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FoodTech Stories features interviews with the leaders pioneering new approaches to technology, collaboration, and storytelling in the FoodTech and AgTech space.
Food and agriculture are changing, and fresh ideas and leadership are needed to sustainably feed the growing global population.
FoodTech Stories is hosted by FoodTech marketing expert Megan Thomas, the founder of Ladder 17, a purpose-driven marketing consulting firm dedicated to helping companies in the FoodTech, AgTech, and Consumer Products space. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
27 Episodes
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Send us a text Maia Farms Co-Founder and CEO Gavin Schneider joins host Megan Thomas to discuss how his firm envisions a world where protein is produced indoors through a distributed system, at scale. The episode goes deep into mycelium and its applications as a functional protein, how the revenue-generating Canadian firm is partnering to scale, and how the Maia Farms team is delivering on its mission by partnering with a major local food bank. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spo...
Send us a text Alter Eco CEO Keith Bearden joins host Megan Thomas to talk about how his purpose-driven food company has used its decades-long commitment to regenerative farming practices to build brand loyalty. This episode also delves into how satellite imagery is used to inform Alter Eco's agroforestry strategy, the impact that a changing climate is having on producers and growing regions, and how younger consumers will be critical to building the purpose-driven brands of tomorrow. Follow ...
Send us a text Guest Melanie Morrison, Founder & CEO of Canadian startup BetterCart Analytics, joins host Megan Thomas to talk about how her firm is using its AI platform to provide valuable business insights, like retail pricing and supply chain data, to both the underserved Canadian market and emerging brands looking to understand the marketplace. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
Send us a text Guest Julia Streuli, Co-Founder & CEO of FUL Foods, joins host Megan Thomas to discuss how her firm is using their unique approach to processing spirulina to meet the emerging demand for natural dyes in food, beverage, and even pharmaceutical products. Plus, hear about how Streuli and her team used a consumer product, BLUwater, to both deliver revenue and glean valuable learning about product performance as their startup scales. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or ...
Send us a text Francisco Martin-Rayo, Co-Founder and CEO of AgTech startup Helios joins host Megan Thomas to discuss how his firm uses AI and large data sets to predict field, country, and global production of agricultural crops. This episode will break down how the team at Helios has built its tech stack, how it delivers meaningful insights, including predicted future pricing, to customers, and the surprising ways it is building buy-in with seasoned buyers and traders. Follow FoodTech Storie...
Send us a text EAS Co-founder and performance nutrition pioneer Anthony Almada joins host Megan Thomas to discuss how EAS used clinical studies and consumer outreach to build a successful performance nutrition company before its acquisition by Abbott Nutrition. He also delves into how the field of performance nutrition has evolved, and what he has learned on his 35 year+ journey in the industry. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
Send us a text Helaina Founder & CEO Laura Katz joins host Megan Thomas to discuss how her company is managing its evolution from being an R&D organization to a commercial one, as it brings its first human lactoferrin product to the food and supplement markets. Katz delves into how her firm partners with customers and uses clinical rigor to back its products, as well as the important role that culture plays in her scaling startup. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. ...
Send us a text This episode with guest Patrick Griffin, Founder & CEO of Marine Biologics, goes deep into the intersection between emerging technology and biomanufacturing. The conversation with host Megan Thomas talks about the opportunities and challenges of building a global seaweed-based business. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
Send us a text Kara Leong, Executive Director of the Integrative Center for Alternative Meat and Protein at UC Davis joins host Megan Thomas to discuss how a college campus is the perfect place to develop and test new novel foods, as well as how UC Davis blends its academic leadership in plant genetics and viticulture with both the region's ag heritage and its proximity to Silicon Valley to create an integrated FoodTech ecosystem. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech...
