Baris Karadogan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Jingle, a new hyperlocal marketplace enabling mobile commerce of artisanal foods like ice cream, prepared meals, pastas, and more. In this episode we’ll talk about the difficulty in scaling food truck-centered businesses like Wonder, the push vs. pull model of delivery, and how five-minute impulse deliveries from a van could be more sustainable than 15 or 30 minutes.
Dec 08, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 57
Yonatan Golan is the Co-Founder & CEO of Brevel, a startup growing microalgae indoors to be used as protein in dairy and meat alternatives. In this episode, we’ll chat about the difference between seaweed and microalgae, what its advantages are over conventional soy and pea-based proteins, and Brevel’s unique cultivation process that is able to help bring down its unit cost.
Dec 01, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 56
Len Sherman is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and author who has contributed to business publications such as Forbes, Wired, Financial Times, and The Economist. In this episode, we’ll chat about the macro backdrop that gave rise to on-demand restaurant and grocery delivery, breakdown various holes in current models, and discuss frameworks for success when it comes to delivering food profitably. Notes: "Why Uber Can't Make Money" "Why DoorDash Will Fail To Deliver Investor Retur...
Nov 17, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Jerry Weiner is a foodservice veteran responsible for building out fresh food programs at convenience chains like Rutter’s, MAPCO, and Crown. In this episode, we’ll chat about the history of kitchen automation like TurboChef convection ovens, how delivery services like Wonder are leveraging such technology, and the evolving roles of convenience stores when it comes to serving quality meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner dayparts.
Nov 02, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 54
John Nelson is the Founder & CEO of Vroom Delivery, the first white-label online ordering platform designed exclusively for convenience stores. In this episode, we’ll chat about why the c-store industry is unique from grocery and restaurant categories, the technology stack powering these retailers, and how Vroom is helping smaller chains compete against players like Gopuff and DoorDash’s DashMart.
Oct 26, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 53
Stefan Kalb is the Co-Founder & CEO of Shelf Engine, an automated ordering and intelligent forecasting system that helps regional and national grocers like Target and Kroger improve their gross margins by an average of 30%. In this episode, we’ll chat about Shelf Engine’s unique pricing model that guarantees gross margin improvements, how it forecasts store-level inventory, and how its auto-replenishment modules create a better customer experience online and offline.
Oct 19, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Michael Saunders is the Co-Founder & CEO of Captain, a white-label restaurant ordering platform that recently launched Supper Club, a web3 eating community where foodies get rewarded for supporting their favorite restaurants. In this episode we’ll chat about the potential for the blockchain to power restaurant transactions, the evolution of restaurant delivery, and the myriad use cases for web3 at chains like Starbucks and Chipotle.
Oct 12, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Kevin Honaker is the Co-Founder & CEO of BiomeSense, a startup developing a novel biosensor platform that continuously measures the trillions of microbes in our guts with just a single piece of toilet paper. BiomeSense counts the leading researchers in the microbiome space like Dr. Jack Gilbert and Dr. Rob Knight as co-founders and advisors. In this episode, we’ll chat about the links between gut bacteria and various aspects of our health, how the industry suffers from unreliable data, and t...
Oct 05, 2022•59 min•Season 50Ep. 2
Carle Stenmark is a General Partner at VMG, a hybrid consumer growth equity and software venture fund with over $1.2bn in committed capital. The fund has backed names like Spindrift, Stone Brewing, and Kind on the consumer side and Wee!, Afresh, and Swell on the tech side. In this episode, we’ll chat about how VMG leverages its software investments to help its portfolio brands, the state of valuations for CPG and tech startups, and the future of personalization and sustainability.
Sep 28, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Art Sebastian is the VP of Digital Experiences at Casey’s, the third-largest convenience chain and the fifth-largest pizza retailer in the US. In this episode we’ll chat about the role of convenience stores in a world of quick commerce, how Casey’s has leveraged loyalty to drive customers to order prepared food alcohol, and groceries, and the digitization of the supply chain.
