The Original Vegan Business Talk By Shane Jeremy James

Meet Adam Sobel; Owner & Chef of Cinnamon Snail.

Adam has appeared on the food network, Cooking Channel, PBS, and on the pages of the New York Times, New York Magazine, Vegetarian Times, and VegNews. As author of the popular vegan cookbook Street Vegan, Adam’s restaurant, food truck, and catering brand The Cinnamon Snail launched in 2010. Cinnamon Snail was nominated 5 years in a row for The Vendy Award (which has been called the “Oscars of Street Food”) and has further been nominated for many other food industry accolades.

Cinnamon Snail Owner & Chef Adam Sobel highlights and discusses:

• How industry accolades are great, but it’s even more important to be a part of outreach efforts by serving free meals to the community after an environmental tragedy.

• Where endless access to social media and BIG corporate influence impacts the landscape of behaviors and small businesses.

• How animal wildlife rehab & rescue is part of contributing to a compassionate lifestyle.

Meet Guy Vaknin; Owner & Executive Chef of Beyond Sushi.

Chef Guy Vaknin has elevated the meaning of eating vegan by offering a casual menu with high-end appeal. In addition to serving up iconic vegetable sushi, he also serves hearty dishes like Fried Chick’n Bao, Glazed Impossible Meatballs, and Ube Cashew Cheesecake. Beyond Sushi is a chef-driven, vegan and kosher restaurant chain at the forefront of the plant-based movement. The first store opened back in 2012 and the company has since grown to another seven locations spread across Manhattan.

Beyond Sushi Owner & Executive Chef Guy Vaknin highlights and discusses:

• A mission to serve high-quality and accessible plant-based food while aiming to make healthy food choices effortless and compassionate – one plate at a time.

• Following simple fundamentals: eat clean and leave a lasting impact on the planet.

• Key understanding between being a business owner and how to properly build a sustainable company.

Meet Lionel Moise & Anton; Founder & CEO of Papi Soley.

Lionel's inspiring journey shares many accomplishments including being a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist. His portfolio further included being host to Business Insider Today- a #1 daily news show on Facebook Watch. He previously was co-anchor of the CBS 2 Chicago weekday morning and mid-day news. His impressive journalism career included anchoring for stations in Columbia, SC, Raleigh, NC, and New York City.

His world-class expertise was put to the test at the beginning of covid by giving him another fantastic chapter to build upon his passion for veganism and culture.

Extra, Extra, read all about how a journalism career includes and evolved into a wonderful vegan career!

Papi Soley Founder & CEO Lionel Moise/ Anton highlights and discusses:

• Honoring Haitian heritage and a love of Haitian cuisine through the vegan pop-up Papi Soley, featuring some of the classics with a twist.

• How being stuck in New York during covid with nothing to do created a business of sharing vegan foods as versions of Haitian food/culture

Meet Max Koenig; Founder of SCEN.

Max is fulfilling his passion as a 24-year-old entrepreneur & activist from Germany fighting climate change and chronic diseases with food as an agent of change. As the Founder of SCEN, his mission is to make food for human performance and planetary health easily accessible. Scen combines flagship fast-casual stores and functional products simplifying the daily nutritional intake.

SCEN Founder Max Koenig highlights and discusses:

• How the stores serve as a role model for the future of cities aiming to showcase a completely circular economy.

• Products that aim to unleash the full potential of human health in a sustainable environment.

• The importance of company mission & values and how not to be attached to the title of CEO.

Meet Ben Stix; Owner of The BE-Hive.

The BE-Hive was born from a group of friends in a band called Born Empty. While living together, the band quickly stumbled upon "BE" as a very appropriate abbreviation to describe the mindset of all the members. 'Just BE' was the approach to their lives, so it was only fitting to call the house in which they lived, 'The BE-Hive'. You’ll love the evolution of how a group of friends turned their vegan passion into a sustainable business.

The BE-Hive Owner Ben Stix highlights and discusses:

• How the BE-Hive strives to make plant-based eating easier and more accessible through their products, events, and catering.

• Community has always been the backbone of their business and how working together continues to positively impact their community.

• How covid and business expenses have impacted the supply chain plus the importance of listening to the customer to see what works for your business.

Meet Christian Sargent; Founder & CEO of Vicky Cakes and youngest daughter to Vicky.

