My Food Job Rocks!

Episodet

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  Dig In: How AI is Affecting Hiring in The Food Industry and Advice for Young People Going Forward with Nicole Gallace, founder of FoodGrads 10.09.2026 1h 3min

  Adam sits down with Nicole Gallace, Talent Solutions Manager at FoodGrads and Careers in Food, who founded FoodGrads back in 2016 and has spent 20+ years recruiting across the food and beverage world. A decade after Nicole gave Adam his very first platform, the two reconnect for a wide-ranging, freeform conversation about how much has changed — and what still matters. They dig into the real state of hiring in food manufacturing: the post-COVID swing from frontline roles back to skilled trades and professionals, the scramble for electricians and millwrights, and why "become a plumber" isn't advice that fits everyone. From there it's all AI — the hopeful-but-unsure businesses experimenting with ChatGPT and Claude, the pushback from young people who don't want a machine handing them the answers, and Adam's case for becoming "tech curious" as the real job-security skill. Along the way: AI-perfected resumes and the interviews that expose them, the em dash as an AI tell, smart glasses on the factory floor, and why the skills that don't get automated — communication, storytelling, critical thinking, showing up in person — are about to matter more, not less. They close on the human stuff: personal branding, being vulnerable in public, letting go of a bad co-founder split, and Nicole's north star — "nothing happens to you, everything happens for you." Find Nicole: FoodGrads.com and the That's a Food Job podcast with Veronica Hislop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Food Scientist Who Founded a Biotech Company with Laura Katz, Founder and CEO of Helaina 27.08.2026 58min

  What does it actually take to bring a human protein—one never before put into a human body orally—from a shared co-working lab to a partnership with the largest food company in the world? This week, Adam sits down with Laura Katz, founder and CEO of Helaina, the company making bioidentical human bioactive proteins, starting with its first commercialized product: a replica human lactoferrin sold under the trademark EFERA. Laura shares the whole journey. A self-described food scientist who knew at age ten that her purpose was to feed people, she cold-emailed her way into biotech with no network, no fancy school, and no idea what a venture capitalist was—collecting "hundreds of no's" along the way. From launching a lab in New York the same month COVID hit, to running over a hundred fermentation tanks at commercial scale, to publishing eleven peer-reviewed papers and running six clinical trials at once, she explains how Helena knocked through each milestone in step with its funding rounds. We get into the science of why lactoferrin is so hard to make (an 80-kilodalton molecule packed with disulfide bridges and glycosylation), why the biotech "market adjustment" is pushing the industry toward high-value molecules over commodities, and the surprising range of applications—from infant nutrition and prenatal iron deficiency to women's health, gut and immune health, and athletic performance. Along the way, Laura offers sharp, hard-won advice: be obsessed with the problem, not the product; do one thing right before doing anything else; skip the hype and the endless conference circuit in favor of the only two things that matter—driving revenue up and cost of goods down; and, for the next generation of food and biotech talent, show up "AI native," with a team of agents behind you. Whether you're a founder, a food scientist, or just curious about the cutting edge of what's going into our food, this one's full of substance. In this episode: Why "high-value molecules" are the future of food biotech What makes lactoferrin so valuable—and so hard to replicate Fundraising from zero: cold emails, persistence, and getting punched in the face daily Building an R&D and clinical engine that runs trials in-house The Nestlé partnership and Helena's B2B ingredient platform Why "if you can't pronounce it" is the wrong way to think about ingredients Advice for surviving—and thriving—in a tough biotech market Follow Laura and Helena on LinkedIn and Instagram, and learn more at Helena's website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Why Restaurants Live and Die By Their People with Christine Marvin, Founder of Columbine Hospitality 13.08.2026 54min

