Vegan Business Talk

In this episode I interview Sara Polon, co-founder of Soupergirl, a plant-based soup brand in Washington DC. Sara is a former standup comedian who founded Soupergirl in 2008 with her mother, Marilyn, aka Soupermom. Sara Polon (right) with her mother Marilyn. The pair have been featured regularly on national television, including Shark Tank and NBC’s Today Show. Last year Soupergirl received a $2 million dollar investment from Arborview Capital and Seth Goldman, Board Member of Beyond Meat. More recently, the company has become plastic-neutral through its partnership with rePurpose Global in a further step to fulfill Soupergirl’s goal of saving the planet - one bowl of soup at a time. In this interview Sara discusses: • Why she gave up stand-up comedy to make soup and the skills her former career has brought to Soupergirl • How she got Soupergirl’s products into WholeFoods, Costco and other retailers • How she handled the roasting she and Marilyn received on Shark Tank in 2018 and what they learned fr

In this episode I interview Stephanie Downs, the co-founder of the Material Innovation Initiative, a non-profit focused on accelerating the availability of sustainable and cruelty-free alternatives to leather, wool, fur, down, silk, and exotic skins. Stephanie is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience founding businesses and consulting on corporate social responsibility in vegan materials. She started her first company in 1999, an internet marketing firm which she sold in 2014. In 2016, she co-founded and was the CEO of Good Dot, which quickly grew to be the largest plant-based meat company in India. For almost 15 years, Stephanie has consulted for animal welfare groups on corporate outreach, working with companies such as Tesla, Duane Reade, Porsche, Ralph Lauren and others to decrease their impact on animals. In this interview, Stephanie talks about: • What the Material Innovation Initiative does and how it can benefit vegan entrepreneurs • Gaps in the market for materials/fashion inn

In this episode I give you my top 5 trends and predictions in the vegan and plant-based business space for 2021. They are: 1. Continued growth of the plant-based meat sector, with more IPOs, and a newcomer that’s aiming to replace KFC 2. Creation of products using new biotechnology such as fermentation processes to create exact replicas of animal-based dairy and other items 3. Developments in the animal-free & sustainable materials space, including the launch of an organization dedicated to furthering this innovation 4. More multinational corporations getting in on the growing vegan and plant-based sector, through acquisitions, investment and accelerators (and why this is a good thing) 5. More investors coming into the sector, including new platforms being set up to connect vegan and plant-based business owners with investors RESOURCES: My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business Services: Work wi

In this episode I interview Doron Petersan, owner of Sticky Fingers and Fare Well vegan eateries in Washington, D.C. Doron opened Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats in 1999, drawing on her degree in dietetics from the University of Maryland and years of experience working in restaurants. In 2010 she grew Sticky Fingers to include wholesale distribution at grocers in Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. She also opened an online Sticky Fingers store that ships sweets and merchandise nationwide across the US. In 2016, Doron opened Fare Well, a plant-based diner, bakery and bar. She is a two-time Food Network Cupcake Wars winner and author of the Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats cookbook. In this episode Doron talks about: • How her businesses have evolved over the past few years • How perceptions towards plant-based eating have changed • How she’s managed to continue to attract customers to her all-vegan eateries, despite more mainstream restaurants adding plant-based options • The impact of COVID-19 on her

In this episode, I interview food safety consultant Heather Landex who’s originally from the UK and currently based in Denmark. Heather began working in the food service industry in 2000 and has worked in eight countries, in over 1000 food service businesses. Since training as an Environmental Health Practitioner she’s specialized in food safety, working with large food safety and safety compliance companies, The Olympic Games, and some of the largest chain restaurant brands and Michelin star restaurants. She’s developed and further specialized into allergy and dietary preferences beyond compliance and into customer service, marketing and branding in her aim to ensure that people feel included when they eat out and food service businesses are successful. Her upcoming book ‘Inclusive: The New Exclusive: How the Food Service Industry Can Stop Leaving Money on the Table’ is due out next year. In this episode Heather discusses: • Why food safety is important for a vegan food service business (and not just f

