Podcast #25: Andrew talks with Alejandro Cancino, CEO of Fenn Foods a delicious plant-based alternative to beef
Big Idea Ventures has launched our very own podcast “The Big Idea Podcast: Food”. Each week Big Idea Ventures Founder Andrew D. Ive will speak with some of the most innovative minds in the food space and talk about the exciting projects they are a part of.
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TRANSCRIPT
Andrew D Ive
Hi there, this is Andrew from the big idea podcast where we’re focused on food. So today I’m going to be talking with Alejandro from Fenn foods, Fenn Foods. They are a plant based meat company based in Australia. They started off from just the very, very early stages with Alejandro as a chef, who ultimately moved from being kind of a chef running around a restaurant, to creating now a tons of plant based meat on a weekly basis. So a great story. I’d love to tell you all about it. And, you know, let’s get into the conversation. By all means, add your comments, thoughts, questions, please do subscribe so that we can let you know when we have more podcasts for you. Great. Let’s get into it. Hi, Alejandro. How are you? This is Andrew from Big Idea podcast focused on food. How’s life?
Alejandro Cancino
Very good. Very good. Also, in Australia,
Andrew D Ive
you’re in Australia. So how’s the weather? It’s got to be good. Right?
Alejandro Cancino
Where is he saying? We’re very lucky to be in the Sunshine Coast where there is no really a bad day
Andrew D Ive
isn’t always sunny there is that? Doesn’t it get a little boring at times?
Alejandro Cancino
No, not really, I will be here than anywhere else.
Andrew D Ive
I think we just tell ourselves that when we when we live in places where the weather is kind of challenging, you know, six months of the year and it’s like, oh, well, at least we’ve got an interesting range of, of weather, right. Ya know, happy to have a very stable weather through thee. Okay, I’m not sure why we’re talking about this. It’s completely not relevant. So what to the to the subject? Why don’t we get started? So Alejandro, tell us about you. And then let’s talk a little bit about Fenn Food. So F E N N Foods. Tell me about Alejandro. First and foremost, what’s your what’s your background? And how did you get to where you are today?
Alejandro Cancino
So I basically I grew up in Argentina, and I study to become a chef when I was you know, 15. And by the age of 18. I left home and the last 17 years I’ve been working in some of the best restaurants in the world. I traveled. I lived in Chapin, Spain, UK, France, Mexico, and I’m currently in Australia.
Andrew D Ive
Okay, yes, so you started off at you started off as a chef, you’ve been in food, all of your adult life. But how did you get to Australia? Why are you in Australia? And what are you doing there?
Alejandro Cancino
So my my dream as a as a kid was to live in Australia, at some point where you have the lifestyle and everything was, you know, they are to settle down and for my family. So that was from very early age on my on the back of my head. And when I came to Australia, I came as a chef, I run a restaurant very successful restaurant. And four years ago when I knew I was gonna have a little baby and I decided to retire from the kitchens, let’s say and abide by but that time I have already opened the company by was a little project on the side. So four years ago, we basically put all our energy and my wife and I into the company and we set things to to basically focus on the company and grow it as much as we could.
Andrew D Ive
So tell us tell us about the company.
Alejandro Cancino
So foods. First the name means Fenn means planting seeds. And the idea was to bring products to the market that are plant base. We started with plant based meats, but the idea is to spread to all our categories. We started in a small kitchen renting once a week doing 20 kilos a week, you know for for one restaurant. And now we are producing eight times a week of plant based meats basically
Andrew D Ive
holy cow or holy and plant based cow. So so you’ve got to factory at this point producing plant based meats Is this your own branded product that you bring to market? Or is it a product that you’re selling Nextel to restaurants and are using it within their restaurants all of the above.
Alejandro Cancino
So we we are b2c and b2b business we work with the two major retailers in Australia with call some odors and also independence and then in food service, which used to be our main focus before COVID That yeah, we also sell to restaurant food services a big part of our businesses still obviously COVID effect that evade and by coming back so we will have a certain percentage of our business at the moment is two restaurants hotels and QSR businesses.
