Post Headline Formula: Podcast #11: New Breed Meats Co-Founders Samantha Edwards and Rochelle Mekowulu speak with Andrew D. Ive from Big Idea Ventures about starting a plant based food company.
Podcasts
New Breed Meats
Developing plant-based food products, appealing firstly to African American and flexitarians.
New Breed Meats: https://newbreedmeats.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eatnewbreed/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/newbreedmeats/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatnewbreed/
Big Idea Ventures
Our mission is to solve the world’s greatest challenges by backing the world’s best entrepreneurs.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigideaventures/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigideaventures_/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigideaventures
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigIdeaVentures/
Big Idea Food Podcast Host
Andrew D. Ive, Big Idea Ventures Founder
Andrew is the founder of Big Idea Ventures. BIV’s purpose is to solve the world’s greatest challenges by supporting the world’s best entrepreneurs. Our first fund + accelerator (NY, Singapore, and Paris) invests in plant-based foods and ingredients to impact climate change, animal welfare, and personal health. Investors include Tyson Foods & Temasek. Our second fund is focused on reducing CO2, plastics, waste, and water in the food industry. Friedman School Entrepreneurship Advisor. Harvard Business School graduate, Procter & Gamble brand management trained.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewive/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewive/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefundingguru
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
products, people, meats, samantha, breed, rochelle, question, based, spices, manufacturer, plant, food, called, company, line, grounds, community, individuals, caribbean, starting
SPEAKERS
Samantha, Rochelle, Andrew D Ive
Andrew D Ive
Welcome to the big idea food podcast. I’m Andrew D, Ive, and your host for today, we’ll be talking to Rochelle and Samantha from New Breed Meats. A really interesting company. Stick around. Listen, and by all means at the end, add your comments and questions and follow up with either me, or Rochelle or Samantha, if you have questions about the company, look forward to engaging with you. Thank you. Okay, Samantha Rochelle, new breed meats. Welcome to the big idea food podcast. How are you both?
Rochelle
I am doing well. We’re doing well. Good. Yes.
Andrew D Ive
Okay, we’ve had some technical issues running up to starting this podcast so, if things frets up, we’re just going to keep on going and you guys will just have to forgive us. Rochelle. Samantha, tell us about New Breed Meats. What’s the story?
Rochelle
I’ll let Samantha start because she kind of has a better starting point than I do.
Samantha
Yeah, well, New Breed Meats was really the result of over 20 years experience, living a plant based lifestyle, and really doing a lot of community health work and seeing the need in various communities, such as more of the underserved communities, just seeing a need to allow food really to be that channel whereby change could be made. So New Breed Meats is a passion project for us, we truly view it as a mission, where we’re trying to come to the world with absolutely amazing products that will allow people to make the seamless transition from where they’re currently at to more of a whole platform lifestyle.
Andrew D Ive
Okay, so I’m going to, if I’m in the audience, I’m sort of thinking to myself, do we need another one? Do we do we need another kind of plant based food company? I know you guys are different. So let’s, let’s make sure everybody else on the call on the podcast knows how you guys are different?
Rochelle
Sure, sure. So I can chime in on that and then Samantha can also jump in as well. Well, obviously, we have a delicious and awesome taste, you know, we’ve worked really hard to make sure that the product that’s been delivered is going to be something that consumers are used to right. So there is the same meaty flavor, the same meaty texture and all of those things and I would say that our products may be different to other products on the market because of the very subtle taste that allows you to be able to incorporate in some of your favorite dishes. So whether you want to do a lasagna a Mexican, whatever that is, it’s very versatile in your ability to use it and we also have, when it comes to nutrition, up to 60 or 70%, depending on the two leading brands, less saturated fat than the leading brands on the market, we have less ingredients. So it’s a bit of a leaner label that we are working within, we’re able to, again, achieve all of that while making sure that the eating experience is something that no one has to give up. So you’re getting a better healthy product, but you’re also still getting the awesome flavor and taste that people like and are looking for.
Andrew D Ive
So, one of the things I’ve been asked many, many times whether it’s on panels or whatever, is isn’t plant based more expensive and isn’t plant based more complex, because you’ve got lots of ingredients, isn’t it quite processed? You’ve just outlined that you’ve gone for a far simpler, kind of cleaner label, more nutritious. Has that been sort of a central tenant? And how have you delivered on that?
Samantha
Yeah, I would definitely say it has been a central tenet and we are going to continue to improve and innovate on the product line as well. But the way that we were really able to deliver on that was through several years of r&d work and just working with a number of different suppliers. We really took our time to source ingredients, we call it selectively sourcing, really high quality ingredients that are able to deliver the various functionalities that we needed. We made it deliver from a nutritional standpoint, from a taste standpoint, really to offer a product that could truly compete in the market. And you’re right, i mean we’re not going to come out and say this is the absolute healthiest food for you but we definitely know that, as people are making that transition, they need a little bit of help along the way, a little bit of hand holding and we see this as that type of medium, where it’s definitely better than what they were eating before and it’s still helping them on their journey to actually do better. We intend on coming out with different product lines that are more of a Whole Foods plant based experience. So we’re really excited for everything that New Breed Meats has lined up as well.
Andrew D Ive
So in terms of that,
Rochelle
Really quickly if I can. One of the awesome things, when you think about New Breed, to your question. New Breed didn’t come up in a laboratory with the scientists kind of running around and putting things in little chemical bags, and then stirring it together. It actually was developed in Samantha’s kitchen, a home kitchen kind of approach to it. So we really value that and we want people to realize that, you know, it’s something that is relatable, it’s not some sort of Frankenstein product but is something that someone created, in their kitchen, and it really has that flavor and that homestyle appeal to it.
Andrew D Ive
Got it. And you’ve talked about a transition from consuming meat then changing to plant based. I’m guessing you mean, from a product perspective, it’s more sort of, as you say, homestyle. Talk to us about the products, what are those products? And how do you feel that they are holding people by the hand as they move or make that transition?
Samantha
Yeah, so we have currently three products in the line, and they are plant based burgers, grounds and breakfast sausage patties. We really chose these as the launchpad to create other products in the future, but we figure that the burger is so iconic to American culture, and really has gone worldwide as a symbol of comfort food and really resonates with them from a childhood perspective and growing up. So we wanted to have an offering that they were still able to experience that, but obviously in a much healthier way with our products contain up to 75% less saturated fat. We also wanted to have different types of meat so wherever the meat is being consumed, whether it be for lunch or at dinner, we wanted to have foods for breakfast, as well. So we wanted to have a full range where people would be able to enjoy really delicious tasting sustainable proteins at any of their daily meals.
Andrew D Ive
Great. From a top consumer perspective, who are you focused on grabbing hold of?
Rochelle
Sure. So I’ll jump in on that. We have two target audiences. Number one is the African American or black community, if you will. They represent the fastest growing vegan demographic. Because of Samantha and my heritage, and some of the things in our environment and how we’ve grown up, we definitely feel like we’re targeted to really be able to reach them in a pronounced way. Secondly, we’re also looking after that flexitarian person, that’s not saying I’m going to marry being plant based fully and totally, but I like to have options. I like to go in between. So we’re targeting those as well and combined, they make up about 40% of the population.
Andrew D Ive
And one of you is based right now in California. That’s the one with the internet issues and the glitches. So Samantha’s in California, Rochelle is, in true COVID fashion on exactly the other side of the country in Georgia. Yes. Social distancing to the max.
Rochelle
We take it seriously.
Andrew D Ive
Did you guys start during the pandemic, or were you pre pandemic?
Samantha
Yeah, so we were definitely pre pandemic.
Andrew D Ive
Okay, okay. Because I know that there are kind of YouTube videos and things of your products at shows and so on where people are sort of going bananas for the taste of your food. No one was wearing a mask so it must have been pre pandemic, right?
Rochelle
Yeah, we had our first kind of soft launch 2019 it was definitely pre pandemic. We started really working on the business 2018 so, it predates the whole pandemic experience.
Andrew D Ive
You guys have managed to kind of hustle your way through it and build a business during a tough time. So, you know, hat tip to both of you. Where is the product launching, or going to be launched, given that you’re on two separate sides of the country, somewhere in the middle of Chicago?
Rochelle
Actually, Samantha has come to her senses and she’s going to be moving closer to this side of the country, but we’re looking to focus our initial launch in the Atlanta area, simply because, as we said, one of our target audiences is African Americans, and Atlanta has a large professional population. There’s a lot of the plant based and vegan options that are coming up within this context. We’re also looking at Brooklyn where we were both raised, as well as LA and then a nationwide push.
Andrew D Ive
Okay, so Atlanta first. So basically the East Coast for the first year or so. And is this going to be direct to consumer? Is this grocery food service? What’s the go to market strategy?
Rochelle
Yeah, so go to market strategy for us looks like a tiered launch approach. We are definitely wanting to focus in on the food service market, want to get our feet wet in that area, get some strong consumer recognition around our brand. At the same time, we do want to be available in certain retail outlets, key retail outlets, in the various regions where we’ll be launching. So it’ll be a combined effort between retail and food service with heavier on the foodservice side than the retail.
Andrew D Ive
So, as far as food service is concerned, is that universities, is that restaurants, hospitals, schools, what are you going to focus on?
Rochelle
We’re actually looking at a combination of all of them. So we’ve kind of scouted out some of these different categories, if you will, that we want to focus on. So we want to do both QSR is we’re looking at schools, we’re looking at hospital systems. You know, Samantha, and I like to say we’re shaking every tree to see what fruits fall down and so we’re not limiting what we’re trying to do in that respect.
Andrew D Ive
That’s perfect. So take us through the journey to today. Have there been any sort of challenges or key obstacles that have, you know, threatened to knock you off the rails,
Rochelle
I would say one of our biggest obstacles, and Samantha even more can attest to it, because she had the job of doing this, was the manufacturing question, and being able to scale it. As you mentioned, initially, this all started in a in a small kitchen in Northern California and, as we started to make the product available, we were doing DTC a little bit Initially. It was just so much to do, together with being the mother or five year old, to put together these products and then needing them to be shipped out, it was a lot. And manufacturing, you know, trying to find a manufacturer that would meet our specification, that was a little bit of a headache as well. There are many plant based product to chose from, so I would say that that has been one of our biggest hurdles, and we’re happy that we’ve gotten that all squared away and so we have no scaling issues, but that was definitely a headache.
Andrew D Ive
So Samantha take us through some of those headaches, finding that manufacturer, getting them up to speed, having them invest their time and energy into a pre launch company can’t have been easy.
Rochelle
No, not at all. I remember the days of going in a commercial kitchen and getting small scale equipment and having to do so many batches of product, because we had opened up our DDC, our online portal, and orders were coming in. So there I was, you know, 1234 o’clock in the morning, producing these products in the kitchen overnight, because I didn’t have any daytime hours that the kitchen was not occupied. So I was on the overnight graveyard shift, making all these products and having to come home and deal with my five year old at 6am. That was definitely a challenge and then being able to find a manufacturer that was able and willing to work with a young startup. So we’re just really thankful for that network of advisors that we have developed, as they were able to lead us in a certain direction and really give us a word into some of these manufacturers. I think is really important to develop and build up your professional network because it’s largely dependent upon this trust factor that’s taking place now. I honestly believe that had it not been for us being able to build up this network in getting that kind of lead into our current manufacturer, then we wouldn’t have been where we are now where we’re really able to scale up this point, you know, producing anywhere from up to a million pounds a week or whatever is required. So we’re just super excited for the ability to be able to do that. Funny enough, we were just last year, we were thinking that we were going to go with a different manufacturer, and they kind of flaked out on us last minute and said that they were pulling out of the business altogether. We were like, Okay, well, here we are, again. It kind of just shut down for us right there and then. But we’re thankful that we were able to kind of pick back up and we’re in a really good place now, in terms of manufacturing, just really excited for what’s going to take place.
Andrew D Ive
So for those that don’t know, a contract manufacturer is a large company that has machinery and automation processes and team members that can produce for you so that you don’t need to be in a commercial kitchen at four o’clock in the morning, running home to your five year old. You went through that and now you’ve got a contract manufacturer that’s able to manufacture your product in a total quality health and safety price competitive way? You went through that challenge of manufacturing in the middle of the night starting the company with a young child, what would be your advice to other mothers of young children who want to start a food company and are thinking about whether they should or whether they shouldn’t?
Rochelle
Yeah, absolutely. So I would say, first of all, really follow your passion, you know, if this is something that is really near and dear to your heart, then then go with it. I was in ideation mode from since 2017 and thinking how am I going to get this thing going, just immersing myself in an industry and studying all sorts of papers and so on. So, if you’re willing to put in the work, and, you know, sometimes it’s going to take long, sleepless nights, sometimes it’s gonna take really early mornings, but if you have the passion, if you have the drive and the motivation to succeed, then you should absolutely do it. I have a five year old that I am homeschooling so it’s a double challenge but you know, we’re hoping in the very near future, to build up a really strong team that can help to mitigate some of the things that we currently have on our plate, as it stands right now. But definitely in the beginning stages, I would say, do something that you’re really passionate about, that you really believe in, and not something that’s necessarily trendy, if you will. So yeah, that’s what I would say is my advice for what I think people should do.
Andrew D Ive
Awesome. Now, one thing mothers know is sleepless nights and early mornings.
Rochelle
So we’ve already been trained. That’s right. It’s an extension of that.
Andrew D Ive
There you go. Now, the great thing is now that you’ve got it over to a contract manufacturer, you know that they’re doing the heavy lifting in terms of manufacturing, if anyone’s having sleepless nights, it’s probably them. Instead of you, your sleepless nights are probably for entirely different reasons like fundraising and things like that. So when does the product line hit the market, the grounds the burgers and the breakfast patties?
Rochelle
So we are aiming for a June launch. We are lining up some final touches getting some finishing touches down on our design packages and all of these things but we are aggressively looking for an early June kind of all out launch
Andrew D Ive
Early June. Awesome and so if I’m wanting to support you, if I’m wanting to kind of try the products, if I’m you know in the demographic and interested in what you’re doing and why, how do I find you? How do I find out where you’re going to be as I’m guessing your website, your social media, those sorts of things.
Rochelle
Yeah, you can find us at www.newbreedmeats.com and that’s our handle on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, you can find us on LinkedIn at that handle.
Andrew D Ive
So if you’re in the food service category, restaurants, schools, hospitals, if you’re a broker to any of those categories, and you think that a product line that’s plant based, that’s simpler, not created in the kind of Frankenstein labs with the chemicals, but in a Northern California, home kitchen, then you should reach out to New Breed Meats, is that right?
Rochelle
That’ts right. We are ready to talk with you, so you can start calling us right away.
Andrew D Ive
Okay. Couple more questions. I wanted to make sure we got this in now and not at the end, because not everyone listens through to the end. We talked about some of the challenges, how have you found the whole fundraising process? Have you done any of that to date? Or is it mostly been friends, families and credit cards?
Rochelle
You know, it’s it’s always a little bit of both but I would say where we are right now, we’re kind of in the middle of this whole fundraising piece,from the institutional investment standpoint, from the VC standpoint, we kind of started that whole journey, I would say, q4 last year, where we essentially approached an Angel, which happened to have a fund as well, it was building up a fund at that time. So we were kind of able to get our foot in the door at that point. That kind of opened up a whole new world for us with VCs, and all that comes with that and the requirements. So now we are fundraising. We do still have an open round pre seed where we’re looking for pre seed investment and it’s definitely been a journey you know, putting together financial projections, looking at our target consumer lists, and all the rest of it definitely has been an adventure, I would say. But we’re excited to move forward with that and to see what comes out of it. We’re looking for a close very soon, so we can move on to bigger and better things.
Andrew D Ive
What do you guys find surprising about raising money for a company?
Rochelle
I think one thing is we’ve had to get this pitch deck and it feels like it’s just a never ending process of iterations. I think it’s amazing how much work you have to put into, getting five minutes or three minutes with an individual. You are trying to cram everything in so that you can highlight the things that you feel are going to be the selling points. So I think it’s been really interesting to be able to get our message very concise, and to think things through in a very kind of focused fashion, rather than Oh, we’re doing this, pulling things out of the air. I think that has been a really, really interesting process, and really kind of mapping things out in our mind in such a way that we’re able to communicate things in a simple way.
Andrew D Ive
Do you think you are there? You think you’ve got that? Three minutes, four minutes, five minute pitch down?
Rochelle
I think that we’re just about there. I think that there’s always room for improvement. So we will never ever say that we have it locked down, but we’ve had some good coaches that this accelerator called Big Idea Ventures, along with us and we think we’re just about there ….
Andrew D Ive
Fantastic. One of the crazy things is that you’re right. I can’t recall who said it, someone said, You know, I wanted to write you a short note but I didn’t have the time. It takes a long time to really think through how you are going to say something succinctly? I obviously can’t do that from a question perspective. So I don’t I’m not sure why i. So a couple more quick questions to continue on. You mentioned that you’re targeting the African American community or black community with your product as one of the key areas of focus. Are there other brands doing that, as far as you’re aware in the plant based categories? Are you guys one of the first to target in on that category?
Samantha
I would go ahead and I can start out and then you can kind of chime in I would say that we we are amongst one of the first. We had that soft launch, as was mentioned in 2019. So I don’t know of any other ones at that time, that was doing something similar. As far as targeting this group, specifically, and Rochelle, you can kind of chime in with an another piece that just came up on the scene.
Rochelle
So definitely, you know, I think when you come up with a good idea, there’s always 10 others that have the ideas percolating in their minds and so there’s another brand that we’ve identified that are seeking to do the same things, and even some of the larger brands, you know, we see advertisement, like, right now. So, I think that there are some individuals that are coming into that space. I still think that from a very practical standpoint, from an ability maybe to really identify with that demographic in a real way that we have a strong position and an authentic voice to kind of speak to that demographic in a way that not everyone that is attempting that push might be able to.
Andrew D Ive
And what what made you focus in on on that particular demographic? What made you think the time is right now, to sort of build a whole brand and a whole product set around one particular demographic?
Rochelle
Yeah, well, again, just you know, with our background and community health advocacy, and just being immersed in these communities, we have seen firsthand the degrading effects that diet have on someone’s outlook in life. And, you know, in line of just working with individuals, just from a health perspective, and doing a number of seminars and consultations with people and talking with people, really on the floor level, we realized that something needed to be done. And in so doing, we always had this in mind. I actually wrote a cookbook a number of years ago. I would say it’s about 10 years ago now called The Better Way cookbook. And again, it was really to really hone in on individuals trying to make that transition. So it’s always a story, you know, how do I give up meat? How do I not use these things, all these recipes that I grew up eating? And that’s very cultural to me, how do I make that transition? So that has always kind of been a part of us from the very beginning. And so really, I would say that the fact that we’re able to hone in on them, and then with the stats coming out that, you know, people are recognizing that they no longer want to be on this what is called the slave man’s diet. They realize that the foods that they have been accustomed to eating for so many generations have really been contributing to their demise, if you will. And so I think there’s been an enlightening that has been taken place, which is why we’re seeing the numbers coming in from a data perspective that 31% of African Americans are actively seeking to reduce their meat consumption, and they now classify as as vegan or plant based. And I think that those numbers are astounding, and to really be able to reach them in a very authentic way, just understanding the mindset. We’re not just a big food company coming in and trying to push our products on to you, but we understand the struggle, we know what it’s like, we know the foods that they are accustomed to eating because we’re fall under that umbrella.
Andrew D Ive
Awesome. From a dish perspective you’ve got the burgers, you’ve got the grounds and you’ve got the patties. Do you guys have some favorite recipes, favorite dishes, favorite foods that you’d like to create using, let’s say the grounds? Take our grounds and here’s three amazing recipes that you can do easily, inexpensively, quickly in your home. What would be those two or three recipes? I’m not sure if either of you have any?
Rochelle
I can start with one at least just from a Caribbean standpoint. Both Rochelle and my husband are of Jamaican descent and of course, you know, the first thing that comes to mind as far as grounds is concerned is that classic Jamaican beef patty. So you know, whereas traditionally obviously this was made using cow meat, we’re happy to say that it can easily transition to more of a wholesome plant based meal by substituting that with the New Breed Meats grounds. So really excited about a New Breed patty Jamaican patty, you know, so I think that should be next on the list too. Definitely we’ve actually been talking about doing an extension of more authentic Caribbean flavored kind of products. So
Andrew D Ive
Spices and that sort of thing.
Rochelle
Yeah. We’ve been talking about that.. For all the Europeans and bakers out there that love that flaky crust, and then that meaty texture that’s just perfectly seasoned and spiced. I think it will be amazing. I would say that , could be in that line.
Samantha
Yeah. And I think one of the recipes for me, you know, I’ve grown up in New York, I’ve always loved Italian food and so I will take those grounds, and I will work up a really good spaghetti. I just love spaghetti and so I find it just a wonderful, a wonderful alternative. You know, as people generally use these beef grounds, it just gives such a beautiful flavor. It’s so interesting. I was picking it up for my brother in law who is not anywhere near plant based at all but you know, it’s we were just cooking it, preparing it to put it into the dish, you know, and he’s smelling it. And then he asked to taste it and he’s like, wow what is this? You know. I think it’s a very good substitute for your lasagna and for your spaghetti because it’s just bellissimo.
Rochelle
Yes, yes, for pizza topping, tacos …. you name it.
Andrew D Ive
Yesterday, because I don’t have New Breed Meats available to me yet, yesterday was was tagliatelle Bolognaise. And the Bolognaise was made from button mushrooms and mixacchi mushrooms, I always get the pronunciation wrong from a company called Small hold. And I basically diced up all of these mushrooms, put a little bit of red wine, reduced red wine, kind of really cooked it through thoroughly with all of the spices, with all of the sort of pepper and truffles, salt and so on and then just before the end put in all of the tomatoes and it looked and had the texture of Bolognaise sauce, you know zuge as we call it in my Italian grandmother’s household with tagliatelle. I made a bit of a mistake, you’re supposed to add a dash of sriracha to it just to give it that little bit of a kick but I’m a spice nut so my wife was trying to eat plant based for the holidays and she’s like, on fire, way too much spice, poor lady. So, you know, I think if you’re creative, if you’re prepared to spend 20 minutes in a kitchen with some great ingredients, like New Breed Meats, you can make incredible dishes. You just need to not think everything’s gonna be a three minute press button, meal. Anything you do in three minutes can’t be good for you.
Rochelle
The trick sometimes is making the cooking an experience and enjoying it, maybe it’s family time and there are so many ways that those 20 minutes can go by so quickly.
Andrew D Ive
So for me it was a glass of wine and wife was listening to some Edith Piaff, a French singer from 1940 or something like that. I don’t know, it was just something out of a movie for me yesterday, making this plant based Bolognaise. So I’m really looking forward to when we can try your products. Do you think you’ll experiment with some of the kind of Caribbean iterations, spices, flavors at some point and see if people like it?
Rochelle
Definitely. Absolutely. On our list, and we think they really will love it.
Andrew D Ive
I think so too. So it’s Brooklyn and Georgia? I don’t know, I’ll find a way of getting your products when they’re available, and this is going to be June right?
Rochelle
Yes, yes. That’s what we’re aiming for.
Andrew D Ive
Fantastic. So last question. Before we sort of go through this wrap up, but we’ve talked about mothers who are considering starting a company. Let’s back it up just a little if anyone is thinking of starting a food based business, what would be one or two other things you’d wish you knew, starting out, that you can maybe communicate to them?
Rochelle
Well, good question. I think one of the things that has been an interesting learning experience is that there are so many things that you don’t know that you need to know. You know what I mean? It’s like you don’t know what you don’t know. And I would definitely say, we’ve done a decent job of really trying to research things out. Maybe some of the resources that we became aware of a little bit later on, it would have been really neat to have them upfront and so I think that the quicker that you are able to connect with individuals, because there are nuances that yes, you can make a checklist, but there are nuances that you don’t even realize that you’re like, hey, I need to think about that. I think being able to connect with individuals early on, that are able to help you to understand those finer things, that maybe people overlook when doing a checklist. So I would, say to expand that network as early as possible, and to try to make sure that you’re connecting to the right resources, and you’re getting a good understanding of where you’re trying to go earlier on, so that you can avoid chasing down rabbit holes unnecessarily.
Andrew D Ive
And you think maybe you got some of that from Big Idea Ventures when you kind of joined up with us?
Rochelle
Definitely. One of the ones who have the individuals, particularly as a part of the cohort that was really helpful. The individual in sales, Michael Accardo, he was just, priceless. Like, we had all these questions. Okay, we need to talk to the manufacturer, what should we say? How do we position ourselves? You know how to do that. We need to know what to ask for and those two men we’re just always on it, like, you’ll just finish the text and Michael responds … always available. I mean, it doesn’t matter when, they were just always available, always willing to help. So just really excited for this community that we have now, you know, come into, called Big Idea Ventures and I would also say that there are other organizations as well. So I would probably try to align myself with organizations that are really for the industry. So understanding what those organizations are, and those associations and really seeing what kind of assistance that you can get from them as well. So I would just lean on whatever information we can get. And, you know, you kind of become this person that kind of pieces things together. There’s so many moving parts all the time, whether it be from legal, whether it be from manufacturing, whether it be from sales and marketing, I mean, there’s so many different angles, that, you know, you kind of have to make one big hole. So just being able to quickly transition from one thing to the next. You really just have to be really quick on the draw on that.
Andrew D Ive
So follow up then, you mentioned a couple of organizations that people can kind of engage with that can be helpful. Do you have one or two? Just the names of them that people can go connect with? So for example, from my point of view, good food Institute? gfsi.
Rochelle
Yes. Yeah. Those guys would be one. I was actually just gonna say that, they are number one. Absolutely. Just an amazing group of people that are so willing to help. And I got help early on with them just being on the founder calls that used to happen on Fridays, all the material that’s put out, so absolutely, gfsi, no question. And then I would probably also say the plant based foods Association. That is another one that is up and coming and really trying to kind of pull this industry together as well. So yeah, definitely those two, I would say.
Andrew D Ive
Fantastic. So gfsi and Plant Based Food Association. You mentioned Michael Barrow and Ricardo. Yeah. Okay, that I think that’s a good a good list to start off with. Okay, so if people want to help you whether it says consumers, whether it’s because they want to just support you, whether it’s because they’re food, restaurants, food distributors, retailers, brokers excetera www.newbreedmeats.com
Rochelle
Yes, that’s right. LinkedIn is the same newbreedmeats. Yeah, Twitter the same. So just find us at newbreedmeats at all of those.
Andrew D Ive
And I need to talk to Rochelle and Samantha right.
Rochelle
Yes, Rochelle. You can find me on LinkedIn. Rochelle Mekowulu. My name. I know. It’s kind of difficult. So if you look when you reach out on LinkedIn, I’m connect to it connected to that. And of course, Samantha Edwards as well.
Andrew D Ive
So Rochelle Mekowulu?
Rochelle
You’ve got it.
Andrew D Ive
That’s the last name. Samantha. What’s your last name?
Samantha
Edwards. Edwards.
Andrew D Ive
I couldn’t spell that. Thank God you did that for me. Mekowulu, I was pretty down with.
Rochelle
Yes you were.
Andrew D Ive
Yeah, I had that one but Edwards, I don’t know man. All right, if anyone wants to connect with you, and they should, because they’re amazing people, Rochelle or Samantha, please do reach out to New Breed Meats through the multiple platforms. I thank you for your time. Where are you guys going to be in five years? Where do you see New Breed Meats being? Is it everywhere? Us? Is it everywhere? global? Is it? Give me a prediction for 2026?
Samantha
Wow, 2026 I’ll start and Rochelle you can close this off? Definitely nationwide. No question. We actually have our sights set on nationwide in just a mere two years. So that will definitely be the case and then we do have some things that I think we could explore from an international perspective. And in Australia and some other countries that are really keen on the plant based space, we have connections with a number of different places, even in regard to our faith based community. That’s really a global community. So I think that there could be connections made from a global standpoint as well.
Rochelle
I would just add to that, definitely New Breed Meats, we want it to become a household name. The delicious products that we have, but also for the change that, as a company, we are driving in communities. Our mission is very important to us. So we definitely, in five years, know that people will have a clear sense of that and yeah, that would be what I would add to what Sam has said,
Andrew D Ive
I’m surprised you didn’t say the first place after the US is going to be Jamaica and the Caribbean. If you guys are creating a range of plant based foods with spices and the taste of the Caribbean, you can’t not sell it in the Caribbean, right?
Rochelle
Oh, yeah, we definitely will have it in the Caribbean. You see the crazy thing about it Andrew is when you sell it in Brooklyn, it’s like you’re selling it in the Caribbean. Yeah, as long as it’s Brooklyn, South Florida, I think we have the Caribbean covered.
Andrew D Ive
Awesome. I really appreciate your time today. Rochelle. Samantha, New Breed Meats, thank you. I’m going to press pause and if anyone needs to reach out to you please do so. And even if you don’t need to reach out, friendly people always wanting to talk to new folks. One sec. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with New Breed Meats Rochelle and Samantha. If you have any questions about the company, please do reach out to them via a New Breed Meats.com or via one of the social media platforms where they have a presence. If you have any questions about the big idea food podcast, or want to reach out and just give us your feedback. My name is Andrew D Ive, I’m the host and you can find me at Big Idea ventures.com or via LinkedIn. Please do like and subscribe this podcast, this YouTube video or wherever you’re consuming it. Feel free to forward it to friends, relatives, and anyone that might be interested in young founders, great companies, and how we’re changing the world. Thanks very much. And we’ll be back next week. Bye
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