In this episode I interview Toni Okamoto, the founder of Plant-Based on a Budget, the popular website and meal plan that shows you how to save dough by eating veggies. California-based Toni is also the author of Plant-Based on a Budget and The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook, as well as the co-host of the Plant-Powered People Podcast. Photo: Lauren Alisse Photography. Her work has been featured in the popular documentary What the Health, and she's a regular presence on local and national morning shows across the US, where she teaches viewers how to break their meat habit without breaking their budget. Toni’s latest book, co-authored with her business partner Michelle Cehn, is The Friendly Vegan Cookbook: 100 Essential Recipes to Share with Vegans and Omnivores Alike. In this interview Toni discusses: • How the vegan food blog space has evolved over the past decade • What to do if you want to start a food blog • The best ways to get traffic to a food blog at the moment • How to monetize a food b

This episode features a panel discussion I hosted a couple of months ago for the VegFestUK Summerfest Online event for the Trade Day’s manufacturers and suppliers section. It features several renowned entrepreneurs in the food, fashion and beauty sectors. Among the topics they discuss include: • How lockdown impacted them • What they had to do to survive • What’s selling and why • The impact of lockdown on the development of new products • How the COVID-19 situation impacted their relationships with wholesalers, distributors and retailers • What staff issues have come up and how they’re handling them • What they need – from governments, retailers and customers to survive or thrive, especially with so much uncertainty and the possibility of further lockdowns • And more Watch the video: Panelists: ADRIAN LING, managing director of Plamil, the UK’s oldest vegan company (Adrian’s father Arthur was vegan in 1927!) which makes chocolate and other dairy-free items (yes, Adrian is the vegan Willy Wonka

In this episode I interview Carissa Kranz, a former professional ballet dancer-turned Super Lawyer who is the founding attorney and CEO of BeVeg International, a vegan certification firm managed by the Law Offices of Carissa Kranz, an American law firm with offices in Florida, New York, Washington D.C, Georgia, and California. Carissa, who has been vegan since birth, is a regular legal expert for major media networks including Fox, CNN, NBC and CBS and is currently an anchor with vegan and animal advocacy media outlet Jane Unchained News Network where she has her own weekly show Laws that Matter: Veganism & Law. BeVeg focuses on global vegan certification for products and services, and vegan labeling law and is ISO accredited. The firm is focused on defining a legal vegan standard, that provides the consumer with true truth and transparency in labeling laws. In this episode Carissa discusses: • Her journey from ballet to law and how the creativity and skills of the former are valuable to her current prof

In this episode I interview Jane Velez-Mitchell of JaneUnchained animal advocacy and vegan media outlet. Jane is a renowned Emmy-award-winning TV journalist and New York Times bestselling author. Her decades-long career as a reporter for mainstream TV includes a six-year stint hosting her own show on CNN Headline News, where she ran a weekly segment on animal issues. Since 2014, Jane has headed up her own media site JaneUnchained.com. In February this year Jane launched New Day New Chef, a plant-based cooking show onto Amazon Prime. In this interview Jane discusses: • How she got New Day New Chef accepted onto Amazon Prime • What’s involved in the production of the show • How she managed to continue producing the show during the Covid-19 lockdown with the use of 6 robotic cameras in a contactless sound stage • How she funded the show’s production • Why it’s important to get your work out on other platforms before pitching to TV networks • And more Visit the JaneUnchained website Visit the New Day

In this episode I interview Hilary MacMillan, founder of her eponymous women’s fashion brand in Canada. Founded in 2013, Hilary was one of the first Canadian designers to embody the plus-size market within her collections. Having becoming vegan and now sustainable, Hilary’s brand has been a voice of change. In 2017, she launched her Feminist Capsule collection of bomber jackets, which has been worn by fashion icon Victoria Beckham. Hilary donates 15% of all proceeds to Up With Women, an organization that supports at-risk women rebuild careers in their respective communities. She’s also committed to donate 100% of the proceeds of her ‘Equal Pay’ Varsity Jacket to the Black Women in Motion organization – in perpetuity. Hilary’s collections include sizing from 2 – 28, and the recent launch of her Signature Blouse, made from cupro – a 100% biodegradable waste product of cotton – marks the beginning of an important journey into the sustainable market for the brand. In this interview Hilary discusses: • Why

