Nut Butter Independence is something that big food recognizes is really important. What kind of food trends and tech is really exciting you right now?: Cannabinoids. We’re in the heart of it in Colorado. Adaptogens are popping up too. Rebel Coffee is doing something. Ashwagandha Holy Basil About Cannabis and CBD: No market leader just yet. No one has necessarily been adding it directly to food. Is it legal?: It’s in this weird gray space. The biggest challenge the food industry has to face?: Better defining sustainability. It could be privatized, not heavily regulated, but it can be. Rotten documentary: It exposes the darker side. Boulder Colorado: Has a history of natural food. For example, White Wave Foods. Celestial Seasonings was founded here, a lot of outdoors Naturally Boulder Naturally San Francisco/Naturally Bay Area What is the one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: The supply chain. How does it all work. Saffron Brands Chobani Was there a brand that inspired you to get into food?: Monster Energy Drinks. You can add so much to improve a food brand. Most people think that logos are word-based, but they are actually pictoral. Alex Oesterle’s interview with Brandon Roten and Wendy’s Some brands don’t want to be the best and use it as their advantage CEO of Taco Bell moves to Chipotle Even though Chipotle is taking a beating, it still has a strong brand integrity. If this CEO can activate that, it will work Missy Schaaphok Episode Kardashians tweet about Snapchat Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into your industry?: The creative industry is very blue collar. You need to let your obsession drive what you do. What’s your favorite interview question to ask?: If they were a crayon what would you be? Adam’s answer: Dark Blue Describe it to a blind person: Right before the sunset, that is dark blue. What do you think colleges should teach more of?: Soft skills Do you have any advice for speaking gigs?: Having something to say. Don’t talk about yourself but just share knowledge Keep doing some work. Post and talk on forums and blogposts. That’s how you build rapport John Kraven Where can we find you for advice?: Interact boulder Instagram. Fred@interactboulder.com
Sebastien messaged me on linkedin and said he was impressed by his work. Being the snoop that I am, I checked out his profile and found he was a food photographer! Hmmmm I never had a food photographer on the show…. I decided to interview Sebastien to understand the art of photography and what I got out of it was an interview about the amazing feeling interviewing creative people. Sebastien isn’t just a photographer, I would say he is a sort of historian. He not only takes food photos, but also interviews and documents the works of chefs, hunters, anyone in the food industry really. If you like photography as a hobby, Sebastien gives some great tips not only in a professional sense like what equipment to use, but also how to up your Instagram game. He also talks about the struggles of being a photography student in college and described the experience of making his family’s lobster bisque. About Sébastien Born into a culinary household and raised in some of the finest kitchens, Sébastien’s passion for food and hospitality runs throughout his veins. Somehow, convinced by his mother to never become a chef, Sébastien’s curiosity and creativity lead him to pursue another artistic discipline – Photography. Later marrying his love for the photographic medium with gastronomy, he quickly found his way back into the kitchen. Today, he utilizes his industry knowledge, kitchen mentality and artistic talent to create stories and visual content for clients around the world. Food | Place | Identity – a compilation of Sébastien’s photo essays, brings awareness to the significant rolls food & cooking have in societies and cultures. From small-town chefs and local farmers, to Three Star Michelin establishments, Sébastien travels the world to capture and tell the stories of the people who feed us. Photo essays from the Food | Place | Identity platform have been published by international publications since its debut in 2014. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes What do you tell people you do?: I’m a culinary photographer Anyone can be a food photographer, right?: I get this a lot I just make food look pretty. Through a lense and through the light. Other people make the food look pretty. Do you have a studio?: I freelance and I have an agent Can you give me your thought process when taking a picture?: I do both studio and documentary work. I do an interview process, I spend the day with them and capture what comes and find vantage points. What equipment do you use?: Cameras and lights. I use a 5D Mark 2 Canon and I have a variety of Lenses. Gloss is what sets an image apart. For light, I use Speedatrons. Old but does the job. I shoot off of capture one when I take a photo and I use photoshop to edit them How to take better Instagram photos: Use natural lighting, find a window, play with composition Can you describe the steps to get to where you are today?: I went to university to study photography. My friend told me to shoot food because my family was so into food anyways. The classes I took reflected that I’m good with taking pictures of food. I started look at food from a philosophical and cultural perspective which gave my work depth. A lot of us underestimated get a job. I got an assistantship 4 months out of college. Even though he was a fashion photographer, there were similar principles. My rep officially took me on after that as an artist. How did people notice you?: I assisted the photographer on volunteer shoots in the past. The first shoot is for volunteering to see if it was even worth the work. I just kept in touch with him and developed a relationship. Be a really good assistant and keep hustling a portfolio and small gigs. What do you think is the most important skill you need for a Photographer?: Work on your concept and how you develop concepts. Try to be inspired and keep on being creative. How do you get inspired and creative?: Keep on researching and being aware of what you do. Talk to chefs, read everything. Food philosophy, food science, anything. Being involved in your industry and being passionate about it. There’s a great community in the food industry and we can push our industry forward. Why does your food job rock?: Other than playing with food, I get to meet some awesome people. Being able to talk to so many like-minded people is just an amazing experience. How do you develop your documentary work?: It was an offshoot to understand food and identity. It wasn’t just about food, but also the people and how food shapes their identity I recently documented a hunt What have you noticed to be the most interesting thing about people working for food: They’re all the same yet different. Chefs are crazy in the way. It takes a certain kind of people and it takes over their lives which is a good thing. At the end of the day, food is an act of love and it’s the central point of Creatives talk the same language and from a creative standpoint What would be a dream project?: If I could travel the world and document everything about it, I would love that. What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Food sciences, food history and how it shapes cultures. You can’t learn enough about it. Do you have any book recommendations for food people?: Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. The Raw and the Cooked by Claude Lévi-Strauss One of the important books to read as a foodie. He kind of breaks down recipe writing and when to cook. It’s still very relevant to what food is. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harris Clean Meat by Paul Shapiro Favorite Quote: Luck is a matter of Preparation Meets Opportunity Favorite Kitchen Item: Spoon, a tasting spoon. We use it all the time. It’s the litmus test of food Favorite food: Homemade Lobster Bisque. The process of making it with family and having a specific flavor to it. Every time I have it, it’s been with people I love. Is there any advice you’d tell aspiring chefs?: Assess how passionate and how much you care about food before you get into it. It’s a very tough profession. There are a lot of small industry issues that young aspiring chefs don’t pay attention to. This might apply to all creative professions. If you were to tell yourself something valuable in the beginning of what you know now, what would it be?: Really talk things through with the subject that’s involved. Get to know the person a lot better. Where can we find you?: I’m traveling quite a bit. Online is best. Instagram: @sduboisd . I’m also in Toronto. www.duboisdidcock.com What was your annoying pet peeve on Instagram?: Crazy food fads like unicorn food and weird colored grilled cheese. Social pandering.
