This summer August de Vocht made a trip to the U.S. looking to finalize a round of investment for his Dutch based startup. He also shot a documentary (trailer link) about U.S. attitudes towards food waste. In 2015, does the U.S. really care about Food Waste?

No Food Wasted works to connect grocers and local consumers to sell grocery products close to there "best-by" date at a discount. While they are live in Holland, they are still deciding if the app could work across the pond. We compare (North) Americans vs. European in a variety of behavioral attitudes:

Food startup founders: we hope this gets you thinking about cultural attitudes towards your products and services. If you are not aligned, be careful!! Plus, we also talk about the day to day life of August, "Twitter squatting", and some downright scary food waste statistics.

Selected links in the episode:

No Food Wasted

Twitter Cake

Delicious home-brewed craft beers are almost never shared with a wide audience. This is due to legal and production capacity reasons. Noble Brewer Beer is changing that, connecting amateurs with professional breweries.

They buy the beer that is produced and sell it to its subscribers via a delivery service. FSP Listeners, this is one of our best shows to date. Claude Burns takes us behind the scenes of his company:

Selected links from the show:

Noble Brewer Beer
Noble Brewer on Rocket Club
Kendall Jackson Book

Today we have a talk about some of the biggest environmental challenges that our earth faces:

Mike from Corigin is working on these humongous problems. But he must sell his technology and ideas Big Agro in order for it to work. I get Mike to break down the solutions in laymen's terms. Get ready to be blown away.

Mentioned in this episode:

Corigin (going live soon)

Biochar

Pyroligneous Acid

Future Farmers of America

They started at UC-Berkley making organic mushrooms out of coffee waste. Now, they are a full-fledged company in Home Depot, Urban Outfitters, and Target among others. It is one of the most inspiring stories we've had so far. Fresh off a 2 million dollar investment round, Nikhil Arora of Back to the Roots® talks about food and life:

... and so much more.

Mentioned in this episode:

Back to the Roots®

Aquaponics Kickstarter

Back to the Roots Raises $2 Million to Grow Its Mini-Gardens, Food Brand

B Corporation

Preservatives to Avoid (BHT)

Kamut®

Soursop

Twi Language in Ghana

A mini-episode to kick off the summer. We talk about:

Mentioned in the show:

Photo taken mountain biking last week in the Poconos, PA.

I've always wondered about artisanal brands that "go big". Can they keep the same quality and authenticity? Bearded Brothers out of Austin makes hand-crafted energy bars. No BS ingredients. Really good stuff (I just ate one). Caleb walks us through the early stages of the company up to the nationwide brand they are today. We cover:

Mentioned in the episode:

Bearded Brothers
Bearded Bros Employment
2012 Company Profile
REI
Food Launcher

Recent college grad Evan Lutz co-founded Hungry Harvest to solve a major problem in the US: surplus produce. Also laziness (delivered to your doorstep!). This is edible produce that doesn't even make it to restaurants or the grocery stores. Only because it is "shaped" differently. Evan sheds light on:

Mentioned in this episode:

Hungry Harvest (Twitter)

Fruit Cycle

Why entrepreneurs are suddenly finding the beauty in ugly produce

Mid Atlantic Gleaning Network

L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state

Today we get a behind the scenes look at an alternative food business model. 2 Degrees Food is growing rapidly: they are in 2500 stores as well as United and JetBlue airways. Co-founder Lauren Walters walks us through the company philosophy and their keys to success:

Mentioned in this episode:

2 Degrees Food

TOMS One for One Shoes

Meal Production and Distribution Partners

Tynan is one of the most interesting people I've ever met. Time Magazine named him "[one of the] Top 25 Best Bloggers". He was also a featured character in the New York Times Bestseller The Game. And he is extremely healthy, mentally and physically. I pick his brain on nutrition, health, and cultivating positive habits. Learn about:

Mentioned in this episode:

Tynan.com  (About Tynan)

A Practical and Sane Guide To Eating Healthy

Tynan's book on Habits

NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, 5th Professional edition

Astaxanthin

Coconut Oil Sunscreen

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Cruise Sheet

A few years ago, quinoa was still a relatively unknown grain. While today it is more widely known, i heart keenwah still has to educate customers and sample their healthy snacks.

Co-founder Ravi Jolly tell us how he and Sarah Chalos developed a tasty quinoa snack and put themselves in a position to catapult their brand on a chance encounter with an editor from Oprah Magazine.

This is our 50th episode(!!!) and we couldn't have had a better guest willing to share his learnings with the FSP community. Ravi tells us about:

Mentioned in this episode:
i heart keenwah
i heart keenwah @ Abe's Market
i heart keenwah @ Amazon
VIDEO: SCION MOTIVATOUR: CHICAGO - KICKSTARTER, THREADLESS, ROCKIT RANCH PRODUCTIONS AND IHK!