Essential Ingredients Podcast

"What was missing was the connection between the farmers to the customers." -Ori Zohar

The centralized food system is broken and it needs to be fixed. In order to bridge the gap between farmers and customers, we need to create an enterprise model that allows the customer to buy produce directly from farmers. This is the only way to create a sustainable agricultural economy.

An enterprise allows farmers to sell their products more easily and at a higher price point because they are able to reach customers who are willing to pay more for their products.

Moreover, business owners will be able to provide customers with more information about the food they are eating, where it came from, how it was produced, and what is in it. 

On the other hand, customers also benefit because they get fresh, local produce delivered directly from the farm. This also reduces food miles which is good for the environment. So, it's a win-win!

Burlap & Barrel partners with small, local farmers in order to support their livelihood and end inequality in the food system from its roots. This partnership has also allowed them to source out natural spices that are not available in the US as well as ensure that the products are all high-quality and taste great.

Learn more about the mission of Burlap & Barrel and how they're solving a major need in our food system as Justine interviews the company's co-founder, Ori Zohar. Justine and Ori also discuss why consumers care for good ingredients, how companies can help educate their consumers on what they're buying and how to buy them, how to create a better brand reputation, and Ori's secret spice that you might want to try. 

Meet Ori:

Ori is an experienced social entrepreneur and the co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, where he leads the company's domestic operations, eCommerce and finances.

Ori's family moved to Baltimore, Maryland from Israel when he was 5 years old. He developed a love of all things food as a kid, learning to cook Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes from his parents. He firmly believes that tahini can improve most dishes.

Ori's entrepreneurial journey started in his teens, when he started a business (poorly) DJ'ing parties. Many other entrepreneurial initiatives followed. Ori first teamed up with Ethan to start Guerrilla Ice Cream, an activist ice cream cart that received a frenzy of media attention, in 2010.

A few years later, he co-founded Sindeo, a venture-backed mortgage company that provided home loans in an open and transparent way. Sindeo raised $32m, helped its customers secure more than $500m in home loans with record-setting customer satisfaction scores. Ori took the startup from idea through acquisition.

Ori's happy to be back in the food world, where eating is an integral part of his job.

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Episode Highlights:

00:46 An Unpleasant Experience

05:24 Burlap and Barrel

12:23 Bridging the Gap Between Farmers and Customers

16:48 Being the Ultimate Source of Spices

20:44 Winning Over Great Chefs

26:07 Origin Blends

30:34 Ori's Secret Ingredient

"If we can make nutrition no brainer, we can drive adoption, we can drive sustainability." -Monica Bhatia

The food system, undoubtedly, is an industry that has a high potential in innovation, especially with the rise of technology. In fact, we are seeing endless possibilities in this arena. 

But before we go bigger, we ought to consider one area that affects us all- staple foods. We cannot live without our daily staples (or at least most of us can't). Unfortunately, most of these products are mixed with questionable ingredients that do not have a business being in there in the first place. What if there is a healthier version for each of our favorite staples?

Co-founded by Monica Bhatia, Cella Farms aims to deliver nutritionally balanced staple food products that also taste great. They use fermentation technology in order to enrich agricultural products with complete protein. Now, consumers can enjoy their bread, pasta, and other staples with confidence. 

Listen in as Justine and Monica walk us through Cella Farms and their mission in creating a more sustainable food system. They also talk about the importance of transparency and clean-labeling, choosing a co-founder, creating fun and healthy food that kids will love, methods of getting your products out into the market, and what drives Monica to continue on the path to creating a more sustainable food system despite challenges.

Meet Monica: 

Monica Bhatia is an impact-driven technopreneur with 15 years of experience in bio-manufacturing and commercialization of sustainable products, including food, fuels and chemicals. As an early employee at Geltor, she helped commercialize the world's first animal-free ingestible collagen. Previously, she was responsible for scaling-up algal DHA, algal fuels and food oils at Solazyme, to multi-ton production facilities in the USA and Brazil. 

Monica is also the co-founder of Novol Bio, a company that develops high quality prescription eyeglasses using sustainable polymers made from corn. Being a life-long vegetarian, she understands the pros and cons of a plant-based diet. At Cella Farms, her goal is to drive technology that fundamentally improves the way humanity eats, regardless of diet styles, age or cultural preferences.

