In this episode I interview Fran Costigan – aka The Queen of Vegan Desserts! The native New Yorker is an internationally renowned chef, culinary instructor and cookbook author. Professionally trained, Fran was a chef in both traditional and vegan pastry kitchens before moving into teaching over 20 years ago. Since then she’s instructed home cooks and professionals in the art of transforming traditional desserts into luscious cholesterol-free vegan versions that satisfy all dietary preferences. H...
Jun 19, 2016•1 hr 10 min
In this episode I interview Pana Barbounis of Pana Chocolate in Melbourne, Australia. Four years ago when he launched the raw, vegan, organic brand, he filled the first few orders himself. He wrapped them and delivered them on the back of his motorbike. Now the business takes over $5 million a year and products are sold in over 3,000 stockists in 24 countries. The company employs over 80 staff and recently opened a London office to service the European market. Pana plans to expand into the US la...
Jun 12, 2016•44 min
In this episode I interview Giacomo Marchese, the co-founder with his partner Dani Taylor of Vegan Proteins, an online store selling a range of vegan supplements. The couple also co-founded PlantBuilt, a non-profit organization of strength-based vegan athletes who compete together to raise awareness of vegan living, as well as funds to help farm animal sanctuaries. A fitness aficionado for over 20 years, Giacomo has been vegan for more than 10 of those. He actively competes in bodybuilding and p...
Jun 04, 2016•46 min
In this episode I interview Karen Knowler, founder of The High Vibrational Woman and The Raw Food Coach. Karen is an award-winning international business coach, and a world-renowned raw food expert of almost two decades. Based in Hertfordshire, England, Karen’s biggest passion is helping other women to go after their desires and to create and live the life that they truly dream of. A spiritual awakening in her early 20s in 1998 led to Karen leaving behind a high-flying career in publishing to wo...
May 28, 2016•1 hr 6 min
In this episode I interview Florian and Shannon Radke from Cinnaholic, a vegan bakery franchise offering hand-made vegan cinnamon rolls with more than 30 different flavors and toppings. The couple, who are both animal activists and ethical vegans, met through the Couchsurfing.com website in 2008 in a group for vegans and vegetarians where Shannon offered to take like-minded travelers on a tour of San Francisco. Florian was planning a trip from his native Germany to couch-surf around California. ...
May 21, 2016•58 min
In this episode I interview Renia Pruchnicki, owner of Truth Belts in Canada. After graduating from her studies in fashion design at Ryerson University in Toronto, Renia worked for various companies, designing skiwear, backpacks, and soft-sided coolers, gaining an extensive knowledge of human-made, technical materials. She started Truth Belts in 2001 from her apartment in downtown Toronto, with a desire to create a life she loved while doing something positive for the planet. Having no experienc...
May 14, 2016•47 min
In this episode I interview Ginger Burr from Total Image Consultants in Massachusetts. Ginger’s been running her image consulting and fashion styling business for 29 years, although it wasn’t until 2005 that she became vegan and incorporated these ethics into her brand. A music major at college, Ginger did a stint at modelling school and as a typist at MIT before finding her calling at the age of 30 to empower women to feel good about who they are, both inside and out and launched Total Image Co...
May 07, 2016•54 min
In this episode, I interview Jennifer Pardoe, owner of Zest Plant Based Food Consulting, the UK’s first food consultancy to work exclusively on plant-based products in the raw, vegan and free-from markets. Zest is the UK’s go-to agency for plant-based product development, branding, marketing, business plans and scaling. The company works with a diverse range of clientele, from early stage businesses, through to large corporations in both the consumer product and food service sectors. Jennifer la...
Apr 30, 2016•47 min
In this episode I interview Miyoko Schinner of Miyoko’s Kitchen in California Miyoko’s Kitchen is an award-winning producer of cultured nut products – including a range of fantastic vegan cheeses and a new vegan butter product. The company is only 18 months old, but has seen massive growth in this time and its founder Miyoko Schinner has been working in the plant-based foods arena for several decades. She started her first business in Tokyo when she was in her 20s, lugging heavy pound cakes on h...
Apr 23, 2016•52 min
In this episode I interview Maz Valcorza, owner of Sadhana Kitchen organic, raw vegan wholefoods cafe in Sydney, Australia. Maz studied nursing at university and then embarked on a high-flying corporate sales career in the pharmaceuticals industry, living a life of constant parties, chain-smoking and eating whatever she wanted, without considering the repercussions of her actions. Stepping onto a yoga mat in 2010 – initially with the intention of just toning her butt – propelled her in a whole d...
Apr 16, 2016•54 min
In this episode I interview Victoria Moran from Main Street Vegan Academy. Victoria is a hugely successful writer who’s been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show – twice – as well as in other high-profile media including Good Morning America and The Washington Post. She’s been vegan for 31 years and her college thesis was the first work on vegan philosophy and practice to be put out by a major publisher, back in 1985. Victoria is the bestselling author of 12 books, covering areas such as spiritual...
Apr 09, 2016•54 min
In this episode I interview Nichole Dandrea from Nicobella Organics, makers of vegan, organic, dark chocolate truffles, in Atlanta, Georgia. Since launching their truffles in late 2009 Nicobella – which combines the names of Nichole and her toy poodle Isabella – have created more healthy treats with their munch line and peanut butter squares. Nichole is a registered dietitian and yoga instructor with a passion for bringing healthy, plant-based, ethical treats to people – and believes dark chocol...