  What does it actually take to build a restaurant that lasts and to scale it without burning out? In this episode of My Food Job Rocks, Adam Yee sits down with Christin Marvin, CEO of Columbine Hospitality, who started as a 15-year-old line cook flipping enchiladas and went on to open 13 restaurants across concepts from speakeasy barbecue to casual French. Today she coaches multi-location restaurant owners on how to grow the right way. Christin shares the lessons that carried through her 20-year career: the difference between the creativity of independent restaurants and the discipline of chains (and why the best operators blend both), what real hospitality looks like when you listen closely and never say no, and the hidden costs that blindside first-time builders — from $80,000 sprinkler systems to million-dollar construction overruns. We also get into the hard stuff: why most owners scale out of ego instead of strategy, how to develop leaders from within so you can work on your business instead of in it, and her "low flame vs. high flame" approach to coaching people through uncomfortable feedback. Plus, an honest look at the toughest moment the industry has faced — rising costs, a post-pandemic talent shortage, grocery-store competition — and where AI genuinely helps versus where it should never touch the guest experience. Whether you run a restaurant, lead a team, or just love the business of food, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom on leadership, hiring for values, and why investing in people is the highest-ROI move you can make. In this episode: From line cook to five-star hotel to opening 13 restaurants Independent creativity vs. chain systems — and blending both Real hospitality: listening, saying yes, and creating memorable moments The hidden costs of building and scaling restaurants Why scaling out of ego leads to burnout Developing leaders from within to free up the owner Hiring for core values (you can't train those) "Low flame vs. high flame" coaching and giving hard feedback The toughest environment the industry has ever faced Where AI helps behind the scenes — and where it must stay out of the guest experience Connect with Christin Marvin: Email: [email protected] Website: columbinehospitality.com Podcast: The Restaurant Leadership Podcast (bi-weekly) LinkedIn: daily leadership content Free coaching session: email and mention you heard her on Adam Yee's show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What Adam Is Doing With His Life: An Interview with Nathan Schmidt on The CPG Level Up Podcast 30.07.2026 1h 4min

  An interview about my past career, present-day projects, and future insights Check out Nathan Schmidt's website: https://progressusolutions.com/ The CPG Level Up Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4rKQ00Gayuk2kIqERYWyTK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  My Food Job Rocks Every Other Week 23.07.2026 4min

  Starting next week, we will do an episode twice a month. But I'll still be on every week! Listen to the R&D Radio podcast on the Startup CPG podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Meat As a Technology with Bruce Friedrich, Author of MEAT, President and Founder of the Good Food Institute 09.07.2026 1h 7min

  Bruce Friedrich, president and founder of the Good Food Institute, joins the show to mark GFI's 10th anniversary and unpack a decade of building the plant-based and cultivated meat ecosystem. Drawing on his acclaimed new book Meat (a Publishers Weekly Top 10 and Nature Top 5 science pick, praised by Jane Goodall, Nobel laureate Michael Kremer, and Kim Stanley Robinson), Bruce makes the case that the real challenges were never about taste or technology alone. They were about scaling, regulation, and money. Adam and Bruce dig into how cultivated meat costs have plummeted 100,000-fold on a fraction of the funding of any comparable technology, why so many plant-based startups mistook themselves for "the next Impossible," and how 30+ governments went from zero funding to hundreds of millions in just six years. Along the way: Gartner hype cycles, the Waymo and Tesla parallels, the surprising promise of blended products, and honest career advice for food scientists eyeing an underserved field. A grounded, optimistic conversation about technology adoption, the fragility of our food system, and the unglamorous work of changing the world one tech challenge at a time. 📘 Learn more about the book at meatbook.org · Connect with Bruce on LinkedIn · Newsletters at gfi.org/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Launching Founders and Formulators: a cool event before IFT FIRST with Adam Yee and Daniel Scharff 02.07.2026 29min

  Light bites and refreshments are included with your ticket; please indicate any dietary restrictions in your ticket order confirmation form. Heads up, as always, we'll have VIPs in attendance as well! Hey Chicago: Startup CPG is hosting our first-ever Founders & Formulators event! Join us at the historic Palmer House Hotel for an afternoon of structured "speed-dating" with the top food scientists and product developers in town for IFT FIRST 2026. Finding the right formulator on your own usually means months of cold outreach, dead-end calls, and guessing whether someone's expertise even fits your product. This event skips that process entirely, giving you 1:1 time with multiple formulators. Each expert brings different knowledge, experience, and working style, so you’ll get lots of different perspectives which you can use to improve your product. Not necessarily looking to bring on a formulator? Come anyway. These formulators can taste your product, evaluate your formula in person, and give you expert insights you can't get from a call with someone who's never actually seen your product. Whether you're still in development and looking for a partner or trying to scale something that's already on shelves, bring what you're working on! Light bites and refreshments are included with your ticket; please indicate any dietary restrictions in your ticket order confirmation form. Heads up, as always, we'll have VIPs in attendance as well! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Dig In: How AI Saved Her Plant-based Cheese Business $250,000 Dollars with Kirsten Maitland Co-Owner at Rebel Cheese 25.06.2026 53min