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Episode Highlights:

01:16 What is Cella Farm

06:08 Consumers Decide

09:34 Passion, Imagination, & Reputation

15:20 A Bread That Kids Love

20:12 Reaching the Buyers

22:32 Future Food Tech London

"The most important thing I can do in life is to give my children a solid foundation that changes everything." -Jason Bronstad

There's a lot of talk about the future of the food industry, and it's exciting to see how plant-based milk alternatives are making their way into the market.

So what exactly makes these plant-based options so appealing? These new products are not only good for our health—they also taste amazing! And they can be used in all kinds of recipes—from milkshakes to cream pies. In fact, plant-based milk have entered restaurants and cafes as well!

But what do we really know about the companies that make these products? How much do they care about their customers? Are their products really what they say they are?

Malk Organics started with the idea of creating something good for the family until it was able to scale and reach the masses. Their tagline: #TurnItAround. They value transparency and they want their consumers to know what ingredients were used in creating the product. They pride themselves with using only high-quality, certified organic ingredients that can be counted in just one hand. 

Malk Organics’ CEO, Jason Bronstad joins Justine for a deep conversation on how high-quality ingredients are the key for people to embrace plant-based products, why companies that claim “plant-based” are using so many ingredients, why customer engagement is critical to a company’s success, how we can create a balance between our business and family, how we can manage stress, and how failure can be a catalyst for creating.

Meet Jason: 

Jason Bronstad is the CEO of Malk Organics, a company that values high-quality ingredients, transparency, and health. This reflects in their plant-based milk alternatives that are certified organic, free of fillers, and non-GMO. Their tagline: #TurnItAround- That's how confident they are that their products will genuinely benefit their consumers.

Jason has an exceptional record of achievements in business governance and operations. He excels in creating and presiding top-performing teams, managing multi-million dollar funds, and leading top CPG brands to success. 

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Episode Highlights:

00:54 High-Quality Ingredients- The Key to Adoption

04:23 Why Companies Put So Many Ingredients

08:02 When Companies Have the Same Goals

12:53 The Importance of Consumer Engagement

16:40 The Best Thing We Can Do Everyday

19:27 Be an Entrepreneur AND an Engaged Family Man

24:35 Turn It Around! 

“The industry as a whole needs to do a better job of coming together. This competing messaging is not helping anyone." -Kishan Vasani

In this era of technological innovation, one of the most promising solutions for improving our food experience is artificial intelligence (AI).

AI is a technology that allows computers to learn from data and make decisions based on that information. It can be used for a variety of purposes, including personalization of services. For instance, AI is used to identify food trends and predict customer preferences based on moods or other factors such as age or gender which allows restaurants to customize their meals based on changes in customer behavior over time.

Co-founded by Kishan Vasani, Spoonshot aims to determine the future of food through their AI called #foodbrain. They utilize over 28k data resources that include research, articles, social conversations, menus, and more to understand consumer insights, marketing, and product development. This platform aims to help companies and restaurants make better decisions and produce desirable outcomes. Their clients include big companies such as Nestle, Unilever, Mars, Dan One, and Suntory.  

Listen in as Justine and Kishan help us better understand the nuances and everything that goes into food personalization, the factors that affect our preferences, how we can be more transparent in the food space conversation, and how companies can work together rather than destroy each other through unnecessary competition. 

Meet Kishan:

Kishan Vasani is the co-founder of Spoonshot, a tech startup that leverages food science and AI to predict food trends for CPG and FMCG companies. He is also the co-founder and chairman of One Cause, an organization investing in education solutions for poverty. He studied management at Ashton University in Birmingham. Kishan loves tech, food, and startups. He is a big sports fan and plays about any sport but football is his number one.

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Episode Highlights:

01:18 Personalizing Food

06:28 Understanding the Local View of Food

12:38 Occasions Breed Innovation

17:40 Food and the Age of Information

21:57 Get Ready for Future Food-Tech London!

