Vegan Business Talk

In this episode I interview Che Green, co-founder of Moonshot Collaborative, a new consumer research firm offering affordable solutions for vegan and plant-based brands.

Based in Washington State, Che is a 25-year market research veteran focused on sustainable and ethical consumerism, including plant-based foods.

He has led research efforts for groups ranging from Fortune 50 companies to international nonprofits.

Che co-founded Faunalytics more than 20 years ago, which provides data for animal activists to enable them to be more effective.

His work has involved understanding consumers’ behavioral motivations and decision-making, and applying these insights to help companies expand their customer base and increase sales.

His deep consumer research experience includes a range of quantitative (surveys, experiments), qualitative (focus groups, interviews), and mixed-method research.

In 2021, along with investor and plant-based industry veteran David Benzaquen, Che co-founded Moonshot Collaborative, a research company that provides consumer insights into the vegan and plant-based sector, to help food innovators and disruptive brands grow.

In this interview Che discusses:

• Key consumer research trends that you need to know about if you have or plan to have a business in the vegan and plant-based sector

• What kind of data should brands be looking to get and how this differs depending on what stage the company is at

• What kind of sample size you need to get good results

• The costs of consumer research and how Moonshot Collaborative is able to provide more affordable options

• Concrete examples of how investing in consumer research benefited two plant-based brands

• His predictions regarding the growth in uptake of vegan and plant-based products

• And more

Visit the Moonshot Collaborative website

Visit the Faunalytics website

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

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In this episode I interview Sara Polon, co-founder of Soupergirl, a plant-based soup brand in Washington DC.

Sara is a former standup comedian who founded Soupergirl in 2008 with her mother, Marilyn, aka Soupermom.

Sara Polon (right) with her mother Marilyn.

The pair have been featured regularly on national television, including Shark Tank and NBC’s Today Show.

Last year Soupergirl received a $2 million dollar investment from Arborview Capital and Seth Goldman, Board Member of Beyond Meat.

More recently, the company has become plastic-neutral through its partnership with rePurpose Global in a further step to fulfill Soupergirl’s goal of saving the planet - one bowl of soup at a time.

In this interview Sara discusses:

• Why she gave up stand-up comedy to make soup and the skills her former career has brought to Soupergirl

• How she got Soupergirl’s products into WholeFoods, Costco and other retailers

• How she handled the roasting she and Marilyn received on Shark Tank in 2018 and what they learned from the experience

• The advantages of being on the show, despite not getting a deal

• The benefits the company has gained from media coverage

• How she secured a $2 million impact investment (including how long it took)

• And more

Visit the Soupergirl website

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

Follow Vegan Business Media on:

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In this episode I interview Stephanie Downs, the co-founder of the Material Innovation Initiative, a non-profit focused on accelerating the availability of sustainable and cruelty-free alternatives to leather, wool, fur, down, silk, and exotic skins.

Stephanie is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience founding businesses and consulting on corporate social responsibility in vegan materials.

She started her first company in 1999, an internet marketing firm which she sold in 2014.

In 2016, she co-founded and was the CEO of Good Dot, which quickly grew to be the largest plant-based meat company in India.

For almost 15 years, Stephanie has consulted for animal welfare groups on corporate outreach, working with companies such as Tesla, Duane Reade, Porsche, Ralph Lauren and others to decrease their impact on animals.

In this interview, Stephanie talks about:

• What the Material Innovation Initiative does and how it can benefit vegan entrepreneurs

• Gaps in the market for materials/fashion innovation that are ripe for opportunity

• The response from corporations and huge fashion brands to animal-free materials and products – and why this is a good thing for vegan brands

• The benefits of having a business partner and tips on what to look for

• Her predictions for the growth of vegan, sustainable, ethical materials

• And more

Visit the Material Innovation Initiative website

 

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

Follow Vegan Business Media on:

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Instagram 

Connect with me personally at:

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In this episode I give you my top 5 trends and predictions in the vegan and plant-based business space for 2021.

They are:

1. Continued growth of the plant-based meat sector, with more IPOs, and a newcomer that’s aiming to replace KFC

2. Creation of products using new biotechnology such as fermentation processes to create exact replicas of animal-based dairy and other items

3. Developments in the animal-free & sustainable materials space, including the launch of an organization dedicated to furthering this innovation

4. More multinational corporations getting in on the growing vegan and plant-based sector, through acquisitions, investment and accelerators (and why this is a good thing)

5. More investors coming into the sector, including new platforms being set up to connect vegan and plant-based business owners with investors

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

Follow Vegan Business Media on:

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Connect with me personally at:

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In this episode I interview Doron Petersan, owner of Sticky Fingers and Fare Well vegan eateries in Washington, D.C.

Doron opened Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats in 1999, drawing on her degree in dietetics from the University of Maryland and years of experience working in restaurants.

In 2010 she grew Sticky Fingers to include wholesale distribution at grocers in Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.

She also opened an online Sticky Fingers store that ships sweets and merchandise nationwide across the US.

In 2016, Doron opened Fare Well, a plant-based diner, bakery and bar.

She is a two-time Food Network Cupcake Wars winner and author of the Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats cookbook.

