This is an episode of Crisis Meets Opportunity, a podcast I do every Monday WEEKLY with my friend Kai Wang. Enjoy listening about our week, current events, and the insider details on the launch of Sobo Foods! Episode breakdown is generally 2 current events, a business diagnosis and a thoughtful end-of-episode thing about life advice. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6mCouRehIWU8tQsHqWqvMM Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crisis-meets-opportunity/id1615486011

Today we’re interviewing Karen Chiu, Senior Brand and Business Development Manager at Lypid Food. A foodtech ingredient company that creates Phytofat, a plant-based fat that’s healthier and more sustainable than animal fat. I actually was able to meet Karen before the interview in which she invited me to try the phytofat burger at San Burino. This was a really interesting place in Taipei as it felt like I stepped into an American mini mall. Anyways, we couldn’t do the interview over there so we did it when I was in Kaohsiung online. Karen’s specialty is branding and she actually did a bit of branding in the United States. She’s specifically interested in community and what aligns in what Karen does has to do a lot with community.   Karen’s first job is with Green Monday, in what I see is a company with a huge presence in Asia. This company does a really good job with brand integrity as it seems like everyone in every Asian country knows them. She then talks about her experience working for both Green Monday and Lypid. We also get into a deep dive on how to put a unique ingredient into the hands of restauranters and the feedback loop you develop when launching a successful collaboration.

Today we’re interviewing Evelyn Sun, Investment Manager at Foodland Ventures, a VC firm in Taiwan. Ok so now we’re going to see Taiwan’s view on food tech. For those that don’t know, Taiwan is a powerhouse when it comes to innovation. I went to about like, 3 museums per country and one of the most memorable museums I went to was the National Science and Technology Museum in Kaohsiung, the coastal southern city of Taiwan. Oh man, Taiwan smokes everyone when it comes to the thoughtfulness and more importantly, the investments they put into business-to-business play is impressive. 92% of the world’s tennis rackets, their semiconductor industry is a behemoth,   What I found interesting is Taiwan’s view on loyalty. The people in Taiwan love being Taiwanese. I’m not going into the politics here but what was interesting is that the General partners in Foodland Ventures were successful American entrepreneurs who came back to Taiwan to cultivate and grow better businesses. Anyway, Evelyn shares with me some of the focuses and innovations happening in not just food tech, but also things like ag tech and restaurant tech. It really is a great overview of Taiwan’s entrepreneurial tech industry.

Today we’re interviewing Mai Bach, Co-founder and CEO of Oochacha, one of the first vegan restaurants in Taiwan that serve raw smoothies. She’s a social entrepreneur who walks the walk and talks the talk. Mai and her husband/business partner did a 6-month trip around Asia and then settled down in Taiwan to start a vegan business. Sound familiar? Mai is an amazing conversationalist. I didn’t even edit this episode all that much because she just spoke so eloquently and was just full of knowledge. She talks about Taiwan being this small but big city and why she decided to set up shop here. Mai also goes through her vegan experience in Taiwan and talks about how hard it was to get nourished as a Vegan. So like all great entrepreneurs, she recognized a problem and then developed a solution which was green smoothies. Also, why don’t Asian vegans eat garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, all the alliums? I was so confused by Mai demystifies it, it‘s apparently a Buddhist practice because alliums flare up the emotions. So if you’re ever entering the vegan Asian market, you might be at a disadvantage if you’re using garlic and onion. Wow, I don’t think I could ever cook without those. Vegan is a relatively new term in Asia and it’s also super diverse so it’s been amazing unearthing on just how nascent the industry is  Overall, Mai’s journey building Ochacha is a masterclass example of finding a niche, finding out how to build something in a foreign country, and just being persistent in the decade in building this amazing concept We have a really good discussion before we actually started the podcast so I kept that in. Sorry for the Noise, we actually do this in Mai’s café in Taipei. At lunchtime, it was packed.