“Just plant-based isn't good enough. It needs to live up to those standards that plant-based consumers are looking for.” -Brooke Harris

When we think of a plant-based product, we think about healthy, organic, cruelty-free foods that are full of goodness. But a lot of the products we see on supermarket shelves are not what they seem.

Many companies are marketing their plant-based alternatives as ‘healthy’ while they're riddled with sketchy ingredients from behind the scenes. They're not just looking to sell their products; they're looking to make sure they have a stake in the future of our diets.

That’s why, being ‘plant-based’ isn’t good enough anymore. As smart consumers, we want more than just an edible thing— we want meaning behind our food. We want ethics and philosophy, we want sustainability, animal welfare, and transparency.

This is the inspiration behind Brooke’s Good Mylk Co. Brooke Harris turned into plant-based diet to improve her health. Later did she realize that these products made her even sicker. So she decided it was time for her to make something that she will be confident taking in. Wanting to share her discovery, Brooke came up with the recipe for Good Mylk and scaled her business to help more like her who value what plant-based really mean. 

Listen in as Brooke shares how her journey from film to food industry was like, the challenges she faced in that transition, and how she was able to create opportunities for herself and her business to grow. Justine and Brooke also talk about the idea behind Brooke’s hemp milk, the pillars of plant-based alternatives, what sustainable practices they follow in their packaging and shipping processes, and the shocking truth about most plant-based milk in the market. 

Meet Brooke:

Brooke Rewa Harris turned to a plant-based diet to transform her own health. However, she soon realized that plant-based doesn’t necessarily mean “good”. So she experimented with real food ingredients until finally, she was able to develop an alternative milk that is good for the body, good for the taste buds, and good for the planet. Hence, the birth of Good Mylk Co. 

However, her idea was criticized by investors, telling her that a formula like hers will not be able to scale. Not wanting to compromise the integrity of her product, Brooke developed a flash-blast freezing technique that allowed her to keep the quality of Good Mylk as well as scale her business. 

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Episode Highlights:

01:29 Good Mylk — The Good Milk

06:10 The Problem with Deceptive Plant-Based Milk  

09:19 From Film to Food

13:49 Introducing Hemp Mylk

17:29 Just Plant-Based Isn’t Good Enough

20:12 Sustainable Packaging 

“Wellness is not just about how you look— it's about how you feel. It should make you confident, not more insecure.” -Stella Vanstone

In the age of social media, when every meal is a tiny Instagram post waiting to happen, it's easy to get swept up in the idea that being healthy and fit means sacrificing foods that we love.

But what if we could change our relationship with food so that it didn't have to be about weight loss and looking "skinny"? What if healthy food tasted like our favorite treat? What if healthy means you can eat your favorite cake or pizza again?

That's the idea behind Stellar Eats, a company that creates baking bundles so that their customers can bake their favorite pastry with no worries. Their goal is to help people feel more confident in the kitchen and make eating healthy, fun, and empowering. This value-driven company refuses to capitalize on people's insecurities just so they could sell. Moreover, all their baking mixes are made with real food ingredients that our body will surely love. Afterall, when it comes to food, we should be counting memories, not calories.    

This week, Justine and Stellar Eats founder, Stella Vanstone sit together to discuss how wellness became associated with food products that are riddled with the “diet” culture, why eating should be more about how we feel and not how we look, how to navigate the financial side of food, and why we should be intentional about the language we use when we market our brand. 

Meet Stella: 

Stella Vanstone is a Holistic Nutritionist (CNP), Recipe Developer and Writer behind the popular wellness blog Stellar Health and founder of Stellar Eats. Prior to entering the wellness world, she struggled with disordered eating for many years. Now, the driving force between all of her entrepreneurial endeavours is to help people cultivate a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

She wants people to understand that nourishing foods can be delicious and that wellness does not have to mean sacrifice or restriction. This mission-driven ambition is shared by her partners, Michelle and Emma and she is so grateful to have two strong women to work alongside with on this Stellar Eats journey.

