As over 90,000 food industry professionals packed the halls of the Anaheim Convention Center last week looking for the next big thing in CPG, three leaders from General Mills, Applegate and Kuli Kuli came together on stage to discuss one of the biggest emerging themes shaping the future of our food: biodiversity.

Promoting biodiversity — defined as the variety and variability of plants, animals, and micro-organisms in a system — is a key priority for each of these companies, and it’s a key element within the broader regenerative agriculture movement.

In the panel, moderated by Danielle Gould, founder of Food+Tech Connect, and hosted by General Mills, Food+Tech Connect and The Future Market, the group dove deeper into what it means to support biodiversity, the benefits it has to people and planet, and the opportunities to help consumers recognize and support the value of a more biodiverse, regenerative agricultural system.

The Panelists (l to r): Danielle Gould, Food+Tech Connect; Gina Asoudegan, Applegate; Shauna Sadowski, General Mills; Lisa Curtis, Kuli Kuli.

Why Biodiversity Matters 

“Every meal we sit down and eat, we are making choices,” proclaimed Shauna Sadowski, Head of Sustainability for the General Mills Natural & Organic Operating Unit. ”So when you put your meal down in front of you, how diverse is your plate?”

Eating a more diverse diet can certainly make meals more interesting and nutritionally complete, but it can also send a message to food producers that there’s demand for more than just the 12 plants and 5 animal species that make up 75 percent of our world’s food. Our heavily consolidated food supply not only concentrates food security risk, but it also ignores a wealth of interesting and nourishing foods that can benefit eaters everywhere.

For Kuli Kuli, introducing Americans to the wonders of Moringa is one way to help diversify our food system. Moringa, a nutrient dense food grown in the tropics, grows readily in tough environmental conditions and is a crop that improves nutrition and livelihoods worldwide. The company’s Moringa-based products, which range from smoothie mixes to energy shots, make it easy for eaters to enjoy this green superfood, but it also brings a lot of value to the ecosystem and communities where it comes from.

“Most of the farmers we work with have never exported anything before,” said Lisa Curtis, Founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli. “We help them figure out the technical aspects in order to get [Moringa] up to American processing standards.”

Kuli Kuli sources its Moringa — which grows with minimal water and in hot, sandy soils — from places like Ghana, Uganda, and Haiti to name a few, and it has worked hard to make sure those who grow this food have sustainable economic growth and nutritional security. Creating demand for previously lesser known products like Moringa builds diversity in our diets while acting as a boon to developing communities where it has become a more dependable source of income.

For General Mills, biodiversity is both about ensuring healthy ecosystems and a healthy business and food supply. “Beyond mitigating economic risk associated with threats like crop disease, pests, and climate shocks, biodiversity benefits effective ecosystem functioning, and in turn, ensures sustained yields over time,” wrote Sadowski.

“As a food company, we rely on the stable availability of agricultural ingredients,” Sadowski continued. “Our efforts to foster biodiversity balance the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit.”

That triple bottom line benefit is the core of why increasing biodiversity is so valuable to the food system. In fact, General Mills is leaning in heavily to the idea, as it recently announced that it will be applying regenerative agriculture practices to 1 million acres of farmland by the year 2030.

Building a Farmer-Led Movement

Regenerative agriculture and biodiverse systems bring the farmer back into the forefront, especially in CPG where the brand has historically been the center of attention. Curtis emphasized that food biodiversity is not just about introducing a new ingredient to our palates, but about empowering communities around the world to actively participate in the global food system, thereby bringing them into the spotlight and diversifying the kinds of people who grow our food.

Gina Asoudegan, Vice President of Mission & Innovation at Applegate, added: “regenerative, biodiverse agriculture, to me, does not just mean the soil and the microbiology that’s there, but also the farm and the farming community.”

Supporting biodiversity and regenerative agriculture means giving a much louder voice to the farmers, who have a far more intimate relationship with the soil and environment in which our food is grown and can use that knowledge to guide product innovation.

Typically, manufacturers set the agenda on what is grown and how, with farmers having to follow their customer’s lead. This mentality is shifting at companies like General Mills, Applegate, and Kuli Kuli, and there’s been a stronger effort to elevate and tell the stories of farmers as the true innovators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers. In a sense, CPG is taking a page from the “farm to table” playbook that restaurants have been doing for decades, treating farmers more like partners versus mere suppliers.

“[Farmers should] tell us what’s good for the farmland and then we will take those foods and create products around them,” said Asoudegan, with a round of applause from the audience that followed.

This approach is evident in Applegate’s newly launched the New Food Collective, “a community of farmers, butchers, and eaters who champion real and delicious food.” The first product from that initiative is a line of sausages made from regenerative, pasture raised pigs. Letting those pigs roam and graze the woods and fields builds healthy soil, improves water retention, and builds biodiversity on the land, but also creates incredibly flavorful meat. So much so that the product line won a Nexty Award for Best New Mission-Based Product at this year’s Expo West show.

A key part of the General Mills approach to biodiversity and regenerative agriculture is forging closer ties with its farmers. “We want people to know that regenerative agriculture is a farmer led movement and we need to use our scale to amplify that message to consumers,” noted Sadowski.

The company has been hosting an ongoing series of farmer roundtables as one of the ways to listen more closely to its farmers. One outcome from this collaboration is a Regenerative Agriculture scorecard, which acts as a framework for how to reach key outcomes such as soil health, above ground biodiversity, and economic resilience in farming communities. General Mills designed the scorecard alongside farmers, scientists, and other experts and actively solicits feedback to iterate and ensure user-friendliness and value to farmers.

But while the farmer-manufacturer collaborations have largely been fruitful so far, there are still more opportunities at this stage to expand these types of relationships and make the transition to regenerative practices easier for farmers everywhere.

During audience Q&A, a farmer solemnly raised his hand to critique the move toward more regenerative, biodiverse practices spurred on by manufacturers. He mentioned that while he already knows how to grow food in a regenerative way, he isn’t always compensated for that additional effort and as a result, can’t farm that way right now.

While he didn’t state any official connection to any of the manufacturers on the panel, it was clear that there was still more work to further incentivize farmers like him to shift toward a more regenerative model.

The panel was quick to respond emphatically to the farmer with heartfelt reassurances that they are very focused on the needs of the farmer and building sufficient market demand so they can be appropriately compensated for cultivating a better product. There was a palpable sense of empathy for farmers and all that they go through to make our food.

“People are part of this system, so how do we change the economic models to make this way of farming viable for them?” said Asoudegan. “I am your people!”

75% of our food comes from just 12 plants and 5 animal species: Mike Lee of The Future Market introduces the panel.

Making the Case to Eaters

Listening closely to farmers and being attune to the needs of the land are only half the battle for food manufacturers. They still need to translate the value of biodiversity and regenerative agriculture to everyday consumers, which are critical to creating the financial incentives necessary to shift supply chains. These agricultural values are not yet recognized and valued by mainstream consumers on a large scale, so the industry has a lot more to learn and do to raise awareness.

“When we first started talking about crop rotations, integrated livestock management, and perennial systems…how many of our consumers understood what that meant?” said Sadowski. She also alluded to the fact that the way Annie’s communicated the regenerative benefits of some of its product lines has evolved, and will continue to evolve, as they find out what messages work and don’t work with consumers.

“We are still learning about how to talk about this,” said Sadowski. “We’re looking at the ways we are bringing the topic to people without overly beating them on the head with it. The package is one place where we can communicate, but we also have a lot of other areas.”

Similarly, Curtis recalled times when the environmental benefits of her main ingredient didn’t immediately translate into incremental sales for Kuli Kuli.

“We did consumer tests at farmers market around Moringa trees and how they’re great for soil and for the planet, but found that people would come talk to us for 30 minutes and then walk away without buying anything,” she said. “We found that we were putting people in this non-profit state of mind where they were interested at a high level but did not make the connection of ‘oh, I can make this impact if I buy this product.’”

And therein lies the crucial challenge and opportunity for the movement: how do manufacturers convince consumers at scale that biodiverse, regeneratively grown food is something they should prefer and likely pay a premium for?

It was evident that each company had a strong blueprint and much progress to show for how to create a biodiverse, regenerative production system. But as a still growing movement, there’s a significant challenge ahead to bring the ideas espoused by the panelists to the everyday eater who may not immediately understand how these agricultural methods translate into a differentiated food product.

Just down the hall from the ballroom we were sitting in, some of the more than 3,000 food brands at Expo West were evangelizing a litany of “on-trend” features of the moment: keto, CBD, probiotics, and more. Naturally, these products appeal first and foremost to tried and true needs of the individual: lose weight, ease pain, stay healthy, and so on. Whether those products can fulfil the promises they make is a whole other topic in and of itself, but regardless, it’s hard to ignore the fact that these selfish pursuits have created an enormous financial opportunity for food brands of all sizes.

Juxtaposed against this sea of products vying to meet the most visceral, highly personal needs, the challenge in the coming years for the regenerative agriculture movement is to build the case for the question that every consumer implicitly asks of their food: what’s in it for me?

The case is compelling for how biodiversity and regenerative agriculture can benefit the planet and the people who grow our food. But can the industry make a stronger connection between these methods and how they directly make more delicious, more nutritious food? Can they tell a story of how food grown this way can deliver on the trifecta of being better for people, planet, and palate? Or are the altruistic benefits enough, and the increasingly progressive food consumer will support the regenerative movement solely for the sake of the planet and farmers, with less regard for their own personal benefit?

These are significant questions, and how the industry answers them will set the pace of scale for biodiversity and regenerative agriculture in the coming years. But hearing from the pragmatically ambitious and accomplished panelists and the companies they represent, one is left with the confidence and optimism that the future of our food system is in good hands.

To learn more about the current and future state of biodiversity and what the industry is doing, read our ongoing editorial series and check out more info on the future of biodiversity at The Future Market.

The post Food Biodiversity at Expo West 2019 appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

From January 7-31, Food+Tech Connect and The Future Market are hosting Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste & Sustainability, an editorial series featuring interviews with over 45 leading food industry CEOs, executives, farmers, investors and researchers on the role of biodiversity in the food industry. See the full list of participants and read about why biodiversity in food is important here.

We are also producing a biodiversity exhibit at The Winter Fancy Food Show, so please stop by to say hello.

Below, I speak with REBBL CEO Sheryl O’Loughlin about how the functional beverage brand promotes biodiversity by incentivizing its suppliers to adopt regenerative agriculture practices, using ethically sourced ingredients in its products and through consumer education.

O’l0ughlin shares insight into how and why regenerative agriculture and biodiversity are core to REBBL’s business. She talks about the company’s complex supply chain, and how its ingredients help protect and support indigenous lands and communities. She also emphasizes the importance of consumer education to help people understand the true cost of food, including its impact on the planet and communities. She explains that as eaters expect more from brands, social media has been a great platform for the brand to connect with millennials about the brands social and environmental commitments.

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Danielle Gould: How and why is biodiversity a priority for REBBL?

Sheryl O’Loughlin: REBBL super herb beverages was co-founded by the nonprofit Not For Sale, whose mission of co-creating a world without human trafficking is inextricably linked to climate change and its effects on economic stability. The world’s poor, who are often farmers, are hit the hardest by drought, erratic rainfall and natural disasters, which often leave them without a source of income, making them vulnerable to exploitation. This is why biodiversity protection and regeneration are core to REBBL’s mission and corporate direction. Our business, the people in our supply chain, our products — the Roots, Extracts, Berries, Bark and Leaves that form our very name — all depend on the health of the plant queendom.

