The Indispensables - 301 INC

Renaldo Webb transitioned from a consultant helping pet food brands to founding his own D2C human-grade pet food company, PetPlate. In this episode, he shares his thoughts on the pet food industry, how COVID has changed what it means to be a pet parent and he reflects on his epic appearance on Shark Tank.

We speak with Tal Ronnen, a culinary pioneer in plant-based food who has seen enormous success as a celebrity chef, restauranteur, and founder of Kite Hill, a leading dairy-free brand with products spanning yogurt, cream cheese, dips, and pastas. Tal shares his plant-based food philosophy, his perspective on the restaurant industry & the long-term impacts of COVID-19 to consumer taste preferences.

Neka Pasquale has always lived by the mantra "food is healing." In 2009, she combined her expertise in Chinese medicine and acupuncture with her love for food and turned that mantra into a business. Now a national brand, Urban Remedy offers an array of ready-to-eat meals, smoothies and snacks that are both high-quality and sustainable.

Elizabeth Stein leveraged her degree in nutrition to grow Purely Elizabeth to the leading Natural & Organic granola brand in the US. She'll share her path to get to this point, her leadership style and how its changed and the cornerstone of her food philosophy. We'll also get a sneak-peek into what the future holds for Purely Elizabeth.

Welcome to The Indispensables, a new podcast from 301 INC, the venture capital arm of General Mills. 301 INC's founding partners John Haugen & Pete Speranza join us to talk about what inspired 301 INC, its promise to be an "indispensable partner" to the portfolio brands and what they see as the future for emerging brands in the natural products space.

In just over 5 years, Jesse Merrill has transformed the cottage cheese category with the introduction of Good Culture. Our conversation will cover Jesse's journey to founding Good Culture, what it means to disrupt a stagnant category and lessons he's learned along the way. Good Culture was built with mission at its core, so Jesse will also explore how the brand has grown while maintaining its commitment to regenerative agriculture and sustainable farming practices.