Apr 02, 2016•51 min
In this episode, I interview Tim Barford, owner of organic hemp products firm Yaoh and organizer of the VegFestUK festivals, which attract tens of thousands of visitors each year. Tim’s owned Yaoh since the 1990s. Based in Bristol, Yaoh has topped the Ethical Consumer Magazine’s Best Buy categories 4 times for its range of organic, vegan food and bodycare products. As well as running their own events in Brighton, Bristol, London and Scotland, VegFestUK also sponsors and supports other vegan even...
Mar 25, 2016•1 hr 3 min
In this episode, I interview Jeremy Johnson, owner of Vegan Perfection in Melbourne, Australia. Jeremy’s interview will be particularly informative for those of you interested in importing products internationally and also getting products into retailers. Jeremy became vegan while he was living in the UK. When he moved to Australia, he was initially frustrated at the lack of products available, so he filled a gap by starting Vegan Perfection whose core business is as a wholesaler and distributor...
Mar 20, 2016•48 min
In this episode, I interview JL Fields, vegan lifestyle coach and educator, Food for Life instructor, co-creator of Real World Vegan Meal Plans, kitchen coach, personal chef, career coach, and a corporate consultant offering wellness training, brand representation, and strategic planning services. JL runs the popular blog JL Goes Vegan and she’s the host of the Easy Vegan with JL Fields show on KCMJ, which is Colorado Springs Community Radio. She’s the author of the book Vegan Pressure Cooking a...
Mar 12, 2016•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, I interview Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza from Candle Café, Candle Café West and Candle 79, which are vegan, organic fine dining restaurants in New York City. This is another audio interview I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. Joy and Bart have been in business for several decades, so as you can imagine, they have a wealth of experience and they were so kind and generous in sharing it with me. They’re a lovely couple and Joy’s name is totally ref...
Mar 04, 2016•1 hr 7 min
In this episode, I interview Ella Nemcova, founder of The Regal Vegan which produces vegan gourmet spreads, including the renowned Faux Gras, Basilicotta and Superfood Pesto. This is another audio interview I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. Ella’s products are in the gourmet, premium range and she’s a great example of a small business owner coming up with a unique product and managing to raise the company’s profile through that, which allowed her to add new pr...
Feb 23, 2016•1 hr 7 min
In this episode, I interview UK publicist Karin Ridgers, owner of Mad Promotions who also runs online TV station VeggieVision TV. This is another audio interview I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. I love Karin because she’s so passionate about PR – in fact I hired her to do some PR for me when I launched Vegan Ventures at London VegFestUK in October last year and she got me on LBC Radio, the UK largest talkback radio network. What I’ve found about Karin is she’...
Feb 20, 2016•47 min
In this episode I interview Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, a multi-million-dollar businessman and vegan investor. Sebastiano was recently profiled in Forbes magazine in connection with a 20-course, gourmet plant-based dinner created by chef Daphne Cheng that he hosted in New York. Born in Milan, Italy, he was taught wine appreciation by his father as a child and is the owner and chairman of one of the most renowned and pioneering organic and biodynamic wineries in Europe, Querciabella. Querciabe...
Feb 13, 2016•44 min
In this episode, I interview Seth Tibbott, founder of Turtle Island Foods which produces the range of renowed Tofurky alternative meat products. This is another audio interview I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. It was such a pleasure to interview Seth because he’s run a vegan business for over 20 years and seen massive success. But it wasn’t always like that – he had some tough times and it actually took him many years before his business turned a profit. And ...
Feb 06, 2016•47 min
In this episode, I interview Heather Lounsbury, owner of Live Natural, Live Well in Santa Monica, California and author of Fix Your Mood With Food. This is another audio interview I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. The first few episodes of Vegan Business Talk have been with business owners who have a widget to sell – a product. Heather, though, is a service provider. She’s a Chinese Medicine Practitioner and Acupuncturist. In this interview Heather talks about...
Jan 30, 2016•43 min
In this episode, I interview Georgie Campbell, co-founder of Addiction Food in Sydney, Australia. This is another audio interview I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business and Georgie’s a good friend of mine too. I met her when she was first starting out with Addiction Food and I’ve been so happy to watch her business that she runs with her husband Grant grow over the years into the success it is today. I know they’ve both worked incredibly hard and it’s really great t...
Jan 23, 2016•38 min
In this episode, I interview Mellissa Morgan, founder of Ms. Cupcake, a vegan bakery in the UK’s South London, whose tagline is ‘The Naughtiest Cakes in Town’. It's also the name of her fabulous cookbook. This interview with Mellissa is another one that I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. Mellissa gives some great tips including: • Why you should invest in branding up front • How her strong branding sets her apart from the crowd to the point where if 50 other ve...
Jan 11, 2016•45 min
In this episode, I interview T.K. Pillan, one of the co-founders of Veggie Grill, a healthy, fast-food chain in the US. This is one of the audio interviews I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. What’s interesting about Veggie Grill is that from the outset, the owners’ vision and plans were to create a chain of restaurants, never just one. In this interview T.K. talks about: • The strategies he and his co-founders used to establish a chain of 28 restaurants. • The ...
Jan 11, 2016•41 min
In this first episode of Vegan Business Talk, I interview Sugandh Agrawal, owner of vegan handbag brand Gunas in New York. Plus a round up of latest vegan business news. This is an interview I did for my book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business. Sugandh talks about: The challenges to stay affordable while maintaining quality and ethics and making a profit. Balancing the demands of family life with running a new business The importance of honesty and being open with customers And m...
Jan 09, 2016•47 min