Today we chat with Yuki Hanyu, Founder and CEO of IntegriCulture Inc., a cellular agriculture platform company developing cell-based meat and the technologies needed to produce it efficiently at scale. He is also the Founder of the Shojinmeat Project, a citizen-science nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing an open-source, inclusive future for cellular agriculture. Before starting Integriculture, Yuki started the Shojin Meats, is a project Yuki started that allows you to create cultivated meat from home. Yuki explains the unique process in the episode which I find quite insane. If you had no money, and no expertise to create cultivated meat, how would you do it? Yuki gives us a playbook in this episode on how you could create it, in your house! Yuki talks about crowdfunding a movement by using out-of-this world marketing tactics such as posting on video and putting a manual at a comic convention and reminds me of the early days of Apple, where a bunch of scrappy enthusiasts gathered together to create something amazing. I first met Yuki in California at Alex Shirazi’s Cultured Meat Symposium where in his presentation, he showed a video of him making cultivated meat in his apartment. If you get overwhelmed by technical jargon, you’re not alone! Yuki is an extremely smart and hyper-energetic drive. We also talk about some of the frustrations of regulation of cultivated meat and the governmental understanding and perception of cultivated meat is well, across the board. There is some hope that Japan is being proactive about this type of technology. We also talk about a lot of different anime and manga, science fiction shows and scenarios! So again, if you get lost don’t worry, it’s all part of the interview on how Yuki finds inspiration in his work, by the way, you might notice why Adam knows so much about this topic? Well… hard to explain Yuki is amazing. His transparency, his brain, his drive and his geekiness is really magnetic. You’ll also see a geeky side of me, which I think was quite useful when talking to Yuki.

Today we’re interviewing Satoshi Umino, founder of Sustainable Foods Asia, a consulting firm that helps companies enter the Japanese market. Satoshi personally works with companies to prop and pop up restaurants and educates consumers about unique food ingredients. I’ve met Satoshi multiple times when I was back in the United States and it’s been real good bumping into him. It seems like a lot of Japanese companies are going to the United States to find the next big innovation. Our manufacturing partner has been courting through Japanese companies through his facility so something’s there. Satoshi does a great job describing the Japanese’s culture when it comes to tasting food and it’s been real interesting learning about how he’s introducing new food to the Japanese market. Pay attention specifically how he introduces things like jackfruit, spirulina and moringa, all fantastically new ingredients, to Japan Our world is global, and food itself is global and people like Satoshi are needed to explain just why our global food system is so cool. Satoshi echo’s Akiko’s interview in what the Japanese consumers look for in terms of the values go for food and some clarification on what the Japanese want in their food. It’s always amazing just thinking about the new friendships I’ve made throughout this journey and just having a network of global faces that I’ve seen coming to America has been absolutely wonderful.

Today we’re interviewing Akiko Okada, Research and Insight Specialist at SigmaXYZ. A consulting firm in Japan. Akiko is also the main point of contact for Smart Kitchen Summit Japan, a satellite conference of Michael Wolf’s conference of the same name, Akiko gives us a short history of the innovation of Japan, in which she played a huge part of in her past life. I think this interview also gives me perspective on what exactly is food tech. Whenever I talk about food tech, I generally gravitate to alternative proteins, but that’s not the case. Food Tech is where we apply any technology to food. Though the material is the cool part, there are tons of other sectors in Food Tech I personally have no idea about! One of my favorite quotes from Akiko was out discussion on the first SKS conference in Japan. Apparently, it was just a small 200 person conference but they were all full of crazy, passionate, people! You’ll also learn how SigmaXYZ works with big companies and startups to win. The startup mentioned in this is Base Foods. Check them out! I remember talking to them like 4 years back and now they’re big in Japan. And of course, I talk to Akiko about Japanese entrepreneurship. In general, Japan doesn’t have many startups because it’s too risky, but Akiko gives me hope that, that soon might change. When it comes to sustainability, the Japanese have a very different viewpoint on food. Basically, they don’t really care if food is sustainable, but they care about other things in food tech.