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Episode Highlights:

01:04 Healthy Baking with Real Food Ingredients

04:34 Listen to Your Body

07:20 Navigating the Financial Side of Food 

12:39 The Unifying Power of Food

15:01 The First Step to Entrepreneurship

18:03 Be a Smart Consumer

“There’s still a lot of room in grocery stores for better products. So, there’s a lot more that we could do.” -Nels Leader

As the world continues to grapple with the issue of climate change, businesses are under pressure to find ways to operate in a more sustainable way. One way to do this is by achieving a Net Zero status. Net Zero means a company offsets all of its carbon emissions. 

Achieving Net Zero is a major commitment for businesses, but it is one that can have a big impact on combating climate change. As more businesses strive for net zero, we will move closer to a sustainable future. Moreover, achieving Net Zero is not only good for the environment and for the people, but it can also help businesses save money on energy costs and make them more attractive to customers and investors.

Bread Alone is one of the companies that has worked hard to achieve this status. Bread Alone is a family-owned, values-driven company that has been making fresh, organic bread since 1983. Besides their tasty, honest, and affordable products, this values-driven bakery is a passionate advocate for regenerative farming and other sustainability measures. They are also committed to supporting local farmers, protecting the environment, and promoting the health of their customers. 

In this episode, Justine sits with Nels Leader, the CEO of Bread Alone to discuss how we can be faithful stewards of the earth. Listen in as Nels shares what we can learn from his parents, Dan and Sharon about building a resilient family business and how they were able to build their facilities and run their operations in a very sustainable way. Justine and Nels also talk about how we can find a more purpose-driven life, why we should not stop or slow down in making better products, and how big of a difference small changes can make. 

Meet Nels: 

Nels Leader is the CEO of Bread Alone, a family-owned bakery that supports sustainable business for people and for the planet. Their family moved to the Catskill Mountains in 1983 where they started their journey. Since then, Bread Alone has become the home of freshly-baked oven organic bread. Nels joined his parents Dan and Sharon in 2012 and helped them make the company’s vision bigger. 

Nels was also trained for AI Gore’s Climate Reality Project and is the co-owner of several other businesses. For the past years, Nels has been lecturing on Bard College's Sustainability Programs. Today, we can find Nels in Woodstock NY with his wife, son, and their dog. 

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Episode Highlights:

01:17 The Genesis of Bread Alone

06:05 Building a Family Business

10:02 Searching for A More Purpose-Driven Life

13:04 How to Achieve Net Zero in Your Business

16:10 How to Start Operating in a More Sustainable Way  

18:57 There’s More Room For Better Products

“As a planet, we should be eating all the food we’re producing.” -Daniel Kurzrock

One of our favorite inspiring changemakers, Daniel Kurzrock, is in the house! It's been a while since we've had the pleasure of hearing from him and the exciting developments at  ReGrained.

In this episode, Daniel shares the new products they’ve launched, new partnerships they’ve made, and new projects they’re working on. Of course, the conversation will not be complete without a discussion on upcycling.

We know that our food system is broken. Yet, until now, we're still doing just enough to keep the problem at bay. We're not just talking about how it's made up of huge corporations who care more about their bottom line than they do about the food we eat. But, we're also looking at how this affects our health and our environment.

We need a better food system in order to build a better world. If we want to create a sustainable world that supports us all and doesn't leave anyone behind, then we have to start by changing our approach to food production and consumption. With upcycling, we can help reduce food loss and conserve resources in a fun and exciting way, while also being intentional about what we eat and the impact it has on the environment. 

Listen in as Justine and Daniel explore bigger opportunities available to us in the upcycling arena. Daniel also shares their approach and methods to impact the food industry on an individual and industry level, how certification gives broader meaning to upcycled food products, and how we can go beyond what we know today to be guilt-free.

If you want to learn more about Daniel and the mission of ReGrained, you can check our past conversations with him here: 

How to Build an Organization for a Healthier and More Sustainable Food System

EI UPDATE SERIES: ReGrained's Recent Partnerships & New Product Launches

Meet Daniel:

Daniel Kurzrock is the Co-founder and Chief Grain Officer/CEO of ReGrained and a founding executive board member of the Upcycled Food Association. ReGrained is an ingredient platform and packaged foods innovator that specializes in upcycling overlooked and undervalued ingredients. Dan is also an entrepreneurial systems thinker and loves tackling seemingly intractable problems through creative entrepreneurship and cross-sectoral collaboration. Through ReGrained, he has become a thoughtleader about food waste business models, "edible upcycling" and the circular economy for food.

