John Mackey

This resonates and is a terrific introspective piece by Andre Menezes. Love that he ends on an ambitious note: 🌱🍽️ "By focusing on addressing genuine consumer needs, fortifying health claims, and cultivating sustainable demand, the plant-based food industry can chart a course toward resilience and resurgence." 👉🏽As an early investor in both wins and losses in this space, I believe there is much more to come for alt proteins, and a resurgence is around the corner. #AlternativeProteins #Sustainability #FoodInnovation #FutureOfFood #ClimateAction #GlobalFoodSecurity https://lnkd.in/g8FwTivt

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What role can regenerative agriculture play in reshaping our food systems and meeting the rising consumer demand for sustainable and nutritious products? I discussed this and more with Melissa Gonzalez on MarketScale's Retailed Refined Podcast. Listen below:

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Some light reading to start the week! Great article on revyve (I’m only slightly biased🤓) on Cultivated X and vegconomist - the vegan business magazine I often get asked if revyve’s yeast ingredients are #biomass_fermentation or #precision_fermentation. The answer is neither! We use a simple but revolutionary new downstream processing approach to turn existing yeast biomass into highly functional texturizing ingredients. Why? 🚀unmatched functionality (to replace egg ingredients or additives) 🚀label friendly (yeast is a well known super ingredient) 🚀price competitive (our focus allowed us to scale lightning fast and be in market and at price parity) Looking for ingredients that deliver #A_New_World_of_Texture? Get in touch!

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I am often asked about what I've done differently between the steep growth & scaling years at Annie's Inc. and now at Once Upon a Farm. So many things, really. But a critical one is investing very heavily in talent development through the entire organization. I did very little of this at Annie's, and it cost us big as we grew. I've learned how high the ROI is on these investments here. We see it literally every day. As an emerging #CPG brand goes from $50MM toward $200MM & beyond, a high performing leadership team needs to push more and more of the key decisions down the org. to avoid the gravitational pull of bureaucracy and to retain a key competitive advantage: nimbleness and speed, especially in decisions around key initiatives, customer development, and innovation. Top-level execution at very high speed, it's hard to do and to maintain as you grow. You can only do this IMO if your up & coming leaders are A+ talent (ours are) AND if you invest in their personal growth & development to accelerate their abilities by years. Things like how to manage the matrix cross-functionally, how to lead teams, resiliency & change management, personal leadership style & communication. Business model education and financial literacy. Leadership competency and effectiveness. We start here with a clearly defined purpose-led mission, a strong culture, and a "remote-first" strategy which together allows us to hire the most incredible talent in the country, from anywhere. That's a huge advantage, but alone is not enough. Once talent is here we need to invest in them to drive the enterprise capability to scale very rapidly without losing our competitive edge. The bigger we get, the faster we will grow, and the more effective & fiercer a competitor we'll become. We'll show up stronger for our retail partners and drive leadership in our categories & the space. That's the mindset we bring to all this, and it's big investment in programs like the one we developed with Irene Ortiz-Glass that help us get there.

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I must admit, I had to wait until my team could try Jack & Annie's products. How did we meet Annie? through... Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes! all the way from Lagos. and we then introduced her to my friends VCs in.... India, where she sources the main ingredient, Jackfruit. Opening doors and making connections is one of the many ways that we add value to our portfolio companies or those that we connect with. #connections #collaboration #investments

