Listen here or on iTunes.

"If you're honest from your heart, and you give people what you really want for their own benefit, not for you, abundance, money and business will come by themselves."

CHEF MIGUEL BAUTISTA

The first time I saw Chef Miguel, I was pretty sure he was a Mexican celebrity chef. It was at Tulum Vegan Fest and he spent most of the day leading up to his lecture posing for pictures.

It turned out I was right - he is a celebrity. He's also world-renown executive chef that regularly holds workshops for 5-star resorts all around the country and abroad, a sommelier, trainee herbalist (by his own definition, even though I'm sure his knowledge of herbs is vast) and co-owner of the widely popular Vegan Planet restaurant in Cancun (with another location in Mexico City). I hope he won't mind me saying he's fanatical, in the best possible way, about maintaining a whole-foods approach to plant-based cuisine, because I believe that it's this that places him in a category all of his own.

In fact, one of the things he emphasizes about his kitchen is that it contains no microwaves, no aluminium pots, and no can opener. And if that conjures up an image of an all-natural, down-to-earth, new-age eatery, or perhaps a fine dining establishment where serving sizes are inversely proportional to the prices, you'd be wrong on both counts. Vegan Planet is a modern, well-lit and airy eatery with regular 2-for-1 pizza nights, with a steady stream of local, repeat customers.

To me, it looks like exactly the kind of vegan eatery you'd expect in a not-so-distant future where eating plant-based is the norm... so I'm allowing for the chance that Miguel Bautista discovered the perfect formula for making functional healthy food mainstream. And perhaps cultural differences played a part as well -  since moving to Mexico, I have been left very impressed with the availability and the general attitude towards plant-based food, so sitting down with someone who's making a business of it was the perfect opportunity to explore this.

The main takeaway of this conversation, for me, is that at some point, Miguel expects restaurants not to be 'vegan' anymore. They'll just be restaurants, and the fact that they're serving plant-based food will be considered normal. I forgot to ask whether Vegan Planet will be changing its name then, but the success it's been enjoying so far, and the experience of its owner make me think that day is not that far off.

Show Notes

Main website: Vegan Planet

Directions to Vegan Planet Cancun

Directions to Vegan Planet Mexico City

Miguel's personal page: Vegan Chef Miguel Bautista

Instagram (You know you want to see this one)

Facebook

Listen here or on iTunes.

"It's all about normalizing veganism. We don't hug trees - that's not being vegan!"

LAURA STAGEMAN

What would you do if all your skin suddenly started falling off?

Did that get your attention? I actually didn't know it is possible, but apparently a condition called Topical Steroid Withdrawal (which is pretty self-explanatory: brought on by withdrawal from steroid creams) can cause it to happen. And that's how Laura Stageman's journey to making vegan watches began.

There is a very obvious parallel to be drawn between losing your skin and the leather industry. And further on, there is a parallel between the leather industry and the fur industry that should be just as obvious, but isn't. Leaving the fur on the skin of a dead animal is generally frowned upon even in very non-vegan circles, while tanning the skin and wearing it, for some reason, is not.

What Laura decided during the months she spent in a bathtub, waiting for her skin to regenerate and watching documentaries, was that she wanted to help animals. And a while later, she figured out that there was a niche of the vegan fashion market that wasn't being filled all that well yet - watches.

Considering how leather is still marketed as the top-tier option on fashion accessories, there was obviously a need for well-made timepieces with straps that would perform and age just as well as the animal-based material. Thankfully, Laura wasn't worried about her lack of fashion or watchmaking background (and it's obvious from her products that there was no need to worry), but she quickly realized that keeping the production in the UK would push her brand from affordable luxury to the kind you wear only a few times per year because it's too valuable for everyday use.

Here is where our conversation gets really interesting - by this point she had already done the research on materials, but when she was faced with the decision to outsource her production to China, she was definitely aware that a lot of stereotypes about work conditions, ethics and animal rights there are grounded in reality.

The solution she found breaks a lot of those stereotypes and should be an eye-opener for anyone wary of doing business in China. And as for marketing and positioning her brand, Laura stays true to her mission, but even though the vegan market has been very supportive of Votch and her social media audience very receptive of her transparency in promoting the brand, the real challenge is to make wearing a vegan watch normal.