Sep 21, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Brandon Hill is the Co-Founder & CEO of Vori, an inventory management platform optimizing the supply chain for underserved independent grocers. In this episode we’ll chat about how Vori’s software helps reduce retailers’ food waste, manages their pricing, and brings real-time inventory to online marketplaces.
Sep 15, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Zach Noren is the Enterprise Partner Manager of Restaurants at Uber Direct. In this episode, we’ll chat about how Uber is providing whitelabel logistics for global QSR, grocery, and convenience chains, how it’s leveraging its earner base to drive down the cost of last mile delivery, and the role of middleware that makes everything talk to each other.
Sep 08, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Sarah Mastrorocco is the VP & General Manager of Access to Food & Nutrition at Instacart. In this episode, we’ll chat about the $100bn+ opportunity for grocers to accept online SNAP EBT payments, how the platform is expanding nutritional access for tens of millions of Americans, and the future of content and commerce. Note: The host is an investor in a limited partnership that is a shareholder of Instacart.
Sep 01, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Karuna Rawal is the CMO of Nature’s Fynd, a fungi-based protein platform with $500mm in funding from investors like Bill Gates and Al Gore. In this episode, we’ll talk about how Nature’s Fynd can be used across applications like dairy and meat, its strategy to sell itself as an ingredient to other CPGs, and the future of decentralized fermentation in emerging Asian and African markets.
Aug 24, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Brandon Barton is the CEO of Bite, a digital ordering software startup specializing in dynamic drive-thru displays and kiosks for QSR and fast casual brands. In this episode, we’ll talk about the future of on-premise dining, how personalization is improving his customers’ top-line growth, and of course, his hot takes on the latest trends within the broader intersection of food and technology.
Aug 18, 2022•57 min•Season 2Ep. 43
Na’ama Moran is the Co-Founder & CEO of Cheetah, a mobile app-based distributor to thousands of independent restaurants throughout the Bay Area. In this episode we’ll talk about the competitive landscape of digital players like Choco and Pepper, how the startup has begun acquiring traditional mom and pop distributors, and how it’s now leveraging machine learning to help restaurants maintain just-in-time inventory to reduce waste.
Aug 08, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 42
Marc Lotenberg is the Founder & CEO of Dorsia, a new reservations platform leveraging dynamic pricing to bring revenue management to the fine dining industry. In this episode, we’ll talk about what restaurants can learn from nightlife and travel industry pricing, the future of frictionless payments, and the walled garden of the reservation tech ecosystem.
Aug 01, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Jordan Bramble is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Local Kitchens, a next-generation food platform that helps local restaurants scale their pickup and delivery through a network of suburban-centric micro food halls. In this episode, we’ll chat about Local Kitchens’ proprietary tech powering its online and offline guest experiences, how it stands out from traditional ghost kitchens, and the future of food prepared outside the home.
Jul 22, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Tyler Huggins is the Co-Founder and CEO of Meati, an alt protein startup creating fungi-based substitutes for chicken, beef, and more. In this episode, we’ll chat about the current state of modern consumers’ relationship to meat, how Meati is providing a superior alternative through its nutritional profile, and how it’s been able to attract a roster of culinary thought leaders in the industry.
Jun 24, 2022•45 min•Season 39Ep. 2
Rishi Nigam is the Co-Founder & CEO of Franklin Junction, a marketplace of licensed brands like Fuku, Milk Bar, and Nathan's Famous and 350+ global enterprise restaurant host kitchens that fulfill orders for delivery. In this episode, we’ll chat about how the platform identifies new opportunities for CPG and restaurant brands to scale delivery in new markets, how the economics work between various partners, and the technology it leverages to unlock incremental sales.
Jun 17, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Zhong Xu is the Co-Founder & CEO of Deliverect, a leading online order management platform powering the digital backbone of restaurants and CPGs. In this episode, we’ll chat about the platform’s latest virtual brand marketplace for restaurants, how Unilever is using it to spin up 24/7 on-demand ice cream storefronts, and how merchants can successfully leverage the power of third-party marketplaces to make it work for their bottom lines.