With Not For Sale, we continually evolve our business model to promote regenerative agriculture, to prevent exploitation and support biodiversity in the growers’ communities from which we source the 70+ certified organic ingredients that go into our super-herb proteins and elixirs. REBBL has committed to addressing the needs of all stakeholders — including consumers, retailers, growers and the Earth.

DG: How does Rebbl define and think about biodiversity? What does an ideal biodiverse food system look like? How do you measure biodiversity, and when will we know when we’ve arrived at a “good” level of biodiversity?

SO: At REBBL, we embrace a living systems-based model, a paradigm of connection in which we are inseparable from everything around us. We are one with nature. Biodiversity is inherent in this model — my health is tied directly to your health and the health of every individual member of and broad system in the world, every cacao tree and the forest it grows in, every killer whale and the ocean she swims in.

Obviously, taking this view makes business a little more complicated, since we have to consider the long-range ripple effects of each of our actions before making a decision. And because it’s so complicated, it can be difficult to gauge whether or not our actions are having the desired effect of improving biodiversity. Out of all the indicators of success — rich soil, clean water, flourishing vegetation and wildlife — we anchor our measurement in the comprehensive health of our grower communities. Farmers and their families are the ones implementing regenerative agricultural practices, after all, and the strength of their crops, the health of their land and water and the sustainability of their livelihoods go to mark our progress toward a “good” level of biodiversity.

DG: What is REBBL doing or planning to do to promote biodiversity?

SO: We are excited about three ways we are addressing biodiversity in our business. The first is supplier engagement. Our Supplier Ethos incentivizes the use of regenerative agricultural practices and supports efforts to empower growers to have a living wage, access to education and healthcare, and protection of their rights.

The second is our products. REBBL uses ingredients that are organic and ethically sourced, and wild-harvested when possible. For example, the organic Brazil nuts in our Banana Nut Protein are ethically sourced and wild harvested from trees that require biodiversity to thrive, and so their health depends on the protection of indigenous land and supports the community in maintaining their indigenous agricultural practices. REBBL is a certified B Corporation, which means we have met high standards of compliance and promotion of environmental practices and biodiversity conservation. As an active member of nonprofit Climate Collaborative, a coalition of natural foods leaders dedicated to reversing climate change, we have made commitments, and we track and report on progress so that we are held accountable for following through.

And third is our consumer education and marketing campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity. Social media is a great way to connect, particularly with young people. Our Instagram engagement is through the roof because millennials are hungry to connect with purpose-driven brands. Some of our highest performing ads are those that talk about REBBL’s partnership with Not For Sale. We also go into grocery stores and attend consumer events to offer samples of our tasty and nourishing product directly to consumers. This face-to-face interaction makes for real connections, and gives consumers a chance to try REBBL and fall in love with it, and to engage in dialogue around our story and philosophy. We learn so much from them, too, as they share their stories and tell us why on the preservation of biodiversity is important to them.

DG: What is the business case for products that promote a more biodiverse food system?

SO: The days when business was all about the bottom line are long gone. Nowadays, consumers are much more informed about and expect more from companies and brands. They want to vote with their dollars. So, alongside offering a great product, a company must also work toward positive change in order to attract and retain consumers. More than that, however, is the fact that without a biodiverse food system, our business—not to mention humanity as a whole—will cease to exist. We need to heal the environment and improve biodiversity for not just growing the organic ingredients that make our beverages exceptional but for our very survival.

DG: What investments need to be made to create a more biodiverse food system?

SO: The greatest threat to biodiversity is also the greatest contributor to global warming: deforestation and loss of habitat. So the first thing we must do is halt the downward trend by making investments that address it. REBBL has taken a leadership role in supporting the founding and continued efforts of the Climate Collaborative. Our climate collaborative commitments, for example, call for investments in areas such as regenerative agriculture, reduction of food waste and protection of forests.

Next, we need to create urgent demand for protecting and restoring biodiversity through investments in consumer education. For example, most people don’t know that the food industry continues to use palm oil, the production of which decimates the most biodiverse rainforests on the planet! Investing in a campaign that outs those who exploit natural resources would go a long way toward getting consumers to spend their money elsewhere. People also need to understand the true cost of food — when it comes to quality of the products and the standard of living of those who create them, you get what you pay for.

Finally, we need to make investments in innovation, so that we can continually expand our understanding of the issues we face and come up with new, better solutions. Our society spends billions of dollars on research to find cures for diseases, yet a fraction of that goes to studying our natural systems. We just can’t rely on policy makers or government agencies to prioritize this issue, so it’s up to us to take it on. Last month, our Senior Vice President of Impact met with leaders in business, banking, and development at an event hosted by Conservation International, and there it became clear that financing ventures that protect biodiversity is working. At REBBL, we will create better products for all of our stakeholders by continually learning and through a spirit of inventiveness.

DG: What are the greatest challenges and opportunities your organization faces for creating a more biodiverse system, and what are you doing to overcome or capture them?

SO: Our greatest challenge is simply getting to know the unique ecosystems of our grower communities, located in 29 countries and counting. What works in the tropical rainforest probably won’t in the midwestern Corn Belt, and every supply chain has its own needs in terms of nutrient cycling, pollination, pest control, soil and water conservation, as well as post-harvest handling, processing and manufacturing, distribution and the management of food waste. Understanding these complex relationships and the social, ecological and economically appropriate practices that will best support them takes time and energy, an ongoing project that never ends. We will always be asking questions and collecting data, searching for the next best revision of our methods and ways to improve our impacts on the ground.

This challenge is also an incredible opportunity, one that is worth the effort. A deep understanding of the ecology of each supply chain allows us to make decisions that contribute to creating a more diverse and equitable world.

DG: Does your average consumer care about biodiversity today? Why should they care? How do you (or will you) get them to care?

SO: According to the 2015 Nielson Global and Corporate Sustainability Report, 73 percent of surveyed millennials are more likely to spend their money on a product from a socially responsible brand. We actually don’t really need to work very hard to get consumers on board; they already care. Rather, it’s about spreading the word so that people know about us and what we are doing. We are out there meeting consumers face-to-face through sampling in stores and at events, along with launching marketing campaigns and other forms of social engagement. Consumers can smell a fake from a mile away, so it always comes back to us walking the talk.

DG: What are some of the most important things food manufacturers can do to support biodiversity? Retailers? Other key parts of the food supply chain?

SO: First and foremost, we all have to take responsibility for our actions. There is no real separation between the Californian techie and the Peruvian farmer; we are all part of nature, so even if we happen to be living comfortable lives, we can’t ignore the realities of climate change. If we do, it will catch up with us sooner rather than later. In October of 2017, my family lost everything in the Sonoma county fires, only a few weeks after my parents had been forced to flee Naples, Florida, as a hurricane raged through their city. This was an up-close and personal experience of climate change, one that more and more people are having to go through as the number of natural and human-made disasters rises. We can no longer think of it as someone else’s problem — global warming is upon us. This means that biodiversity has to be a top priority for all of us, no matter our business or our role. It’s all of our problem, whether governments wants to face it or not.

Food manufacturers must take responsibility for the impact of their supply chains; manufactures for the environmental impact of their manufacturing practices. Retailers must take responsibility for what they bring in to their stores, and consumers need to know where their purchases are coming from, commit to spending money on ethical products, and hold those same retailers accountable for their choices. Reversing global warming, cleaning up our oceans, eradicating systemic poverty — these are obligations that belong to all of us.

DG: If we get to a perfectly biodiverse food system, how would that change the typical selection of products we see in a grocery store?

SO: Right now, over half of the world’s plant-based food comes from corn, rice and wheat, much of which is conventionally grown, and 95 percent of the world’s caloric intake comes from just thirty species total, according to The Lexicon of Sustainability, a US-based NGO that provides communications strategies on food and agriculture. Meanwhile, large retailers tend to segregate natural and organic products in ways that convey the message that these products are specialty or fringe. In a society that values and cultivates a biodiverse food system, we would see a robust selection of fresh seasonal produce and products ethically sourced from the local and regional foodshed, not tucked away in a designated aisle but located front and center, while processed food made from synthetically fertilized monocrops would be gone from the shelves entirely. Everything we eat would be clean and made of real ingredients.

DG: Are there certain products you would like to see more of in the food industry — either in foodservice or CPG — that would help promote a more biodiverse agricultural system?

SO: We would like see brands and products that are true to their word. Currently there are a ton of products that claim to be natural and organic, and though they might be certified, they are following the letter of the law but not its spirit. Not only are they often using problematic agricultural practices, they are weakening consumer trust in this sector of the industry. Along with products that are ethically sourced and brands that hold themselves accountable for impact claims, we’d like to see more diverse plant-based products and more companies devoted to regenerative agriculture and other social and environmental missions, just to start. Eventually we’d like to see an agricultural system designed and implemented to ensure that we all have healthy soil and biodiverse environments. This is about moving to an agricultural system that regenerates nature, using its natural systems, so we have a world in the future.

DG: What is your vision for what a more biodiverse food system looks like in 10-15 years?

SO: A biodiverse food system will look like robust regional foodsheds that prioritize local food security and decentralized management of agricultural biodiversity. A mission of social, ecological and economic sustainability will be at the core of every company. And that, as people, we recognize the vital role we serve in adding value to the ecosystem that we are so intimately a part of. Our job is not just to stop damage or even just to “do good” but to truly enliven the natural system.

DG: Anything else you want to share?

SO: For people who feel daunted by the problems we face, I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that you have to start somewhere, and small steps taken by all of add up quick to big positive change. At REBBL, we do it by focusing on our corporate direction: In partnership with Not for Sale, through invention, we nourish at the nexus of humanity, the earth, and the economy, and thrive when they are in harmony. This guides and inspires our work. Most of all, we are rooted in love. When your approach to business is truly grounded in love, you will enliven whatever you touch—your product and all of your stakeholders, including partners, retailers, consumers, and nature and all of her beings.

Read all of the interviews here and learn more about Biodiversity at The Future Market.

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Sheryl O’Loughlin, CEO of REBBL

In 2017, Sheryl O’Loughlin introduced her first book, Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart. The book has garnered attention from many media outlets, including Fortune, Conscious Company, Inc., Forbes, and the Huffington Post.

Sheryl is the CEO of REBBL, the first plant-based, super herb adaptogen beverage company. In partnership with Not for Sale, a non-profit dedicated to co-creating a world without human trafficking, REBBL works to create regenerative and just supply chains. At REBBL, Sheryl leads the development of a new beverage that uses ancient wisdom confirmed by science to help modern-day, busy people adapt to stress.

Earlier in her career, Sheryl served as the CEO of Clif Bar and Company. There she led the concept development and introduction of Luna, the first Whole Nutrition Bar for Women, which became a $70M business in three years and continues to be a core brand in the Clif Bar and Company portfolio. She then went on to co-found and serve as CEO for Plum, Inc., a healthy, organic food company that aims to nourish kids “from the high chair to the lunch box.” In 2013, Plum was successfully sold to Campbell Soup Company.

Following her time at Plum, Sheryl was the Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and she held a faculty position at Sonoma State University, where she taught hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and other professionals.

