Episodes
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In 2016 Vevolution was a leader in plant-based events. Now in 2022, the organisation has pivoted to making their own marketplace, a fintech platform which centralises funding and helps investors and founders find one another. To talk about the change and Vevolution’s mission is Erik Amundson, co-founder and managing director of the startup. Erik shares a bit about his own personal story and how he came to join the Vevolution team, as well as the behind-the-scenes process of bringing such a shift in the organisation to life. We dove deeper into how the platform works, what impact means to Erik, Vevolution’s business model and their own recent seed raising event plus more.
Blog: Making a Marketplace
Our website: Vegan Startup
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At 16 years old, Tasneem Karodia cut meat out of her diet for sustainability reasons. However it wasn’t until she was working in management consulting that she saw the accelerating potential of protein alternatives, and decided to leave her job to join the movement. Now as co-founder and CFO of Mzansi Meat, Africa’s first cultivated meat company, she comes on the podcast to share her story and that of the South African startup. We chat about what it was like to leave her previous job behind and the technological learning curve that came with transitioning to the sector. We also do a deep dive on South African perceptions of meat and meat alternatives, scaling, what species Mzansi has chosen to start with and an exciting milestone reached for the startup so far plus more.
Blog: Cell-Based South Africa
Our website: Vegan Startup
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While completing his PhD in stem cell differentiation, Viknish Krishnan-Kutty realised he wanted to apply his science directly, rather than run the risk of having his research published and archived. Fast forward to now and he is the founder and CEO of Singapore-based startup Cellivate Technologies, a startup focused on enhancing and improving cell culture efficiency through the creation of edible microcarriers. In this week’s episode we speak to Viknish about what microcarriers are, as well as how Cellivate Technologies are using them to solve industry bottlenecks. We also discuss the main benefits of microcarriers for cell-based meat companies and what the founder experience has been like for Viknish personally so far.
Blog: Compounding Cultivation
Our website: Vegan Startup
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One day while working as a biologist, Aaron Chua Yu Xiang had a friend who presented him with a question: why not become a pescatarian? At first he was sold however the more he began to research, the more he realised the plethora of issues - bycatch, parasites, micro-plastics - associated with the fishing industry. As a result, Aaron founded Fisheroo, a cell-based fish startup focussing on cultivating freshwater products, in particular surimi. We chat with Aaron about the difference between growing unstructured versus structured cell-based products, micro-carriers, and his thoughts on vertical integration, plus more on Fisheroo’s approach and the personal experience of the journey so far.
Blog: Cell-based Surimi
Our website: Vegan Startup
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After five years of working in a top consulting firm, Pilk co-founder Alexander Pagonis wanted to try his hand at something new. With a deep cultural and family connection to ice-cream he ventured into a mission of creating an indulgent plant-based alternative. In this week’s episode we chat to Alex not only about Pilk Foods and the founding story, but also about his previous gelato startup and the valuable lessons learnt. We also talk about the ups and downs of being a founder, having difficult conversations with stockists, their approach to funding and how Pilk are choosing to do plant-based ice cream differently.
Blog: Re-introducing Ice Cream
Our website: Vegan Startup
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From radical transparency to Guinness World Records, Planted is the alternative meat startup taking Switzerland by storm. In this week’s episode we chat to Christoph Jenny, one of Planted’s four co-founders, about his journey to starting the company and their approach to innovation. We also discuss their (literally) see-through production process, the benefits of having their own factory, and the power that can arise from being faced with a challenge.
Blog: Alt Meat Ambition
Our website: Vegan Startup
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While working for a large dairy manufacturer, Sujala Balaji began to question just how sustainable the future of our food system really is. With over two decades of experience in the industry, it wasn’t long before she felt a strong sense of responsibility to make a difference. Now, Sujala is the cofounder and CEO of Rainfed Foods, an early-stage startup changing alternative dairy by tapping into the power of climate resilient crops such as millet. In this episode we chat more with Sujala about Rainfed’s mission and why millet, as well as the brand’s approach to marketing products, product development, and other projects.
Blog: Milk from Millet
Our website: Vegan Startup
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While working on deep tech commercialisation for aquaculture, Mihir Pershad witnessed firsthand the issues facing our current seafood sector. Fast forward to now, and Mihir is the CEO of Umami Meats, a Singapore-based startup focused on cultivating seafood products. We chat to Mihir about his journey to entrepreneurship, as well as the evolution of Umami Meats as an early-stage company. We also discuss their scientific approach for deciding which species to cultivate, the benefits of focusing on B2B, biggest challenges, and most enjoyable experiences in the startup journey so far.
Blog: Cellular Seafood
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email [email protected]
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With over 20 years of experience in impact investing and social enterprise, Albert Tseng is passionate about utilising business to solve some of society’s most pressing problems. Now, Albert is the co-founder of Dao Foods, an impact-oriented investment firm focused on supporting and accelerating plant-based and alternative protein companies in China. In this week’s episode we discuss the historical, current and future market potential of China, as well as the potential global impact. We also delve deeper into some of the startups leading the way, Dao Foods’ mission and approach, the government’s attitude towards the industry plus more.
Blog: Change in China
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email [email protected]
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When she was in her teens, Shannon Falconer decided to stop eating animals for welfare reasons. Now, the former Stanford microbiologist has found an opportunity to use her scientific training to take animals out of the supply chain altogether, focusing on the cultivation of meat for pets through her startup Because, Animals. In this week’s episode we chat further with Shannon about the impact of the pet food industry and why it’s an important sector to tackle. We discuss the startup’s approach to product development, how they’ve gone about developing serum-free media, plus more.