Andrew D Ive
So quick serve restaurants, hotels, restaurants, themselves. That’s what do you say 30% of your revenues at this point?
Alejandro Cancino
Now yes, you went
Andrew D Ive
yeah, 70% Grocery to the to two main channels or two main retailers in Australia. Are you predominantly Australia or 100%? Australia? What’s What’s that? Where are you at with that right now?
Alejandro Cancino
It in terms of where we produce our products
Andrew D Ive
in terms of your marketplace? Are you playing only in Australia are you international at this point.
Alejandro Cancino
So we export to Singapore a little bit and I will be uncle white, but we have plans to so when we started you know, if we had an inquiry we will just fulfill the you know, market but now we are taking a step back to really plan and have a an expert strategy and doing it in a more controlled and with a little bit more of a strategy rather than just fulfilling a ending. Yeah,
Andrew D Ive
yeah. So So we kind of jumped into the business pretty quickly. What what’s the motivation? What’s driving you to focus on plant based meats? First and foremost, obviously, you started off as a chef. So you’ve got sort of a passion for creating new foods, but what’s driving your particular focus right now.
Alejandro Cancino
I think obviously, this industry still very rarely you know, under the a lot of competitors at the moment. At the time we started the company there was no soya made products. So that was the initial motivation to produce something here in Australia. Now, I think obviously, with more brands on the market, I think my focus at the moment is to try to go to the next level in order to produce a value added product. So from ready meals to to share keys and any products that we could not just sell the raw ingredient but bring a complete solution to the category
Andrew D Ive
do you think Australia has any kind of new angles on plant based meat versus the United States or is it very similar to you know, same ingredients same approaches or are you guys doing things in somewhat different ways?
Alejandro Cancino
I think Australian market focus a little bit more on health and but and this is what the you know, what the consumers are asking for we need a cleaner nutritional label we need less ingredients people otherwise you know feel not attracted to a long list of ingredients even if the product you know taste good or I say you know, overall whose products
Andrew D Ive
Okay, so cleaner label better nutritional profile, fewer fewer ingredients, you’re still you still tackling the whole burger market is that the kind of the beginning of the product set for you or are you are your products in different different areas.
Alejandro Cancino
So now we have a probably the largest offering in Australia in terms of plant based meats so we not only the means rice products, but we have Streep’s Pool products. So we launched in Coles and Woolworths. So a total of over 1000 stores, we have our full range, which is full, ample board and pull beef.
Andrew D Ive
What is that? What just for those listening and might benefit pulled lamb Pulled Beef pulled pork, I know what pork pork is it’s sort of thready sort of fibrous, you know, texture with sources and other things. You’re doing that kind of approach but also using beef and lamb flavors.
Alejandro Cancino
Yes. So it is all she tacky ways. So the Asian cuisine has been using it forever. And it really mimics very well, you know, the pool texture of meats. That’s, that’s what we base our products. All the all the pools range.
Andrew D Ive
Okay, so taki what else? What else do you have going on?
Alejandro Cancino
Strips, which is soy base. And then the idea is, you know, when you ask about what’s the difference that Australia is bringing, I think the Australian market or Australian consumer really cares about products being made in Australia, and ideally, blokes that use Australian ingredients, there are no many options. So you cannot really go and shop some of our ingredients, you know, in Australia, because no one makes them. But they say there are some companies are starting to produce a plant based proteins here in Australia from Australian grains. So that’s what I see the future of Australian plant based meat, more ingredients grown here, produce here. And that’s going to be we know how good the farmers in Australia’s eye are, and all the manufacturer. So we’d really trust the source if it’s grown here in Australia.
Andrew D Ive
So 25 to 30 million people in Australia from a population perspective, as you say, a very trusted production for capability to the point where I believe foods manufactured and produced in a manufacturer slash produced in Australia, are desired with a price increase in China and other places. So I think China’s that China is going to be potentially a big market for anyone that manufactures good quality food in. In Australia, do you see the export market market being particularly important?