Today we’re interviewing Jennifer Stokjovic, author of The Future of Food Is Female, Founder of the Vegan Woman’s Summit, and VC partner at Joyful VC. Jennifer is pretty much everywhere when it comes to food tech and coincidentally enough, she was in South Korea while I was there. But unlike me who was in South Korea goofing off, Jennifer was there advocating for food technology at the World Knowledge forum. Helen told me after her interview that she was in town, I sent a quick text and 4 hours later, I took a Korean taxi to one of the fanciest hotels I’ve ever seen and met Jennifer, where we proceeded to do a podcast right at the hotel. Amazing. Jennifer is, of course, a force. Extremely passionate, extremely productive, and extremely knowledgable and her ability to use her connections, knowledge pool and mission brings me in awe. So expect a ton in this interview as we go back and forth on our predictions in food. Lots of very interesting tidbits on policy, on environmental issues, and on the funding environment. Big insights on the diversity of our current food tech environment and how Jennifer has taken charge to change this. We also dive into practical advice on how we can make our ecosystem flourish through diversity. Jennifer has a great and compelling reason for fighting for compassion and animal rights. Deeply personal, but extremely valuable to learn and process. One of the quotes I loved during this interview is how to think about the future. One of the quotes that Jennifer says is that: The world is not going to be worse but it’s going to be different

Today we’re interviewing Helen Gi, Founder of HAE Creative, a mission-driven consultant agency that helps a ton of plant-based brands understand South Korea. HAE stands for Human Health Animal Liberation and Environmental Sustainability We do this in a district in Korea called Itaewon! Itaewon is crazy, it’s this unique, sloping melting pot of so many different cultures and vanity. My friend and I found a bar crawl there and we were surprised how many foreigners showed up. Helen is such a helpful and giving person who has great insights on the Korean vegan community and has worked in a variety of industries throughout her life. She is eloquent and so community driven and has a lot of heart in what she does and it shows in the interview. Since Helen collaborates with other food tech players globally, You’ll also get a better understanding on how the Korean market works. It’s a great testbed for innovation. You’ll also get a good feel on the values and views of entrepreneurship in Korea. I find this topic fascinating as you realize that culture is a big part of being an entrepreneur. In America, we are really gung ho about entrepreneurship. We also have a lot of data, research, talent and drive in America compared to most countries. What I’ve found most inspiring about South Korea’s food tech community is that it’s carried by some fantastic individuals who really care about the future they create. Perhaps one can say that all great things start with someone who will stop at nothing to make a difference in the world.

Today we’re interviewing Jimmy Sohn, founder of TechnoPlus, but does a variety of other things to help bring innovative food technologies to Korea. He is described as a one-man-army who has a vast variety of skillsets and understands food really well. I’ve been a linkedin connection with Jimmy for years and it’s so awesome to meet him in person in Korea. Jimmy has been following and contributing to the cultivated meat movement since the beginning. Jimmy has a degree in hotel management and used to manage restaurants and become a chef. Once he moved to Korea, he found out about food tech, specifically cultivated meat, and has shared his interest with other likeminded individuals. Cool part of the interview is his insights to the Korean market. Jimmy has all eyes and ears in the Korean market when it comes to what they like and don’t like. This includes things like plant-based meat and cultivated. Jimmy brings perspective on the opportunities and challenges in the Korean market and is a great teaser to the wonderfully complex world of Korean pop culture.

Today we’re interviewing Adam Richman food author, expert, and culinary entrepreneur of The HISTORY Channel’s popular non-fiction series “The Food That Built America”. I first saw Adam Richman on the show, Man vs Food! So we had to start with that journey first What I find amazing about this interview is how Adam takes all of these very interesting cultural touchstones from art, to culture, to food and accumulates these experiences over time. Of course, this is why he’s such a good host and commentator in his career in food. The road to his first big break as the Host of Man vs Food is full of these brick-by-brick experiences that cumulated into his continuing success as a TV show host for a variety of super cool food-specific series. Currently, Adam is doing shows for the History channel including “The Food that Built America!” Which is debuting it’s 4th season. This season started on Feburary 9th and there’s 16 jam-packed episodes including episodes where brands face off against each other such as: Chick-Fil-A vs. Popeyes, Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts Hot Pockets vs. Totinos.  But I’m interested in the host, someone I’ve been watching since I was a kid. I remember Man vs Food quite well and I was so honored to be asked to interview Adam.  So Adam goes through his whole life. From his childhood to his college, to his lowest point, to his killer audition for Man vs Food. It’s an inspiring story that all comes together. Very important, Adam talks about a lot of things, and you will notice his specific detail on a variety of things throughout his life. All of the examples and the opportunities he took accumulate beautifully when he applies to Man vs Food. Adam crushed it. The role was meant for him.

