In With the New

In this episode, Avril speaks with Jeremy Lang, founder and VP of Sustainability at Pela. The company is best known for its biodegradable phone cases and its countertop composter, Lomi. We live in a world where the food system is broken. So much food is either lost or spoiled. What makes Lomi incredible is that in just 3-5 hours, it breaks down food scraps into nutrient-rich plant food. This leads to easier waste disposal and reduced food waste sent to landfills.

Check out the show notes here.

Dr. Lara Ramdin is the Chief Innovation and Science Officer at Upcycled Foods Inc., which powers the B2B upcycled food economy with product development expertise, cutting-edge technology, and a growing portfolio of ingredient solutions. The company's patented food upcycling technology creates proprietary ingredients that are delicious, versatile, clean-label, and nutritious from food that would have otherwise gone to waste. Upcycled Foods' flagship product, ReGrained SuperGrain+®, is the industry-leading upcycled ingredient made from rescued brewer's "spent" grain (BSG) that has already been cultivated, harvested, and used once but still has more to offer.

Keri Andriana is the Founder of Amschela, a UK-based luxury accessory brand that focuses on encapsulating the intrinsic charm of the modern-day contemporary woman with on-the-go sustainably made pieces for life. Amschela is PETA-approved and strives to use high-quality, environmentally friendly certified materials that are sustainable, serve to reduce our carbon footprint, and are not harmful to animals. The brand is also a champion of social mobility impact, providing opportunities to young people who wish to work in the fashion industry.

Craig McIntosh and Carissa Campeotto are the Co-founders of Trendi, a Vancouver-based tech company reducing food waste by using robotics and automation to upcycle it into valuable products. Trendi's BioTrim units go direct to the source — farms, fisheries, distributors — to convert surplus or unsalable (visually nonconforming) foods into shelf-stable, nutrient-dense single commodity ingredients. Because these products are processed on-site at optimal freshness, they retain a "straight from the farm" flavor but in a compact form that can be stored and transported for a fraction of the cost of fresh produce. Trendi uses the resulting freeze-dried or pureed products in its smoothie machines and also distributes them to manufacturers.

Ani Wells is a sustainable fashion consultant, impact communications specialist, and the co-founder of Simply Suzette, a storytelling platform and consultancy exploring the juxtaposition of sustainable fashion with a focus on denim. Ani works closely with market leaders in the denim world, advising them on sustainably focused campaigns and communications to create global impact. She has had the honor of leading the Conscious Fashion Campaign in collaboration with the United Nations and Transformers Foundation due to her depth of knowledge in sustainable production and the denim supply chain. She is passionate about telling the stories of the people behind the supply chain, championing sustainable innovations, helping brands use their businesses as a force for good, and helping consumers navigate the blurry world of sustainable fashion.

Kimberly Chamberland is the Founder and CEO of Big Mountain Foods, an award-winning plant-based food company established in 1987. Going back to her vegetarian roots, she has established herself as a true culinary expert and pioneer in her own right. Today Big Mountain Foods remains a family-owned business with distribution across North America. They are committed to sourcing local, cruelty-free, sustainable, plant-based ingredients and developing food that not only tastes great but is good for you.

Jessica Malach is the VP of Marketing and Insights at Social Nature, a product discovery and trial platform powered by almost 1 million natural shoppers. She leads their United States and Canadian consumer insights and brand partner programs.

Jessica began her career in the natural health industry in 2004, leading company growth strategies with senior roles at Alive Publishing Group, Vega marketing team prior to a $550 million USD exit, Bullfrog Power renewable energy company, and Pinto product data and personalization tech provider recently acquired by SPINS. She is passionate about sharing knowledge with the industry and has been a contributing speaker on marketing and consumer health trends to Strategy Magazine, Natural Foods Merchandiser, Whole Foods Magazine, Nosh, Plant Based Foods Association, Canadian Health Food Association, and the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Graham Stewart is the founder and EVP of Fibre52, a cost-effective, eco-conscious processing technology which massively decreases the environmental impact of cotton dyeing. Graham has decades of experience as a textile and apparel production fiber to brand specialist in the textile industry in production, marketing and leadership roles. For the past two years, Graham has been developing Fibre52's patent-pending technology which retains cotton's natural properties, resulting in stronger, kinder fabric that offers moisture-management performance and strength properties that rival petrochemical-based textiles.

Sasha Bricel is the Director of Marketing at Nature's Path Foods, a pioneer in the organic food movement, and a leader in sustainable food design and development. Sasha is responsible for bringing Nature's Path brands to the world, growing the Nature's Path Organic Leadership legacy, and driving leadership effectiveness. Sasha is a Cannes and D&AD award-winning marketer and leader with over 10 years of experience working with some of Canada's biggest companies to manage and build purpose-led brands that aim to change the way the world works.

Lindsay O'Donnell is the Founder and Marketing Director of Piquant Marketing, a creative and strategic marketing agency that has worked with over 100 vegan and vegetarian food and wellness brands. Lindsay's passion for growing and supporting "foodpreneurs" and food brands started at Whole Foods Market and led her to found Piquant in 2016. Lindsay is also the co-owner and marketing partner of Planted Expo, Canada's largest plant-based event.