Alejandro Cancino
Yes, exactly. And I think that’s why we first want to champion Australia, make sure that we have, you know, obviously the two biggest retailer, you know, and on board. And then once we are, you know, we have a solid brand here in Australia, which I reckon we already have, we are planning to expand, but in a, you know, looking at two different market markets. One is, you know, the, let’s say the the primary market this the important ones that we know that we probably will need to, at some point, either open a factory or do a joint venture with someone that can help us to produce and distribute. And then some other markets, which are probably smaller for us that we will probably have a distributor arrangement or something like that. China will be definitely a market where we would like to either, you know, open a factory or have you shown venture with a with a large distributor or manufacturer.
Andrew D Ive
So I know that Veronica and Shawn from grounded started off in Australia, and they’re those their sort of plant based cheese range. Shawn was obviously a chef, as well in Australia, quite quite a well known, you know, decent decent chef in Australia. Decent is me being English, he was a very, very good chef was in Australia.
Alejandro Cancino
What’s that? A very well known chef? Yeah,
Andrew D Ive
very well known chef, you’re obviously a very good chef as well. Do you think there’s that sort of it? You know, are we are we going to see more alternative protein companies from Australia that are sort of being driven by great chefs? Is that sort of why you guys are sort of tackling the space you are because first and foremost you’re you know you’re thinking about food in a quite a different way. The reason I bring it up like that is because if I think through all of the companies we’ve invested in, in North America For example, I don’t think any of them are chefs, I think that all entrepreneurs, which is sort of interesting to me, when I sort of think about the 25, to 30 companies we’ve invested in, in the UK, in the US, literally, none of them are chefs, whereas the two companies we’ve invested in from Australia, both of them are well known, good quality chefs, who were the sort of linchpins of these businesses.
Alejandro Cancino
Look, I think there are a lot of similarities between being a chef and being an intrapreneur, you need, you know, resilience, you know, what, when, when I hear people saying, in the next in the first two to three years, you know, normally X percentage of companies fail, is because you, you really need to, you know, have the willpower, the resilience, you know, no being scared of hard work, and that’s all you’re ticking all the boxes, that’s a chef, you know, we work really hard, and we, but then something I realized, is very different at the same time, because you it’s a much longer process, you know, as a chef, you you normally have, you know, in a stressful day, but at the end of the day, everything you know, you you go to war every day, but then at the end of the shift is you start again the next day, where as an entrepreneur you have, you can have issues that last much longer, you know, you can have, you know, a shipment not arriving in time from, from another country, or delays with packaging, things that are very different biting, that the work ethic, and the resilience in need, you know, is, you know, is there. But I now I get now that I’ve been already I can consider myself an entrepreneur, I know why, once you become an entrepreneur, you can go into open a company, do all these hard work, and then probably exit or fail, and then you can do it again, because you now know a lot more, you know, doing it a second time, you know, if I had to start all over again, I definitely will do it differently, I learn a lot. So I think it will become much easier, you know, from from how you go to market. You know, raising capital, you know, putting a team together, there are a lot of things that ECC once you done in a, but obviously you have to start somewhere
Andrew D Ive
I would I if I was having a if if it was my personal choice to either become an entrepreneur or a chef, apart from the fact that I don’t cook very well. I think I would go for entrepreneur. And the reason being is because once you’ve created a great product, if you find if you figure out the way to make that product, great and great quality, consistently in huge numbers, you can take that, that recipe or that product, and you can take it around the world. And you can sell it in so many different places. So that you you have the ability to really bring your flavors, your taste your, your products to many, many, many people, you know, globally, potentially, whereas a chef is focused on the, the, you know, the 20 people, or the 20 tables in front of them right now. And throughout the night but, and they’re creating amazing flavors, amazing dishes, but their ability to, you know, take all of that hard work and push it create that value across multiple hundreds of 1000s of people is very, very tough. Only the few, you know, only a few chefs managed to take their, their skills and their qualities and do it in such large numbers if they’re, you know, if they become popular or viral or whatever, but it’s few and far between. In other words, it’s a it’s a tough life being a chef, right?
