Interviews

Helene Nielsen DUG

© Helene Nielsen

DUG: “Potatoes Are More Versatile Than Almost Any Other Food”

DUG is a Swedish brand with roots in science and research at Lund University. It was there that the patented emulsion technology was developed, forming the basis for the brand’s vegan-friendly, potato-based milk alternatives. According to the company, these alternative beverages have a very low carbon footprint and can be used like any other milk. The DUG brand is owned by DUG Foodtech AB. Helene Nielsen has been CEO of DUG Foodtech since 2023 and has more than two decades of experience in sales and export in the FMCG sector. Stints at brands such as Oatly, Tweek and Sproud have made her an accomplished leader in the European foodtech market. With a particular focus on building international markets – from retail to coffee and OOH …

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© Pierre Coeurdeuil

Savor: “Our Technology’s Versatility Enables Infinite Customization of Fatty Acid Profiles”

Savor is a pioneering company in the alt-fat space, creating sustainable and customizable fats, oils, and butter by directly converting carbon gases into pure fat molecules. Pierre Coeurdeuil manages Strategic Partnerships at Savor, and works with world-class chefs, bakers and brands to bring innovative, highly sustainable and customizable fats, oils and butter to market. Prior to Savor, he orchestrated launch for a world-first kind of plant-based cheese, was an advisor to food and beverage CEOs in the San Francisco Bay Area, and co-founded dessert manufacturer Petit Pot. Pierre is originally a food manufacturing engineer and emigrated from France in the early 2010s. In this interview, Pierre discusses Savor’s groundbreaking technology, the company’s mission to revolutionize fat production, and the collaborative efforts driving innovation in the …

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Henrik Lund, founder & CEO of Naturli

Henrik Lund © NATURLI’ Foods
veg+

Danish Plant-Based Food Association: “An EU Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods Could Help Ensure a Level Playing Field for Producers”

Managing director of plantbased at Dragsbæk A/S and chairman of the Danish Plantbased Food Association, Henrik Lund is an experienced retail manager with a strong background in food and beverage, FMCG, and key account development. With a deep understanding of the consumer goods industry, Henrik has worked to drive change and support the transition to more sustainable food production. In this interview, Henrik discusses the work of the Danish Plantbased Food Association, recent achievements, and the association’s ongoing efforts to promote plant-based food solutions in Denmark and across Europe. Who is the Danish Plant-Based Food Association, and what does it stand for? The Danish Plant-based Food Association is Europe’s largest association for plant-based foods. When Plantebranchen was founded in 2019, the association quickly gained interest …

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Frances Gonzalez Little Logan's Farm

Frances Gonzalez © Little Logan's Farm

Little Logan’s Farm: “Setting a New Standard for Truly Animal-Free, Regenerative Agriculture”

In a landmark moment for ethical farming in North America, Little Logan’s Farm in New York’s Hudson Valley has become the first officially certified Biocyclic Vegan farm in the United States. Led by Frances Gonzalez—best known as the founder of Vegan Wines and VegFest Puerto Rico—the farm is setting a new standard for truly animal-free, regenerative agriculture. With this certification, Gonzalez is not only cultivating cruelty-free produce but also laying the groundwork for a new era of education, hospitality, and advocacy centered on sustainable, plant-based living. We spoke with Frances to learn more about this certification, her ambitious plans to establish the farm as a national hub for bicyclic vegan training, and how she’s bringing together food, wine, and ethics under one visionary umbrella. Frances, …

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Ricardo Radwanski Earth First Food Ventures

Ricardo Radwanski © Earth First Food Ventures

Earth First Food Ventures: “The World is Running Out of Animal Dairy”

Ricardo Radwanski is co-founder and CFO of Earth First Food Ventures, a unique investment platform providing early-stage capital and strategic insight to companies in the FoodTech space. Ricardo has extensive experience in international investments and wealth management, and he possesses a solid understanding of financial reporting, analysis, and risk assessment. For the past five years, Ricardo has focused on venture capital in alternative proteins, including business plan modeling, strategy formulation, and growth plans for prospective investee companies in the sector. In this interview, Ricardo discusses the company’s strategic focus on precision fermentation for dairy proteins, the potential of this technology to address the global dairy shortfall, and the role of innovative investment approaches such as tokenization in accelerating growth within the FoodTech and alternative protein …

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Edwin Bark, Redefine Meat EMEA - Image supplied.

Redefine Meat: “Innovations Should be Focused on Creating New Plant-based Experiences That Will Attract Consumers New to the Category”

In a fast-evolving alt-protein landscape, consumer loyalty and consistent product quality have become critical benchmarks for success. We sat down with Edwin Bark, SVP and General Manager EMEA at Redefine Meat, to discuss the company’s strategic approach to these challenges and opportunities. Known for its high-fidelity plant-based meat alternatives, “New-Meat”, Redefine Meat is expanding across European retail and foodservice, with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and premium quality. In this conversation, Bark outlines the importance of product upgrades, the risks associated with subpar private label offerings, and how strategic partnerships across the value chain are driving progress in taste, texture, and consumer acceptance. He also sheds light on the growing impact of price parity with conventional beef, and what it will take for the plant-based …

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Headshot Christopher Gergen

Christopher Gergen, CEO at Regenerative Organic Alliance - Image supplied.