In this episode I interview Ran Nussbacher, co-founder and CEO of Shouk, a plant-based fast-casual restaurant in Washington D.C that features healthy, Israeli-inspired food. Prior to founding Shouk, Ran served as Vice President of Sales with Opower, a clean tech software company focused on eliminating energy waste and reducing CO2 emissions. In this interview Ran discusses: • Why he left a top position at a software company to start a restaurant • Why Shouk doesn’t use any meat analogues or the words ‘vegan’ or ‘plant-based’ in its menus, marketing or branding • How the company responded to COVID-19 via a ‘hood drops’ initiative that attracted more customers • The importance of a business owner to be ‘hands on’ especially in the beginning • How and why the company attracted investors right from the start • And more Visit the Shouk website. RESOURCES: My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business Se

In this episode I interview Rachel Cook, founder of The Kinder Way in Boston. Rachel is a brand strategist, consumer intelligence expert, and data storyteller who brings decades of experience in the corporate sector to accelerate the growth of the vegan and plant-based industry. Rachel has held leadership roles at a well-established Fortune 100 retailer, a restaurant-focused market research supplier, a successful retail design firm and several high-profile advertising agencies. Her experience spans the food, fashion and beauty sectors. Her data-driven, forward-thinking strategies have delivered strong outcomes for the organizations she’s worked with, including growing the global sales of a multinational apparel and home fashions value retailer by $10 billion. Rachel has recently become a regular guest contributor on Vegconomist, the vegan business magazine, and is working on her first book. In this interview Rachel discusses: • What data storytelling is and why it’s important • The difference between ‘

In this episode I interview serial social entrepreneur Sonalie Figueiras, the founder and editor-in-chief of Green Queen, an award-winning impact media platform advocating for social and environmental change in Hong Kong with a mission to shift consumer behaviour through inspiring and empowering original content. Green Queen began as a blog and is now currently Asia’s largest plant-based media platform. Sonalie is also the founder and CEO of Ekowarehouse, a global sourcing platform for certified organic products, with a mission to make safe, quality food accessible and affordable for the whole planet. With over a decade of experience in publishing, digital marketing, organic trade and health, and sustainability, Sonalie is an eco-wellness industry veteran with a keen eye for market trends. She’s also a sought-after international speaker and moderator, sharing her expertise on stages across Asia and beyond, including TEDx and Harvard Business School. In this interview Sonalie discusses: • How she grew the

In this episode I interview Loui Blake, an award-winning vegan marketer and serial entrepreneur in London, UK. Loui is the founder of the UK’s largest plant-based restaurant Erpingham House as well as the Vegan Dough Co, and brand partner for fast-casual plant-based eatery chain by CHLOE. Passionate about plant-based food and sustainable business, Loui is a recognised keynote speaker, having spoken at the London School of Economics, University College London and Goldsmiths University, as well as corporate engagements for Wagamama, Aviva, Innocent Drinks and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum. In 2019 he won the European Future Marketing Leader of the Year at the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards, topping the 30 under 30 list. In this episode Loui talks about: • How he’s handling having to temporarily close the newest branch of his vegan restaurant after having opened for just three days before the UK went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 crisis • Why he’s planning to open several vegan pizzeri

In this episode I interview Grace Regan, founder of SpiceBox, a local curry house in London, UK, which is also vegan. Grace is a serial entrepreneur who cut her teeth in the tech world, with her first start-up Clippet News. In 2015, she won a place on a top Silicon Valley accelerator and moved to California, where she became vegan. Disillusioned by the tech world, Grace moved back to London and started SpiceBox from her home kitchen. She quickly fell into the world of street food, trading at markets and festivals across the UK and was named a Young British Foodie Street Food Finalist. With a mission to bring a fresh, modern spin on the Great British curry house, Grace opened the first SpiceBox curry house in Walthamstow in North East London in January 2019. Recently she completed a round of investment to scale the concept in commuter towns around London. SpiceBox raised over £850,000 which included a Seedrs equity crowdfunding campaign. The company – which also implements a number of sustainability init