In this episode Doron talks about:

• How her businesses have evolved over the past few years

• How perceptions towards plant-based eating have changed

• How she’s managed to continue to attract customers to her all-vegan eateries, despite more mainstream restaurants adding plant-based options

• The impact of COVID-19 on her businesses and how she’s handled it

• Her predictions for the plant-based dining sector

• And more

Visit the Sticky Fingers website

Visit the Fare Well website

Check out Doron's cookbook Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

Follow Vegan Business Media on:

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Connect with me personally at:

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In this episode, I interview food safety consultant Heather Landex who’s originally from the UK and currently based in Denmark.

Heather began working in the food service industry in 2000 and has worked in eight countries, in over 1000 food service businesses.

Since training as an Environmental Health Practitioner she’s specialized in food safety, working with large food safety and safety compliance companies, The Olympic Games, and some of the largest chain restaurant brands and Michelin star restaurants.

She’s developed and further specialized into allergy and dietary preferences beyond compliance and into customer service, marketing and branding in her aim to ensure that people feel included when they eat out and food service businesses are successful.

Her upcoming book ‘Inclusive: The New Exclusive: How the Food Service Industry Can Stop Leaving Money on the Table’ is due out next year.

In this episode Heather discusses:

• Why food safety is important for a vegan food service business (and not just for obvious reasons)

• What a vegan food service provider needs to take into account in regards to safety, and at what stages of the business

• Why vegan and plant-based food businesses are leaving money on the table by excluding customers with certain dietary requirements.

• What’s involved in ensuring your vegan café, restaurant or catering business can cater for other minority groups such as gluten-free, coealic or those with other allergies

• The costs involved in both food safety and making your business more inclusive.

• What street food vendors need to be aware of when it comes to food safety.

• And more

Visit Heather Landex’s website

Pre-order Heather’s book ‘Inclusive: The New Exclusive: How the Food Service Industry Can Stop Leaving Money on the Table’ (for a limited time you can get a discount by using the coupon code VEGANSPECIAL)

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

Follow Vegan Business Media on:

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Instagram 

Connect with me personally at:

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In this episode I interview Toni Okamoto, the founder of Plant-Based on a Budget, the popular website and meal plan that shows you how to save dough by eating veggies.

California-based Toni is also the author of Plant-Based on a Budget and The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook, as well as the co-host of the Plant-Powered People Podcast.

Photo: Lauren Alisse Photography.

Her work has been featured in the popular documentary What the Health, and she's a regular presence on local and national morning shows across the US, where she teaches viewers how to break their meat habit without breaking their budget.

Toni’s latest book, co-authored with her business partner Michelle Cehn, is The Friendly Vegan Cookbook: 100 Essential Recipes to Share with Vegans and Omnivores Alike.

In this interview Toni discusses:

• How the vegan food blog space has evolved over the past decade

• What to do if you want to start a food blog

• The best ways to get traffic to a food blog at the moment

• How to monetize a food blog

• How she’s able to support herself as a content creator full time and her tips for those interested in this career path

• Strategies for both brands and influencers on how to work together successfully

• Her experience of publishing her books including how this can enhance your business

• And more

Visit the Plant Based on a Budget website

Find out more about The Friendly Vegan Cookbook: 100 Essential Recipes to Share with Vegans and Omnivores Alike

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

Follow Vegan Business Media on:

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Instagram 

Connect with me personally at:

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This episode features a panel discussion I hosted a couple of months ago for the VegFestUK Summerfest Online event for the Trade Day’s manufacturers and suppliers section.

It features several renowned entrepreneurs in the food, fashion and beauty sectors.

Among the topics they discuss include:

• How lockdown impacted them

• What they had to do to survive

• What’s selling and why

• The impact of lockdown on the development of new products

• How the COVID-19 situation impacted their relationships with wholesalers, distributors and retailers

• What staff issues have come up and how they’re handling them

• What they need – from governments, retailers and customers to survive or thrive, especially with so much uncertainty and the possibility of further lockdowns

• And more

Watch the video:

Panelists:

ADRIAN LING, managing director of Plamil, the UK’s oldest vegan company (Adrian’s father Arthur was vegan in 1927!) which makes chocolate and other dairy-free items (yes, Adrian is the vegan Willy Wonka!)

TAMMY FRY of Fry’s Family Foods, international plant-based meat brand which has been operating more than 20 years.

RIMI AND MANAV THAPAR of LoveRaw, a healthy vegan snack bar company. Rimi turned down a deal on Dragon’s Den (UK equivalent to Shark Tank) to wait for a more suitable investor

JOE HILL of One Planet Pizza, a fast-growing frozen vegan pizza brand and the first of its kind in the UK.

LAURA WAY, founder of vegan watch company Votch, which creates unisex styles popular with both men and women.

SUE HARRISON of Mahi Naturals, which provides skincare, haircare and organic beauty products sourced from around the world.

VegFestUK is the largest provider of vegan events in the UK. Visit the VegFestUK website for details of upcoming events.

RESOURCES:

My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight

My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business

Services: Work with me

Follow Vegan Business Media on:

Facebook  

Twitter 

Instagram 

Connect with me personally at:

Facebook 

Twitter 

LinkedIn