That is also a part of this interview - how to position yourself and how to shape the discussions with your potential buyers so the values you represent are conveyed effectively, without walls being triggered. And of course the future of materials, other potential  and the future of fashion where being cruelty free becomes the norm.

Show Notes

The official website and online store: Votch

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Listen here or on iTunes.

"By the end of January people just get used to it and it's a lot easier decision in February to stay vegan than it would have been at the end of December to go vegan in the first place."

MATTHEW GLOVER

Vegans are often accused of wanting to get other people to see things our way and eat what we do.

It's true. We do want that. Most of us, anyway. Not just because it makes choosing a place to eat so much easier - most of us are aware of the positive changes this brings for the planet, the animals and for every individual living this way.

So how do you amplify your reach? Matthew Glover had an interesting idea: if an online campaign can get men to do ridiculous things to their faces for a whole month - and I swear I'm not bitter about the fact that I won't be able to grow a proper mustache until I'm 60 (thanks for those genes, dad!) - could an online campaign also get them to change their eating habits and go plant-based for a whole month?

And what other month could be more suitable for new, healthy dietary resolutions than January? Matthew launched the first Veganuary campaign in 2014 with his wife (and first convert) Jane, and reached 3000 people. Three years later, they're up to nearly 60.000. At this rate, he reckons everyone on the planet will be vegan for at least a month by 2028. Not bad for a British chap from a family of butchers and meat workers.

Humor aside, the Veganuary campaign has been a massive success, both in terms of reach and in terms of results. Pretty much everyone taking part reports feeling better, healthier and having more energy. Retention rate is over 50%. And what's really cool - being a life-long entrepreneur and marketing guy, Matthew now knows how much it costs to convert a person to veganism (as long as you don't mind hearing the amount in UK pounds - but it's really lower than you'd expect).

With Veganuary growing, Matthew now has his sights set on something even bigger, and something even closer to the core of The Plant-Based Entrepreneur as well. In April 2018, he and his team will be putting on UK's first and largest plant-based food trade show. Not a vegan festival with food stalls and exhibitors - a show hosted at the National Exhibition Center that aims to attract over 20.000 flexitarians, reducetarians and plant-curious visitors (along with the already-vegan and vegetarian, of course).

It's called Thrive Show. It's a large undertaking and it's a large part of our conversation. April 2018 is still some time off, but make sure you listen in to learn more about the event. And I hope to see you there.

Show Notes

Official website: Veganuary

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Official website: Thrive Show

Matthew's personal Twitter channel:

Listen here or on iTunes.

"We have to just accept that change is going to be slow, and I think the new system is going to be built with money from the old system."

TOBIAS LEENAERT

Of all the images that come to mind at the term 'vegan activist', the calm, pragmatic approach of Tobias Leenaert is probably right at the bottom of the pile for most people. But that, or the fact that he writes under the name of Vegan Strategist, shouldn't fool you into thinking he's not absolutely passionate about bringing change and eliminating animal suffering. He's simply accepted the fact that the bottom line can be achieved more effectively by understanding your audience, the things that may be holding them back and by making the change so effortless for them they don't even realize it's happening.

A man after my own heart, in short.

Tobias co-founded and led the Belgium-based vegan advocacy group EVA (Ethical Vegetarian Alternative) for years. He also works closely with Melanie Joy, best known for her theory of carnism as the invisible belief system that allows otherwise ethical, compassionate people to continue consuming animals. And part of his approach could actually be compared to Dr Joy's theory - Tobias understands that it's not just attitudes that lead to behavior change. It's the other way around too.

What that means is that adopting the attitude of veganism doesn't need to come from without, as a result of messages that often shock and repel at least as many people as they shock and convince. The attitude change can come gradually, as a result of the widespread availability of vegan options.

Even though Tobias writes about all manner of issues that the vegan movement is facing, I wanted to hear his opinions on vegan business in particular, and this aspect was the perfect starting point for our conversation on how companies can drive the change, and how marketing budgets often exceed campaign budgets of most organized animal-rights movements.

