PeasOnMoss Podcast

This podcast continues to be sponsored by Icon Foods. Get information about sugar replacement and optimizing your high intensity sweetener systems. Let them know that you heard about them on PeaOnMoss.

PeasOnMoss discusses career management and active growth to help you get and promote in product development roles with Justin Kanthak, Griffith Foods Sales Director and Research Chefs Association President; Jacob Burton, executive chef at Renaissance Hotel, Reno, NV, and founder of Stella Culinary; and Wiley Bates III, Sales at IFF (International Flavors and Fragrances)

To start by saying that 2020 has been the most insane half-year ever is a gross understatement. In some ways I've seen our world and communities come together, focusing on a distant horizon of "better," while recognizing that a lot of work needs to be done to get there. In others, I've seen fear and suspicion lead to traumatized relationships.

In all this, people have continued to eat, and our food industry has continued to produce, but in different areas, at different volumes, and at different costs. I've kept the podcast schedule essentially on track, with a very brief acknowledgement of today's challenges, because the show is focused on the industry, not on social justice. But, a holistic view of the industry does have to include the challenges that each of our members take on, and I will not be silent about this.

As we move into the next season, we are pivoting the podcast from guest-focused interviews to topic-focused features. Now you'll be able to hear more diverse perspectives about a single subject in the same episode.

I have loved the insights shared by the guests who have joined the show, whether they were experienced research chefs sharing their hard-earned lessons, or entrepreneurs discovering the complexities of the food industry. Thank you for following it for the past four years, and I'm hopeful that it can continue for the years to come.

As we pivot to the new style, I decided to indulge in a monologue about my journey, to share with you some of the influences that led me to the product development world. Next week, we'll look at career management and how involvement in a professional organization can shape your growth as a worker and eventually a leader.

TraceGains is a proud sponsor of PeasOnMoss. TraceGains is a cloud-based supplier relationship and quality management platform that helps food and consumer-packaged goods companies deliver on brand promise. https://www.tracegains.com/

Stephanie Robbins and Kimberly met at the 2019 American Food Innovate Summit in Chicago when she served as the VP of Marketing at La Terra Fina. She, alongside her colleague Dan Howell, shared a compelling presentation on fostering collaborative relationships between product development and marketing. They described how the development of a trusting and synergistic cross-functional team led to more product success, quicker launches with fewer errors, and a better workplace.

Stephanie joined us on PeasOnMoss podcast to expand on that presentation and to tell us about work she's doing post-La Terra Fina. Stephanie does individual consulting for food businesses in marketing (and gives perspectives about food business entrepreneurship) and is working with a business partner in a new snack concept, soon to be announced. Get in touch with her at www.StephanieRobbins.com

Former VP of Marketing at La Terra Fina Stephanie Robbins has a bright outlook for her future and doesn't carry regrets about her last work. From working to foster a strong cross-functional team at LTF, to learning to respect and trust the expertise of her teammates, Stephanie possesses a strong self-awareness of her internal strengths. In this preview, Stephanie and Kimberly catch up in 8 months of life and work and consider the next steps. Our connection is an example of how important networking events are to expand our circles and relationships, but the honest and vulnerable conversations that we get to have among a few are the marks of connections that go beyond professional introductions. You won't make friendships like this at every event, but when you do, they're so valuable and are the highlights to our careers.

Since 2017, IconFoods has sponsored the PeasOnMoss podcast. Icon Foods specializes in supplying the health food industry with natural alternatives to sugar. We have nutritive and non-nutritive solutions to your clean label conundrum. Whether you are an established brand looking to reformulate for your consumers, or a food startup looking to break into the low-carb industry, we can get you the ingredients you need. We specialize in Ketogenic, Diabetic, Paleo, and Sugar-Free product solutions. http://iconfoods.com/

We're taking a break this week from our usual interview show to give our community time to consider the events of the week and our individual and social responsibilities to seek social justice for every single member of our food and beverage industry and of our society overall. I have been so blessed and honored to share the stories of our diverse food and beverage community, and it's in the spirit of sharing the stories that I stand with our black community as we all struggle through recent violence, murder, and subsequent protests and riots.

Racism has no place in our community, and we all hurt when one member is hurt. Right now, it's our black brothers and sisters who are being hurt disproportionately to others.

There are various organizations that provide information about the issues, the systemic racism, and actions we can take, including changing how we talk about race issues, how to identify racist behaviors and attitudes, how to educate and learn from each other, and how we can work together for solutions.

Here is a list of resources I've referenced to help me learn. They're from several perspectives, from businesses to specific advocacy groups, spiritual (Christian) perspectives and industry announcements. If you have some others that I could share, please let me know.

TEDTalks

Anguish and Action

Equal Justice Initiative

Southern Poverty Law Center

National Museum of African American History & Culture

World Vision

Suicide Awareness - 86 the silence

American Psychological Association

The Good Men Project

VOX

Ben & Jerry's

Research Chefs Association