May 27, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 37
Matt Jozwiak is the Founder & CEO of Rethink Food, a New York-based non-profit that has built a unique system that empowers local restaurants to provide nutritious ready-to-eat meals to local communities. In this episode, we’ll chat about how restaurants are donating surcharges from each check to feed local communities, how Rethink is building a marketplace to match local supply and demand for over 7mm meals, and how it’s rescued 1.2 million pounds of perfectly good food waste from some of t...
May 20, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Josh Domingues is the Founder & CEO of Flashfood, a mobile marketplace that connects shoppers to discounted produce and fresh food from local grocers that would have normally been thrown out. If food waste was a country, it would be the third largest global emitter of greenhouse gasses behind the US and China. In this episode, we’ll chat about the inflationary pressures that are challenging food accessibility, how Flashfood is changing consumer behavior, and how grocers are leveraging the pl...
May 13, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Matt Mahar is CEO of Cana, the world's first molecular beverage printer (or Star Trek beverage replicator). The startup is creating its own "app store" of beverages, allowing anyone to download tea, coffee, juices, sodas, and cocktails for 29 cents to $2.99 per drink without any packaged waste. In this episode, we’ll chat about the science behind Cana’s secret sauce, the immense environmental impact of the bottled beverage industry, and the long tail of potential beverage creators. The future is...
Apr 29, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 34
Alex Munoz-Suarez is the CEO of Fuku, a seven-year-old quick service fried chicken sandwich concept birthed from David Chang's Momofuku group. Fuku is now live in over 20 locations nationwide through a mix of ghost kitchens, stadium concessions, and corporate-owned locations. In this episode, we’ll talk about Fuku’s opex-light virtual licensing partnerships with Franklin Junction and Family Style, the entrepreneurial DNA inside Momofuku, and the lessons learned from David Chang’s 2016 vertically...
Apr 22, 2022•54 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Larissa Zimberoff is an investigative journalist focused on food tech and author of Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley’s Mission to Change What We Eat. Larissa has dug deep into startups like Just, QOA, Upside Foods, and AppHarvest for publications like Bloomberg, Fast Company, and Wired. In this episode, we’ll discuss Larissa’s critical eye towards trends like cell-cultured meat and ugly produce, what she’s most optimistic about, and her recent dinner series that hosts meaningful conversat...
Apr 15, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Atul Sood is the Chief Business Officer at Kitchen United, one of the leading ghost kitchen providers in the US with 13 live facilities. The startup has recently partnered with Simon Property Group and Westfield to open next-gen food courts within their malls as well as Kroger to allow shoppers the ability to mix and match from different virtual and physical restaurant brands in a single takeout or delivery order. In this episode we’ll talk about how ghost kitchens can disrupt the marketplace mo...
Apr 08, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 31
Stephen Klein is the Co-founder and CEO of Hyphen, an automated makeline for salads, bowls, tacos, and burritos, reducing total restaurant labor costs by nearly 50%. Thanks to its pricing model that charges restaurants as low as 70 cents per meal, the startup is transforming the fixed cost of kitchen labor into a variable "AWS for restaurant labor." We’ll chat about what sets Hyphen apart from other articulated robots, how it plans to expand into new categories, and the future creator economy ar...
Apr 01, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Zeke DeSantis and Conrad DeMasi are the co-founders of Provecho, a link-in-bio recipe product for the next generation of chef creators building their audiences on social media. On TikTok alone, there are nearly 60 billion views for content tagged #FoodTikTok, but no easy-to-follow recipe guide nor a streamlined way for culinary influencers to monetize their recipes through branded sponsorships. In this episode, we’ll dive into the startup’s two-sided marketplace between chefs, CPG brands, and co...
Mar 25, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Brendan Sweeney is the Co-Founder and CEO of Popmenu, a direct end-to-end platform that provides a website builder, online ordering platform, delivery aggregator, and more to over 6,000 small and medium sized restaurants. We'll chat about how the team used its outsider mindset to identify major whitespace for restaurants, the impact of first-party reviews on SEO, and the need for consolidation and competition in the space.
Mar 18, 2022•56 min•Season 2Ep. 28