Blog: Cultured Cat Food
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email [email protected]
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With a background in material science and engineering, Michelle Wolf always wanted to use her technical skillset to help make the world a better place. Being inspired by plant-based beef alternatives gaining traction in the mainstream, she began to learn more about other industries and realised that despite the opportunity, nobody was really looking at seafood. Fast forward to now and Michelle is the co-founder of plant-based seafood company New Wave Foods who aim to protect our oceans, starting with sustainable shrimp. In this week’s episode we delve deeper into the company’s mission, as well as their unique ingredients and how these compare to other options on the market. We also discuss New Wave’s food service focus, their recently announced partnership with Dot foods, plus more.
Blog: Shrimp from Seaweed
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email [email protected]
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As a mechanical engineer, Andre Menezes never imagined that he would be working in the food industry. Nonetheless after a career as the manager of Singapore’s largest distribution company, Andre joined the plant-based space through the co-founding of Nextgen Foods - parent company of plant-based chicken brand TiNDLE. In this week’s episode we chat with Andre about why Nextgen have decided to tackle chicken, as well as their unique business model to facilitate rapid expansion. We also discuss Andre’s personal thoughts about why there has been less innovation when it comes to chicken as a category, the challenges of launching in a pandemic plus more.
Blog: Championing Chicken
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email [email protected]
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When Maggie began sharing her vegan food finds online, she had no idea that what started as a free time blog would soon turn into a nation-wide vegan media company. In this week’s episode we chat to the VegOut Magazine founder about the journey so far, and what it was like making the transition out of the corporate world and into that of entrepreneurship. We also spoke about what Maggie believed was the driver of VegOut’s initial growth and their bottom-up approach to expansion, as well as the future of print plus more.
Blog: Plant-based Press
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Despite always being interested in entrepreneurship, it wasn’t until a trip to Thailand that CEO and co-founder Daphne Hedley stumbled upon the right idea and Mekhala Living was born. 1600 stores and 6 countries later, we chat to Daphne about the journey of starting the certified vegan and organic Asian condiment business. We also discuss the process of getting a factory up and off the ground, the brand’s approach to expansion and distribution, their social commitment and some of the biggest challenges in the journey so far.
Blog: Conscious Condiments
Our website: Vegan Startup
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When his son was one, former Gold Coast Titans player and serial-entrepreneur Selasi Berdie went looking for an exclusively plant-based infant formula. To his shock however, he found that there wasn’t an existing product on the market, leading him on a journey to creating a world first through his startup Sprout Organic. In this week’s episode Simon talks with Sel about the founding journey and the process of getting a new idea up and off the ground. Sel also shares about the industry’s strict regulatory frameworks and how him and his partner have gone about building a brand consumers can know and trust.
Blog: Friendlier Formula
Our website: Vegan Startup
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At the age of 20, Kartik Dixit realised how much the food system was contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and became vegan overnight. What shocked him most of all however, was that nobody was working on tackling alternative protein in India. Starting with cell-based meat and then transitioning to the plant-based sector, Kartik is now working on evolving egg through his venture Evo foods. In this week’s episode we chat with Kartik about the different layers of vegetarianism in India, and why him and his team chose to develop a plant-based egg product. We also talk about product development, finding a manufacturing partner, future expansion and what a day in the life looks like for the CEO and co-founder.
Blog: Egg Evolution
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Early on in her life, it was a passion and love for food that brought Patricia Bubner to the field of science. Through her journey as a researcher in chemical engineering to working on food sustainability initiatives such as the Millet Project, it was only time until Patricia made her way into the cultivated meat space. Today she is the co-founder and CEO of Orbillion Bio, a startup focused on cell-based heritage meats, and the first company to bring premium products to the market. In this week’s episode we chat more about Patricia’s journey, and get a deeper dive into Orbillion and their mission. We also discuss their recent taste testing event, biggest learnings in the journey so far, and the role of farmers in a re-imagined food system.
Blog: Heritage Meat, Cultivated
Our website: Vegan Startup
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During his time in academia, Vinayaka Srinivas began thinking about how he could have a more tangible and direct impact on the world and people’s lives. Given his technical background in stem cell biology, cultivated meat presented itself as an area of perfect opportunity to make this difference. Vin is now the cofounder and CEO of Singapore-based startup Gaia Foods, Southeast Asia’s first cultivated red meat company. In this episode we talk with Vin about why he decided to focus on red meat, as well as the technological approach to creating structured products. We also discuss the team’s experience in setting up their first lab, the importance of a balanced research approach, future steps for the company plus more.
Blog: Cell-based Cuts
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Despite being known as the largest vegan chain down under, Lord of the Fries wasn’t always as we know it today. In this week’s episode we go back in time with LOTF cofounder Amanda Leigh Walker, to the beginning of the business and its evolution from food truck to franchise. We also chat about their recent collaborations with popular plant-based brands such as Beyond Meat, how to cope in stressful times, the source of Amanda’s deep sense of purpose plus more.
Blog: Food Truck to Franchise
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email [email protected].
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During her final year of post-graduate studies, Stephanie Michelsen developed a passion for alternative protein. Soon she realised however, that more than meat would need to be re-imagined if we were to transition to an animal-free and friendly future. Fast forward to now and Stephanie is the co-founder and CEO of Jellatech: an early-stage startup working on creating cell-based collagen and gelatin. In this episode we chat to Stephanie about why collagen and the science behind the process, as well as what makes collagen so unique as a protein. We also discuss the advantages of using animal cells over precision-fermentation, bioreactor innovation, differences to cell-based meat, and future opportunities for the company.
Blog: Cruelty-free Collagen
You can learn more about Jellatech here.
Our website: Vegan Startup
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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email [email protected].
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