  Kirsten Maitland co-founded Rebel With Cheese out of necessity — she went plant-based overnight, went looking for real artisanal vegan cheese, and couldn’t find any. So she started making it herself, first in a wine fridge, now in a full-scale cheese cave (the only vegan one of its kind, designed with a 40-year dairy expert). The cave-aged brie takes two weeks to make, gets touched by hand every single day, and convinced both Mark Cuban and Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank. But this episode isn’t just about cheese. Kirsten made Fast Company’s radar for something else: using AI to fight back against the notoriously opaque distributor model that quietly bleeds small CPG brands dry. After discovering she’d been overcharged by a quarter million dollars in shipping fees buried across hundreds of pages of invoices, she built her own AI-powered auditing tool — no developer background required — that now automatically flags billing variances every week. Adam and Kirsten get into how she did it, which tools she used (and why she uses Claude and Manus together rather than either alone), and the practical AI workflows she now runs across her whole business: weekly cash flow modeling, what-if scenario planning, brand handbooks, and her standout “100 questions” technique for building deep AI context from scratch. Resources Kirsten mentioned: Podcasts •       Leveraging AI •       AI Explored Newsletters •       Superhuman (superhuman.ai) — her favorite; quick, to-the-point, always valuable •       The Rundown AI (therundown.ai) •       Rubin Hassid — good for getting started (verify exact spelling) Tools •       Claude — projects, skills, cash flow modeling •       Manus — vibe-coding and tool building Find Kirsten •       Substack: Rebel Founder — weekly writing on AI and hard business problems •       Website: rebelcheese.com •       Fast Company article — on using AI to audit distributor invoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Innovation Topics on Consumer, GLP-1, Ultraprocessed, and How We Are Currently Marketing Things with Suzanne Allers, Founding Partner at Untapped Innovations 18.06.2026 1h 1min

  Suzanne Allers built her career bridging two worlds most people never connect: P&G beauty product development and the fast-moving, low-margin world of food innovation. As a partner at Untapped Innovation Consulting, she's spent over 20 years helping brands translate consumer insight into product and product back into story. In this episode, Suzanne breaks down why food consumers don't think in "problems" the way skincare consumers do, and what that means for how you research and design a product. She digs into why R&D teams are often the best-positioned people in a company to write a brand's core story (and why marketing still has a critical role to play after that). The conversation also covers the GLP-1 effect rippling through food and beauty, the "premiumization" of ingredients like fiber and protein, and how to tell a real cultural shift apart from a fad before you bet your roadmap on it. Suzanne also shares a first look at her upcoming book, Untapping Innovation, a practical playbook of the tools and frameworks her firm has used across categories from personal care to PepsiCo. What we cover: Going from theoretical chemistry and a P&G internship to co-founding Untapped Innovation Why food and beauty consumers need to be researched differently Using storytelling frameworks in R&D, and why the consumer (not the product) is the hero How GLP-1 medications are reshaping cravings, spend, and product strategy in food Premiumization trends in fiber and protein ingredients Telling fads from trends, using the plant-based meat boom and bust as a case study A preview of her new book, Untapping Innovation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Dig In: Beverage Science and Taste Modulation with Lauren Senne, Senior Application Scientist (and more) at Imbibe 11.06.2026 55min

  Lauren Senne, Senior Manager of Applications and Taste Modulation at Imbibe, joins the show to demystify what flavorists actually do and why their work is one of the most fascinating fusions of art and science in our industry. We dig into the realities of formulating beverages with high-protein, functional, and botanical ingredients, the difference between bitter blockers and maskers, and why sweetener proteins like Thaumatin and Brazzein are a space to watch. Lauren also shares practical tips for vetting flavors quickly, choosing flavor profiles that harmonize with off-notes (peaches, berries, anything-and-cream), and what it really takes to become a certified flavorist. A must-listen for anyone formulating drinks, working with functional ingredients, or just curious about the hidden craft behind your favorite RTD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  From Corporate to Fractional with Stephanie Zhuang, Founder of Title Brand Management 04.06.2026 1h 9min