Sheryl currently serves on the board of directors for Once Upon a Farm, an organic family food company. She is an advisory board member of The Harvest Summit, an annual gathering of innovators working to solve the biggest world challenges, and an advisor to Conscious Capitalism-The Global Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. She is a member of the Forbes San Francisco Business Council and One Step Closer to a Sustainable Community (OSC2), whose mission is to address the toughest sustainability problems by building new regenerative businesses. In OSC2 she co-leads a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. Previous boards include Zuke’s, thinkThin, Sugar Bowl Bakery and Gardein.

Sheryl earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and her Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She lives in Santa Rosa with her husband, Patrick, and their two sons.

The post Why Biodiversity is Core to REBBL’s Business appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Food+Tech Connect and The Future Market are hosting Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste & Sustainability, an editorial series featuring interviews with over 45 leading food industry CEOs, executives, farmers, investors and researchers on the role of biodiversity in the food industry. See the full list of participants and read about why biodiversity in food is important here. We are also producing a biodiversity exhibit at The Winter Fancy Food Show, so please stop by to say hello.

Kuli Kuli, the moringa brand that introduced the green superfood to the US market, is a great example of a CPG company putting biodiversity into practice. It has created an international market for an underutilized superfood, while also supporting sustainable livelihoods for its farmers.

Listed as one of the Rediscovered Food Initiatives’ 25 forgotten supercrops, moringa is a naturally regenerative, nutritional powerhouse. Kuli Kuli sources its moringa directly from women’s cooperatives and small family farmers around the world. It has partnered with over 1,300 farmers, and has provided $2 million in income to women-led farming cooperatives, nonprofits and family farms.

The conversation around biodiversity in food typically centers around crop, species and ecosystem diversity. For Kuli Kuli, it’s equally important to diversify the people responsible for producing our food. Below, we speak with founder and CEO Lisa Curtis about improving Kuli Kuli’s diversity by actively recruiting more people of color and people from lower-income backgrounds.

Come taste Kuli Kuli in The Future Market’s Biodiversity Exhibit at The Fancy Food Show, located in the What’s Next in Food room,  January 12-15, 2019.

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Danielle Gould: Is biodiversity a priority for Kuli Kuli? If so, how and why?

Lisa Curtis: Kuli Kuli firmly believes that variety is the spice of life. It is in the richness of diversity that magic happens. We are working diligently towards increasing the biodiversity of our team, our customers, our products and our planet. Quite frankly, we’re terrified by recent statistics showing that half of all plants and animals on land could be extinct by 2050. We’re equally frightened by the geopolitical trends towards isolation and power consolidation that further marginalize historically oppressed groups.

DG: How does Kuli Kuli define and think about biodiversity?

LC: Biodiversity is about the strength and variety of an ecosystem. It’s hard to measure but easy to feel. It’s the positive feeling you get when you walk into a moringa field intercropped with beans and carrots or enter into an office with a biodiverse group of people and opinions.

DG: What is Kuli Kuli doing or planning to do to promote biodiversity?

LC: Kuli Kuli is actively seeking to recruit more people of color and folks from lower-income backgrounds into our company. We find it frustrating that the food industry is so homogenous. We’re also working closely with our suppliers to help them increase their biodiversity. Moringa is a naturally regenerative tree, with leaves that can be harvested four times a year, but we believe that we could do a lot more to promote the intercropping of other plants alongside moringa across our supply chain.

DG: What is the business case for products that promote a more biodiverse food system?

LC: Monocultures of people and plants are vulnerable to disease, literally and figuratively. In the case of people, it is altogether too easy for creativity to be stifled when everyone comes from similar backgrounds.

DG: What investments need to be made to create a more biodiverse food system?

LC: I’m very excited about what the OSC2 diversity, equity and inclusion group is doing to promote a more biodiverse food system — starting with training the CEOs. I hope to see other groups join and/or create their own similar initiatives.

DG: What are the greatest challenges and opportunities your organization faces for creating a more biodiverse system? What are you doing to overcome or capture them?

LC: Our greatest challenge is that we very rarely receive applications from people of color, though we get multiple applications per week of people who want to work at Kuli Kuli. I think a great opportunity is to help build the pipeline. We made a conscious effort to hire interns of color last summer and it was undoubtedly the most productive and inspiring class of interns we’ve ever had. I certainly think internship programs are a low-hanging fruit and we intend to do even more in the coming months.

DG: Does your average consumer care about biodiversity today? Why should they care? How do you (or will you) get them to care?

LC: I think most consumers care first and foremost about what the product does for them, their health and their taste buds. I think the biodiversity of the product and company that created it are secondary concerns. I don’t think we need consumers to care. I think that we need to do it because it makes our businesses stronger. There are real economic reasons to increase biodiversity even if the marketing ones might be harder to find.

DG: What are some of the most important things retailers, food manufacturers and other key parts of the food supply chain can do to support biodiversity?

LC: I think it’s very important for everyone to spend time studying two things: subconscious bias and agroforestry. Knowledge is power and I think there are so many people who would quickly act on that knowledge if only they were aware of those topics.

DG: If we get to a perfectly biodiverse food system, how would that change the typical selection of products we see in a grocery store?

LC: Consider for a moment that of the estimated 200,000 plant species that exist, 75 percent of food worldwide is generated from only 12 different plants, according to the FAO. This over-dependence on a relatively small number of crops is increasing dangerous as our climate changes. At Kuli Kuli, we’re very interested in what we think of us as “crops of the future,” plants that grow well with little water or other inputs and are packed with nutrients. We are of course, obsessed with the potential of moringa, but are also very interested in other climate-smart crops and how we can eventually help introduce those to the US market.

DG: Are there certain products you would like to see more of in the food industry — either in foodservice or CPG — that would help promote a more biodiverse agricultural system?

LC: I would love to see more tree crops. Trees are key to the ecosystem integrity and are often very easy to cultivate.

DG: What is your vision for what a more biodiverse food system looks like in 10-15 years?

LC: It’s amazing to watch how fast the food system has changed in the last decade. In the coming decade, I hope we can structure a food system that has biodiversity, sustainability and equity at its core, and in doing so create a world where malnutrition is something we read about in history books.

Read all of the interviews here and learn more about Biodiversity at The Future Market.

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Lisa Curtis, Founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli

Lisa Curtis is the Founder & CEO of Kuli Kuli, the first brand to introduce the green superfood moringa to the US market. Lisa founded Kuli Kuli after working with moringa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Lisa has grown Kuli Kuli from a Peace Corps dream into a multi-million dollar social enterprise that sells delicious moringa products in over 6,000 stores. Lisa and Kuli Kuli have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and hundreds of other publications. Prior to Kuli Kuli, Lisa served as the Communications Director at Mosaic where she managed a team of six to grow the company from zero to over $5M invested in solar through Mosaic’s online marketplace. Previously, Lisa wrote political briefings for President Obama in the White House, served as a United Nations Environment Programme Youth Advisor and worked at an impact investment firm in India. She writes for a variety of outlets including Forbes and The Huffington Post. Lisa has been recognized as a StartingBloc Fellow, a Wild Gift Better World Entrepreneur, an Ashoka Emerging Innovator and a Udall Scholar. She was honored as a 30 Under 30 Leader by Forbes, GreenBiz and the University of California. She was also named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 “Top of the Class” for Social Entrepreneurship.

The post Kuli Kuli on Diversifying Monocultures of People and Plants appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

As you may have noticed, it’s biodiversity month here at Food+Tech Connect. To raise awareness and spark a conversation, we’ve teamed up with The Future Market and invited over 45 industry leaders to help us explore the role of biodiversity in the food industry.

The Future Market is also launching Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste and Sustainability, a digital and physical biodiversity exhibit debuting at The Winter Fancy Food Show in the What’s Next in Food room January 13-15, 2019. The exhibit will feature:

• The Biodiverse Shelf: Explore what a more biodiverse grocery aisle might look like, including 9 new biodiverse concept products.

• Rediscovered Foods: Discover a selection of unique foods that promote biodiversity.

• Action Items: Gain practical solutions for how you can help improve biodiversity.

• Crop Stories: Learn about two major crops that are at risk due to shrinking biodiversity.

• Digital Experience + Concept Products: Explore the Future Market’s digital shopping experience and full catalog of concept products of the future.

• Featured Biodiverse Brands: Taste samples from five biodiverse food brands, including Believe in Bambara, The Jackfruit Company, KAIBAE, Kuli Kuli and Yolélé Foods.

What’s Next in Food, produced by the Specialty Food Association, in partnership with The Future Market and Seeds&Chips, presents a diverse ecosystem of innovators and entrepreneurs building a food system that’s better for people, the planet and profit. We hope you will come visit us!

SNEAK PEAK: NEW CONCEPT PRODUCTS

Here’s a sneak peak at three of the nine concept products The Future Market is launching at the show. The products are meant to demonstrate what a more biodiverse grocery aisle might look like. You can check out all of the concept products here.

Fonitos

Fonitos are the crunchy puffs made from Ancient Grains that are fun for all and great for the planet! Fonio is one of the oldest and most important foods grown in Africa and has been sustainably feeding people for centuries. Now, all the magic of 100% West African White Fonio can be had as a cravable, nutritious, and convenient snack puff.

Fonio is a cereal that’s highly nutritious, with great amounts of amino acids like methionine and cysteine. It’s also low in calories, fat and sodium.Not only that, but it’s one of the fastest growing crops on the planet, maturing in as little as 8 weeks, and well-suited to thrive in challenging conditions with poor soil and water.

Fonitos is a product entirely grown and processed in Africa, with independent, small hold farmers growing all of the crop used in this snack. So the more you snack, the more you’re helping the communities that produce Fonio build a market for this deliciously nutritious food. READ MORE

Banana B-Sides

Did you know there are more than 1,000 types of bananas in the world? We all know and love the mighty Cavendish banana, which has been the standard banana we see in our grocery stores and is current under attack by a fungal disease called Panama Disease. But there’s also ultra-sweet bananas like the Lady Finger or the Senorita, the tart tasting Silk banana, or the giant Rhino Horn banana which can grow up to two feet long.

Banana B-Sides includes all of these bananas and more in our signature blended and frozen recipe that’s not only deliciously indulgent, but also supports the biodiversity of bananas and the communities that grow them.

Banana B-Sides is a product built on lessons learned from the dangers of putting all your bananas in one basket. Instead of supporting Cavendish banana monocultures, we source 31 different banana cultivars from around the world. Each has its own unique taste and shape, but more importantly, we are supporting their existence which makes the entire banana species more diverse and resilient to a single threat like Panama Disease. LEARN MORE

Discovery Box

Across the globe, there are scores of foods that lie outside of the mainstream, especially in Western culture. These foods not only represent new opportunities for flavor discovery, but immense value to the local communities and natural ecosystems where they originate.

Discovery Box is a monthly subscription box filled with foods from the Rediscovered Initiative’s 25 crops list and more. With your subscription, you’ll receive an assortment of both fresh and processed ingredients each month. We’ve scoured the planet for these foods so you don’t have to. After sampling foods from Discovery Box, you’ll also be able to reorder your favorite items and future support those crops and your enjoyment.

The Lexicon of Sustainability created the Rediscovered initiative as a way to increase awareness and consumption of some of these underutilized crops. The organization published a map of over 25 key crops that have the power to combat hunger, respond to climate change, promote biodiversity, and support healthier and more secure food systems. LEARN MORE

MEET THE BIODIVERSE STARTUPS SAMPLING

Believe in Bambara (BiB) is a supplier dedicated to introducing the bambara bean to the plant-based protein market. With a warming climate and a growing population, we need to continue to diversify our food sources if we hope to meet the demand of a global population that is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050. Bambara beans are an effortlessly sustainable plant-based protein as they are climate-smart, drought-tolerant, and versatile. Believe in Bambara aims to promote the widespread adoption of the bambara bean to alleviate and reverse agriculture’s strain on our finite resources.