This is my take on an entrepreneur interview. Most if not all of the questions are free form in some way so this was an…interesting episode. It takes a while for Keenan and I to warm up, to get on each other’s wavelength, but you’ll get some amazing dialog at the end of the episode. Originally supposed to be an episode about ethics, this became an episode about people. How do you find good people, what makes people tick, what makes them do good things, or bad things. Perhaps that’s the most important thing in entrepreneurship. Keenan does not hold back in this interviews and is a fiery and loud guest. He will bring some very controversial views. I ask you just listen. This is the end of our Northeastern Lecture Series. Next week we’ll be going back to our 1 episode a week format every Monday. See you next week! Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. What is your definition of a startup?: A project with zero funding and zero operations. It grows from zero to something. What industries have you been in?: Sports, education, men’s grooming What are the common theme for starting buisnesses?: An MBA will give you a perfect process using imperfect people. However, in my opinion, perfect people make an imperfect process work. If I have good people, it will work and be successful How do you hire people?: Talk to people you want to promote. Do you have an interview question that you find useful to vet people?: Not really. Find what people are passionate of. What do you think makes a person Ethical?: Clarity, Accountability, Vulnerable, we’ve all been let down, so we know what it looks like. Have you been in an unethical situation?: I’ve worked for some major brands, the whole system is unethical. What drives someone to be unethical?: Risk is based off of unpredictability, threat and fear. You have a decision to make not based on chance or likelihood based on threat or fear. How do you mitigate risk?: I’m more of a gambler. But still there’s a way I can migitate in the large term Why I started entrepreneurship: The risk aspect of entrepenuership because I defined what the risk was. Can you describe a favorite failure?: I started a sports agency. I saved $100k and gotten another $60k injection. Once it started losing money, I invested my 401k. When you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll risk a lot to achieve success. When did you have to let the project go?: I had near $168 dollars left to my name. I was at a dead end. No where left to go. How did you bounce back?: I applied for a craigslist job at an education startup. They’re looking for a college admissions startup. I didn’t have the street creds but I got the job. I worked my way up through contracts and I eventually took over the company. A friend of mine wants an R+D job but has quality experience. How can he get the R+D job?: I want to see work ethic. Were you promoted? Do you have experience in other sectors? You need to be well-rounded. Generally, that breeds self-confidence Should you work harder or work smarter?: People want to see you sweat. But you eventually find techniques that limit wasted motion. You’ve perfected the technique. People say practice makes perfect but if you practice mistakes, you’ll only make mistakes Books, Quotes, or Heroes: Humility is not about thinking less about yourself, but thinking about yourself less. I’m my biggest fan. I had to become my biggest fan. You’ll never have a more fair fight than the person in the mirror Dying a second time: How to not be forgotten How can we find out more about you?: Find him here How did you find Darin?: We were classmates but I found him different yet cool with.
As you’ve heard in episode 112 with Todd Barr and 114 with David Mahoney, Analytics becomes an ever powerful technology to save the world. Yet the subject is pretty dense and hard to grasp. In most cases, it requires coding. I bring Uwe Hohgrawe on the show to talk a bit more about analytics and his answers surprised me. It’s actually better to be a subject matter expert first and then dive into the analytics more than anything else. So this interview is much more about why Analytics is something you might need to invest in the future, especially if you want to make big changes in the food industry. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Shownotes What do you tell people in a sentence or less?: I’m working for one of the most prestigious universities in the united states and I lead analytics The history of analytics Florence Nightengale was a Nurse/ first female statistician. Identified areas where soliders died more than other areas. It was more from diseases than wounds. Who else sues big data: Jeff Bezos. Sold books online but used Big Data to beautifully shape amazon’s philosophy “What is good for the customer is in the end, good for amazon” Different parts of analytics are outsourced: for example, you can buy data and buy visualization services. Analytics tools: Dope Sequel R Python Spark Is there anything that you’d like to dispel today?: I completely understand that people are scared of data. Even though we gather a ton of data, it’s for artificial intelligence. We use this to find new knowledge. Clean Meat – Paul Sharpiro’s book The best professionals in analytics are those who have the best knowledge about the domain. I started in the pharmaceutical business. I then became a social scientist and got into analytics, which helped me in the pharmaceutical industry. I was in charge of global analytics from Johnson and Johnson. What appealed you about North Eastern?: We incorporate real world data in NorthEastern. The students are also all around the world and I love it. Why do you love what you do?: I get feedback from students that are impactful. I love it when students get it. How can what you do, feed the world?: If we are able to have people buy stuff and control traffic, we should be able to identify hunger and find ways to feed people using analytics. How has science evolved?: When I started college, I used a dial telephone. We’re going faster and faster but the core remains the same. We have to deliver quality and answer the question What are your thoughts on Artificial Intelligence?: If it saves time and makes you more innovative, it’s worth it. Any advice for anyone in the food industry?: Know what you like to do. Talk to experts and get informed. For analytics, know math, statistics, some tools. Machine learning, predictive elements Where can we find you for advice?: Northeastern website
Can you patent your grandma’s cookies? No, but it can be a trade secret. David works as a lawyer at a really cool company that you’ve probably never heard of: Indigo Ag. From what I've gathered, the company uses data and analytics to find the optimal place to grow plants all around the world. David’s path to being a lawyer was unconventional but synergizes very well with what he was passionate about. He was a scientist first, but was so good at arguing and logic, that he was recommended to be a lawyer. In the end, he was able to combine his love of science with his practice of law. A big portion of the podcast involves us talking about the difference between a trade secret, a patent and a copyright. Things that are confusing and there’s a lot of gray area, but it’s nice to know. I recall in this interview, I had a cold so I might sound a bit clogged up and congested. Expect some loud coughs. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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. Nicole is offering free job postings in the next two months and I highly suggest taking this offer. Email nicole@foodgrads.com and she'll give you instructions. Join FoodGrads today! Just go to Foodgrads.com Sponsor – ICON Foods Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes Dave is an expert in intellectual property who deals with patents When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do for a sentence or less?; I’m an attorney. Or I work in a corporate setting protecting and licensing the technology. To average joes, I just say I work for technology companies. The perception on attorney’s: Like the 12am commercials on TV. Where do you work?: Indigo Ag Inc. Locations in Massachusets, Memphis, Tennesse, Brazil, Argentina Indigo Agriculture: Harness the microbiome technology for seeds and plants for the benefit of augmenting crop yields. The theory is that the microbiome in the soil will optimize growth in plants like drought tolerance, pesticide resistance, and other factors. These are all naturally occurring, non-GMO programs. We find what is out there in the environment that would benefit the growth of these plants. The hard part is finding the symbiome plant/fungi helping the plant grow. Partner’s program: will work with farmers and will guarantee paying a premium for their crops. This is due to the quality being better than what might be there otherwise. What’s the difference between intellectual property (IP) and patents? IP is the umbrella, patents include that. The IP umbrella: Patents, copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets Trademark: Partially bitten apple in the back of your laptop. It’s a well valued. Copyrights: Due to the rapid pace of technology, most software companies go this route. Doing anything is also copyrighting Trade Secrets: Recipes and formulations. You can protect it indefinitely as long as you keep it a secret. This is what the food industry does Patents: Public. Limited process time. The limit is about 20 years The most common, known way is the music industry. Everytime a song plays, they are charged a royalty fee. Penalties: If you find out KFC’s secret recipe, could you copy it?: They need to use reasonable measures. For example. If you are an employee and you steal a formula, you can be sued. If you sign an NDA or any employee confidentiality, you can get penalized for stealing. There is not an enforcement for fighting for a trade secret How did you get to where you are today?: I thought I was going to be a scientist but I found out that law would be the best path for me because I can argue really well. My score at the GRE told me I should work on the LSAT. Human Genome Project – David found many gray areas with the Human Genome Project in regaurds to law and it was the perfect intersection between science and law. My first job a laywer at a company that was searching genetic sequences automatically. Can you patent genes?: It’s really hard to patent genes. You have to know everything about the gene/microbe What do you think is the most important skill you need for your job?: Wisdom. Which comes from experience. Why does your food Job Rock: It rocks because they are trying to do something no one has done in the food industry. Why is what you do important for the global food supply?: 2 reasons. This technology is capable to use the unnoticed land to grow crops and would notify people to not hard vital areas that can grow crops. How will the future change be impacted in what you do?: Hopefully, we can impact agriculture that uses natural substances to make yields more robust. We can get rid of chemicals doing this. How has technology helped in what you do?: It allows us to screen tons of data really fast. How will artificial intelligence change food and agriculture careers?: it will benefit and change it. Artificial Intelligence will allow better prediction for physical microbiomes and research purposes. What is one significant example of what you do will benefit the world?: Things are built upon other things and we need to know how to access this technology. To truly improve technology, we need to collaborate but have agreements in place. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into your field?: I don’t know if this is a field for everybody. In all seriousness, whatever field you go into you need to really believe in it. What I enjoy in my job is that I get to see stages in biology that is applicable to food and agriculture. We take for granted the ability to go to stores and buy great quality food no matter where we are. People don’t even think about where food comes from anymore. Do you think there will be more diversity in the world or less?: If we’re able to be productive and more mindful, then yes, I think we can.
If you’re in the non-profit space, what do you have to do to jump through the hoops and get funded on your project that will help your community? This is the question I asked Ted Johnson today. Ted leads an incubator that helps push these projects to get funded and we go through multiple scenarios on how to get community projects funded. This includes things I’ve never known. Some examples include ethnic based sororities and fraternities, kickstarters and go-fund-me’s. Other topics we talk about that are super interesting is the complexities of Food Deserts and the power of writing. We really stress the importance that everyone should learn to write and the best way to do it? Start a blog! About Ted Theodore R. Johnson is a senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, Dr. Johnson was a national fellow at the New America Foundation, where he undertook projects on black voting behavior and the role of national solidarity in addressing racial inequality. Previously, he was a Commander in the United States Navy and, most recently, a research manager at Deloitte. You can read more about Ted here. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes What do you tell people in a sentence or less: I study racial disparities and the implications those disparities have on public policy What do you do in the food realm?: There’s tons of data showing that communicates with less access to food have less access to healthy food. It’s hard to get a fresh piece of fruit in a food desert Food Desert: A geographic area where there is no access to fruit and evegtables. Healthy foods are not accessable. They form because grocery stores don’t find it economical to set up in poor neighborhoods How do you prevent food deserts?: The federal government has to get involved and the solution might be to give grants to innovative projects Urban Gardening Uber, Lyft, Airbnb: Sharing Economy How do people get funding for their projects?: there are a lot of places that want to invest in solutions Idea: Combining free breakfast and food trucks. This removes the pain point for kids on free lunch can get food right at their house and remove the stigma of free lunch. How to Get Funding Angel Investment and Community Crowdfunding helps a ton Black Fraternities and Sororities are actually one of the best ways to get funding as they are lifelong community activists Every culture has their way of giving back to the community. For example, Hispanics send money back to their homeland. Hispanic and South East Asians can pool community resources extremely well. Ted, what role do you play in this?: I’m at the federal level. I identify problems and find solutions and find the natural fit for the agency or policy maker. I put the human element in. I try to close the wage gap. Is that hard?: Super hard. It’s because of the politics. The decision makers think “how does this benefit me?” Can you describe the steps it took to get you where you are today?: Math major, ended up in the Navy in cyber security. Was a whitehouse fellow. During that time, I saw a lot of disparities in the black community so I focused the rest of my career on that. I spent my last few years in service getting my PhD in Public policy The Lesson in all of this: It’s NEVER too late to change yourself What is the most important skill you need for your job?: Writing. It’s a really effective way to communicate a complex problem to people who can build support. There is a talent to write short, long and book-length content. All are important. For me, I try to write lived experience. Not just data, stories Writing is a muscle. Start a blog. It gets your name out there. What is what you do important for the food system?: It impacts the global food supply because it makes food cheaper and people should be getting it. A lot of the food that grows is, unfortunately, going to processed food. How will the future change or be impacted by what you do?: If we figure this out, resources will be freed up to help us do more things. If people live higher quality lives and we get more talent, we can improve every aspect of our society. How has science and technology impact what you do?: Yield. The more food we have, the more it will help with our cause How will artificial intelligence change what we do in food and agriculture: It will free up a lot of mundane tasks and will help us make better decisions by recognizing problems we’d never discover. How can what you do help us as cities: The only ways companies will do things is if you buy more stuff. For example, if a chicken is free ranged, they will plaster it everywhere. We have to do the same with food disparity. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into food policy?: Be specific. Find that passion in that discipline and go from there. Where can we find you: TheodoreRJohnson.com Everything is there. I talk about cybersecurity, racial security, everything.
We shoot around the topic of big data around, but it’s hard for us to understand what that actually means. Luckily, Todd Barr helps break down not only Big Data, but also gives us a taste of the fascinating world of Geographic Information Systems, and Precision Agriculture. Using drones, tractors, or anything that scans data, Todd can gather mass amounts of data, organize it, and give hyper-targeted solutions on certain issues in the food realm. We give tons of examples of how this technology works. For example, we can fix farms really easily because we know what plots of lands need more water, and we know where to put Whole foods in which suburb because we know what type of people live there, This interview is admittedly really rocky, because I had a hard time trying to understand this! And I want to understand it so I ask a lot of questions. Todd does an amazing job breaking it down with examples on how precision agriculture can feed the world. The first half of the interview is very rough, but I want you to take note how I try and understand the technology and eventually we get to the heart of it. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes What do you do for a living?: I collect data using drones and satellites and analyze data. I color maps like a kindergartner Tractor technology: started as GPS, ended up using new technology. Post Katrina, they are self-driving and getting real-time data. People don’t realize what’s on a farm. There are automatic tractors nowadays Geospatial: is basically X Y Z data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Using technology and data to run spatial analytics to solve real-world problems Whole Foods and Trader Joes uses geospatial technology to plant their shops How did you get to the Big Data industry?: 20 years in Washington DC. Introduced through work and learned about it before big data was a thing. Where can you learn about Big Data?: Youtube has great videos, ESRI, Open Source, QGIS Where would you go first?: I’d join the spatial community on twitter #GIStribe and then go to youtube Can you give me an example on this technology?: We did a study on tractor accuracy so reduce how “off” they are in their path Another example: Scanning biomass of orange fields and tells you if biomass is a correlation of yield Is there any software you need?: You need to create a lake database and link it to a JSON file and you chunk it out to do the analysis. You can extract and input a row. We use cloud systems to handle the data. We use Amazon web services. What kind of skill do you need for your job?: You should know a bit about statistics but you should also learn to ask questions. Be interactive. Big Data is about volume velocity My Food Job Rocks: I make food cheaper, and I get to play with data. How do you make food cheaper?: We can scan a whole mass of data and find ways to reduce input. We can target an area that has problems and fine-tuning it. You spend less on resources. More and more farms are asking people to do this during the growing season What is Darin’s course: Darin’s course is about food security and this technology will help with solving food security. A lot of countries are now looking into this technology. Africa, for example, is getting a lot more yield with this technology. What is what you do important?: It’s going to make food cheaper because we can find pain points and reduce it. Planet Labs is taking pictures of the earth every day and the stuff gets processed in under 24 hours. Doves or small satellites. You can buy their services and get the big data. What up and coming technologies will help you in Precision Agriculture?: This technology will be cheaper. However, machine learning will improve this technology by a lot. What will AI do to your industry?: It will come up with recipes in what humans have been doing for years. So it would give you a recipe for maximum yield on a farm. When will this AI be coming?: It’s here, we need to convince people that it’s a proper ROI. Monsanto, Cargill is already implementing it. Medium-sized farms probably won’t buy it yet. How do you feel about self-driving cars?: I hate them. But I like assisted self-driving cars Other technologies: Vertical farming, Hydroponics, Stacking farms on top of each other Favorite book: Fahrenheit 451 Favorite Kitchen Item: Ipad. I can learn to cook or order from seamless. Amazon Echo Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go to your field?: Don’t be afraid to ask questions, know statistics, don’t be afraid about a computer program. How to learn computer programming: Data camp (in browser coding). You should learn python if you want to go into Big Data. Really easy to learn Where can we find you?: Twitter (Spatial_punk). I havea blog at medium called Spatial Impressionism. Workshops: Spatial R and Spatial Squal classes at Colorado State and going to Miami and Ohio University
To kick off our Northeastern Lecture Series, I give you an episode that feels like a spy flick than anything else. Mitchell leads and manages food spies who look for food fraud in various companies and his mission in life is to make food authentic. This was all inspired by a food safety incident in China. So this episode brings us to the complex world of food fraud, and how Mitchell promotes food authenticity through various services and non-profits. We also get into a discussion on blockchain. Though nobody seems to truly understand blockchain, Mitchell tells us why it might not be the panacea we’re looking for. We do this interview live with Mitchell conveniently at Phoenix at the time. Kinda cool, huh? Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Show Notes What do you tell people you do?: I’m a Food Spy. I run a food intelligence gathering firm where I contract operatives all over the world What do these spies do?: very good at gaining employment and taking audio and pictures Examples: Melamine in China Honey Fraud Peanut Corporation of America In general, profit will always take over quality when push comes to shove Has quality improved since you started or not?: Consumers want quality, but there’s a chance that it can be clever marketing How do you get into a career in Food Fraud?: You have to try internally and create a system inside the company to test out. This takes a ton of courage. The European Union Regulatory Environment is much more honest compared to the United States. How did you get into food?: I was a lawyer in the semiconductor industry. When I was setting up an international trade company in China, I got some terrible food poisoning Most important skill you need in what you do?: Common Sense. Food Industry is complicating the issue Why Does Your Food Job Rocks?: It validates my mission in life Switzerland Organic Food (Bio). Nobody bought the lower priced produce because they know it's authentic. Why is what you do important in terms of the global food supply?: Because it’s global. We want to promote food authenticity. International Food Authenticity Non-Profit Trends and technologies: Why Michthell does not agree with Blockchain in a food fraud standpoint How will artificial intelligence change the future?: Artificial intelligence is honest and not greedy so it will help food fraud a lot What is one example that shows people that what you do is important?: This interview! Outside of the food industry, how can regulatory help others in the future?: We need better regulations. People in public affairs and public policy can help us push forward. How would they contact you?: Info@inscatech.com I am also googleable Any advice for anyone who wants to go into the industry: Go for it, but be passionate
This is a special interview where I get on skype and talk to not only Dr. Harris, but his whole class! In terms of content, this is a standard information about me, how my food job rocks, the life of a food scientist in my eyes, and what I’ve learned podcasting. If you’ve been a long time listener of the show, you’ll realize that I say the same things in previous episodes, or articles but unless you’re super obsessed with me, you’ll learn some things about me that is a great summary of the content I’ve produced in the past 110 episodes. You can even say I’ve updated my philosophy quite a bit. So key takeaways in this episode is that I distill the tactics for getting say, a job. Or switching jobs. Not only that, but the power of asking questions and the power of building your credibility. You’ll hear no laugh track on this one. Its either because I’m not funny or I couldn’t hear the crowd. I’ll be doing double episodes in the next 3 weeks and this is a special segment. I had the opportunity to help Darin Detwiler with his class, Global Economics and he allowed me to interview 6 of his amazing guest lecturers and use it as supplemental information. These types of technologies include Geospatial Technology, Food Fraud, and Analytics. All super interesting technology. Some of the lecturers are not focused on food actually, but they’re good none-the-less. So yea, expect 2 episodes a week, Monday and Wednesday. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. I’ve updated why My Food Job Rocks: to overall, I have the ability to impact millions of people with food. Foodgrads.com Gabriel Harris' My Food Job Rocks: I get to work with cool students about the food scientist How did you find out about Food Science?: Serendipitously googled it How do you process Granola Bars?: A lot of stuff is mixed together in large machines. The big focus on how manufacturing helps with product development Manufacturing job: Bootcamp for Food Scientists How did you change from Granola Bar to Isagenix?: Networking and job hopping You can interview for another job. A lot of people actually don’t know this. Companies will encourage you to leave, and get experience somewhere else and come back. Your network is your net worth. You also need to have strong and weak relationships What is the day in the life of a food scientist?: It’s based on projects rather than the daily life. You have to work with a lot of people to get this done. Episode 80 Adam gets interviewed for the Phoenix New Times How did you start a podcast Why I built a website: A website is 100% mine I interviewed my friends first: Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4 Paul Shapiro – Clean Meat There will always be problems in the world. You should be the one who solve them What have you learned from 100 podcasts: How to ask better questions and when to ask better questions Student Questions How do ideas come up when you make new products? Sometimes through market research, sometimes through top leadership. It really depends on the company. However, you DO have the ability to give input if you gain enough credibility in the company. Is your podcast on Spotify?: Yes! Click Here
Really excited to have Austin on the show. What’s really cool is that he found My Food Job Rocks because he’s a regular listener of Don and Ben’s podcast, Food Safety Talk. Funny how that works, right? So Austin became a regular listener and engaged with me on social media. We now pretty much support each other in everything we do. Austin has his own site, Fur Farm Fork where he posts really technical, powerful stuff about food safety. This was a fun interview. Austin’s past was a bit different than most as he found out why his food job rocks out of falling into an internship and found out he really loved auditing and making corrections to said audits. Now taking on a leadership role at Earth2O. We get into in-depth discussions on whole genome sequencing, and since we have a water expert, we get into the raw water craze that was sweeping Silicon Valley at the time, and Austin has quite the interesting viewpoint on that. Also, quick disclaimer, I apologize for saying the company name Earth2O as Earth H2O multiple times in the episode. Hope you can forgive me. About Austin Austin Bouck is a quality assurance manager at EartH2O, a certified B-corp bottled water and coffee manufacturer in Oregon. When not at work solving technical quality challenges, he continues to ponder food safety issues on his blog, Fur, Farm, and Fork, which helps him stay sharp and share his knowledge with other professionals and the public. Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Job Title: QA Manager for Earth2O The difference between Quality Assurance versus Quality Control Quality Assurance: The framework used to set up quality Quality Control: The action step. The auditors used to make sure things are done right Earth2O is a small company. I brought someone on last year. I used to lead a team of 9. The biggest misconception: A lot goes on in bottled water. For example, cleaning, has to last 2 years, etc. Technical Expertise in water: Water treatment is complex. There are tools such as: Reverse osmosis: Pretty much means ultrafiltration Deionization Distillation Describe the steps it took to get to where you are today: I wanted to be a vet and I did my bachelors in animal science. I applied but I’m on the waitlist. I did an internship at OFD Foods. I had to do a risk assessment in the lab and I loved it! I stayed for 3 years and then I moved to my hometown in central Oregon Temple Grandin Certified B-Corporation. A business that’s a force for good. Oregon gas law What is the most important skill you need in Quality Control/Assurance?: The devil is in the details IFSQN – A Forum for QA people What’s your dream job title?: I want to be known as a _______ guy What do you look for most in a company?: Employee investment. Either going to an established company or start your own QA culture. Some companies don’t care about Quality Management Mary Wilkerson – American Peanut Corporation Whole Genome Sequencing: The hottest technology for food safety, but still really new Sequencer Cell Phones Where can we find more information about whole genome sequencing?: It’s actually hard to find info about it. What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: As we get more specific on food safety, we’ll be focused more on processing What about Raw water?: “can you please define what’s raw water?”. Different people want different water and everyone has a different reason to not trust your water. However, there are some natural spring water sources that are actually up to standard. (Earth2O has this water). As a capitalist, go them! As a food safety standpoint, it’s like raw milk. Favorite Quote: Where does the true source of music lie? In the strings themselves or the hands that pluck them? Favorite Kitchen Items: Avacado Slicer and Silicon Rubber Stapula Any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry?: Be ready for multiple roles and be ready to find out you like some of those roles. What would you tell yourself your first day at your job?: Calm down. Eat the elephant a bite at a time.
So this is part of the graduate student series, a series launched last year about graduate school. Even though Cat and Meg are graduate students, they have taken a different path. And this path is actually getting more popular. Cat and Meg are both getting their Masters of Professional Studies Designed for professions who want to transition into the food industry, this program is sprouting up everywhere. Even Cal Poly has one just for their dairy program! According to Cat and Meg, this 1 year intensive course allows you to tackle on a project while taking the classes you’ve always wanted including but not limited to, wine tasting, food entrepreneurship, and cheese making. Not only that, but Cat and Meg are also food communicators and instead of doing just a plain old podcast, they are killing it using Instagram! Check out @nonfictionfoods, where Cat and Meg post beautiful pictures of food and the science of that food. Overall, if you’re interested in a different approach for graduate school, or are interested in the food industry, this might be the episode for you About Meg Meg is a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) student in Food Science at Cornell University. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Queen’s University, Canada in 2015. Between her degrees, she worked for two years in sales and marketing with consumer packaged goods companies. It was here that she was inspired to go back to school and pursue a career in the food industry. Aside from school, Meg has always been passionate about food and public health. She is excited to be a part of the next generation of food leaders that thinks of innovative ways to drive the industry forward and create products to improve our quality of life. About Cat Cat is also a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) student in Food Science at Cornell University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the College of Wooster, OH in 2017. Following her junior year, she interned in Quality Assurance for Gordon Food Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was there that she fell in love with what the food industry has to offer. She is looking forward to pursuing a career in the food industry that melds her passion for science and creativity. About Nonfiction Foods Nonfiction Foods is the brainchild of two Cornell professional graduate students, created in an effort to bridge the gap between science and the foods we eat every day. After meeting at Cornell, Meg & Cat realized how little they and their friends and families knew about the foods they consume. The biggest barrier they found was the lack of reliable media presence for food science facts and so Nonfiction Foods was created. They are primarily on Instagram and reached 1,000 followers in just under two months of starting. In addition to their Instagram they have a website, Facebook page, and are currently on the lookout for new opportunities to expand their reach. Sponsor - Bakerpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 Unless you have been living under a rock you can not get away from Halo Top Ice Cream’s amazing success with their under 300 calories per pint ice cream. What’s a frozen dessert manufacturer to do to compete? Pick up the phone and call Icon Foods at 310-455-9876 or find them on the web at www.iconfoods.com that’s what. They have a new HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix that delivers amazing mouthfeel and sumptuous flavor all under 300 calories per pint. But, here’s the best part; you simply add the HiPro dry mix to any milk type, add glycerin and inclusions and you are off to the races with an amazing finished product lickity split. Icon Foods HiPro Ice Cream Dry Mix comes in hard ice cream mix, soft serve, vegan and wait for it… Keto. Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Episode Summary Cathrine Boyles - 1st year in professional studies. Love the free food Meghan Marchuk - 1st year in professional studies. Love the scenery We are studying a professional study. It’s a 1 year course that has you choose a project to complete so you go straight to industry. You can specialize in food product development, food chemistry, etc. You can take a diverse amount of classes Cathrine – Chemistry background wvas in Canada and work for food industry companies Meghan – Graduate from the College of Wooster and jumped straight into the course. Interest in entrepreneurship How did you find out about the program?: I googled food science masters and this was the most appealing. You have to do your GRE and send your transcripts Is there a requirement?: Cornell is pretty vague on grades and GRE scores. We think the personal statement matters the most. How do you write a personal statement?: Ask the alumni these questions. You should mention how you’ll give back to the school. You also need a great hook. How many units do you have to take?: We have to take 30 credits (per hour). 20 of them have to be food science. Has to be a 4000 (4 level class) Do you have any funny stories in your classes?: In our wine class, we were confused when our professor tasted asparagus in wine. What’s the biggest thing you learned about your application process?: Talk and email alumni. Don’t be afraid to email people outside your comfort zone. Figure out your advisor before you get there. It’s hard, but do your research! How are advisors different in your program?: We have a very different experience with advisors compared to other graduate students. Lay out your expectations What kind of questions you asked to have you convinced of this program?: It’s quite a large financial bet. I had to ask people, “will this course get me a leg up on the competition?” The cost of the program is around: 30k (30% added on in Canada). It is an investment What type of food tends and technologies are exciting right now?; The plant-based alternatives. I love meat, but I understand the environmental and ethnical issues. HPP- High Pressure process used for diamonds now for the food industry. Apparently, very good at getting the meat out of a lobster. What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face?: Factory farming, and food waste. Also, how are all of these food companies going to work in the future? How are we also going to communicate with food? Nonfiction foods: How did you make it? Sitting in class and learning about eggs and that’s how it got started. We went through 100s and 100s of text messages about the names. Rejected names: the Shucking Truth Tips on Instagram: Hashtags, comment and talk to other food blog influencers. Who inspired you to get into food: To both, my family. Favorite quote book or kitchen item: Good Food Great Business by Susie Wyshak Favorite kitchen items: I want to buy a kitchen aid mixer. Also a garlic press Ingredient by Ali Bouzari What’s the best thing you’ve ever eaten?: Banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery. The pepperoni roll Jessica Goldstein The best thing about being a graduate student: The flexibility, the diverse classes, and meeting amazing people in the food industry The worst thing: Being poor, the blend of work-life balance, not enough time to prepare for your career sinc eit’s only a year Do you have any advice for anyone to go to graduate school?: Do an internship or work a bit so you have some direction. The application process is not easy and no streamlined. Always remember to keep trying and reach out to people. What’s the best way to contact you?: ceb364@cornell.edu mam795@cornell.edu Instagram: nonfiction foods
I stumbled upon Stephanie’s podcast and discovered that her episode count was the same as mine. Curious, I checked out her site and her clean, bright, and crisp platform contrasted my dark, grimy and unartistic website. I sent her a quick email and got a response back, and here we are today. Stephanie is located in Charleston South Carolina and travels all over the southern United States to eat food and interview a diverse array of guests that invoke a southern flare. There are some differences between our podcasts. Stephanie does her podcast face to face. I barely do. Her podcast has no structure, mine as too much structure. Her podcast is about the fury of southern cooking, mine is about the calmness of a food lab. But the passion is still there. Stephanie and I talk about communicating via podcasting and writing, especially what the difference is between the two mediums. As a writer, we also discuss how to describe food, and we give some salivating examples in this episode. Overall, I had a blast with this episode. As you’ll see, it’s full of laughter and radiates with southern hospitality. Sponsor - Bakerpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 So let me pose this question to you food developers and R and D colleagues out there in Podcast land. Have you even run into a situation where you have marketing breathing down your neck to accomplish the impossible? I’ll bet. This is where my friends at Icon Foods can play a roll. Their ReformulateU initiative is in place and ready to help you reformulate with Clean Label Sugar Reduction in mind. Icon’s CEO Thom King was on one of my podcasts a while back and he literally wrote the book on cutting out sugar. His book Guy Gone Keto comes out in late March. If you are looking to cut down on your added sugars in your formulas and want a reliable supply chain partner in clean label sweeteners and ingredients look no further than Icon Foods. www.iconfoods.com or give them a call at 310-455-9876 Question Summary What do you do for a living?: I'm a Podcaster and writer Southern Fork: a podcast where I interview people in the south (culinary, expats, etc), I focus on the cultures and stories and profiles as chefs. I don’t review restaurants. I go to restaurants and make opinions on restaurants. I also write and the writing and the podcast work well together. Notable people: Merherwan Irani, Steve McHugh Podcasting versus writing: Do you pick out stuff from your podcast to put into your writing?: No, the interview allows me to get inspired and learn more about the chef. For example, I found out chef Steve McHugh had Leukemia from a couple minutes of interviewing with him and was able to get inspired by an article. Describe the Steps it took to get to where you are today: I’ve always been a writer and gravitated more towards food. When I was hired as a writer, I couldn’t get all the information I wanted. When I went freelance, I used the skills I was good at to create podcasts and long-form interviews Advice on freelancing: Reputation is the number one thing When I first started, I talked to my friends. My first 10 episodes were from my friends. I got better as I talked to my friends. As I got +90 episodes, I could go to a restaurant and ask “who reps them?” I can call the representatives and ask for the chef and I start to snowball based off of my guests Tips on making guests comfortable: Every podcast I listened to, I hope I speak less. I can only do two a day (I do these live). I don’t really know the nuance of the story. Everyone is different but we are used to our questioning as being a defensive mechanism. We’ve created an environment where we sincerely want to know why. The chef and culinary realm have a lot of profanity. My show is the one time we don’t need to clean it up. What is the most valuable thing you learned about podcasting: Podcasting is a new skill that made me stretch my comfort zone. Advice on writing: don’t use drool-worthy or nom nom. The point of writing is to translate one sense to another sense. For example, translating taste to writing. Most of the time, relate to an experience or memory. Or describe the moment and environment and you can match it with the dish. FONA Flavor Course – Ancient Grain You can put connotation on descriptions. For example, icy can mean gritty like a slushy Umami – Sweet, Sour, Salty, Satisfaction Why does your food job rock?: I am so interested in the life of a chef Why do people like what they do base off of your interview on Southern Fork?: The need for approval. But also the compulsion of passion. The chef’s life is like being in an opera, golfing and a battle all at once. The best kitchens are completely silent. This is why there are more open kitchens. What don’t you like about the front of the house in restaurants?: I want to feel comfortable when I eat. Service is super important. I don’t need bad service when plenty of restaurants have good service. Food trends: Done with Pork belly? A shift in service. The shift in service where the chef is giving you the dishes. It feels like you’re in somebody’s house. It heightens the experience I like off-menu item trends. For example, like a burger or soft serve ice cream or a surprise menu I like cured eggs shaved on salads, on top of fish dishes I like red wine: Mediterranean, Greek, Turkish. Wines that are getting on the list that are interesting and fun I like local/trash fish: Lion Fish, Tile Fish, Wahoo, Wreck Fish Tomorrow: Uni from Maine Adam’s pet peeve: eggs on top of things. Instagram,: #putaneggonit Also: deep fried pig ears. Charleston: Pig Ear Lettuce wrap What is something you’d like to know more about: Cheese! I give myself a task every year to learn to do something Who inspired you to get into food writing?: Charlotte Observer: Kathleen Pruvis. And John T Edge, director of the Southern Food Ways Alliance. Restaurants were part of the civil rights movement. David Wondrich (Esquire and Daily Beast) he looks at cocktails. Wayne Curtis in Rum Favorite Quote: Food people are the best people. If you can’t use butter, use cream. Julia Child Favorite Writing Technical Book: Will Write for Food (book and blog) that makes you understand the different types of writing mediums. Read the kind of articles you enjoy and want to contribute. (Eater versus Bon Appetit). Do chefs write recipes?: They write methods and batch things, but won’t translate it for single serving individuals If you go pro, you have to go weight and scales What’s the best meal you’ve eaten recently?: One of my best friends moved to a new restaurant. He never was the head honcho. I ate his menu and I enjoyed him spreading his wings and I enjoyed it so much. Edmond’s Host (oust). Food is really about pleasure memories What kind of advice would you give a freelancer in food media?: Save a lot of money. DON’T DO IT. In my world, it was inevitable. The writing world is very volatile and everything is cause and effect. If I didn’t have work, I would have to work in Food and beverage. Whenever a chef explains a dish, I wanted to ask so much more. You should read food articles for the structure to improve your writing. An average consumer will just absorb the news, you should absorb the structure. Where can we find you?: thesouthernfork.com. I’m on facebook, I’ve given up on twitter. Instagram @thesouthernfork
I met Ken when he commented on an article I posted. I think it was the one on how podcasting changed my life. Ken mentioned his experience podcasting in the food industry so we got to talking and decided to swap interviews. You can listen to my interview on Ken’s podcast on the show notes. Ken is what I like to call, an authority in the restaurant management industry. He’s had a restaurant for years,a nd then after selling it, he decided to take a more, teacher role. Ken doesn’t like the word consultant, but he has helped so many restaurant owners lower their cost and manage their dream. So in this interview, we learn some tips on how to become an authority in your space, but this is also a nice interview for people who are in the restaurant industry. You’ll learn the biggest problem with managing the restaurant industry, and even steps on how to sell a restaurants, and so much more. During our interview, Ken and I talk a lot about podcasting and blogging and I separated a good chunk of our interview and we’ll be turning it into a bonus episode later in the week. *NEW* Sponsor - Bakerpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 So let me pose this question to you food developers and R and D colleagues out there in Podcast land. Have you even run into a situation where you have marketing breathing down your neck to accomplish the impossible? I’ll bet. This is where my friends at Icon Foods can play a roll. Their ReformulateU initiative is in place and ready to help you reformulate with Clean Label Sugar Reduction in mind. Icon’s CEO Thom King was on one of my podcasts a while back and he literally wrote the book on cutting out sugar. His book Guy Gone Keto comes out in late March. If you are looking to cut down on your added sugars in your formulas and want a reliable supply chain partner in clean label sweeteners and ingredients look no further than Icon Foods. www.iconfoods.com or give them a call at 310-455-9876 What do you tell someone in a sentence or less?: I work with restaurants to get more business Barbeque Stopper – A word that makes everyone go silent, consultant, psycologist…. Food science I developed profitablehospitaility.com and posted blogs and podcasts onto the website Restaurant Owners are great at food, but they lack marketing and accounting skills. Ken has all of this as downloads How do you get people to find you?: Linkedin! I post frequently and people like it. It’s only been recently that I’ve used linkedin. I’ve been here quite a while. I’m available as a speaker and do workshops, which adds on. SEO is great too. Can you describe your ideal clinet/patients: I came from a restaurant and a café background as an independent workshop. I ran workshops to gently tell people to get out of the restaurant business. You have to build a business with people who want to get going. How do you vet them: Money is a great filter. $40 dollar membership, $400 dollar call. Find a pain point, give value Steps it took to get to where you are today: I’ve always wanted to have a café so I bought one in Sydney and grew it over 10 years. Bought another with a partner. Didn’t work out too well. Sold the café business. I sold the training side to the restaurant and hotels association. Then I consulted and was approached by Silver Chef and they bought the business. Why did you start a podcast?: I liked a podcast and I liked listening to them. I thought it would distinguish myself compared to the rest. Do you recommend any other podcasts?: History podcasts, business podcasts, BBC food program, Russian History podcasts, Hardcore History, Paul Barron Food Service authority in the US, Food Marketing Nerds (Wendy’s, Jersey Mikes) What are the common questions you get in the restaurant business?: Where do I find a chef? Why are my food costs so high why are my wages so high? Why is social media not working? You will get more engagement on articles trying to cut cost than to increase sale What advice can you give about cost?: Cloud based scheduling is cheap and easy to implement. And Cloud based point of sale system. Adopting technology is not about cost, but the struggle to understand it How do you teach