Making a Marketplace - Vevolution
Blog: Making a Marketplace
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 hello@veganstartuppod.com
Blog: Making a Marketplace
Our website: Vegan Startup
Click here to subscribe on Android or Apple iTunes
Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email hello@veganstartuppod.com
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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Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email hello@veganstartuppod.com
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
Click here to subscribe on Android or Apple iTunes
Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email hello@veganstartuppod.com
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
Click here to subscribe on Android or Apple iTunes
Get in touch on socials @veganstartuppod or by email hello@veganstartuppod.com
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 hello@veganstartuppod.com
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 hello@veganstartuppod.com
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