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#H5N1, or #bird #flu, has hit #dairy #farms — but the dairy industry doesn’t want us saying so. The current, highly virulent strain of #avianflu had already been ripping through #chicken and #turkey #farms over the past two years. Since it jumped to #US #dairy #cows for the first time last month, it’s infected more than 20 dairy herds across eight states, raising alarms among #publichealth authorities about possible spread to humans and potential impacts on the #foodsupply.  One Texas dairy worker contracted a mild case of #birdflu from one of the impacted farms — the second such case ever recorded in the US (though one of hundreds worldwide over the past two decades, most of them fatal). But the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF BOVINE PRACTITIONERS (AABP), an organization of #beef and #dairy #veterinarians, declared in a statement (condemned by #public #health experts) last week that it doesn’t believe #birdflu in #cows should be considered bird flu at all. In other words, industry vets are trying to rebrand bird flu so that we keep calm and keep buying cheeseburgers. Naming infectious diseases is always political. In this case, the #cattle #industry appears desperate to distance itself from the #bird #flu news cycle and avoid the perception that it’s contributing to #human #disease #risk. But #animal #agriculture is one of the top drivers of #zoonotic #diseases — and growing global demand for #meat, #dairy, and #eggs may be putting us at ever-greater risk of new outbreaks. To understand why, one of the most elegant models I’ve found is the “#infectious #disease #trap,” a concept coined in a 2022 paper by New York University environmental scientist Matthew Hayek. Farming #animals for #food requires lots of #land — much more land than it would take to grow an equivalent amount of plant-based foods. More than a third of the planet’s habitable land is devoted to animal agriculture alone, making it the world’s leading cause of #deforestation as #forests are cleared for farms. That in turn leads to more human and farm animal encounters with wild animals, a major source of new #zoonotic #diseases. As long as global meat production expands, Hayek’s model explains, both low-density and factory farm-style animal agriculture trap us with rising disease risk. And whatever steps are being taken now to stop the spread, the #infectious #disease trap model shows us that if we’re chasing #zoonotic #diseases after they’ve infected #farm #animals, we’re already behind. Escaping that trap requires a much broader societal rethinking of our #factoryfarm system.

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Cultivated meat: a fairly quick boom and bust seemingly in its waning days already. Although folks want to blame the market, I would suggest the challenges to cost reductions and scalability are fundamental, not simply cyclicality. Its challenges have deep roots in thermodynamics when the competition is based on free sunshine and the natural, autonomous, self replicating, self-healing technology of evolution. There will plausibly be value in IP for other applications, so maybe investors get a few pennies out for their dollars? https://lnkd.in/gd4rYET5

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“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.” Ann Wigmore. Wholehearted, absolute agreement with the statement, I use the quote so very often and I would dare say that it is difficult to find anyone who disagree with the statement. It is heartening to see more discussions on the 'Food as Medicine'. Interesting to read about the debate on whether the movement should be called "Food as Medicine' or "Food is Medicine' during at a panel discussion at Future of Food week in Chicago last month. I however do not agree that the naming is less important than its impact ion consumers. As a new movement, it is critical that the communication of the movement is clear and distinct, to minimise ambiguity and consumer confusion. I personally prefer "Food as Medicine' and not 'Food is Medicine', simply because not all food is medicine. In fact, in my humble opinion, all "Food as Medicine' must be functional but not all functional food can be 'Food as Medicine'. Just like medicine needs to be consumed at regular interval (e.g. daily), Food as Medicine should be food that is consumed regularly without associated side-effects. Eg a high protein probiotic coffee drink can't be Food as Medicine due to the possible side-effects of daily consumption of caffeine. This is why KosmodeHealth Singapore's focus on developing functional staple food for health management. Consuming staple food like rice/noodle/bread as medicine will address the issue of low drugs compliance, adversely impacting efficacy of drugs. Looking forward to hearing your perspectives and views. #foodasmedicine #functionalfood #sustainablehealth #diabetes #obesity #nutrition Ryan Daily FoodNavigator

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Is personalized nutrition the secret weapon in the fight against climate change, food waste, and the global health crisis? Ethos founder Jill Ettinger caught up with Thistle co-founder Shiri Avnery about how the meal service is leveraging plant-forward meals to do just that. #plantbased #mealservice #personalizednutrition #healthyfood #foodwaste #climatechange

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Dive into why Dried Fruits can Help Regulate Your Blood Sugar with nutritionist Laura Jennings! Excited to share insights from Laura Jennings, our go-to Registered Associate Nutritionist! In her latest blog post, Laura unveils how dried fruit can jazz up your mood and keep your energy levels soaring. Laura breaks it down in a nutshell: 🚀 Fibre Fun: Dried fruit, like mango and dragon fruit, packs a fibre punch that slows down sugar digestion. Translation? No more rollercoaster blood sugar rides. 💥 Antioxidant Awesomeness: Loaded with antioxidants, dried fruit fights off inflammation and boosts insulin sensitivity. 💊 Vitamin & Mineral Magic: From vitamin D to magnesium, dried fruit is a treasure trove of essential nutrients for glucose regulation. With Soul Fruit's dried fruit bags, you're not just snacking—you're indulging in a wellness revolution. Ready to sprinkle some sweetness into your life? Let's dive into the delicious world of Soul Fruit! #nutrition #diet #health #healthysnack #snacking #driedfruits #SoulFruit https://lnkd.in/eaSdY7DF