people about technology?: Well it’s about stories. Great stories will convince people to adapt to technology. Especially if you mention if you save money. “If you want to get more people to listen, they need to hear cash register ring more” How do you sell a restaurant?: You need to control a lease and get it right. You will usually get a lease for 10-15 years. You have the right to do almost whatever you want with that lease. You also have to have it be easily ran. It has to be simple and people who want to buy businesses need to get it right away. What should someone do when they want to start a restaurant?: Get into the restaurant industry. Your college experience probably doesn’t cover it. Learn the ins and outs of a restaurant. There’s a very steep learning curve. Be there in the business 6 to 12 months Favorite Restaurant Concept: Grounds of Alexandria right next to the Sydney Airport Eataly World – FICO. A Theme park in Eataly What flavors are hot in Australia: Hot, big, spicy flavors such as Asian food. They also like to know more about where the food comes from Gelato Shops Hokey Poke – New Zealand flavors Unicorn Frappachino – worker complaints Tyler Cowan – Overrated or Underrated? Reid Hoffman – Masters of Scale GMO – good or bad? Bad Vegetarians good or bad. Good Social Media in marketing. Good or Bad? Good Robots/Automation? Good or Bad: Good Favorite Book: There’s a new three volume biography about Joseph Stalin. The Life of Stalin. What is the best food you’ve ever eaten?: An Indian restaurant called Malabar Any advice for anyone who wants to be a consultant: I talked to someone who consulted consultants. You gotta sell the benefit and pitch that you’ll make someone more money. “I’m going to cut your power cost and refrigeration” everyone wants it but must pay him to know the brand. Most consultants are too busy talking about themselves rather than tell them the benefits. Simple numbers work better, focus on dollar amounts rather than arbitrary percentages. Where can we find you?: I have a blog at kenburgin.au, profitablehospitality.com.au, Ken Burgin on Linkedin
Sometimes you just browse the internet and you see a product that just is so noticeable that you have to take a look at it. This is Hugh Thomas’ company Ugly Drinks in a nutshell. A bright, light blue can with various bold flavors, and the U looks like a tongue, like it’s teasing you. Not only that, but Ugly Drink’s clever marketing campaign is eye catching and a bit tongue in cheek! Ugly Drinks was kind enough to give me some ads to show, which you can see on our website. Hugh posts regularly on linkedin promoting his company but does it in a way where I want to know more about his company. Success after success, funny ad after funny ad, I just loved the way his team is challenging the soft drink market! I had to have him on the show and I am so glad I did. Not only did I learn about the creativity in marketing and branding behind Ugly Drinks, but Hugh gave really clear, transparent advice to help the budding food entrepreneur excel to their level. So if you want to hear how to start and market a food company from the ground up, Hugh gives great tactical advice to do this! From choosing a manufacturer, to leaving your job, to getting into stores, and so much more. Soon to be launched in the United States around the time this podcast airs, keep an eye on these guys. Not because they’ll be dominating, I mean, they definitively might, but this company is just a fun, bright, brand, and I’m sure that if you follow them, they will take you for a wild ride *NEW* Sponsor - Bakerpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 So let me pose this question to you food developers and R and D colleagues out there in Podcast land. Have you even run into a situation where you have marketing breathing down your neck to accomplish the impossible? I’ll bet. This is where my friends at Icon Foods can play a roll. Their ReformulateU initiative is in place and ready to help you reformulate with Clean Label Sugar Reduction in mind. Icon’s CEO Thom King was on one of my podcasts a while back and he literally wrote the book on cutting out sugar. His book Guy Gone Keto comes out in late March. If you are looking to cut down on your added sugars in your formulas and want a reliable supply chain partner in clean label sweeteners and ingredients look no further than Icon Foods. www.iconfoods.com or give them a call at 310-455-9876 Question Summary When someone asks what you do for a living what do you tell in a sentence or less?: I try to build a rebellious healthy drink brand Ugly is a flavored sparkingling water with no artificial flavors. We stand for the ugly truth For example, we targeted Red Bull. Most sugary drinks have the same taglines. They talk about how it improves people’s lives but not their health. Have you gotten criticism on your aggressive ads?: No, people are very receptive. People should have choice and transparency How did you meet your cofounder?: Thomas and Joe met in a drink company. Thomas was in marketing, Joe was in sales. Originally had a still bottle drink but consumers wanted canned sparkling water. The first step was: how do we even make this? Called a lot of manufacturing facilities. A lot of people said “no” but eventually found one. How do you have people validate a food product?: Start small, make your own batches and go to farmer’s market. Once you see repeat basis, you have something. You can test on a farmer’s market or even online. How do you find a copacker?: To get a copacker to notice you, invest in a domain name and email, and a logo to show that you are legitimate. If they can’t help you, you have to follow up: “do you know anyone who can?”. This question helped a lot. The steps you took to get to where you are today: I finished university and started at Heinz brand management team. Then I joined a smaller startup as their first marketer and had to do everything. The brand grew massively (he met Rihanna!). I met my cofounder and left when the team had 60 people. What is the different in working in a big company versus small company?: I hated structure in a big company but I missed it in the small company. You should have a simple plan as too much structure will overbear you. For example: We aligned our team to do store demos and not big shows. This allowed us to focus and refine. As the team grows, you can improve structure. Doing store demos helped a ton with communicating the brand to people. How long did it take you to transition full time to Ugly?: Thomas and Joe came up with the idea in 2013. Thought it would take 2-3 months, took 18 months to start. 9-5 job and production fumbles, legal fees, etc caused some delays. Was there a concrete period where you had to quit?: You need a 3 month notice period. We had to talk to the CEO and he gave us his blessing. We did 3 month runway from leaving our jobs and getting into stores. How did you get into stores?: Joe had some connections, but sometimes you have to get into the trenches Why did people accept your project?: The UK wants to try new things. Our team is super energetic and have people give us a chance Lisa Tse I always thought London had terrible food: In the past, yes. In the last 4 years, the CPG industry has innovated in London. The supply chain got more interesting. Jamie Oliver also was a huge factor of making people more adventurous and health contious My Food Job Rocks: The best feeling is seeing someone with your product walking down the street with someone. What do you look for in your first couple of employee?: Passion matters more. IQ and EQ matters a ton. Lots of varying skill sets. What type of food trends and tehcnologies are exiting right now?: Online commerce. There will be a lot of food that will be sold online. Plant based protein will also be popular because it’s appealing to all eaters. It’s better for your body and better for the world. Cold brew coffee and kombucha is exploding in the UK What is the best social media space for food brands?: Instagram and Facebook. Your website needs to be set up to handle the user experience. Have them “go into the funnel” What is the biggest challenge the food industry has to face?: The food industry needs to understand how the digital world works What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Microbiology! It would help me sleep better at night. We are creating products, they need to be safe. Who inspired you to get into food?: I’ve always loved how brands affect people. I’m excited in how my brand gave impact. What type of brands do you admire?: Hippeas and RXBar What makes a great marketing campaign?: You have to understand the consumer and understand what that consumer’s like Romancing the Brand Favorite Quote: You’re the average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with Favorite Book: The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday Favorite Kitchen Item: Toaster Other books by Ryan Holiday’s Growth Hacker Marketing, Ego is the Enemy, Perennial Seller Favorite Meal: Surprised my mom for lunch at The River Café in London. Jaime Oliver learned to cook there. It’s the people you’re with that matters. Any advice for food entrepreneurs?: Be patient and don’t spend money. Also really think a lot about your brand and vision. Where can we find you?: email me at hugh@uglydrinks.com, @uglyhugh, at linkedin How about Ugly?: We’re launching in the US early 2018! You can find us anywhere. Talk to us at hello@uglydrinks.com. We want to pay it forward.