  Stephanie Zhuang is the founder of Tidal Brand Management, a fractional marketing services firm specializing in startup CPG brands across food, beverage, and supplements. In this episode, we cover her journey from fine arts to corporate brand management at Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Vega, and Campbell’s — and what finally pushed her to go out on her own. Stephanie shares why CPG marketing is more analytical than people realize, why supplements outperform food in DTC, and the real math behind premiumization. We also talk about the honest questions you should ask yourself before leaving a corporate job to build something solo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Dig In: How Digital Ads Work In Food with Mateusz Drela, Co-Founder of Retail Media IQ 28.05.2026 48min

  Ever wonder why some food brands seem to blow up on Amazon or Instacart while others burn through their ad budget with nothing to show for it? In this episode, I sit down with Mat Drela, CEO and founder of Retail Media IQ, who has spent 17 years mastering performance marketing across thousands of campaigns. We dig into the world of retail media the ads you see on Instacart, Amazon, and your favorite grocery apps and what CPG founders actually need to know before they spend a single dollar. If you're building a food brand and you're curious about how to turn digital shelf space into real sales, this one is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Building a Food Business in North Carolina with Becca Wright, Founder and CEO of Piedmont Pennies 21.05.2026 55min

  Becca Wright, founder of Piedmont Pennies, joins the show to share how a grandmother’s cheese cracker recipe became a Southern specialty brand sold in 450+ stores across 47 states. She breaks down why specialty retail is the smartest launchpad for new food brands, how demoing reveals truths your spreadsheet never will, and the mindset shift that keeps founders steady through the highs and lows. We also dig into the North Carolina food ecosystem, Eastern vs. Western barbecue, and what “community over competition” really looks like in CPG. A masterclass in scrappy, intentional brand building from the heart of the Carolinas. Promo Code Use code FOODROCKS20 for 20% off at PiedmontPennies.com Key Links for Show Notes •   Piedmont Pennies website: piedmontpennies.com •   Social: @PiedmontPennies (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook) •   NC IDEA grant program •   NC State Food Lab •   Startup CPG community •   Weaver Street Market (Raleigh/Carrboro/Hillsborough/Southern Village) •   Reed’s Fine Foods (Charlotte) •   Fresh Market, Lowe’s Foods (NC local sections) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Dig In: Stories About Finance in Food with Abby June Richards, Fractional CFO at the CPG CFO 12.05.2026 47min

  What does it really take to understand the numbers behind your CPG brand? This week, Adam sits down with Abby June Richards, founder and fractional CFO of The CPG CFO, to demystify the financial side of the consumer packaged goods world. Abby shares how she went from 20+ years in public accounting to building a thriving fractional CFO practice serving emerging CPG founders and why she'll never go back to traditional accounting. In this episode, you'll learn the difference between finance and accounting, why most financial models sit unused on a shelf, and how the simple 4:1 cost-to-retail ratio can be a cheat code for pricing your product. Abby breaks down why retention is one of the most powerful (and overlooked) levers in your business, why raising prices is often the bravest and smartest move a founder can make, and how collaboration between finance, sales, and operations is where the magic really happens. She also shares the now-famous Lupini pizza story — where an accidental $25 price tag still moved units and proved that special brands can charge what they're worth. Whether you're pre-revenue, scaling into retail, or just trying to figure out if your business actually has margin, this conversation will give you the clarity (and courage) to look at your numbers with new eyes. Because as Abby says: if you don't have margin, you don't have a business. Find Abby: Website: thecpgcfo.com LinkedIn: Abby June Richards Free resources: Cash Fight Framework, Cash Flow Forecasting Tool, and Know Your Numbers handout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What Does It Take to Become Department Head? with Job Ubbink, Food Science Professor and Department Head at University of Minnesota 07.05.2026 1h 2min