In this episode I interview Sam Dennigan, the founder and CEO of Strong Roots, an Irish plant-based frozen food brand. Founded in 2015, Strong Roots has seen rapid growth in the UK, including being the first frozen food brand (apart from ice cream) to be stocked in Harrods (which is considered to be the UK’s most prestigious and upmarket store where the royals shop). The frozen food brand has also recently launched into the US market in Wegmans, Target and Whole Foods, and secured more than $18 million in funding from investors Goode Partners who’ve also backed cult clothing brand Supreme and high-street favorite All Saints. Sam has decades of experience in the food business, having grown up working for his family's fruit and vegetable distribution company, yet he failed at launching two other brands before founding Strong Roots. Sam is committed to building a sustainable brand and has implemented several environmentally-efficient practices into the business, including being on course for all packaging to

This is a special episode of the show, with some tips to help you and your vegan business survive the current COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. I’m joined by three experts: Bob Ratnarajah, a strategic finance practitioner in Australia; Karen Knowler, a business and mindset coach in the UK; and Stephanie Redcross, a business coach and marketing consultant with Vegan Mainstream in the US.           Bob provides you with some practical strategies to preserve cash and adapt your business. Karen gives you some great tips on how to manage yourself, including dealing with anxiety and fear. And Stephanie and I talk about why you need to continue marketing and promoting your business, and how to do it ethically and with integrity. We recorded this episode on 20 March, 2020 and obviously things can and will change, but the advice is relevant and of course it’s important that you keep up to date with announcements from the health authorities and governments so you can best protect your vegan business. Read Bob R

In this episode, I interview Michelle Courtright, the owner of Fig + Farro, a mission-based restaurant in Minnesota that educates guests on the environmental benefits of plant-based food. Michelle was part of a business delegation to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Poland in 2018 and a consultant on the UN’s COP25 menu in Madrid in 2019. She’s been trained by Al Gore as part of the Climate Reality Leadership Corp and worked with the Mayor of Minneapolis to issue a Proclamation for citizens to each less meat, to align as a city with the Paris Climate Agreement. As part its sustainability initiatives, the restaurant plants a tree for every guest through Trees.org and has planted over 60,000 trees to date. Fig + Farro has also attracted the attention of celebrities, including being part of a vegan food tour with pop sensation Billie Eilish and UberEats. In this episode, Michelle discusses: • How she got endorsements from celebrities including Billie Eilish, Pink and the Smashing Pumpkins

In this episode I’m sharing a talk I gave last year at the World Vegan Day festival in Melbourne, Australia, called ‘Will vegan capitalism save the world?’ It’s a bit of a controversial topic, but one worth exploring as multi-national corporations not known for their ethics in regards to animals, people or planet are jumping on the plant-based trend, bringing out their own animal-free versions of popular products, investing in vegan businesses or buying vegan companies. One of the issues that keeps coming up in discussion is the impact this will have on independent, ethical, vegan businesses. For example, renowned vegan bakery store Ms Cupcake in the UK has just announced it will be closing the doors to its Brixton location in London, saying that after 10 years it had achieved its goal of making vegan products mainstream and customers could now buy vegan treats at the supermarket nearby. In this 20-minute talk, I look at: • The pros and cons of large corporations getting in on the vegan and plant-based t

In this episode I interview Emma Osborne, founder of Citizen Kind, a vegan recruitment firm in the UK. After more than 12 years working for a recruitment firm in Asia, Emma decided to use her international knowledge and corporate experience to work with businesses looking to bring some good into the world. In 2018 she created Citizen Kind, a recruitment company that focuses on working with sustainable, ethical and vegan companies to connect them with the employees they need to help them grow into the companies of the future. A passionate vegan, her work is powered by a longing to see the world adopt a plant-based diet, a low waste, cruelty-free mentality, and live in harmony with nature. In this interview Emma discusses: • The key mistakes vegan business owners make with recruiting staff and what they should do instead • The costs involved in recruiting staff – including some hidden costs that employers may not consider • The benefits of using a recruitment agency • How the recruitment process works a