I met Dr. Sarah Ramirez in my last year in college. She was a temporary lecturer for Cal Poly and she enjoyed learning about the extracurriculars around the department, so I immediately thought she was cool. Soon, I took one of her classes about Food Waste and we’ve been friends ever since. She might be the only professor I had in Cal Poly that I see on a semi-regular basis and that’s mainly because she lives really close to my grandma’s house in the Central Valley! I’ve been keeping tabs on Sarah’s company, Foodlink, an innovative food bank in Tulare county, which is housed in one of the poorest American counties. Sometimes, I’ve helped a few times gleaning kiwis and lecturing about spices. I’ve seen Foodlink grown from a small food bank to a huge facility that has its own kitchen and hosts events to inform people on how to feed the community. Sarah’s drive and mission to feed the world is absolutely contagious. There are A LOT OF emotional truth bombs in this episode and it is just so inspiring listening to Sarah. She has the ability to make you care about the people she’s feeding. A big thing you’ll notice about Sarah is that she likes to break stereotypes no matter what. Whether it’s her life as a child, or rising up the ranks in Stanford, or what she’s current;y doing in the food bank industry! Sarah is a truly inspiring figure with a heart of gold. *NEW* Sponsor - Bakerpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. 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 So let me pose this question to you food developers and R and D colleagues out there in Podcast land. Have you even run into a situation where you have marketing breathing down your neck to accomplish the impossible? I’ll bet. This is where my friends at Icon Foods can play a roll. Their ReformulateU initiative is in place and ready to help you reformulate with Clean Label Sugar Reduction in mind. Icon’s CEO Thom King was on one of my podcasts a while back and he literally wrote the book on cutting out sugar. His book Guy Gone Keto comes out in late March. If you are looking to cut down on your added sugars in your formulas and want a reliable supply chain partner in clean label sweeteners and ingredients look no further than Icon Foods. www.iconfoods.com or give them a call at 310-455-9876 Questions to ask How do we elevate the voices of the community we serve? Summary Best thing about your job: A mission driven organization. Putting together ateam that believes food can change the world. Food banks are about 30-40 years old. A time where there was an increased amount of poverty What has been the traditional method for food banks to get funded?: One misconception is that the government thinks foodbanks are completely funded. However, foodbanks still need multiple sources of funding, but still needs sustainable methods of funding. Less than 25%. The Celebrity Champions model works well in cities but won’t work in Tulare County Sara’s history: I never thought I’d be a food bank director. I started with community health and went from there. I saw a lot of people that became ill. I began to ask many questions about how to feed people and began to become an interdisciplinary learner. I became a director of Foodlink due to supporting it in the past and I found I could use all of the skills I learned to impact more people and make a difference. How do you take initiative on things?: Sometimes, when you get so obsessed with things, you have to dig deeper. I was frustrated, and sometimes you get so frustrated, you have to do something about it. There is no other option but there is no place I’d rather be. Problems with food equity: Work with food service directors. Recipe development, buy food in bulk and provide it to schools. There are a lot of barriers to this and it’s a new sector, so we need a solution My Food Job Rocks: I love breaking barriers and breaking stereotypes in the food bank industry What type of Food Trends and Technologies are really exciting you right now?: Social enterprise food trends. For example, youth run cafes are developing their own locally sourced recipes. Or creating cafes that develop job security. I thought I was insane with my ideas before I went to this thing and now I don’t feel alone The biggest challenge the food industry has to face: Food waste. I’ve studied this for several years and it’s been recently put into more important Who inspired you to get into food? Was it a specific person?: I remember asking my mom to make food from magazine but we couldn’t afford or know the ingredients used to create the dishes Favotie Kitchen Item: Food Processor (which I didn’t buy until way later) Favorite Book: Currently Big Hunger Favorite Food: Sometimes I just like what’s fresh and simple The hardest challenge about managing a food bank: Put into a box of stereotypes. I’m learning a lot of new skills to face the challenges in Tulare county What do you recommend people who want to take the non-profit route?: Focus on collaboration. We all try to do a lot with the limited resources that we have What’s been the most rewarding thing about being in a non-profit?: Be thankful for the experiences that you have any time. People will tell you that their dreams came through because of you Where can we find you?: Facebook. sarah@foodlinktc.org. We accept volunteers Other Links SLOW Food LA Kitchen Robert Edgar Closing the Hunger Gap in Seattle Food Sovereignty project in Maine that focused on food got state wide attention Si Se Puede
Lin Carson is one of those amazing people who will give away knowledge for free. In this case, her amazing technical expertise in the bakery industry has made her able to share this on an awesome website called Bakerpedia. Think of it as Wikipedia, but for bakers! If you are into bread, especially in a commercial sense, you will absolutely love this interview. So get ready, for an exciting segment about baking, along with the tips of finding and joining high growth companies, the latest amazing technology in the baking industry, and maybe this episode will inspire you to make a wiki site on your own. About Lin Carson A passionate trailblazer who constantly challenges current ways of thinking when it comes to innovation and sustainability in the field of grain science, Dr Lin Carson’s love affair with baking started about 20 years ago when she earned her BSc degree in Food Science & Technology at the Ohio State University. Keen on deepening her knowledge in baking, bread and grain product texture, she went on to earn her MSc then PhD from the Department of Grain Science at Kansas State University. In 2007, she started the R&D program and baking lab at Wendy's New Bakery Company in Ohio where she managed the team responsible for product development, ingredient and equipment sourcing, analysis equipment and procedures, specification development and commercialization. Opportunity came knocking in 2013 and Dr Carson took up the position of Director of Technical Services at Dave's Killer Bread (DKB) in Portland, OR. There, she oversaw food safety, quality, co-manufacturing and R&D procedures. Her experience heading the R&D departments at two of America’s leading food brands was invaluable and was how she discovered a huge gap in technical information sharing. When she’s not running BAKERpedia, Dr Carson serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors at the American Society of Baking, a role she has held since 2007. One of her notable achievements is spearheading the Product Development Competition that aims to identify and reward innovative thinking in commercial baking processes. Aside from all things bakery, Dr Carson is married with three boys and is a self-proclaimed health nut. She trains regularly for Triathlons as a hobby with a transition goal of under 1 minute. About BAKERpedia A year later, armed with knowledge, conviction and sheer guts, Dr Carson launched BAKERpedia with the ultimate aim of strengthening the entire baking ecosystem, allowing ideas to thrive, improving efficiencies and encouraging opportunities for growth. Today, as the world’s only FREE and comprehensive online technical resource for the commercial baking industry, BAKERpedia is used by commercial bakers, ingredient sellers, equipment suppliers and baking entrepreneurs who have easy access to the answers they need to make informed decisions daily. This Episode is Sponsored by Foodgrads This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion–there’s something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it. Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com [New] This Episode is Also Sponsored by Steviva Ingredients Hey everyone, we have a new sponsor on the podcast and I am happy to introduce you guys to the wonderful people at Steviva, a sweetener company in Oregon. If you want to hear more about this amazing company, listen to episode 72 with their CEO Thom King. What’s really cool about Steviva is that they are changing their whole company into something bigger and better and I love telling the story of how this will happen. As we progress, we plan to go through the process of Steviva’s transformation and inform you on what this amazing company can do for you. For more information about Steviva, go to http://www.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 Why baking is complicated versus other areas of food Being in Operations versus in the Lab A discussion about clean label and skilled labor Question Summary One sentence: I’m the CEO of Bakerpedia.com . A free resource on baking technology How Bakerpedia happened: Food Science Degree, Grain Science Degree, running technical teams in the bakery industry, had an idea, found a gap, worked 2 years without any pay to get it off the ground What do you consider a growing company?: To be really aggressive, have double digit growth percentage a year. Can any company at any size be a growing company?: Great people make growth happen. Big companies just have a harder time getting great people What have you taught your team to be great at their jobs?: Mainly technical skills and basic knowledge of the baking industry. Be open to learn more and more Where do you gather your technical knowledge?: On the job training, courses, AIB, etc. You have to be on the job. Was it hard to make Bakerpedia?: Not at all. Launching is really easy. The most challenging thing: How to monetize My Food Job Rocks: I get to learn something different from different bakers every time and bake amazing bread. Consulting arm: Lin works with 2 high growth clients. That’s enough for her Food trends and Technology: Rapid Hydration. A high seed sprayer. Patent: Rapido-jet When can we expect these new bakery innovations to happen?: Biggest factor is cost. Equipment can last a very long time. Some mixers can last 30 to 40 years. What is something in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Why aren’t companies cleaning up their labels? Why are they fighting to change their ingredients? The technology is there. Job Hopping: You can’t change that. You have to identify good leaders How do you identify good leaders?: Your network needs to be large. Many years of experience. Do you have a question on how to identify good leaders?: No Who inspired you to get into food?: My father owned a food brokerage and I hung out in their kitchen Favorite Quote: The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond the limits and test the impossible. Arthur C Clark: Scifi Writer Favorite Book: David and Goliath – Malcolm Gladwell also does Revisionist Gladwell Favorite Kitchen Item: Table Top Hobart Version Favorite Food: Bread. I am on this 90 loaves in 90 day journey. Check eatbread90.com Favorite bread: An imported Australian bread with a peral flour Do you have any advice for people wanting to go to the food industry?: Go ahead, we need you! A lot of startups do not have food scientists on their teams. How do we contact you?: If you want inspiration as a working mother, connect with me on facebook. You need to be passionate about what you do. Once you have enough passion, it doesn’t feel like work. Links AIB facility in Kansas Cracker Training Course Kansas State University Grain Science Wendy’s Dave’s Killer Bread Bakeryconcepts.net Why are manhole covers round? eatbread90.com
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