Send us a text Chris Bryson, CEO of Canada-based New School Foods talks about the ups and downs of developing plant-based salmon that chefs want to cook with and consumers want to eat. Bryson talks with host Megan Thomas about how he applies his experience from a prior tech startup to developing food products, building partnerships, and preparing to sell across the border into the U.S. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
Send us a text Guest Kelly Bristow, Global Nutrition Lead for Bayer, joins host Megan Thomas to talk about the intersection of nutrition, farming, and food security. Bristow shares how her unique background, from sampling nonfat cheese for a dairy council to counseling patients to designing nutritious meal programs for students, informs her work crafting nutrition policy for a major agriculture company. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by ...
Send us a text What does it take to connect investors and startups? Guest Hunter Young, Head of Capital at the Center for Entrepreneurial Development, joins host Megan Thomas to discuss how the Research Triangle Park (RTP) region is answering this question. From his view on emerging sectors in the area, to how his organization connects startups and investors, to the role that Raleigh-Durham's major research universities play in driving investible innovation, this episode breaks down how an ec...
Send us a text This episode digs into how New Zealand, a nation of five million people and the world's largest exporter of dairy products, has taken a "Yes, and..." approach to expanding its food system by embracing emerging FoodTech applications and products. Katy Bluett, the Executive Director of Future Food Aotearoa joins host Megan Thomas to discuss the strategies the organization has used to build international relationships and to create a thriving FoodTech hub, making New Zealand...
Send us a text Former regulator and cultivated meat pioneer Eric Schulze, PhD, joins FoodTech Stories to discuss the future of cultivated meat and his "hot take" on the future of FoodTech in the U.S. and beyond. He joins host Megan Thomas to break down his bold approach to stakeholder engagement, and the importance of doing "science for others." Eric is the host of the Food Truths podcast. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
Send us a text This episode features guests Cornelly Van Der Ven, Director, Protein & Plant Based at Danone, and Alex Worker, Founder & Director of Nutrition from Water. They join host Megan Thomas to break down how the right partnership can benefit strategics and startups alike. For the startup, the right partnership can unlock access to vast operational capabilities and consumer understanding, and for the CPG company, it can benefit from the startup partner's nimble innovation. Foll...
Send us a text Join guest Matt Tom of MTCC, a product development consultancy, on how he applies his engineering and materials science mindset to the development of innovative new FoodTech foods. Matt talks with host Megan Thomas about how to get to product-market fit, something that he has done repeatedly in the FoodTech meat alternative, dairy, and snack space. From plant molecular farming to fiber spinning, catch the latest on emerging FoodTech in this episode. Follow FoodTech Storie...
Send us a text Seasoned science and nutrition communicators Connie Diekman and Cami Ryan join host Megan Thomas to talk about the impact that mis-information and dis-information can have on consumer understanding and behavior toward food. From food technology to nutrition facts, this episode breaks down key pain points and learnings around communicating accurate information in a digital world. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
Send us a text What does it take to build adoption for new technology or a new tech-enabled food in an established industry? Join guest Dr. Sarah Davidson Evanega, VP, Business Development for Okanagan Specialty Fruits, as she speaks with host Megan Thomas about the non-browning Arctic Apple, developed using genetic modification. The episode delves into how to balance consumer and grower benefits with the adoption of an emerging technology in the produce industry. Follow FoodTech Stories on A...
Send us a text Two investors deeply involved in the FoodTech and AgTech space -- Alex Kopelyan, Senior Director & Partner at SOSV’s IndieBio, and Dan Altschuler, Managing Partner / Co-Founder of Unovis Asset Management, join host Megan Thomas for this episode. They share their outlook for private markets, how the Food and FoodTech sectors follow a fundamentally different model from the "disrupt and destroy" model at play in other tech sectors, and how ecosystems like MISTA can help startu...
Send us a text Laurie Demeritt, Owner & CEO of The Hartman Group, joins host Megan Thomas to discuss trends in food culture, including consumer expectations for FoodTech foods, why the beverage category is an easy entry point for consumers, and the emerging product benefits that younger adults are seeking from the foods they choose. Follow FoodTech Stories on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. FoodTech Stories is edited by TJG Media.
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