During the pandemic, Vicky Cakes was treated with a pleasant surprise after being featured on ABC’s Good Morning America. Surprised by selling 154,000 bags of pancake mix in less than 24 hours after the episode aired. We’re going to show up, and we’re going to show out because you can’t miss these kinds of opportunities”, said Christian and that’s exactly what they did. Upon filling this order with her team from the inner workings of her home, they then evolved from her home kitchen to a rented commercial kitchen, and within a matter of two weeks were on the hunt for their own facility.

You’ll love the journey and rise of this pancake empire to start your day off with a taste of inspiration!

Vicky Cakes Founder & CEO Christian Sargent highlights and discusses:

• Vicky’s 40-year-old family secret journey that started as a single mom of four in the late ‘70s and created a delicious wholesome recipe out of necessity for her children.

• The most important points of getting the word out and building momentum behind the brand.

Meet Ming Tsai; Founder of MingsBings.

A chef of over 40 years, Ming has been inspiring home cooks for over 24 years on television PLUS a restaurateur, cookbook author, James Beard award winner, Emmy Award winner, and has hosted some of the longest-running cooking show on PBS. As a culinary & cultural pioneer of East meets West cuisine, he’s led the way for a creative, thoughtful, delicious blending of flavors, temperatures, and textures while trailblazing a path for a generation of chefs. Wet your appetite with this vegan pioneer who continues to change the game in the vegan industry.

MingsBings Founder Ming Tsai highlights and discusses:

• How food is medicine for the body and soul.

• Choosing the right foods that can support your immune system, and lower inflammation to help support a longer and fuller life.

• How culture, family, and restaurant training created loyalty and passion in his successful career.

Meet Jason Antony; Founder & CEO of Vegan Supply/MeeT.

Vegan Supply began as the world’s largest Vegan e-commerce marketplace in May 2015 with retail locations in Vancouver plus South Surrey, BC opening in 2017 & 2018, respectively. A vegan business offering educational and approachable online shopping plus in-person shopping experiences that help make choosing Vegan easy. Whether you’re considering trying “Meatless Mondays” or are a long-term Vegan advocate, Jason and his team will meet you where you’re at while helping you discover the perfect Vegan products and ingredients.

Vegan Supply/MeeT Founder & CEO Jason Antony highlights and discusses:

• How being the ultimate one-stop shop combined with the education process is critical to fill everyone's Vegan needs.

• A range of over 5,000 fully Vegan products that are individually sourced and approved through an extensive vetting process while offering the very best market products.

• How dining out patterns changed with increased home cooking skills during the covid landscape.

Meet Natasha Chalmers; Founder & CEO of Maple & Manchester.

With a passion for the vegan foodie experience, Natasha and her husband Damian set out to create a unique craft line of cultured cashew cheezes that pair beautifully with the wines of the Okanagan region. In addition to cultured cheezes, Maple & Manchester offer a line of creamy sauces and decadent cashew cheezecakes. Damian hailing from Manchester, England brought his 12 years of experience in the food service industry to the table where Natasha then introduced him to the world of vegan foods at which time they then began their own vegan journey. You’ll love this perfect match journey where food & culture started worlds apart and have now molded as one!

Maple & Manchester Founder & CEO Natasha Chalmers highlights and discusses:

• How her husband Damian and she have never looked back and continue to utilize their immense experience while revolutionizing the cultured cheeze industry.

• Where the business journey started as the hardest thing to overcome was her love of cheese when starting her plant-based journey over 11 years ago.

Meet Karen McAthy; CEO & Co-Founder of Lumi Foods.

Karen’s building the future of food journey began about 7 years ago with Blue Heron Creamery and has since evolved into Lumi foods. The continued mission is to accelerate humanity’s transition to a just, sustainable, animal-free food system by inspiring consumers to re-imagine dairy, starting with cheese. Marrying traditional cheese-making methods with scientific innovation, Lumi Foods elevates the taste, texture, and performance of plant-based cheeses. Building on the foundation of Blue Heron Creamery, Lumi Foods looks to an exciting future creating avenues to lasting consumer change. Sink your teeth into this exciting, appetizing, and most importantly sustainable evolution of plant-based cheese journey!

Lumi Foods CEO & Co-Founder Karen McAthy highlights and discusses:

• How they utilized emergent food technology and strategic partnerships to advance their mission.

• Employing a diversity of plant sources in the creation of dairy-alternative products while being able to focus on minimizing environmental impact.

• How Lumi Foods' legacy brand, Blue Heron Creamery, set the stage for Lumi in creating innovative cultured plant-based cheeses while employing a science-forward approach and traditional methods in seeking to create a new cheese tradition.