The end result, however, is the same - less suffering. A more plant-based future. A world where you get your vegan in-flight meal served as standard. This interview is about the ways that business can take us there.

Show Notes

Vegan strategist: Main website

Facebook

Twitter

JUST PUBLISHED - Tobias's book: How to Create A Vegan World - A Pragmatic Approach*

The organization Tobias co-founded: EVA

Calendar of workshops at Vegan Advocacy

Melanie Joy's US-based organization: Beyond Carnism

More information on the reducetarian movement

Listen here or on iTunes.

"If you think about how many brands of consumer products there are that can be replaced with plant-based, then – bring it on."

JENNIFER PARDOE

Jennifer Pardoe began her first job in the food industry nearly 3 decades ago - working in a fast-food chicken shop back in Australia. That may not sound like the starting point that naturally leads to plant-based food consulting, but in the 3 decades since, she managed a chain of food-to-go restaurants in London and then opened up her own.

And then around 2010, she realized customers were asking for more healthy options and plant-based foods were becoming a hit. Jen tried to take her award-winning eatery in that direction, ran into opposition from investors (which kinda sounds like the Gust Organics story from NY) and decided that rather than stay in that business, she'd get in the emerging market of plant-based food and leverage all her experience to help new brands make a mark.

That was 2014, the year when she founded Zest consulting agency. Three years later, the agency has just gone through a rebranding and is now operating as Plant Based To Business - PB2B - making it even clearer what they do, and Jen has now helped launch over 100 plant-based products.

Seeing how Jennifer works with companies both in the UK and the States, I thought this was an excellent chance to talk about the cultural differences between the two when it comes to marketing vegan food (and about the state of veganism in UK, since it's been making headlines for a while now with its rapid growth). We discovered at least one product that you can't simply bring across the pond, put on the shelves and expect it to sell, and speaking of shelves - Jennifer has some really good advice for branding and designing your visual image to stand out, too.

Finally, and this is my favorite part, we went deep into opportunities that exist in the plant-based space, and I suspect we could have recorded an entire, stand-alone episode on this topic. But if you get any ideas, you know who to call to get them in stores.

 

 

Show Notes

The new agency website: PlantBased2B

Twitter 

Ladybird restaurant in NY: http://www.ladybirdny.com/

Hear Kiki Adami's story on how Gust Organics closed after going vegan (and what she did next): Episode #2

How To Subscribe

Enjoying this episode? Here's how you can subscribe to The Plant-Based Entrepreneur Show podcast and keep up to date with new ones coming out weekly:

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The motto of The Plant-Based Entrepreneur Show has always been "The Future Is Plant-Based."

That really sums it all up – plant-based solutions WILL have an enormous impact on our lives in the next decades, and we’re already witnessing a shift to some of these solutions right now, even though it's just the beginning of the swell that’s building up.

But more than that, it sums up the mission. The mission is to make this plant-based future happen. And the way we make this plant-based future happen is by spreading ideas, and nurturing them and helping new businesses grow and getting more entrepreneurs in the plant-based space to be the drivers of this change.

I’m really excited to announce that we’ve just taken a huge step towards making this happen. For the past few weeks I’ve been working with some really amazing people (you’ve actually heard some of them as guests on the podcast in the past) and it's time to pull the wraps off our biggest project for 2017.

You can hear or all about it in this special episode of The Plant-Based Entrepreneur Show.

Or if you can't wait - CLICK HERE to find out for yourself.

How To Subscribe

Enjoying this episode? Here's how you can subscribe to The Plant-Based Entrepreneur Show podcast and keep up to date with new ones coming out weekly:

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"Our business and what I bring to the table isn’t just the food, it’s also about talking about real life sh*t, that may or may not be pretty."

MOLLY PATRICK

WARNING: Before you hit play, know that this interview contains some strong language. Definitely outside PG-13 territory.

Molly Patrick is a great example of an online personality brand done right - she's the face of Clean Food Dirty Girl and in a lot of ways, her business is her life.

Defining an online personality brand can seem deceitfully easy. After all, YOU are the core of every product, so having an intimate understanding of your offering is a given. Except it's never that easy. You know everything about yourself - but how much of it do you share with your audience? Do you keep it real? Do you polish away some of those details that you're not really comfortable with? And just how much is too much when using a filter on your photos?

Molly chose to keep things real and focus on what makes her unique - in her case, this means focusing on the food, not judging people for their flaws or slip-ups on their path to healthier eating and not holding back on the cusswords when they're warranted. Not because she decided she was going to swear to attract her audience, but because she decided to attract the audience that will love her for her way of talking.

Here's the crucial takeaway from our conversation, and the one thing you should absolutely always keep in mind when you're building a brand upon your personality: some people won't like you. And that's OK, because those aren't the people who matter, anyway.

What's more, this lesson applies even when your brand is built upon services or products. In fact, a lot of the things we discuss with Molly in this episode are just as relevant if you're launching a startup, as they are if you're deciding how to name your new Facebook page and start collecting likes (hint: in both cases you're allowed to pivot and rebrand if it works better).

So this interview is absolutely NOT just about talking dirty to get people to listen to your message about clean food. It's about finding the right way to express your message, finding your ideal audience, and it's about the universal rules for building a successful business, regardless of size.

 

Show Notes

Main website: Clean Food Dirty Girl

Suscription to Molly's email list: Saturday Fuckeries

Facebook private group (this is where the action is)

Twitter

Instagram

And just in case you're in Austin, TX - Molly was the founder of this business: Arlos Food Truck Austin

 

Listen here or on iTunes.

"Wouldn't it be better if we just used the technology that we were building to make the entire vegan movement 10X more effective?"

ALEXIS FOX

I have been really looking forward to this interview.

Alexis Fox and Micah Risk have been making waves with their company, Lighter, for a few years, but I actually found them when I was researching vegan meal planning apps and theirs was just in a totally different dimension both as a concept and as the implementation of it. And I've spoken to two of their investors on the show and it was obvious that they were thoroughly impressed with Lighter's product and mission. Beyond, really, what you would expect if you thought of Lighter as just a meal planning app.

By the way, I think both women on the founding team have absolute superhero names and it couldn't be more fitting for their mission of transforming the way we eat - with technology. I'll leave the details for the actual interview, but Lighter is definitely not just a meal planning app. At its core, it's a platform built to allow people to eat healthy by taking into account their requirements and their circumstances. So if you're a pro athlete switching to plant-based to improve your performance, the recipes created for you will be totally different than if you have a fast-paced office job that only leaves an hour per day for food preparation.

And on the other hand, Lighter is a platform where you can choose whose diet recommendations you wish to follow. Alexis talks of this as Lighter being nutritionally agnostic. It makes things easy for you - but it makes them REALLY easy for people like plant-based medical professionals to prescribe a certain diet to their patients via the platform. That's where the real strength and potential of Lighter really lie.

You'd have thought that building a tech startup like that requires a team of at least one tech founder - but neither Alexis nor Micah are coders. Alexis has a background in law and improv comedy, while Micah is a nutritionist and ultrarunner. They just took the idea for this tech solution and built it up bit by bit, iteration by iteration, from a manual meal plan creation service to a platform capable of choosing the right food for you from more than 2000 recipes in their database.

So this conversation is about building a world-changing product from scratch and bringing together the right kind of people to do so, beginning with the founding team. It's about focusing on the right things as a startup and letting go of those that don't move you towards your goals (focusing, for instance, on user retention and virality, instead of investing in marketing - like Lighter does). And it's about the role that technology plays in creating a plant-based future, and the ways we can get there.

Show Notes

Official website: Lighter

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Listen here or on iTunes.

"If you're going to spend time and resources to create something, it should be to solve a meaningful problem"

MATT TULLMAN

As you know if you're a regular follower of The Plant-Based Entrepreneur, our mission is to create a plant-based future, and to do that, we need more vegan entrepreneurs bringing their ideas to life and more mission-driven investors and VCs supporting their visions.

Matt Tullman is somewhere around the middle, where the two fields overlap. As a kid he actually gave up business studies in favor of social sciences because he was more interested in how individuals could bring about change – this later led him to South America where he spent time studying FARC (the Colombian revolutionary-slash-terrorist group) and the one man who organized a worldwide digital protest against them.

But business pulled him back in. When he returned to the States, he began his path as a VC, led a fund/incubator called 7Wire and then turned his attention to education technologies and innovation... and the thing is, at this point, he still perceived food as a chore that had to fit among the more important daily tasks (but could be skipped if really necessary).

His transition to veganism was brought on by a month-long experience of the health system and the many ways it actually stacks the odds against the patients' recovery. And seeing how Matt can't be happy doing things that don't consume him completely, he dove into research and came out determined that the way to bring about the biggest change in terms of human health and impact was plant-based.

We tried to keep our conversation within the allotted time – but I'll admit it was hard. This interview spans topics from why studying business is not absolutely necessary for being good at it, knowing what matters as an entrepreneur, the different dimensions of bringing about change that go beyond business, Matt's current product launch with the No Meat Athlete, Matt Frazier and his greater vision for the world, which he calls 30-by-30 and will be the central point of his upcoming book... and that was us just getting warmed up. I hope you enjoy this talk as much as I did.

Show Notes

Matt's Homepage: Tullman.org

Twitter

Wanna connect with Matt? He asked not to share his email here, but he does give it out in the interview.

The VC fund/Incubator where Matt served as Managing Director: 7 Wire Ventures

Matt's partner Matt Frazier, The No Meat Athlete

First brand and first plant-based complement launched by them: Lightdrop

Director of Science and Education of Lightdrop: Dr. Pamela Fergusson

Pamela Fergusson on No Meat Athlete Radio: E...

Listen here or on iTunes.

"I think we opened with 25 styles and now we have over 200 styles of vegan shoes that we can offer to people."

ERICA KUBERSKY

In case you're wondering which one's Erica - she's the one on the left. The one on her right is Sara, her sister and co-founder of New York's oldest vegan shoe store, MooShoes.

Erica, who went vegetarian at 8 (a move that ended up with the whole family eating that way), was also early on being clear on her business goals. By high school, she was telling friends she would open a vegan shoe store. When she found out about Vegetarian Shoes (by our combined knowledge the first vegan shoe shop ever), she flew to England to get some for herself. And in 2001, way before the vegan snowball ever reached the critical point in its now unstoppable roll, she and Sara opened up MooShoes in a defunct butchery in Manhattan.

If you're thinking they were ahead of the times, I have to admit to wondering about it too. But apparently, New York in 2001 was a city ready for cruelty-free footwear. Their customer base grew. Their reputation grew (so much Sara says they are now a regular part of the 'Vegan Tour' for a lot of out-of-town visitors wanting to experience all the vegan options of NYC). Their business grew: from starting with 25 styles at opening they now stock over 200, have another store in Los Angeles and an online store that only recently surpassed their physical store in sales volume, showing that old-fashioned retail is far from dead. And based on the popularity of their numerous food events, they just opened a vegan grocery/deli next door to their Manhattan shop.

Along the way, MooShoes also realized the market needed more, and they moved into production. They now have an in-store brand called Novacas, which makes their own line of footwear at a factory in Portugal, using cruelty-free microfibre materials... what Joshua Katcher of Brave GentleMan (whose shoe line is also made by Novacas) calls future leather. Which is a huge step beyond vinyl materials often used instead of leather - in terms of looks, durability and sustainability.

This last characteristic is what Erica says seems to be the biggest selling point for a lot of her non-vegan customers. Eco fashion is slowly but surely catching on, and this episode is a dive into what that means for cruelty-free footwear: what new materials to look for, what parts of the market are still underserved... but also what is the reality of running a retail business. And what is the correct number of cats to have in your store to maintain the balance between cuteness, allergy potential and keeping at least some shoe boxes empty.

Show Notes

Official website: MooShoes

Facebook

Instagram - MooShoes NYC

Instagram - MooShoes LA 

The oldest vegan shoe brand (and apparently worth worth flying over the Atlantic for):