Alejandro Cancino
Definitely. And most importantly, that’s not probably what most chef one most chefs don’t want to replicate and become, you know, millionaires by opening many different venues, in fact, is probably the opposite. You rather have just one venue, one restaurant that you like, the issue here is that it is a lovely profession. I mean, I love being a chef, but I realize you know, it’s you it’s gonna be hard to to change my life and have time for you know, for a family if I have a restaurant, you know, I will probably
Andrew D Ive
started a plant based food company You’ve got so much time available.
Alejandro Cancino
At least I manage my own hours, which helps, you know, if they my life is only a little bit, you know, full on, you know, or at least I have the time and I see you know my daughter as much as I can, and which is good. I don’t do much sleeping or social life. But that will come in, in the future.
Andrew D Ive
That’s what you’re telling yourself. I hope it works out that way. So pulled pork, pork lamb Pulled Beef, you’ve got you’ve gone, and that’s with the Chautauqua. You’ve got strips using soy protein. So how many how many different products do you currently sell in Australia? And well, in Australia,
Alejandro Cancino
we have nine nine base products, but some of them have similar basis. Like for example, we do Ming’s we do burgers and meatballs, the three of them means base products. So you know, it’s just a different format. We are looking to have even more products in the future. But we want to stop at some point and just keep refining the ones who have it. So our r&d team, which at the moment is two chefs, one is me and a food scientist. We have the you know, a quarterly goal of one come up with new products. And to prove that we know is what the market needs? Or
Andrew D Ive
how are you figuring that out? How are you figuring out what the market wants?
Alejandro Cancino
So we have done in the last six months, we have done a research on the Australian market and what products would sell. This is a very comprehensive research where shows, okay, these are all the proteins, all the different formats, all the cuisines. And so we can figure it out when we have a big calendar for the two major retailers. We know what Rangeview is up and coming. So let’s say we’re working at the moment with frozen. I’m sorry, for
Andrew D Ive
you kind of before you just skip over that range reviews for people who are not familiar with how grocery stores work, just very quickly, like don’t derail the thought, but main previews, explain that opening
Alejandro Cancino
branch view is when basically the wires from a retailer from a retail chain opens up for you to present something. And then if you are successful, then you will be on shelf a few months later. So now we know the next range review for freezer opens in December on one of the two big supermarkets. So we will present something that’s going to be on shelf in shown next year. So what we do is okay, through the research we that we know, in the freezer, so our persona is a mainstream consumer that won’t pay more than let’s say $8 for a meal. And it’s looking for this protein, this kind of cuisine, and so we can then figure out, okay, the ready meal that we need to show to the retailer is this and this at this price, it has to, you know, appeal to these consumers. So knowing all of that we put together a presentation, our commercial person obviously helped us to put together a plan for promotions. So you know, when you see the two for one or 20% discount, so all of these brings consumer to the category and to the brand so people can try. And then if they like it, they can you know, buy it on when the price is normal. So all these strategies, we put it together on your own presentation, and when the buyer look at the presentation and he’s you know, sold on in, then we we secure a few excuse on that Rangeview
Andrew D Ive
got it. So here’s an excerpt. One thing that was occurring to me as you’re speaking, given that you’re doing plant based meat right now. Are you looking at the animal protein space to see what’s selling quickly to see what Selling in huge volumes in the sort of, you know, the animal based products. And then you’re saying, okay, these are the top five selling animal based products in the grocery sector in this particular channel, maybe we should recreate the flavor, the texture, the taste, etc, using the techniques that were familiar with us, you know, in terms of either Shirataki, or soy or some other range of ingredients. Is the animal protein industry driving the choices? From a plant based perspective?
Alejandro Cancino
Yeah, correct. So what what we’re asking consumers to shift from what they do to a plant based alternative. So for us, we don’t have to be, you know, extremely creative and try to, you know, do something completely new because the we’re asking already a big a big change to consumers, you know, from from what they are used to, to plant base. So instead of coming up with different flavors, or two crazy ideas, we have to just stick to the basics if they have a beef lasagna wishes want to, you know, propose a plan base beef lasagna, so they feel comfortable that at least the option is similar. And then hopefully, when they when they try it, and they say, okay, look, this is as good, is healthier is better for the planet, why not, you know, shifting, you know, once or twice a week to a plant based option.
Andrew D Ive
So the idea, so the ideal is a is a product, which gives people exactly what they expect from an animal protein product. But in a in a buffet is a more nutritious B, similar price, I would guess. Yes, yeah. But doesn’t require people to be educated about what the product is. It’s like, oh, it tastes the same, it looks the same, it has the same texture in my mouth is the same price, why wouldn’t I just do this instead?
Alejandro Cancino
Yeah, correct. And, you know, it takes a bit of time. And for people to really go into the category you need to do, as you say, price parity is key. And that’s why we do promotions. So you know, some, if we get people to try, that’s our first intention. And then if they like it, they will be, you know, new consumers to the category so that that works really well for for the supermarket, it works for us.
Andrew D Ive
Yeah, I’m guessing the first movers the the people who try the products first generally, vegan vegetarians, or is it?
Alejandro Cancino
Yes, but we, that’s definitely not our target market, they will be, you know, a consumer of our products, but that’s not what we’re aiming for our aim is to bring to the category new consumers, and that’s what we also tell to the, the retailers, and through that, we can, you know, we can show that these people that are probably on the same bean, they are buying meat, or chicken, but they are also trying our plant based meats. So that’s very important to know, you know, if you are bringing more consumers to the category, you know, is creating value for the retailer. So they know, okay, this frozen aisle, they was only vegetarian now is selling more so that that retail space is more profitable, just because, you know, they have us on that space.
Andrew D Ive
Do you do you find or do you know, as far as retailers are concerned, whether they’re seeing people spending more money or less money because of the added choice of plant based.
Alejandro Cancino
So they are basically no more and that’s where, you know, our commercial team is very good. They we have all the data from from the retailers, which we purchase here. I don’t know how it works in in us, but we have to buy that data and with that, we can then when we present, we based on facts and we say okay, since we started working with you, the you know, this is the average sales, this is the people that went into the category which probably you didn’t have before. So on that section, you just gain size so that’s what they really care at the end. The pros you know what before we Hello commercial person I and I presented myself I was all focused about the products. I was like, Okay, this is why you should be no, you know, ranges. And but once I had the first meeting with the commercial person, myself and the and the buyer, I realized he was, you know, it was a different approach, I had to say, it was more about the commercial side of things, they’ve obviously the Pro is super important. But understanding what’s the commercial strategy behind it is key.
Andrew D Ive
Yeah, absolutely. Are you finding that, and I don’t know if this is in the data or not, but are you finding that it’s the same? It’s that it’s the same people who are buying now both plant based and animal protein in at the same time? Or is it for example, a particular person in the household who is focused on more sustainable products? So for example, a family of, you know, two adults and two kids. Maybe it’s, it’s one of the kids that is conscious, conscientiously and folk, and consistently focused on plant based, but the parents are still eating just as much steak and hamburgers as they always have? Or are you seeing that people are just bringing more plant based into their diets? on a consistent basis? Just see the distinction?
Alejandro Cancino
Yeah, look, I would say it’s a bit of both. So the fact that there are, you know, teenagers going plant base, and, you know, the, the mom or the dad has to buy for them that that’s absolutely one aspect. But then we see a lot of baby boomers, which we didn’t know, but the over 50 are choosing a law, you know, plant based meat, because they want to reduce meat consumption, they probably will be concerned about health cholesterol. So they are, we didn’t know but this just came on our on the research we’ve done on with the marketing team. So our target market is obviously the 18 to 34 female that that’s our you know, kind of persona, but then the baby boomer the over 50, that wants to, you know, once or twice a week go to a more plant based diet. Yeah,
Andrew D Ive
I’ve been seeing a lot of research around Asia, in particular, where the plant based category or two is being driven by two age groups, it’s sort of the 55 Plus, who are making the decision because of fat, wanting to reduce fat, you know, reduce their fat consumption from a cardiovascular perspective, and, and also wanting to get more plant based products into their diet from a roughage, and a fiber and so on. And then the younger population who are doing it much more from a sustainability, global climate change, global warming perspective, and also animal welfare, you know, the younger generation seems to be more oriented towards the animal welfare side of the equation, the older population, it’s much more personal health. And related, at least that’s what I’m seeing in some of the Asian markets.
Alejandro Cancino
Yeah, and he’s definitely a good example here. So that is, we I wasn’t expecting to see that coming back from the research, I even I thought it was more of a young generation only by the baby boomers, and the over 55 are really a, you know, a group that we didn’t expect to be there, you know, but they are driving the category.
Andrew D Ive
Hey, then. So given that, you know, you have a goal of coming up with new product, one new product every time you say every month, every every quarter, every quarter, maybe you should create a range of products, if you haven’t already dedicated to the 55 plus in terms of the style, the comfort food, for example.
Alejandro Cancino
Correct, yeah. And we are looking into that. So now. The whole RMD process got a little bit more sophisticated, let’s say before, we used to just go and just try to launch products because they tasted good. Now we are working closely with the marketing team and the research so we need to Okay, we have a brief and now we work on the brief of what we need to achieve.
Andrew D Ive
Sounds like a real drop out hundra sounds like you have to work for a living now instead of just creating stuff and seeing what happens.
Alejandro Cancino
Yeah, you know, I think you know, putting in the last 12 months been really important for us. We really put the right people On the right places, and I think, yeah, bringing people to the team that better for you in their own, in their own section makes the whole company much more professional. And yeah.
Andrew D Ive
So you said it, you started the conversation saying you’re doing about, I think about 8000 tonnes a week,
Alejandro Cancino
sometimes 888 1000 kilos a week?
Andrew D Ive
Yeah, 8000 kilos a week. Got it. So eight times eight until we get awesome. How many people in the company now?
Alejandro Cancino
So the core team is 10 people? And then we have the factory workers, which is that bar is around 10 to 12.
Andrew D Ive
In addition, so up to 20 people. Yeah. Got it. What’s the kind of, and we’re gonna start wrapping it up? Since I know you have other things to do, unfortunately, but what’s, what’s the probably the main thing you’ve learned about yourself since starting a business, because I know the last three years have been up and down a lot of, you know, a lot of good times also a lot of challenges. What’s the kind of thing you’ve learned most about yourself in the last two to three years?
Alejandro Cancino
I’m, I’m surprised at how well I’ve been managing stress, you know, I think that that’s, that’s probably the you know, I meet up with friends on the weekends when I can, and they say to me, you know, oh, but you, you look good. You know, it seems like, you know, you’re having fun with it, and I look, I am having fun, but managing stress and managing, you can you can not control what happened, you know, but you can control how you take things. So, that’s, that’s what I’m kind of getting very good at. So there are in the food industry, there are a lot of issues, you know, a lot of things that can happen, especially since COVID, where you cannot control what happened with shipments and or ingredients, or that there are so many possible issues in you know, people that people will be probably one of the biggest issues and how you manage that is key. And I think, um, you know, probably by being a chef and having a lot of stress through many years. I, I tried to work on that. And so things don’t affect me. So at the end of the day, you know, I do my best, we work really hard, I need to switch off at the end, you know, make sure that I ensure the time I spent with my daughter and my wife, and then every morning, I restart, you know, it’s like, every day is a new day. So you have the opportunity to that day to be the best day of your life. So that really keeps me motivated. No shed, you know, energetic and, yeah, that’s probably the I’m amazed of how well I’m coping with some with some things sometimes.
Andrew D Ive
So I’ve known you now for a few years. And I’ve, I’ve always found it to be a very positive, very sort of happy forward thinking person who doesn’t seem very stressed at all. So, you know, you’re either hiding it well, or you’re able to sort of cope with it. I kind of like the idea that, you know, you can’t control everything that happens to you, but you can control how you respond to it. And I think that’s something anyone listening should probably try and take on board. I know I should. So where did where is Alejandro and Fenn Foods going to be in three years? What’s the kind of prediction for? Is it going to be Australia dominant in Australia? Do you think you’ll be in other countries?
Alejandro Cancino
So three years from now, we are going to be a very strong brand here in Australia. If not, you know, the champions on the category. We are going to have a expansion through Asia Pacific mainly, and probably factory in one of those key countries that we want to expand. Yeah, obviously turnover is going to be much higher than what it is at the moment. But we don’t you know, have a very good base. So I feel like the team will be well you know, probably the team is already in place. For the next three years. Probably there will be a few more key people that needs to come. We are set for we’re well prepared for them. successful and
Andrew D Ive
fantastic. So I’m wondering if you have another daughter by then or another son that might be that might be on the cards at some point, I would guess.
Alejandro Cancino
No, I think I think we, this is my wife is at the end of the series retiring from from Fenn foods. And we want to have a little bit more balance in our family. And I think that’s going to free my hair up a little bit. And I will be brought even more efficient than what I now I will be very, you know, laser focused on what I need to do when I’m at work. And then when I am home, and then the working day ends, I can completely recharge.
Andrew D Ive
Yeah, having been an entrepreneur, myself, I always used to imagine sort of a box in my head, which, at a certain time, every night, I would put everything that needed to be thought about into the box, I would close the lid, lock it up, and just not not open that box until you know 8am The next day, when I could start tackling the problems again, you got to know when to you know when when you can’t solve something right now there is no point stressing about it. So
Alejandro Cancino
exactly. And I feel the same, exactly same and I also use the books a metaphor you know, we I know at the end had to close it because the next day, a new version of me will open up with more calm refresh and will see things differently. So no point once you are overwhelmed, no point to try to solve it because you’re now on the right mindset. So you had to let it go. Close the box and see the next day.
Andrew D Ive
Awesome. Alejandro I appreciate your time. What what what do you want people to do? When they listen to this? Do you want them to reach out to you? Do you want them to rush to Woolworths and other places and buy your products and tell their friends? I mean what are you what are you hoping that people who listen to this get out of it and do about the conversation?
Alejandro Cancino
Look both are good ideas reaching out? Well I’m I’m a very approachable person. And I think you know that is a lot of what happening in Fenn Food spin by just called interest and and people just knocking and starting a conversation. But yeah, obviously if you’re in Australia, if you go into Coles or Woolworths, you will see our brand. So yeah, we’ll be more than happy to see more consumers, you know, getting a lunch or dinner with our products.
Andrew D Ive
So Fenn F e n n foods.com. If you have ideas for new products that you want to see, tell Alejandro I’m guessing LinkedIn. You know what a good place is to reach out and connect with you.
Alejandro Cancino
Yeah, LinkedIn, Alejandro Cansino or Fenn Foods. And then we are an Instagram. Beef bifolds beef is our brand
Andrew D Ive
preterm baby V. V as in Victor E. F. Right. Correct. Yeah. All right. So Alejandro, Fenn foods. Thank you so much for our conversation today. I really appreciate it some really good things for people to think about, especially entrepreneurs who are considering going through a similar journey. If you’re a chef, it sounds like you’ve got all the makings of being a successful business person because you’ve been going through that stress mill many, many times before. So if you’ve got some great companies, sorry, great products, and you’re a chef reach out to me, I’d be interested in talking to you, Alejandro, I’m going to press pause. Thank you so much for your time today.
Alejandro Cancino
Thank you very much. Have a good day.
Andrew D Ive
You too. Okay, I am pressing the I don’t know how I stopped recording. I know how I started recording. Stop recording. Okay, stop. Okay, I hope you enjoyed the conversation with Alejandro from Fenn Foods. If you have questions, comments, thoughts, please do leave them in whichever place you can. Assuming this is YouTube or iTunes or one of those things. Please do like and subscribe so that you get updates on our new podcasts. We try to deliver those every single week. So great conversation. I hope you enjoyed it. That if you want to reach out to me, my name is Andrew Ivor again, and I’m your host and I am the founder of Big Idea ventures. We are focused on solving the world’s greatest challenges by backing the world’s best entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers. So do reach out to us if you need help if you have questions, if you want to help in some way, so big idea ventures.com Contact us. I’m also on LinkedIn and through middle initial D for donut, I’ve IVE. Look forward to connecting with you and thanks for listening.
Bye bye