Today we’re interviewing Edwin Yang, brewmaster and supply chain manager for Vattanac, a brewery in Cambodia! This interview isn’t about mental trauma or how the world is about to end, let’s have a refresher, or a refreshment and learn about the wonderful world of beer! Edwin is a world traveler and has honed his brewery skills by learning other countries’ skillset and cultures Sound familiar? He’s a Singaporean native but has been all over the world from the United States, to Germany, to Hong Kong, improving his skill set in the world of beer. Edwin gives us a snapshot of Cambodia’s growing ecosystem and the wild west competitive atmosphere in the beer industry over here. He also goes through the process of brewing three types of beer and also some cool tricks on how to market beer. Did you know if you crack open Cambodian beer, you have a chance to win a prize? Just look under the tab, and you might win a beer or a bike? My personal favorite part of this interview is that we drink three beers live on air! And Edwin does a phenomenal job going through the experience of tasting beer.

Today we’re interviewing Chole Sorvino, Forbes reporter and author of the new book, Raw Deal, Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and The Fight for the Future of Meat This is a book that is a deep dive into the meat industry and its future. This includes food tech such as plant-based and cultivated. Chole’s viewpoint is what I’d view as skeptical but it’s well-researched and the perspective is much needed in this industry. Colored in this book is the quick 5 decade history of the scale-up of animal agriculture, the externalities in terms of how the meat industry acquires labor and the environmental damages caused by the tons of waste generated daily.   Biggest takeaway? The meat industry we know has quite a brutal history of taking advantage of and proliferating its tactic for world domination. Conventional meat is an innovative technology (which is efficient and huge slaughterhouses that kill, tear apart, and clean animals extremely fast) and has influenced how we eat and we don’t even notice it!  But to be frank, this industry is only 50 years old. It’s actually an amazing case study of scaling a premium product with huge externalities and we can compare this to similar things such as well, smartphones and social media.  Another key section in this interview is our discussion on the current climate in food tech Chloe has access to a lot of information and it was nice to get some perspective on what’s going on. At the end of the interview, Chloe and I talk about some innovative solutions that she finds promising. Overall, highly recommend this book. I know a lot of our viewers who listen to My Food Job Rocks are interested in alternative protein but broadening your perspective is really important. I find Chole’s book super informative from a historical viewpoint and her suggestions for creating a better food system are another potential solution for a better world. As someone who’s worked in slaughterhouses, and food tech, and looking into various solutions to solve a lot of these externalities, it was refreshing getting Chloe’s insights.

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and learn what they do, how they got there, and insights on the future of food. I’m your host and food scientist Adam Yee.  Today we’re interviewing Jake Karls, Chief Rainmaker and Co-Founder of Mid-Day Squares a Canadian chocolate company that is killing it with its viral marketing techniques and innovative product Fun fact, my first job was for a Canadian candy company. In fact, there are several candy and bar companies over there so Mid-Day Squares is in good hands in terms of the talented canucks in French Canada.  Ok, so Jake has a super magnetic, charismatic personality and instantly, you will be captured by his tone and message. He’s also flattering!   Jake pours his heart out here and talks about how he joined his sister’s and brother-in-law’s company after his second business failed. I think what most people miss in a lot of interviews is digging deep into Jake’s past businesses and how that set him up for success for Mid-Day Squares. A lot of it is a great team and what better team than family? Authenticity is a big part of this interview and in my opinion, the most powerful way to be authentic is to talk about your past, because the way you talk about your path shows how you’ve reflected and grown. You’ll hear a lot about what makes Jake, Jake. A big chunk of this interview is therapy and walking through tough situations. Especially as entrepreneurs, where you have the majority of the issues pile onto you, takes a toll. I burned out in my last startup, and I have some trauma whenever I think about how alone I felt.  I have to thank the Chief of Staff Jordainne Erichson, who’s a fan of this podcast. That’s right, the fans make this podcast sing. As I look back at all of the interviews, recently, the majority of these amazing interviews were because of the fans. So thank you!

Today we’re interviewing Daniel Teoh, a serial entrepreneur in Malaysia and founder of Native Discovery, a social enterprise that co-creates community-based ventures with indigenous communities to boost livelihoods and grow their cultural confidence. They specialize in sustainable tourism and work closely with our community partners in hosting unique experiences that are meaningful, challenging, and fun for both international and domestic travelers. Thank you Lee Swelin for this awesome introduction. This was a super fun interview! Daniel guides us through audibly about how a tour through these indigenous populations works and I was salivating by the time it was done. Like all creatives, Daniel’s path wasn’t set in stone. Daniel has a degree in Civil Engineering and split off as an entrepreneur as opportunities came. What was his guiding light, was his passion to share the indigenous culture of Malaysia. Daniel is also a super cool entrepreneur who does things scrappily and hustles his butt off and you’ll hear a ton of examples of how he tested and validated his ideas into viable businesses.   This is also a great interview about indigenous people. Actually, all over the world, I’ve learned about indigenous people. America has its own issues, but surprisingly, in Australia, indigenous people were a huge part of the museums. I even went to a live event about some artists in Melbourne celebrating indigenous art.   In another part of this interview, you’ll learn a lot about Durian! Have you heard of durian? It’s a really smelly fruit that is very polarizing. In my opinion, it smells like rotten, overripe fruit. I can eat it, but not a lot. I find the texture super good.   Anyways, you’ll learn not only the magic of durian, but how they grow, how it’s harvested, and what might actually eat durian. You’re also going to learn some cooking tips with Durian! You’re going to learn so many things about Durian, you might actually want to buy it at an Asian grocery market.   Daniel’s story is an inspiring journey of following what you care about, and seizing every opportunity to build something amazing

Today we’re interviewing Adwin Koh Hsin Win, Head of Food Innovation and Technology at Pizza Hut in Malaysia! So a global company like pizza hut needs to adapt to local cultures and sometimes the franchise can take charge in developing local R+D flavors. Adwin is the man who gets that job done Adwin is a rockstar who’s worked in Lays, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and even smaller companies building out their menus. He’s super experienced and knowledgeable in his field. One of the industries I don’t really have a good grasp on are Quick Serivce or QSR interviews. One, I personally love fast food, but two, it’s definitively a different beast compared to a lot of the companies I work for. When we started looking into food service, I never realized how important the ease of use a product has to be for it to be part of a large QSR channel. I love QSR interviews, especially R+D ones and Adwin’s reminds me of a personal favorite, Missy Schapook from Taco Bell. Fun fact, I actually went to the headquarters of Taco Bell thanks to Missy and she showed me everything from the kitchen where they innovate products, the sensory room where they put you into a booth for you to try new taco bell products, and the marketing room where they track each and every tweet and post for positive or negative vibes. Adwin brings more insight to the field and talks about how the Malaysia team works with Global. It’s a really fun interview. As always, I ask Adwin about the cool things in Malaysia and he adds to the ever-growing list when I come back.

Today we’re interviewing Alyssa Eng, Innovation and Improvement Executive at Qra, a small but growing startup retail chain store in Malaysia. I met Alyssa once during my event a long time ago in WeWork Food Labs. It was my going away party to Austin Texas where I spent $2000 dollars on catered food. I didn’t remember at first. Grace told me about Alyssa so I reached out and the memories flooded in. At the time, Alyssa worked at CCD in California. Phil Saneski and a few of his friends also worked there so it all clicked together. It was so nice to catch up with Alyssa over some delicious Turkish food like 5 minutes from the hotel. So what’s unique about this interview Alyssa has worked in the United States and she talks about her experience being an intern in the United States What’s really value about this interview is Alyssa’s transition from Malaysia to The United States to Malaysia again and how the pandemic, which seems like ages ago, affected jobs QRA is growing fast and Alyssa is along for the ride. After opening 3 stores in a year, Alyssa has jumped into all sorts of job roles over there and talks about the dynamics of working in retail, developing products, and the expectations of working in Malaysia.

Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and learn what they do, how they got there, and insights on the future of food. I’m your host and food scientist Adam Yee. Today we’re interviewing Grace Huei Tan, Business Development Manager at Oatside, a plant-milk company. Grace also does projects with Malaysia coffee companies and marketing. So Grace and I have been online penpals for years and I remember she reached out when I first started My Food Job Rocks, but I don’t remember why. Over time, we’ve worked on a few small things together such as a My Food Job Rocks article miniseries where I asked guest students to write their experience in food science from different countries. It’s so amazing to finally see her in person. I really enjoyed this episode for a lot of reasons. Grace is exceptional at talking about what she loves to do and you’ll learn her really fun journey in the food industry as she has gone through being a celebrity from winning a food competition, to traveling around the world showing people Asian flavors, and now has landed in the marketing field. What I also found insightful was Grace’s viewpoint on Malaysia and the food industry and how the country perceives education, careers, and health. You’re also going to get a bit more of a deeper insight on Malaysian lifestyle. From the diverse groups that are here, to the delicious food Grace goes out of her way to go. I think what’s really impactful is a common thread is starting to bubble up with that a lot of talent leaks out of Malaysia into countries such as Singapore, Australaia, or the United States. Grace also knows where all the good food is in Malaysia so make sure to get a notepad handy when you plan your trip to Malaysia!

Today we’re interviewing Sew Chang Chew, Head of R and D at Hybrid Dairy Alliance, a new business that focuses on dairy manufacturing. Welcome to Malaysia! This is the first interview I did hours after I landed. I actually met Sew 9 years ago at IFT when our colleges were both competing in a product development competition. I believe it was Developing Solutions for Developing Countries. Sew has a lot to say about the food industry in Malaysia and gives a good introduction to what the food is really about. Not just industry, but he describes food really well. I think what’s great to take away from this interview is the point of view. What’s amazing about traveling to all of these countries and interviewing everyone is you get to see not only the differences but the similarities between what’s going on and Sew highlights a lot of challenges that I feel I’ve faced in my career. You’re also going to get a lot of practical advice! Sew is essentially a manager and gives some good tips on how to teach and motivate your employees! His advice is very simple, and methodical. I never realized how similar I was with Sew, we both have worked many jobs, around 2-year stints, and he himself traveled the world.

Today we’re interviewing Widya Putra, CEO, and co-founder of Meatless Kingdom. They are a company that makes delicious Indonesian CPG products using mushrooms. I was fortunate to talk to Widya when he was visiting Singapore and did this interview at the Big Idea Ventures Office. I find that super cool! As you’ve been listening to this episode, Singapore is such a focal point to the whole investment scene and food is no exception. Talking to entrepreneurs locally in Singapore, from China and now Indonesia has been so interesting and shows just how centerpoint the city is. Anyways, I don’t know much about Indonesia and it wasn’t really in my plans to visit when I was planning my world trip so I’m fortunate to have interviewed Widya to learn more about the ecosystem. Maybe next time. In this interview, you’ll learn about Indonesia’s perspective on plant-based meat and what Meatless Kingdom is doing to help introduce Indonesians to plant-based cuisines. You’ll also learn why Meatless Kingdom applied to Big Idea Venture’s Cohort 5 and how Big Idea helped Meatless Kingdom grow its business through its accelerator program. There’s only like 5 players in Indonesia each tackling different products so it’s pretty small. But for me, I see a glimmer of excitement in a whole new market looking for delicious new products.