  Dr. Job Ubbink is a professor and the head of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, with a career spanning Givaudan, Nestlé, his own consultancy, and Cal Poly before landing in the Twin Cities. In this episode, we trace his unconventional path from chemistry and a Michelin-starred restaurant kitchen in the Netherlands to global R&D leadership and academia. Job shares his vision for food science as a broader, people-centered discipline, one that integrates physical chemistry, community, culture, and the realities of small artisanal producers. We also get into industry-academia collaboration, the ultra-processed foods debate, and what young food scientists need to do to become decision-makers, not just technical resources. LinkedIn account under: linkedin.com/in/job-ubbink-11204b7 and lab website at: ubbinklab.cfans.umn.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Dig In: How The Heck Do I Use Claude? (And Other Useful AI Tools) with Grace Uvezian, VP of Marketing at Appetronix 30.04.2026 59min

  Grace Uvezian is VP of Marketing at Appetronix, the company building fully autonomous robotic kitchens deployed in airports, universities, and stadiums including a live location at Columbus International Airport. In this episode, we go deep on how Grace uses Claude, MCPs, and AI automation to run her marketing function, including how she generated $5M in PR value at Spice using Zapier, the exact way she structures prompts with voice tools like Whisper Flow, and her philosophy on getting comfortable giving AI access to your data. Whether you're AI-curious or AI-skeptical, Grace breaks down what these tools can and cannot do in practical, food-tech-relevant terms. A must-listen for anyone in CPG or food service trying to figure out where AI actually fits into their workflow. Find Grace: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-uvezian/Substack: https://substack.com/@graceu    My episode about AI: https://wolfingdownfoodscience.buzzsprout.com/1609819/episodes/19070967-are-you-an-apocaloptimist-review-of-the-ai-doc-with-adam-yee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  A New and Cool Way To Market Apples With Tenley Fitzgerald, VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy at Yes! Apples® 23.04.2026 54min

  Tenley Fitzgerald, VP of Marketing & Brand Strategy at Yes! Apples®, joins the show to talk about turning a 100-year-old apple operation into a consumer-facing brand. From launching FreshDirect's social media to partnering with Bob's Burgers at Blue Apron, Tenley shares how brand collaborations unlock new audiences and why the apple category is ripe for disruption. We dig into the challenges of branding a commodity in a private-label world, using D2C data to make smarter marketing decisions, and what it takes to build something from the ground up with sheer force of will. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Dig In: Suing the United States Government with Ori Zohar, Co-CEO and Co-founder of Burlap and Barrel 16.04.2026 53min

  Ori Zohar, co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, returns to discuss how his 10-year-old bootstrapped spice company is taking the U.S. government to court over tariffs they believe are illegal. Ori shares the real financial impact tariffs have on small food businesses, why big food companies stay silent, and how Burlap & Barrel is channeling brand activism to fight for smallholder farmers worldwide. They also dive into the bootstrapping vs. venture capital debate and why small businesses are the true backbone of the American food economy Find out more: www.burlapandbarrel.com or on Instagram at @burlapandbarrel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Lessons on a Sustainable Business and a Sustainable Life with Adam Hiner, Co-founder and CEO of Pacha 09.04.2026 55min

  Adam Heiner, CEO and cofounder of Pacha, a sprouted buckwheat brand, shares his journey from the mortgage industry to founding the first hard kombucha brand (Boochcraft) and now running a sprouted buckwheat bakery with just two ingredients. We dive into contract farming with regenerative farmers, the hard lessons of scaling a beverage startup, and how to build an assembly-line mindset on the production floor. Adam also opens up about living in an intentional community and why integrating your values into your work is the only way he knows how to do it.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Podcast Swap: Introducing R&D Radio on the Startup CPG Podcast Episodes with Daniel Scharff and Rachel Zemser 02.04.2026 59min

  Adam Yee has a new podcast! Introducing R&D Radio, a segment where he interviews food scientists and how they help food brands on the Startup CPG podcast. In this episode, we'll be sharing two episodes: one with Danile Scharff interviewing Adam and Adam interviewing Rachel Zemser along with some insights on podcasting in general. Expect two podcast episodes every month and a newsletter. There's also a ton of content that Startup CPG supplies to young food brands. It's the best. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices