Big Food Poisons People

Justin Mares believes that large food companies are outdated, harmful, and ripe for disruption by more innovative, health-conscious, and efficiently-run businesses like his company Kettle and Fire.

Key Points:

• Most big food companies are problematic:

  • Many were started pre-1900 and are extremely bloated organizations
  • "Frankly I think many of them are poisoning people"
  • They pay lobbyists and opposition research groups to protect harmful practices
  • Example: ensuring "soda doesn't get removed from food stamps"
  • He considers them "generally bad actors"

• There's a major opportunity to disrupt these companies:

  • By out-innovating them with better products
  • By running more efficient operations with modern technology
  • "I guarantee no one in Battle Creek, Michigan working at Kellogg's is looking at how do we use AI to automate a lot of our workflows"
  • His company actively explores applying cutting-edge technology to business operations

• His company Kettle and Fire demonstrates this approach:

  • Extremely lean operation with only 34 employees despite being north of $100M in revenue
  • Profitable business model
  • Capital efficient: "We've raised only $10,000,000 in primary capital since starting the company"
  • Building both on health trends and sound business fundamentals
  • Operating for nine years with consistent focus on both mission and profitability

• Health consciousness is a growing trend:

  • People are spending more time and money on health, toxin reduction, and better sourcing
  • Even if mainstream America isn't fully on board yet, the trend is growing
  • "You only need a small increase in order for there to be demand"
  • This creates opportunities for transparency and improvement in the food system