The Jackfruit Company’s mission is to make a positive impact on farmers’ livelihoods, humanity’s eco-footprint, health and wellbeing by mainstreaming the planet’s meatiest plant – jackfruit. The company was founded by social entrepreneur, Annie Ryu, and today works with more than 1,000 farming families in southern India to source organically-grown jackfruit to bring delicious meal starters, frozen entrees, and shelf-stable meals to the US market.

The Jackfruit Company products are available nationwide at more than 9,000 retailers including Albertsons-Safeway, Fred Meyer, HEB, King Soopers, Meijer, Publix, QFC, Raley’s, Ralph’s, Roundy’s, Shop Rite, Smith’s, Sprouts, Target, Von’s, Walmart, Wegman’s, Whole Foods and independent natural food stores.

Kaibae: Founded by Dr. Luc Maes, N.D., and African Agricultural Development Specialist Thomas Cole, KAIBAE works directly with indigenous communities to bring value to plants such as Baobab, Cacay, and Seaweed. These Lost Crops are untapped natural resources that grow freely and abundantly in the wild. Once lost to the world, they have been found and harvested by KAIBAE for their powerful benefits to wellness and skin health. Our work brings value to these underutilized plants, improves livelihoods of the local communities, protects the biodiversity of the environment, and delivers healthy, effective ingredients to market. Along with our retail line, KAIBAE baobab powder, baobab tea, baobab oil and cacay nut protein powder can be purchased wholesale from gokaibae.com.

Kuli Kuli is the world’s leading moringa brand with the highest quality moringa on the market. Moringa is a leafy green more nutritious than kale that provides powerful anti-inflammatory benefits rivaling those of turmeric. Our Moringa Superfood Bars, Pure Organic Moringa Powder, Moringa Green Energy Shots, and Organic Moringa Green Smoothie Mixes are made in the US with moringa sourced directly from women’s cooperatives and small family farmers around the world. By importing a portion of the moringa to the US for our products, we’ve created an international market for moringa and a sustainable livelihood for our farmers. Over 60% of Americans say incorporating more vegetables into their diet is their #1 priority but only 4% of Americans are getting our recommended serving of veggies per day. Kuli Kuli’s delicious moringa products make it easy for Americans to get their greens on the go. To date, Kuli Kuli has planted over 2.5 million moringa trees, partnered with over 1,300 farmers, and has provided $2M in income to women-led farming cooperatives, nonprofits, and family farms. You can find our products in over 7,000 stores across the US, including Whole Foods, Sprouts and Safeway.

Yolélé is a revolutionary African food company, focused on traditional crops. Yolélé’s mission is to improve the economy and strengthen communities in West Africa by celebrating and introducing its ingredients to the world. Our first ingredient– fonio– is a tiny, nutritious, quick-cooking ancient grain that has been cultivated and celebrated for thousands of years. Fonio is grown exclusively by smallholder farmers and its cultivation helps to combat the effects of climate change. To the Dogon people of Mali, fonio is known as “”the seed of the universe”… the grain at the root of all existence.

The post Introducing The Future Market’s New Concept Products & Biodiversity Exhibit appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

The conversation about the future of food has exploded over the past half decade. Much ink has been spilled examining virtually every new food innovation from lab grown meat, to soil-free indoor farms, to new forms of genetically modified foods.

One of the forces behind this food tech movement are a legion of starry-eyed entrepreneurs fueled by millions in venture and corporate funding, looking to transform this $5 trillion industry into one that’s more efficient, sustainable, delicious, and healthy.

But just as many of these new, high-tech ideas will have a big impact on the future of food, so will many older, lower-tech ideas that have resurfaced into the zeitgeist. One quick walk down the supermarket aisles is a reminder of how the food industry aspires to produce simpler, more wholesome food that evokes attributes of the past, before food became an industry.

Organic. Free Range. Grass-Fed. The premium buzzwords of today simply describe how all food, by default, was made yesterday. What’s old has become new, but as we continue this conversation about the ideas that will carry us into the future, one very old concept is surging back into the food dialogue: food biodiversity.

The Intersection of Taste and Sustainability

Food Biodiversity, or more specifically, agrobiodiversity, is defined as the variety and variability of the plants, animals, micro-organisms, and biocultural systems linked to food. That’s the technical definition.

This variety and variability brings strength and resilience to food ecosystems, as it’s much harder to bring down a system where a diverse constituency of organisms both support and compete against one another to advance the health of the ecosystem.

The Irish Potato Famine is a stark reminder of what can happen when a critical food source lacks biodiversity, as a single disease was able to wipe out enough of the monocultured potato supply that 1 million people died of starvation and sickness.

Biodiversity is crucial to the health and safety of our food supply. But to us, biodiversity in food means something even more. Biodiversity sits at the intersection of taste and sustainability, where we can simultaneously satiate an eater’s desire for new, interesting foods, while supporting a more diverse cornucopia of foods being cultivated in the world.

Globally, 75% of our food comes from just 12 plants and 5 animal species. This enormous level of consolidation around just a handful of food sources not only magnifies the impact of any attack on the food supply — like the Irish Potato Famine — but it also consolidates our taste buds around just a few flavor experiences.

Of course, these few ingredients are remixed within the industrial food complex as a diverse ecosystem of brands, which gives the illusion that we’re eating from variety, but there is so much more to taste and experience in the world.

Eating from a more diverse selection of foods can reduce our reliance on the small handful of industrialized crops for our sustenance. For example, creating more demand for foods like Moringa, a nutrient-dense superfood from Southeast Asia, Fonio, a drought-resistant ancient grain from West Africa, or Kernza, a deliciously sustainable grain from the United States, provides a chance to simultaneously enrich our bodies, our planet, and the communities that cultivate these foods.

These foods are all great places to start, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg, as we humans in aggregate only eat 150 out of 30,000 edible plant species which leaves an entire world of flavor to explore.

Sustainable, Biodiverse, and Selfish

Forging a closer union between food that sustainably bolsters biodiversity and food that’s selfishly delicious, is a formula that will enable the sustainable food movement to truly attain scale and longevity. You can get a lot of people on board for a cause rooted solely in altruism, but you can get even more if you can also tie that cause to a selfish benefit.

These two causes — one altruistic, one selfish — need not be mutually exclusive. For example, Patagonia Provisions’ Long Root Ale, the first beer to be made from the environmentally enriching grain, Kernza, is a great example of how we can do right by our taste buds and the planet. A more biodiverse food system simply grows our opportunities for more products like Long Root Ale.

This approach of making more irresistibly delicious foods, that enrich the individual, from more sustainable or regenerative ingredients, that enrich the planet, is necessary to further mainstream the idea of food that’s great for people and planet.

In food, great taste gives you the license to promote other virtuous causes, and flavor is the vehicle that will bring us to a more biodiverse and sustainable food system.

To Learn More About Food Biodiversity:

• Biodiversity, an online exhibit at The Future Market
• Join the conversation at #biodiversefood

The post The Future of Food is Biodiverse appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Food+Tech Connect and The Future Market are hosting Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste & Sustainability, an editorial series featuring interviews with over 45 leading food industry CEOs, executives, farmers, investors and researchers on the role of biodiversity in the food industry. Read all of the interviews here. 

Below, we speak with Rebecca Gildiner, Impact Strategy Manager at Sir Kensington’s, about how taste and cultural preservation drive Sir Kensington’s growing commitment to biodiversity. She talks about creating markets for diverse crops and building supply chains for unique ingredients that directly support smallholder farmers. She also talks about examining Sir Kensington’s existing supply chain to better understand it’s impacts and identify opportunities for improvement.

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Danielle Gould: Is biodiversity a priority for Sir Kensington’s? If so, how and why?

Rebecca Gildiner: Biodiversity is important to Sir Kensington’s because taste is paramount to Sir Kensington’s. We believe the two are inherently linked, that is that biodiversity in the food system results in a myriad of flavors and culinary experiences. Is our mission specifically to create a product that enhances biodiversity in the food system? Not exactly, but a mission to bring integrity and charm to ordinary and overlooked foods through an innovation process led by taste means that we lean on a biodiverse food system to deliver on our promise. Sir Kensington’s also believes that the environment is a shared resource, and so protecting biodiversity is our responsibility as it is any other business who reaps the benefits of nature. Our combined values of environmental stewardship and exceptional taste mean that biodiversity is of the utmost importance to us.

At these early stages in our business, we’ve prioritized biodiversity with a baseline promise of being 100% Non-GMO Project Verified, and we were the first condiment brand to do so. While we realize the research is uncertain on the impacts of GMOs on biodiversity, we abide by a more precautionary principle that introducing foreign, genetically engineered plants into the natural environment could have detrimental impacts on ecosystems and wild plant genetics. We also believe that preserving traditional seed systems is vital to biodiversity, and these systems are currently at risk due to the increasing trend of seed patenting and genetic engineering controlled by large corporations rather than farmers. We also are concerned about the increased chemical use that these genetically engineered crops often encourage, which can harm species such as pollinators.

DG: How does Sir Kensington’s define and think about biodiversity? What does an ideal biodiverse food system look like?

RG: At Sir Kensington’s, we define biodiversity as the rich array of animals, plants, and insects that exist in complex webs of interaction within and across ecosystems. The food system is deeply reliant on biodiversity, where the strongest food production systems are biodiverse themselves and where all rely on adjacent biodiversity such as pollinators and decomposers. As a food company, we’re particularly interested in crop diversity. We believe the food system should encourage production of a wide variety of edible crops that provide diverse diets, comprised of diverse nutrients and tastes, and keep our food supply resilient. But we also consider the impacts of man-made food systems on biodiversity beyond the confines of the farm, such as the harm that deforestation and chemical application can cause to wild populations and waterways.

An ideal food system would look like many small polycultures rich in a diversity of life and plants. But this is likely too ideal, and our production system is under too intense of pressures to produce highs volume to see that mode of production scale. So today, we should at least strive for a system that values and produces a diversity of crops and limits harmful production practices in order to protect greater biodiversity and ecosystems.

DG: What is Sir Kensington’s doing or planning to do to promote biodiversity?

RG: Beyond our Non-GMO promise, we are gradually finding opportunities to create markets for diverse crops. Historically, Sir Kensington’s has succeeded in building out more sustainable supply chains such as Certified Humane Free Range eggs for our mayonnaise and aquafaba for our vegan mayo, a liquid by-product of cooking chickpeas that was once being thrown out and is now the star of our Fabanaise. Now going forward, we are thinking more about how to build out supply chains for unique ingredients that will support our upcoming innovations in global flavors and create demand for diverse food production.

We in part value biodiversity because we believe it preserves culture. That is, preserving agrobiodiversity means enabling the preservation of cultural traditions and flavors. Next year, as we focus our 2019 innovations showcasing global flavors, we hope to find ways to support production of diverse ingredients, especially through spices. We’ve already begun to do this through our Spice Kits. Through our kits, we are working in shorter supply chains that are directly supporting smallholder farmers, rather than less eco-friendly, large scale commercial farms. This is meant as a launching pad for our own supply chain, as we explore opportunities for new, shorter supply chains for underutilized spices or those grown with more agroecological practices. As a food company, we can help increase biodiversity by creating demand for a variety of crops from more responsible producers within our products and among our customers.

It’s also not just about a biodiverse food system, but also being cognizant of the impacts the food system has on biodiversity. For instance, deforestation is a significant problem in the food industry, most notoriously for soy and palm oil, that the food industry has a responsibility to stop. Sir Kensington’s is putting our own supply chain under a microscope to better understand our own impacts. When we discovered the challenges around avocados in Mexico and the industry’s connection with deforestation, among other social impacts, it became one of our supply chain team’s and my own top priority to find a more traceable, sustainable avocado oil supply chain. We continue to work hard on finding a solution, within a limited market and an exceptionally complex supply chain.

DG: What are the greatest challenges and opportunities your organization faces for creating a more biodiverse system, and what are you doing to overcome or capture them?

RG: As a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, our supply chains are long and complex, meaning we’re often far removed from the production of many our ingredients. This makes traceability and transparency quite challenging in terms of knowing about biodiversity-friendly practices. The large and rapidly increasing volumes we need as a growing company also make traceability and production oversight even more challenging, and often means working with larger producers relying on monocultures to produce high volumes. And of course, the cost pressures of any CPG to provide a product that consumers are willing to pay for is always a challenge when it comes to sourcing in the most responsible way possible.

Sir Kensington’s has made efforts to combat these challenges, prioritizing close relationships with key suppliers such as our egg and tomato producers, by visiting their farms and choosing responsible, trustworthy partners, and by being 100% non-GMO verified. We are able to support cooperatives of small family farms producing our Certified Humane Free Range eggs, which feels like a step in the right direction. But still many other, more minor ingredients prove more challenging. It comes down to prioritization, and as a company with hundreds of ingredients we need to start somewhere. We focus on where the bulk of our money is going (i.e., our key ingredients) and thus where we have our biggest impacts, and on where the biggest risks are. We must acknowledge that we can’t do everything everywhere, but we don’t use that as an excuse for not always trying to improve and go deeper.

DG: What is the business case for products that promote a more biodiverse food system?

RG: Taste! Customers above all want products that taste good, and we know that to create good taste, we need a supply chain that’s rooted in biodiversity. The world’s farmers have lost 75 percent of their plant genetic diversity since the 1900s in the name of high-yielding, profit-maximizing, transportation-friendly crops–not necessarily those that taste the best. We still have a lot of work to do ourselves, and we continue to seek out suppliers with responsible production practices and ingredients bred for flavor. The more delicious our products, the better our business will perform.

DG: Does your average consumer care about biodiversity today? Why should they care? How do you (or will you) get them to care?

RG: We know that our consumers prefer values-driven companies who make responsible decisions for the environment and people. So we know that in theory, customers care about biodiversity because it’s better for the health of the planet. That said, customers might not always understand how biodiversity relates to them. The messages we are sent about biodiversity is often one of altruism–that we should care about the rainforest because it’s the right thing to do for the planet and because we should value ecosystems, plain and simple. But biodiversity, or a lack thereof, does affect us–it affects our food supply, our nutrition, our medicine–and is part of a complex ecosystem, the disruption of which we can’t really fully understand the impacts.

History has of course shown us the risks of dwindling genetic plant diversity. An entire population suffered during the Irish potato famine in 1850, caused by a blight that attacked the limited varieties of potatoes being grown. And today we face the threat against the incredibly popular Cavendish banana, a crisis which presents itself less than half a century after the devastation of the formerly most popular banana, the Gros Michel, attacked by a fungus against which it had no defense. I think consumers would care if their favorite foods disappeared from the grocery store, and so they definitely care about this form of agricultural biodiversity. It is these sorts of lessons we need to better communicate.

So while we do believe that our customers care, that’s not the only reason we care. Sometimes the reason we do things internally is not what we communicate externally. As alluded to earlier, our number one communication tool is taste. We believe diverse ingredients make our products taste better, which will drive people to buy them, and that it’s our obligation as a producer to make responsible choices. We’ll continue to do so while seeking out opportunities to educate consumers on why some, if not all, of those decisions are important.

DG: What are some of the most important things food manufacturers can do to support biodiversity? Retailers? Other key parts of the food supply chain?

RG: All of us food manufacturers need to do the legwork to familiarize ourselves with our supply chains, understand the implications of our purchasing and processing decisions, and set goals around improving them–continuously. This also means pushing for more traceability in an industry where that is not the norm. These decisions will often take more work and cost more money, which is why we need retailers to provide the education to consumers, and ultimately get their buy-in so that we can prove the economic viability of more sustainable supply chains. Retailers can also help lead the charge of encouraging manufacturers to source responsibly, creating downward pressure to improve the system as a whole.

As a system at large made up of policy makers, farmers, producers, retailers, and consumers, we all need to make better use of the land we already use to prevent deforestation and other land use change in the name of increased production for profit.

DG: If we get to a perfectly biodiverse food system, how would that change the typical selection of products we see in a grocery store?

RG: Hopefully that would mean a more colorful, diverse selection of more flavorful foods–and likely at higher prices if they were truly internalizing the cost of sustainable production.

DG: Are there certain products you would like to see more of in the food industry — either in foodservice or CPG — that would help promote a more biodiverse agricultural system?

RG: I believe that the food service industry has a real opportunity to get people’s taste buds to appreciate variety. According to the FAO, 75 percent of the world’s food is generated from only 12 plants and five animal species. Think of all the flavors we’re missing out on! By exposing more eaters to diverse fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins, we can create demand for variety and incentive farmers to grow accordingly. For instance, I’ve loved seeing the rise of the Japanese sweet potato–a vegetable I’ve been fond of for years–and I know there are so many more varieties out there that can tantalize the eater’s tastebuds. Food service establishments have the opportunity to serve that first taste, and foster curiosity for what other tastes are out there.

DG: What investments need to be made to create a more biodiverse food system?

RG: National seed banks will be vital to preserve the immense biodiversity that comes out of traditional seed systems, and will be crucial to keep our food system resilient. We also need to invest more funding into protecting natural ecosystems such as forests, and in extension services and subsidies for farmers to help them reduce chemical use and incorporate other agroecological practices. Additionally, the private sector can create markets that incentivize farmers to grow a diversity of crops and pay more for better ingredients. At the end of the day, farmers will farm in a way that people pay them to farm. We need to create demand for a diversity of foods and realize that responsible, diverse production will often come at a higher price point.

DG: What is your vision for what a more biodiverse food system looks like in 10-15 years?

RG: I hope we can start to reverse and inch closer to the biodiverse food system that we once had. This will mean people enjoying diverse diets and producers not giving into pressure to produce in ways that harm natural ecosystems. I hope that our system invests more in supporting local seed saving traditions rather than looking to GMOs to save the world–a solution with unclear consequences. I hope that markets find a way to restructure capitalist priorities–that we can find a system that prioritizes taste and the environment over yield and profit, that enables food sovereignty and eliminates hunger. It might be the vision of an idealist, but I’m not sure our planet or global population can afford anything less.

DG: Anything else you want to share?

RG: I believe that there is a level of humbleness required from humans to truly value biodiversity. Despite so much scientific progress and many developments, we still know so little. Nature is vast and way beyond our current comprehension. There are literally millions if not billions of species we have not yet discovered, and tenfold the number of interactions amongst them that we don’t understand. So we must realize that we cannot possibly understand to the fullest the consequences of our actions when interfering with natural systems. The hubris of mankind will be our downfall: we are not isolated from nature, nor conquerors of nature, but are benefactors, servants, and friends of nature. We must work with it, rather than against it, which can prove challenging in a manipulative science like agriculture, but which can be done with more reverence for the environment than we’re carrying out now. We rely on nature immensely, and must treat it with respect and humbleness, for the sake of its longevity and our own.

Read all of the interviews here and learn more about Biodiversity at The Future Market.

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Rebecca Gildiner, Impact Strategy Manager at Sir Kensington’s

Rebecca Gildiner is the Impact Strategy Manager at Sir Kensington’s, overseeing social and environmental impact across the business. Rebecca has 10+ years experience across the food system, from farm work and retail to waste management and food education. Prior to Sir Kensington’s, Rebecca received her Masters of Environmental Management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies where she focused on food systems and corporate responsibility. She has supported sustainability strategy development for companies such as IKEA Food Services, Shake Shack, SustainAbility, and Foodprint Group.

The post Sir Kensington’s on Creating Markets & Supply Chains For Diverse Crops appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

The food industry has increasingly prioritized sustainability, as eaters care more about where and how our food is produced, as well as who produces it. There is even growing interest around soil health and the potential for agriculture to regenerate the health of the planet, not just sustain the status quo. There has been far less attention, however, to the diversity of what’s being grown.

About 75 percent of the world’s food comes from just 12 plants and 5 animal species. Almost half of our plant-derived calories come from just three foods: wheat, corn and rice. While estimates vary, it is believed that there are over 30,000 edible plants, and we only eat 150 of them. Thirty percent of livestock breeds are at risk of extinction, and six breeds are being lost each month.

This concentration around just a few food sources puts our food system at risk, as evidenced by the story of the Cavendish Banana and The Irish Potato Famine. It also robs eaters of awesome, nutrient dense foods and flavor experiences.

How did we get here? Historically, the food industry prioritized commoditization, mass yield, and uniformity over flavor, nutrition, and sustainability. As a result, we are losing plant and animal species at an alarming rate, while diet-related disease, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies are on the rise.

Now, we as an industry have a chance and a responsibility to make things right.

The Future of Food is Biodiverse: Where Flavor and Sustainability Meet

Building a food industry that promotes agrobiodiversity – the variety and variability of plants, animals, microorganisms and biocultural systems linked to agriculture and food – makes our food system more sustainable and allows us to delight eaters with new and exciting foods from a diverse set of cultures.

As an industry, agrobiodiversity ensures supply chain resiliency and food security by safeguarding the genetic material needed to ensure crops can evolve in the face of pests and disease, climate change and extreme weather. A biodiverse food system also supports economic development, enables greater dietary diversity, which leads to better health, and helps preserve cultural traditions, techniques, and flavors.

39 Industry Leaders Explore Biodiversity in Food

Intellectually, you might agree with our premise that the future of food is biodiverse, but what does it mean in practice?

To help us understand what a biodiverse food industry looks like, we’ve partnered with The Future Market to host an editorial series from January 7-31 inviting leading CEOs, executives, farmers, investors and researchers to share insight into their thoughts and strategies for supporting biodiversity in food. Check out our incredible list of contributors below and read all of the interviews here.

The Future Market at Fancy Food Show

The Future Market is producing a Biodiversity Exhibit at The Winter Fancy Food Show January 13-15. The exhibit offers a deep dive into biodiversity in food and explores what a more biodiverse grocery aisle might look like. It will feature 9 new concept products, 26 biodiverse crop spotlights, and a digital shopping experience filled with concept product ideas for the next 5-25 years. See content from the exhibit and learn more here. We hope to see you there!

Editorial Series Contributors:

Read all of the published interviews here.

• Aerofarms – Marc Oshima, Co-Founder & CMO
• Applegate – Gina Asoudegan, Vice President, Mission and Innovation
• Back to the Roots – Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Vélez Ramírez, Co-Founders
• Believe in Bambara – Tamara Cohen, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer
• Bowery Farming – Susan McIsaac, Head of Agricultural Sciences
• Burlap & Barrel – Ethan Frisch, CEO
• Crops For The Future – Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, CEO
• Dig Inn – Larry Tse, Farm Manager, and Taylor Lanzet, Director of Supply & Sustainability 
• Edenworks – Jason Green, Co-Founder & CEO
• Farm.One – Rob Laing, Founder & CEO
• Food Systems 6 – Renske Lynde, Co-Founder & Managing Director
• Food Tank – Danielle Nierenberg, President
• FoodShot Global – Victor Friedberg, Chairman and Founder
• General Mills, Natural & Organic Operating Unit – Shauna J. Sadowski, Head of Sustainability
• Global Crop Diversity Trust – Marie Haga, Executive Director
• GODAN – Andre Laperriere, Executive Director
• Gotham Greens – Viraj Puri, CEO
• Health Warrior – Casey Emmett, Director of Strategic Sales
• Impossible Foods – Pat Brown, Founder & CEO 
• Institute for the Future – Sarah Smith, Research Director, Food Futures Lab
• KAIBAE – Barbara Berger Maes, Dr. Luc Maes & Thomas Cole, Co-Founders
• Kuli Kuli – Lisa Curtis, Founder & CEO
• La Quercia – Herb Eckhouse, Co-Founder
• Lexicon of Sustainability – Douglas Gayeton, Director
• MAD – Melina Shannon-DiPietro, Executive Director 
• Masumoto Family Farm – Nikiko Masumoto, Farmer, Artist, Community Leader
• National Young Farmers Coalition – Lindsey Shute, Executive Director & Co-Founder
• Rebbl – Sheryl O’Loughlin, CEO 
• rePlant Capital – Robyn O’Brien, VP
• Row 7 Seed Company – Charlotte Douglas, COO
• SDG 2 Advocacy Hub – Paul Newnham, Director
• Sir Kensington’s – Rebecca Gildiner, Impact Strategy Manager
• Slow Food USA – Richard McCarthy, Executive Director
• Starbucks – Michelle Burns, Senior Vice President, Global Coffee & Tea
• Sweetgreen – Nicolas Jammet, Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer
• Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University – Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director
• Tender Greens – Erik Oberholtzer, CEO
• Thrive Market –  Nick Green, Co-Founder & CEO
• Wholesome Wave – Michel Nishan, Chef, Author, Food Equity Advocate, Founder & CEO
• Yolele – Philip Teverow, Co-Founder & CEO 

The post Introducing Biodiversity: The Intersection of Taste & Sustainability appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Innovation continues to drive the CPG space forward with the help of funding from Big Food acquisitions. Last Week, Kellogg announced its acquisition of “clean label” protein bar RXBAR for $600 million. And now it appears that Siggi’s is looking for a buyer. Dealogic also reports that there were 1,065global food and beverage mergers and acquisitions this year, totaling $78.4 billion.

In retail news, Berlin-based HelloFresh revealed plans to IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, valuing the company at up to $1.8b in the public markets.

The first “distributed farming” startup, Smallhold, launched the first of its many Minifarms that it plans to install in restaurants across New York City. Agriculture Capital raised $548 million, which it plans to pour into sophisticated, sustainably operated farms growing perennial crops.

And finally, biotech firms have discovered a way to turn methane into protein. The product is already being used in animal feed, the first step toward readying it for human consumption.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends. Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

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1. Here’s What a Chinese Takeout Menu Would Look Like If the Meat Was Grown in Labs – Quartz

Alpha Food Labs explores what a cultured meat future would look like through the lens of a Chinese Restaurant take-out menu.

2. Kellogg Broadens Snack Reach with $600M Purchase of RXBAR – Food Dive

Last week, Kellogg’s announced it was acquiring RxBar, the four year old maker of “clean label” protein bars. RXBAR will continue to operate independently, while leveraging Kellogg’s scale and resources to drive growth.

3. Cultured Meat Will Cost Startups $150M-$370M (and Take At Least 4 More Years) to Bring to Market – Agfunder

We may not see cultured meat on the market until 2021. The technology itself would cost $200m to scale and an additional $85-170m for packaging, marketing and regulatory work.

4. Instead Of Throwing Out This Plastic Wrapper, You Eat It – Fast Company

Indonesia-based startup Evoware converts sustainably farmed seaweed into food-safe, edible packaging. The company plans to use its seaweed packages for instant noodles and coffee, as well as edible wraps for burgers and sandwiches.

5. Startups Raise $206M to Meet Consumer Demand for Protein & Novel Ingredients – Food Navigator

Funding to innovative food startups is increasing with 17 deals raising $206 million in the first half of 2017, representing a 60 percent year-over-year increase. The whole sector raised $4.4 billion across 369 deals in the first half of 2017 with the most active investor being SOSV.

6. The Company Bringing the Farm Right to the Table – Bloomberg

This Wednesday, Brooklyn-based startup Smallhold launched its first Minifarm in Mission Chinese. The company is the first “distributed farming” network and has plans to install its growing units in restaurants across NYC.

7. Sustainable Ag Fund that Likes Oregon Blueberries, Hazelnuts Raises $548M – Washington Business Journal 

Agriculture Capital will pour capital into sophisticated, sustainably operated farms growing crops – trees and bushes – that don’t have to be replanted every year as well as “midstream processing assets.”

8. Landfill Gas for Dinner? Scientists to Cook Food From Waste – Bloomberg

California-based Calysta and India-based String Bio are among biotech firms that have discovered ways to turn methane into protein. The product is already being used in animal feed, the first step toward readying it for human consumption.

9. Germany: Blue Apron Competitor HelloFresh Planning to Raise Up to $353M in IPO – TechCrunch

The company is planning to IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, valuing the company at up to $1.8 billion in the public markets.

10. Owner of Siggi’s Icelandic Yogurt Taps Bank for Sale – CNBC

The Icelandic Milk and Skyr Corporation is in talks with JPMorgan on a possible sale of the company. While Siggi’s value is unclear, the corporation expects to generate sales of $200 million next year and is growing at the rate of 50 percent per year.

11. Slim Jim Goes Upscale with 100% Grass Fed Beef – Food Dive

Slim Jim is launching an upgraded line of meat products that will feature 100% grass-fed beef or 100% premium pork with contemporary flavors and 10 grams of protein per stick.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

The post Kellogg Acquires RXBAR for $600M, Bringing Cultured Meat to Market Will Cost $150-$370M + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of the latest headlines from last week and today.

Activist investor Jana Partners  reported that it acquired a 2 percent stake in Blue Apron as of June 30, 2017. Prompted by what analysts call the “Amazon effect,” which is creating bargain stocks in the grocery sector,  Jana Partners also purchased 593,000 shares of Sprouts.

Hampton Creek has seen a steady stream of articles alleging fraudulent product buyback schemes, boardroom squabbling, food safety issues and financial problems. While this led Target to pull the company’s products from its shelves, CEO Josh Tetrick refuted the media’s allegations in statements defending his company’s success in retail thus far. Other CPG news saw major acquisitions led by processed food giants, Hormel and B&G Foods. Ice cream sandwich concept Coolhaus shared its Cinderella story of how they went from a single food truck to 6,000 grocery stores.

For the inquisitive eaters, a deep dive into seafood’s lucrative and corrupt “dark web” reveals fraud, fish laundering and slavery. A cricket farm in Texas prepares to scale its farm tenfold in hopes of fulfilling its sustainable promise of supplying protein without the carbon and land footprint of beef. And lastly, an inside look into the complex breeding program of the world’s largest berry company, Driscoll’s.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!

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1. Speaking Broadly: The Future of Food Is Personal – Heritage Radio Network

To help us understand what lies ahead, and to accelerate the good food movement, Danielle Gould shares her thoughts about individualized nutrition, biomes, urban farms and more.

2. Blue Apron Rises on Jana Stake in Embattled Meal-Kit Maker – Bloomberg

Jana Partners, the activist investor that reaped a $300m windfall after selling its stake in Whole Foods, acquired 2% of Blue Apron and 593k shares of Sprouts. Blue Apron shares rose as much as 5.3% after the stake was closed.

3. Hormel Expands Foodservice Business with $425 Million Fontanini Buy – Food Dive

Fontanini makes authentic Italian meats and sausages, and other premium meat products, for the foodservice sector. Hormel plans to leverage company resources such as R&D, operations, supply chain and finance to grow the Fontanini business.

4. Target Ends Relationship with Troubled Startup Hampton Creek – Bloomberg

The retail giant decided to end the relationship after receiving what it described as “specific and serious food safety allegations about Hampton Creek products,” despite the FDA’s conclusion that their products are safe.

5. Hampton Creek CEO: ‘We’re Growing, and Not by an Insignificant Amount’ – Food Navigator

Tetrick refutes misleading reports made by Bloomberg, stating that their vegan mayo is outselling the biggest brands such as Kraft and the company is, in fact, in a good financial position with a great network of investors and operations team.

6. B&G Foods Gobbles Up SnackWell, Back to Nature Brands – Wall Street Journal

B&G Foods Inc. has struck a deal to buy SnackWell’s cookies and Back to Nature granola for $162.5m. The acquisition will give B&G more leverage with natural-foods retailers, such as Whole Foods and Sprouts.

7. From a Single Food Truck to 6,000 Grocery Stores and Millions in Sales – CNBC

When the co-founders of Coolhaus took their ice-cream sandwich side hustle to Coachella, their concept went viral. The company is now hoping to hit $25m sales over the next few years and become the Ben and Jerry’s of this generation.

8. How Seafood’s “Dark Web” Obscures Fraud, Fish Laundering, and Slavery on the High Seas – New Food Economy

Annual consumption is on the rise, and demand appears to be driven by seafood’s wholesome image alongside concerns about animal welfare, unaware of illegal practices such as seafood fraud and transshipment.

9. This Giant Automated Cricket Farm Is Designed to Make Bugs a Mainstream Source of Protein – Fast Company

Cricket Company Aspire studied how crickets respond biologically to intensive production, then began focusing on cost-effectiveness. Their growing system uses a robotic feeder, machine learning sensors, and AI monitors.

10. How Driscoll’s Reinvented the Strawberry – New Yorker

Driscoll’s relentless focus on breeding has helped shape the supermarket strawberry.

The post Jana Partners Acquires 2% Stake in Blue Apron, Hormel Buys Fontanini for $425m + More appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a guest post by Steve Lykken, President of Applegate. 

When news broke that Amazon was buying Whole Foods Market, in the words of Yogi Berra, it was like “déjà vu all over again,” but with a twist. For years, we’ve been seeing acquisitions in the natural and organic food sector with “big food” companies gobbling up smaller brands.  Kellogg’s/Kashi, Danone/Stonyfield, General Mills/Annie’s and Hormel/Applegate.  I’m just a bit familiar with that last one. The match pattern was established – cereal/cereal, yogurt/yogurt, packaged food/packaged food and meat/meat – and it made sense. The conventional wisdom was that the larger, more established companies had the resources (manufacturing, distribution, etc) to help the younger, entrepreneurial enterprises grow. The smaller, more mission-driven businesses would serve as the North Star, scouting ahead for the next big thing.

So what is it about the Amazon/Whole Foods marriage that had, and still has, people buzzing? I would say it’s the twist in that match pattern. Whole Foods had many suitors that made “sense” – big supermarket, retail chains.  But instead, a pairing emerged that kicked the conventional wisdom to the curb. Why was a tech company buying a natural and organic grocery chain? Because this is what the future of food looks like. Both food and technology have the power to change and transform lives – imagine the possibilities when they are brought together?

The Amazon/Whole Foods deal will reinvent the way food is sourced, sold and distributed. The partnership turns some of the traditional methods of how food products get on shelf on its head. We’ve already seen a glimpse of Amazon’s vision for retail with its AmazonGo concept, where a customer can check into a store using an app and have items deducted from their virtual card as they shop – no checkout line! I imagine they’ll ultimately be able to use that data to anticipate needs and provide a unique, personalized shopping experience.

Acquisitions can be tricky things, but I can’t think of two better partners to join forces in making sustainable food more accessible for everyone. Jeff Bezos reinvented the way people shop and John Mackey transformed our relationship with food.  They are both visionary disruptors, and they are obsessive about creating exceptional customer experiences.

This is a huge leap into a new world, for all of us. Applegate grew up and matured along with Whole Foods over the last 30 years. And we’ve just begun to dip our toe into the e-tailing space. I feel strongly that this will have a positive impact on natural and organic food companies, not just dollars and cents, but in inspiring all of us to think differently about the marketplace and our places in it.

Check out our complete coverage of Amazon’s Whole Foods acquisition here.

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Steve Lykken is the president of Applegate, the nation’s leading natural and organic meat brand that is committed to making good meat – the kind that’s raised humanely without antibiotics and hormones. Lykken joined Applegate as chief operating officer in August of 2015 and was named president in January of 2016. He is responsible for driving forward the brand’s mission to “Change the Meat We Eat®.”

A 24-year veteran of Hormel Foods Corporation, Lykken began his career at Hormel in 1992 as a grocery products sales representative. He succeeded at numerous sales assignments and management positions within the company before spending nearly 13 years at the Jennie-O Turkey Store subsidiary. While at Jennie-O, he led sales, marketing and supply chain teams.

The post Applegate President: Amazon/Whole Foods Will Reinvent Organic Industry appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

What a momentous day for the food tech community. Meal kit startup Blue Apron, which in just five years grew to $795 million in sales, launched its IPO today.

It was a lackluster debut, which has been the focus of most all media coverage, but I wouldn’t write the startup off just yet. Yes, the company raised just $300 million at a $1.9 billion valuation, one third less than it anticipated before Amazon announced it was acquiring Whole Foods. It offered 30 million common stock shares at $10 per share, which was a significant cut from the $15 to $17 it estimated just two weeks ago. Yes, shares spiked slightly in the morning to $10.46 but ended that day back at $10.00. But no one is talking about the positive impact it might have on the food system and public health.

We caught up with co-founder Matt Wadiak at the New York Stock Exchange to see what the IPO might mean for farmers and eaters, and we couldn’t be more excited by what he had to say.

“This is just the beginning for us,” Wadiak told me this morning. “It’s a great milestone. And this empowers us, as a public company, to really get in and change the food system and the way food is grown. [By] engaging more deeply with our agroecology team, with our farmers, with our cattle ranchers, with our fisheries all over the world, [we can] really bring agriculture into the mainstream focus of Americans and educate them that not all food is grown equally, that not all food is equal. We really want to advocate for regenerative agriculture, for better organic systems, and through the reduction of system inputs lower the price of sustainable agriculture and increase the availability to Americans. We think that not just good nutrition, but good food, good ingredients is a basic human right, just like clean air and fresh water.”

You read that right. Blue Apron has an agroecology team and they are committed to regenerative agriculture, which goes further than sustainable, organic agriculture by focusing on regenerating soil and ecosystems.

According to Wadiak, the IPO gives Blue Apron more leverage to promote this vision. “We raised a big round, so we’re going to continue to invest into our food system, into our supply chain, engage more deeply with farmers, and continue to invest more deeply in our internal team.”

What does it mean to invest in the supply chain? Blue Apron already provides a free soil testing service to the farmers it works with that allows them to evaluate the nutrient load in their soil. With that data, Blue Apron then makes recommendations for crop families the farmers could be growing to improve soil health and yields. For example, if a farmer grew a brassica last season, the company might recommend it grow a legume this season to fix nitrogen naturally. Blue Apron then guarantees that it will purchase the full crop production and uses it in a future recipe.

By combining this service with sensor technologies, heat units and satellites, Blue Apron is developing a “national database of farms and growing conditions, so we can predictively analyze from germination to harvest time when that food will become available at harvest and by measuring the yield output estimates we can predict that and put in our menus in an appropriate forecast, so we can plan our menus around it,” explains Wadiak.

As demand for sustainable food outpaces supply, the companies that have the best chance of winning the hearts and dollars of eaters are those that are investing in the growth of the supply chain. With the acquisition of BN Ranch and its investment in its supply chain, Blue Apron is setting itself up for success from an ingredient perspective. That being said, there are still tons of areas for concern, which we’ll dive into over the next couple of weeks.

As I wrote earlier, I wouldn’t write Blue Apron off just yet – things are just starting to get really interesting.

Check out our full interview below and share your thoughts on the Facebook Live Post.

Have questions for the Blue Apron team? Let us know!

The post With IPO, Blue Apron to Invest More in Regenerative Agriculture appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a guest post by Gunnar Lovelace, Co-CEO of Thrive Market.

Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods validates our core investment in developing a socially conscious business that speaks directly to the needs of the conscious consumer who wants low prices and to support products and brands that represent their values. This acquisition comes as part of a larger shift in consumer dynamics fueled partially by increasing political dysfunction, as consumers exercise their collective power by voting with their dollars.

In light of this shift, we at Thrive Market see the emergence of Millennial conscious consumers as a mindset and not merely an age group. Millennials rightly want to have their cake and eat it too — they want price and convenience, but also deeply value authenticity, transparency and true sustainability.

Thrive Market never set out to out-Amazon Amazon; they’re the everything store. But being the everything store makes it nearly impossible for Amazon to earn the trust of the conscious consumer – a concern I’ve seen voiced by many in the wake of Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods. Thrive Market is a socially conscious platform offering a highly curated catalog of formerly premium products for less, backed by an authentic social mission having real impact on issues related to how we produce and consume food. We also want to have our cake and eat it too.

Our mission at Thrive Market is to democratize access to healthy food, as it always seemed crazy to us that heavily processed, chemically laden foods were less expensive than their healthy alternatives. In fewer than three years, Thrive Market has become the largest exclusively non-GMO retailer in the US, selling the world’s best organic and non-GMO groceries at the same price or less than their conventional equivalents for the first time in history. We recognize that 85 percent of Americans want to shop organic, but have been unable to do so previously due to price or local availability. With continued investment by retailers like Amazon and Thrive Market, more consumers will be empowered to make the shift to healthy, sustainably produced groceries through affordable pricing and nationwide delivery.

This consumer shift is critically important given the systemic ecological and environmental effects of industrialized agriculture. Recent studies by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization have shown that we only have 60 harvests left, as industrialized farming practices are destroying our topsoil at an accelerated rate. Plus, healthy topsoil is one of our greatest carbon sequestration tools to reverse climate change. A complete shift to organic farming could capture 100 percent of all carbon currently emitted globally, as reported by Rodale Institute. Amazon’s acquisition will brings billions of dollars into the organic food movement and in turn strengthens organic supply chains.

Further, these rapid macro changes in the market represent an existential threat for any retailer and CPG company that isn’t making direct to consumer investments in line with organic trends. The challenge for entrenched players is that it’s very hard to be nimble enough to meet consumers where they are, and is likely to be painful multi-billion dollar re-run of Blockbuster vs. Netflix. Ultimately, we think these trends are good for consumers and the planet, and businesses that know how to leverage highly fragmented media channels to authentically speak directly to consumers will be massively rewarded in the 21st century. There are only a couple retailers in the country like Amazon and Thrive Market that have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into these competencies and this new development is a serious wakeup call to any retailer or CPG that underestimates the massive shift in consumer behavior.

Read Food+Tech Connect’s full coverage of the Whole Foods acquisition here. 

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Gunnar Lovelace is a serial entrepreneur in nonprofits, technology, fashion and real estate. Most recently he is the founder and Co-CEO of Thrive Market, an online wholesale buying club on a mission to make healthy living easy and affordable for every American family. Thrive Market currently offers the 4,000 most popular natural and organic products in the world at 25-50% off retail, shipped anywhere in the U.S. for free. For every paid member on the site, the company also sponsors a free membership for a low-income family. Previously he co-founded Love Heals – a conscious jewelry company that has funded the planting of over 1,500,000 trees and sponsored of over 50,000 malnourished children. Prior to Love Heals, Gunnar started two technology companies in Los Angeles in software education and natural language processing, both of which were sold. In addition to his for-profit companies, Gunnar has started two non-profits in education and environmental training.

The post Why Thrive Market Sees Amazon as an Ally appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

This is a guest post by Scott Marlow, Executive Director of the Rural Advancement Foundation International – USA. Read Food+Tech Connect’s full coverage of the Whole Foods acquisition here. 

Amazon’s announcement of its intent to purchase Whole Foods, if it does in fact progress, needs to be seen in the larger context of consolidation across food retail and agriculture.

In 2016, four grocery chains accounted for 36.9 percent of food and beverages sold in the U.S. Walmart, number one, sold 17.3 percent. Whole Foods came in 9th, selling 1.7 percent and Amazon 21st, with 0.8 percent.

This consolidation includes the organic industry. Food and product brands that appear independent are often, in fact, owned by conglomerates. Annie’s Homegrown, Cascadian Farms and Muir Glen are owned by General Mills. Green Mountain coffee by Coca Cola, Seeds of Change by M&M Mars, and Bear Naked and Morningstar Farms by Kellogg, to name a few.

While local and sustainable foods are seen as an alternative to industrial food products, market forces are the same. When an industry becomes consolidated, people may get cheaper products. But in the drive for corporate profits, that market power is often used to transfer costs and risk onto land, people and animals. A dairyman friend looked at the 7-figure salary of a CEO in the consolidated dairy industry and commented, “That’s my milk check.”  Long-term studies of the poultry industry tracked the erosion of farmer income and security as the number of companies in the farmer’s region decreased.

Whole Foods’ brand was built on people’s demand for food that’s healthier for themselves, their communities and the planet. The growth of local, sustainable and natural foods has delivered these values in three ways: the inherent qualities of the product, like “free from artificial additives”; the effects of how the product was produced, like “dolphin-safe tuna”; and the economic effects of more equitable distribution of benefits, like “fair trade.”

Customers often seek to replicate the multiple benefits they see in buying directly from farmers at a farmers market, where they can look the farmer in the eye and ask how the food was grown and place their food dollar directly into trusted hands.

This trusted relationship has a great deal of value in the marketplace, even as the connection has gotten more tenuous. The entire sustainable food industry has built much of its business on the value of connections to a farmer. Notice the pictures of producers featured prominently throughout many grocery stores, including Whole Foods. Airport shop fronts labeled “The Farmers Market” sell bottled soft drinks and processed snacks, few of which resemble anything from a farm. The third largest American poultry integrator is called Perdue Farms, despite contracting out all of the actual farming. But does the farmer actually profit in this market?

The relationship-based integrity of the farmers market erodes as the supply chain lengthens. The terms “local,” “natural” and “sustainable,” used widely on a range of products, are essentially meaningless as a market label. None has a definition, standards or any form of certification. With huge capacity for tracking consumers’ purchase patterns, Amazon has the power to market to consumer demand for food delivering environmental, social and economic benefits with few or none of the costs associated with actually providing those benefits.

Grocery consolidation increases the critical importance of label terms that have integrity, like “organic.” Recent examples of organic standards violations in the media show there is at least a standard to be violated, and that there are processes for addressing those violations. Consumers can have more confidence in the term “organic” at Walmart, than “natural” or “sustainable,” even at Whole Foods. While not perfect, the organic label provides the model for consumer confidence in marketplace claims of virtue. Without clear standards and certification, this value is lost.

Whole Foods has been a promoter of the use of organic and other standards, including developing its own. A major concern will be the commitment of an Amazon-owned Whole Foods to the integrity of all of these standards, and the extent to which industry consolidation could erode confidence and clarity for people who want to buy products that reflect their values.

When we boil it down, industry consolidation can provide increased efficiencies, but significant reduction in competition. This includes competition for the products that farmers produce and the value the farmer’s identity provides. When farmers have fewer opportunities to connect to consumers, they have less ability to set prices that reflect their true costs and the value that they add. Consumers must be even more vigilant that their purchases truly provide the benefits they seek.

The brand dissonance driving the attention to the purchase of Whole Foods by Amazon is the difference between the two companies’ reputations for their treatment of local farms and businesses, not the products offered. This potential sale is no different from the consolidation of many other sectors of food and retail. Over time, we will see if investment in the long-term value of providing true benefits to the farmer, the consumer and the planet will outweigh the short-term drive for profit.

So far, that record is not good.

Read Food+Tech Connect’s full coverage of the Whole Foods acquisition here. 

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Scott Marlow is the Executive Director of the Rural Advancement Foundation International – USA, a non-profit organization based in Pittsboro, NC. Scott previously directed RAFI’s Farm Sustainability program, providing in-depth financial counseling to farmers in crisis, education on disaster assistance programs and access to credit, and addressing the needs of mid-scale farmers who are increasing the sustainability of their farms by transitioning to higher-value specialty markets. Scott’s specialty is financial infrastructure, including access to credit and risk management, and how that infrastructure addresses food security and global climate change. He has served on the steering committee of the National Task Force to Renew Agriculture of the Middle, the Organization Council of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, the Board of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, the Board of the NC Farm Transition Network, and the NC Agricultural Advancement Consortium and serves on the Advisory Committee of the NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. He has a Masters Degree in Crop Science from NC State University, and a BA in Political Science from Duke University.

The post Valuing Farmers in the Whole Foods Acquisition appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

It seems like every day we read about another food startup scaling back or closing shop. In many cases, these businesses have great products or services. But traditional investors, bound by traditional return expectations, refuse to wait out the turbulence inherent in the early stages of a food startup.

When I launched my office catering business, Ox Verte, I knew our biggest challenge would be to create a scalable model that could achieve attractive unit economics early on. Food businesses require lots of iteration, over a period of time. That kind of iteration requires either very patient, understanding investors or no investors at all. I chose no investors, but this meant that our cash position had to be self-sustaining from the start.

We launched in February 2015 and today, two years later, we are still a very small business—a business that most of my business school friends would find pretty “uncool” compared to most startups. Make no mistake – we have grand ambitions, but we don’t call ourselves the Uber of anything, and we don’t talk about hockey sticks when we describe our growth. That said, we’ve served over 50,000 New Yorkers since we launched and we are steadily growing. Also, we are profitable—and I don’t mean a weird, doctored-up version of profitability.

The modest but genuine success we’ve achieved so far is the result of a few key Do’s and Don’ts we’ve adopted:

First, we focus on Unit Economics every single day. If the business model isn’t designed around being profitable, it will be difficult to ever get there. At Ox, we don’t believe margins magically fall in line if your sales are good. If we subsidize our unit economics in any way, then we are tricking ourselves.  

To build Ox’s business model, we asked: What are the most profitable fast-casual concepts? What kind of unit economics and EBITDA margins do they have? Then we said: Okay, let’s raise the bar a little and design an office catering model that can do better. We used an extremely simple spreadsheet and created our menu and our team around it. One concrete result of that exercise is our group size. By serving a minimum of 10 people we can more easily cover our costs. As a result, from Day 1, every lunch we’ve delivered has contributed to the bottom line.

Because we built the business around unit economics, we always have a blueprint to follow. We know how much we can spend on packaging and food, which simplifies our daily decision making process.

Second, we keep our menu super simple. Every single option and variation adds a layer of complexity, which often outweighs the value you are adding to the consumer. Chipotle taught every food-preneur the enormous potential of a simple menu. At Ox, we have one menu that changes seasonally. Every office across Manhattan receives that same menu, whether they have 10 people or 600. This allows us to be efficient with our labor and to keep our quality consistent. We can and will add new menus and product lines when the time is right, but they will all be as simple as this one.

Also, we don’t confuse raising money with earning money. Sometimes it appears that raising money is more important than actually earning money. Some people find a $10 million Series A more exciting than $500,000 in real EBITDA. At Ox, we feel it’s important to wait to raise money until you know what to do with it. And the right partners will agree with that approach.

We don’t try to be too many things. If you are a food business, be a food business. If you are a logistics business, be a logistics business. Don’t try to be too many things at once. Forge partnerships or outsource.

At Ox, we are trying to (1) make food and (2) create a trusted brand. We use technology but we don’t build it. We won’t create an algorithm to reinvent urban logistics, but maybe we’ll partner with someone who has. There are so many smart people doing all of these things—in food you have to do fewer things, but better. I promise that will keep you busy enough.

Finally, we build everything to scale. If you are looking to achieve big things, you have to build your business to scale, even when you are tiny. But never, ever start scaling until you know you can profit. At Ox, I often get asked about competitive pressure, but the truth is that there is lots of room in food. There isn’t one winner, and I don’t believe you have to sprint into new markets before you are ready.

While we are still in our infancy, I believe our “unsexy” approach to growth at Ox Verte will serve us well. Either way, we promise transparency, so we can all keep learning together. We need change in the food industry—there is no more room for secrets.

Learn more about Ox Verte’s philosophy and catering options here. 

The post How Office Catering Startup Ox Verte Bootstrapped Its Way to Profitability appeared first on Food+Tech Connect.

In tandem with the launch of the Food+Tech Job Board, we are thrilled to launch the Food Startup Growth Series. This series will give you an inside look at the strategies, challenges and best practices of fast-growing food startups and organizations.

Many foodservice operators are benefiting from the halo effect of sustainability, but it’s hard to tell how truthful their sustainability claims really are. Similar to what LEED certification did for the building industry, United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC) is bringing transparency and guidance to the food industry by creating market-based incentives, programs and tools to increase the profitability of healthy, sustainable food.

The non-profit offers three programs: recipe analysis and menu labeling, nutrition consulting services and a certification program. Through its Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership Certification Program (REAL), it partners with third party registered dietitians to certify that operators’ menus, operations and supply chains are healthful and sustainable. For operators, REAL Certification offers a great marketing tool, as well as access to products from a network of certified ingredients suppliers at a discount. To date, there are 500 foodservice operations have received REAL Certification, including Restaurant Nora, Chipotle’s Shophouse, Bare Burger, Google, Stanford University and Boulder Valley School District.

USHFC is the brainchild of Lawrence Williams, an entrepreneur with a long history of tackling big challenges. Prior to USHFC, he worked with Elon Must to develop a collaboration between SpaceX and NASA to develop a domestic commercial crew and cargo for space travel. He also worked with Craig McCaw and Bill Gates’ Teledesic to negotiate with the FCC to make broadband access ubiquitous through the use of low-Earth orbiting satellites.

Lawrence’s experience in the tech world has always informed how he operates USHFC. Creating a new market and a new certification is no easy feat, but will perseverance USHFC has gotten some of the most reputable brands on board. Now, like any good entrepreneur, Lawrence realizes that its going to take a different skill set to scale the organization, so he is bringing on a new CEO.

I spoke with Lawrence about the biggest challenges he’s faced in scaling, how he’s treated his non-profit more like a startup and how new leadership will impact the direction of EatReal.

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Danielle Gould: What’s keeping your team busy right now?

Lawrence Williams: We are currently in the process of finalizing and rolling out our updated certification standards, which we’re calling REAL 3.0. For the first time, this new certification will include numerous levels of certification (REAL, Silver, Gold and Platinum), which will allow for a deeper dive on some of the more complicated issues. We are also hosting the Eat REAL Roundtable and Eat REAL Kitchen Sausalito next week, where we will gather industry and NGO leaders for a two-day working group to weigh in and finalize the standards. 

DG: What are your growth goals for the next 12-24 months, and how do you plan to achieve those goals?

LW: This is an exciting time for EatREAL! We just completed a merger with another nonprofit (The Institute for Responsible Nutrition), and are working through incorporating their board and leadership team into our organization, as well as the creation of a scientific advisory board to inform our standards. We are also in the final stages of hiring on a new CEO, who will be able to step in and scale our certification program to meet our growing demands. In the next year or two, we are going to work on expanding our consumer-facing brand and expand our footprint with the REAL 3.0.

DG: What does your team look like?

LW: We are a small and self-motivated team distributed between Washington, DC, Nashville, Chicago and San Francisco, supported by a nationwide network of registered dietitians. With fewer than ten people running a nationwide certification program, everyone here wears many hats.

DG: What does your company culture look like? How have you built your company culture?

LW: We have tried hard to act and operate more like a scrappy startup than a typical not-for-profit organization. Even though we are a non-profit, we try to function as a mission-driven business, not a charity.

DG: How are you preserving your company culture as you scale up?

LW: We spend a lot of time making sure we bring in the right cultural fit and we have weekly all-team meetings.

DG: What do you know now that you wish you would have known when you started scaling your company? What are the biggest challenges and lessons learned as you’ve grown your company?

LW: Externally, the biggest challenge in scaling has been working with the foodservice industry, which can be challenging because generally speaking the hours are very long and margins quite small.

DG: What will someone who works for you be able to add to their resume?

LW: Working with EatREAL to help transform our food system provides an opportunity to make a make a huge difference on what is probably the issue of our time. Food is integrally linked to the health of all people and the planet.  

DG: What job(s) are you hiring for, and how will those positions help drive growth in your company?

LW: We are currently hiring a new CEO, which, as you might imagine, is quite pivotal for the development of the organization.  This new leadership will determine the direction of EatREAL in the coming years – for a non-profit at this stage in its lifecycle, the input of our new CEO has the clout to fundamentally influence our brand recognition within the marketplace and to consumers.

DG: What kind of training do you offer for new employees who may be switching from other industries or who are just out of school?

LW: Working for EatREAL offers an opportunity to dive into the flow of an active and expanding organization while still being supported by your teammates.  Here, a new hire or a new graduate will be able to explore a variety of avenues within the nonprofit world in order to discover which of their areas of interest are the most applicable and enjoyable in practice.   

DG: What’s your favorite interview question?

LW: What motivates you to want to join our team?

DG: Why do you think it’s exciting to be working in food right now?

LW: There is no denying that food is a hot-button issue across the board right now.  It is a dynamic time to be involved in the industry as we are confronted daily with new developments, policies, science, and research.  What’s more is that food culture is inextricably linked to a variety of different issues and industries – whether on the side of social dialogue around such topics as race, socioeconomic status, and disease, or around industries such as distribution, education, and technology. As such a central component to our daily lives, food serves as an intellectual and ideological hub for people from many backgrounds and industries to converge and exchange ideas and information.

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