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Episode Highlights:

01:30 A Huge Opportunity in Food Waste

06:26 The Regrained Pledge

12:27 The Regrained Approach 

17:26 Upcycling Going Bigger 

“I know that if I'm willing to work for it, I can keep working.” -Petra Bergstein

Caviar is a delicacy that's enjoyed all over the world. But it's not just about eating it on crackers or as an hors d'oeuvre—caviar can be used in many different ways: from baking to cocktails, to salads and desserts.

Caviar is a very delicate and scarce commodity, which means that if we're not responsible enough to preserve and protect it, it will be gone forever. The only way to ensure that this precious resource will be available for future generations is to create a sustainable system for its production. This is why we need to take a moment to examine the current state of one of the world's most expensive food.

The Caviar Co. was born when two sisters opened their own caviar business in San Francisco. Petra Bergstein-Higby and her older sister, Saskia wanted to share their passion for caviar with the world in an approachable and sustainable way. They also wanted to educate the people about this exquisite delicacy, not only to help them find the right caviar for their taste buds but also to hold caviar companies accountable to keep them from deceitfully mislabeling their products. 

The caviars available at The Caviar Co. are not wild-caught but come from farms that have their own broodstock. They also make sure that the well-being of the fishes was well taken care of and have reached a mature age before they were harvested. 

Listen in as Justine and Petra help us understand caviar and its different types more, how the caviar companies can follow a sustainable course in their farming methods, how to overcome self-doubt when starting a passion project, and Petra’s advice for entrepreneurs who wish to grow their business. 

Meet Petra:

Petra Bergstein-Higby didn't think about caviar much growing up in Texas, but now it has become her passion. After graduating from Texas University, her first job was in a caviar company. She did everything she could to learn everything about the caviar trade— from spawning to processing and sales. In 2015, she and her sister Saskia founded The Caviar Co. and were able to expand their business with their newest shop at Tiburon.

When Saskia got married and moved back to Texas, Petra became the sole owner of the company. When she's out of the office, Petra enjoys spending time with her husband, Alex and their daughter, Adriana. 

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Episode Highlights:

02:58 The Cool Side of the Hospitality Industry

06:43 How to be Sustainable

10:01 Get to Know Your Caviar

17:14 Keep Working for It!  

21:13 What’s Next for The Caviar Co.? 

“We have an opportunity because of the urgency now to come together. Sometimes, we forget but there’s joy in food. We can figure this thing out, but we need to get it together.” -Danielle Nierenberg

In a world where the climate is changing and the population is growing at an alarming rate, it is more important than ever to build a more resilient food system— a food system that can not only withstand shocks and stresses, but also thrives in the face of these changes. 

When it comes to developing a more resilient food system, it pays to work together. By pooling our resources and knowledge, we can create a system that is better able to combat climate change and other global issues we face today. Ultimately, by working together, we can build a food system that is more robust and resilient.

Co-founded by Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank is dedicated to building a community toward a more resilient food system. Food Tank is a non-profit organization that works to advance the conversation around food and agriculture by promoting sustainable agricultural solutions and providing training programs to help local communities face the challenges unique to them. 

Tune in as Justine and Danielle discuss the need for collaboration in building a more sustainable food system. They also discuss how we can reframe the story we tell about food and agriculture, how food brings joy, and why farmers hold the key to solving some of the global issues we face today. 

Meet Danielle: 

Danielle Nierenberg is a world-renowned researcher, speaker, and advocate, on all issues relating to our food system and agriculture.

In 2013, she co-founded Food Tank with Bernard Pollack, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. Food Tank is a global convener, thought leadership organization, and unbiased creator of original research impacting the food system. Danielle is the recipient of the 2020 Julia Child Award.

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Episode Highlights:

01:18 A Focus on Agricultural Problems

06:54 People Thriving in the Food Movement Inspire

12:51 The Origin - Food Tank

16:25 Food is Part of the Solution 

21:01 Solving Problems at Different Levels 

23:07 Be a Chief Sustainability Officer