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Clean label isn’t fringe. It’s the future. Ultra-processed foods continue to come under fire from consumers, medical professionals, and regulators. See this WSJ article from 2 weeks ago. Clean label is the healthy alternative to ultra-processed. Clean Energy Clean Energy - cleansmoothie.com is the only clean label sports and energy drink. https://lnkd.in/ectp-Gqp

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🥩 Meat vs 🥗 Plant-based vs 🍄 Fungi vs 💯 Cultivated --> As the alt protein market shifts, where do we draw the line between them as combinations emerge? GOOD Meat (Eat Just, Inc.) is always good for a headline, and this week they announced they're the first-ever cultivated company to release products in retail after launching a cultivated chicken product in the frozen section of Huber's Butchery in Singapore. 😲 Seemed cool at first, but we then learned the products contained 3% cultivated cells and 97% plant-based ingredients. Yes, you read that correctly. Three percent. 📢 Sonalie and I share our thoughts on this in this week's episode (link in comments), and I end up going on a bit of a rant as, it turns out, I really don't think much of this announcement. There are questions around the reason for doing this (just to be the first, investor pressure, etc?), if there's value to being the first to retail, if 3% is all that's needed to completely change the experience of the product vs 100% plant-based, etc. ⁉ But a really interesting question that was raised is at what % inclusion does a plant-based or mycelium/fungi product become a cultivated product? Where do we draw the line in the sand? 1% 3% 10% 25% Etc. Etc. 🤔 Does adding 3% of cells really make it go from plant-based to cultivated? How do we justify a specific number being meaningful? Is it simply whatever number that results in consumers being open to switching from conventional animal products? Will that number vary by meat type (I'd have to imagine so)? Will the masses be happy with, or interested in, anything less than 80%+ (I pick 80% because 80/20 beef/fat is very common - at least in the US)? 🤔 I think the % that matters is whatever number that will result in the masses of consumers being open to switching away from conventional animal products - but, again, we don't even know what that number is, and at this point it could very well be 100% What do YOU think? Genuinely want to hear everyone's thoughts. _______________________________________________________________ Separately, this week's episode also hits on: 🌱 Peter McGuinness of Impossible Foods shares thoughts on the plant-based sector w/ Bloomberg. A lot we agree with, such as the failure of the initial messaging in the space and what needs to change. Sonalie also makes me sound like a lying monster for saying it's okay to make the messaging of a mission-driven company NOT centered around the mission! Fun haha 🥚 I share how I'm extremely excited by this new about The Vegetarian Butcher and The EVERY Company, as it's what the space has been created for; HOWEVER, I do need to call out here that I may have gotten over-excited, as I may have missed the point that it's being used as a CMC replacer vs conventional egg. Need to learn more! Arturo 🇰🇷 Sonalie shares the positive of the week, which is the amazing government progress/support for sustainable foods in South Korea - could be the next Singapore!

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Episode 8: The Future of Life on Earth Humanity is on a collision course with systemic environmental collapse. If we keep going on our current trajectory, we will run out of water, topsoil, and food for the generations to come. The good news is that it’s not too late to make the changes we so urgently need. So, how can you take a stand and play a role in helping to turn the tide?

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🌱✨ To all our #investors and #stakeholders, we are super #thrilled to showcase our #social return on #investment! Social #impact is in our #DNA, and as a #socialenterprise and public benefit corporation, we’re on a @mission to empower 1 million farmers out of poverty within their generation. Here’s our second impact report! While we are not yet close to impacting a million #farmers, we are proud to be taking baby steps early on without compromise! 🚀 Running a #business is hard, and balancing #financial returns versus social returns is easier said than done! We constantly face dilemmas on what to prioritize and when, and it is not always black and white. However, we truly believe that the new model of business cannot be sustained without protecting and empowering our most vulnerable stakeholders—in our case, the farmers! Hence, we’re proud to #report several #achievements in our #journey so far! 🌍💪 ✨ Here are some highlights of 2023: ✅ 723 farmers impacted ✅ 48.07% increase in earnings for the farmers since inception ✅ 48 customers visited Nepal for our tea tours ✅ $49K returned to communities through tourism ✅ 14 farmer trainings on food safety, sustainable agriculture and production ✅ 2 farms assisted in organic certification ✅ $3985 (for the year 2022) given back through the 1% give-back program. Please find the full version here: https://lnkd.in/eFyhGcb3 As with everything in life, our work and this impact report are works in progress, so please do not hesitate to give us your #feedback and #advice. 📈💬 Special mentions and thank you to some of our guides throughout this journey. 🙏🌟 Amigo Khadka Pratik Rijal Nishu Acharya Raj Paul Brendan Amy Aubrey Brin Rob Abhinav Eric Mohit Carrie Manolo Zak Shefali Kajina Manjil and the entire team at Nepal Tea Collective, PBC. Nepal Tea Foundation Watson Institute The Global Good Fund Wild Gift UPEACE Centre for Executive Education University for Peace (UPEACE) - UN Mandated #SocialImpact #Sustainability #Empowerment #FarmersFirst #ImpactReport #NepalTeaCollective

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Is plant-based eating here to stay? We think so. We dove into the growing plant-based food market to uncover why health-conscious Boomers and morally-driven Gen Z are fueling the rise of plant-based diets. https://hubs.la/Q01WgVfX0 #mrx #consumerbehavior #insights

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As a former NFL player (“Not For Long”) turned CEO of PURIS, I've often encountered the bias that athletes should shy away from plant-based proteins due to their supposed lack of completeness. I’ve heard the well-intentioned yet misguided advice, “you can’t build muscle on a plant protein diet, whey is the only choice.” This belief system is deep into the subconscious of athletes, weekend warriors, and everyday people trying to consume more protein. So where did it come from? If you Google “is soy protein good for athletes,” the top suggested related searches point to the narrative that soy protein is bad for males. Historically, the plant protein inferiority theory was mainly focused on soy and the baggage soy protein carries. Depending on your beliefs on GMO vs non-GMO or how soy protein is made (using hexane), the narrative around soy protein was that it is bad for athletes, especially males, and has inferior amino acids (it doesn’t) Google is a search engine, but it's not always a truth engine. Studies debunk these old beliefs, showing that plant proteins, especially soy and pea protein, provide all the essential amino acids necessary for muscle building, recovery, and overall athletic performance. Pea protein stands out due to its high bioavailability, meaning your body can efficiently utilize the nutrients it offers. Sourced from the right suppliers pea protein is quite Google friendly! For example, research indicates that pea protein can promote muscle growth as effectively as animal-derived proteins. This is crucial for athletes looking to maintain and build muscle mass without relying on traditional animal sources. At PURIS, we want to have more conversations about this, not fewer. So, we are hosting a webinar with some prestigious panelists, including one specifically who has a unique perspective on the diets of the highest level of athletes. Jenna Stangland, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN, CLT is the sports dietitian for the Minnesota Timberwolves (competing highly in the playoffs, IYKYK), and she is joining PURIS to dive deeper into the science behind plant proteins and their Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Scores (PDCAAS). Our other important guests include (Dr Robert Wildman & James House). Don’t miss this webinar and do join the conversation in the comments below. Webinar Link: https://lnkd.in/gWGmGUJe

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Consider how dog food is marketed. The end user cannot read the claims made on the package. Fido doesn’t care if it is organic, grain-free, made with whole grain, or deboned chicken is our #1 ingredient! Fido is going to eat it, more than likely, if you give it to him. Dog food, like most products, is marketed to the purchaser, not the user. I think the Dog Food Marketing principal contributes to the abundance of restaurant tech solutions intended to help operators better understand operating metrics. These products are marketed to C-suite management teams (I should know, I am one). When you focus on the spreadsheet possibilities of performance enhancement, it’s understandable that tools designed to provide “additional insights” sound like they could be helpful. And since we C-suite restaurant execs are the ones writing the checks for new tools, we support their proliferation. What’s the old saying? To a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. How about looking at this differently? If you are trying to lose a few pounds, it’s not likely that your first step would be to buy a more accurate scale. There’s an opportunity for meaningful improvement in business profitability in using new tools to achieve new levels of efficiency. No, I’m not talking about replacing cooks with robots either. Why not supply our teams with tools to support organization and efficiency? PS. That’s what we are building at Byte Kitchen

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