Why Regenerative Organic Could Be the Next Frontier for Plant-Based Brands and Retailers

As the plant-based movement continues to reshape consumer choices, the regenerative organic movement is pushing the conversation to a slightly different direction: toward a food system that restores soil, respects animals, and protects workers. And despite shared values, there’s potential tension: how do animal-inclusive regenerative agricultural practices fit into a vegan-led food future? In conversation with Christopher Gergen, CEO, and Paul Alvarez, Program Director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance, we explored what it will take to align these movements, reduce consumer confusion, and make regenerative organic a trusted standard within the plant-based industry and beyond. Christopher, what has surprised you the most in your first six weeks as CEO of the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA)? Christopher: Well, what has excited me most over the last …

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© Fabumin

Fabumin: “We Use Legume Cooking Side-Streams and Turn Them Into a High-Value, Sustainable Ingredient”

In this interview, we speak with Adi Yehezkeli, CEO and Co-founder of Fabumin, an innovative company based in Tel Aviv’s vibrant food tech community. Fabumin offers a unique alternative to eggs in the food industry with its aquafaba powder—a sustainable, affordable, and versatile ingredient made from legume cooking side-streams. Adi discusses the unique benefits of Fabumin’s technology, the company’s commitment to sustainability, and its exciting journey towards commercialization. She also shares insights on the future of the alternative protein industry and how Fabumin plans to play a key role in its evolution. Can you describe Fabumin and the solutions you’re offering/developing? What sets you apart from others in the market? Fabumin offers a revolutionary new raw material to the food industry: aquafaba powder. Aquafaba is …

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Planteneers UPF

© Planteneers

Planteneers on UPFs: All Ultra-Processed, All Unhealthy?

“Precision Wellness” is one of the current top trends, according to Innova Market Insights. The focus is on healthy nutrition, including gut health, ideally personalized to the individual needs of consumers. But what is “healthy nutrition”? By what criteria are foods classified as healthy? Health organizations like the German Nutrition Society, the World Health Organization, and America’s FDA derive their nutrition recommendations first and foremost from the content of macro- and micronutrients, sugar, and salt in foods. Another classification scheme currently being widely discussed is the NOVA system, which categorizes foods exclusively based on their degree of processing. This four-stage system differentiates between unprocessed or minimally processed foods, foods with processed ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods or UPFs. According to nutrition experts this last …

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Bosco Emparanza García MOA Foodtech

© Bosco Emparanza García

MOA Foodtech: “AI is Transforming the Way We Approach Fermentation and Ingredient Development”

MOA Foodtech is a biotechnology company specializing in the use of fermentation and AI to produce healthy, sustainable food ingredients from agricultural byproducts. The company’s focus is on creating next-generation proteins that are both nutritionally rich and technologically versatile, offering a revolutionary solution to food waste while providing sustainable alternatives to traditional protein sources. Bosco Emparanza García is the CEO and founder of MOA Foodtech. With a background in biochemistry and an MBA in biotechnology, Bosco has extensive experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and food industries, including a notable role at AINIA Centro Tecnológico. In this interview, Bosco discusses how AI-driven fermentation is revolutionizing ingredient development, the environmental benefits of upcycling agricultural byproducts, and how MOA Foodtech is shaping the future of sustainable protein production. …

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Céline Schiff-Deb MISTA

Céline Schiff-Deb - Image supplied.

MISTA: “Fermentation is Being Rediscovered as an Untapped Source of Food”

MISTA, co-founded by Givaudan, Danone, and others, is a San Francisco-based innovation platform accelerating the development of plant-based and fermentation-powered food solutions. It offers state-of-the-art labs and pilot facilities to help startups and corporates scale sustainable food technologies. Céline Schiff-Deb has been working for over 20 years at the interface of science and business, translating biotech innovations into relevant commercial products in the areas of food, feed, ag and cosmetics. She is currently the CSO at MISTA. Previously, she led Product Innovation for multiple biotech platforms, including Solazyme (microalgae oils) and Calysta (microbial proteins) and was advising biotech companies in France. Céline is an agronomist by training and has a PhD in plant molecular biology In this interview, Céline discusses the growing potential of biomass …

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Tomas Turner © Cosaic

Cosaic: “Cosaic Neo Sets New Rules for Food Ingredients”

Cosaic, which recently rebranded from Cultivated Biosciences, is a Swiss foodtech startup focused on developing fat ingredients for dairy alternatives using yeast fermentation, with the goal of improving the creaminess and mouthfeel of plant-based dairy products. Their mission is to bridge the sensory gap between conventional and plant-based dairy, making the latter more appealing to mainstream consumers. Tomas Turner, the CEO of Cosaic, is a Material Engineer from the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL). During his studies, he encountered the concept of alternative proteins and directly recognized it could be part of the solution to answer the climate and health challenges we face. After an internship at Planted Foods, he continued exploring his interest at EPFL. He conceived the idea of producing creamy fat using …

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Sergio Fabregat, director de F4F - Expo Foodtech © F4F - Expo Foodtech

Food 4 Future: “We Believe That Progress Happens When All Stakeholders Sit at the Same Table”

Sergio Fabregat, with a background in Business Administration from the University of Barcelona and an Executive Master in Marketing and Sales from ESADE, is the driving force behind two of Spain’s food innovation events: F4F – Expo Foodtech in Bilbao and the newly launched Expo Agritech in Málaga. As the Event Director, Fabregat plays a pivotal role in shaping platforms that connect key stakeholders across the food tech value chain. In this interview, we spoke with him about the role of F4F in accelerating innovation in the fields of new proteins, biotechnology, and cellular agriculture. He shares insights on the event’s key program highlights for trade visitors, the industry players and markets in focus, and how Food 4 Future is helping to shape the future …

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SIMPLi Founders with their products in front of a sprouts market

Image courtesy of SIMPLi

SIMPLi: “Consumers Today Are Becoming More Aware of How Processed Foods Impact Their Health”

Founded in 2020, SIMPLi is redefining ethical sourcing and regenerative organic agriculture. At the heart of this fast-growing company is Sarela Herrada, a native Peruvian and Indigenous entrepreneur, who, alongside her husband Matt Cohen, built SIMPLi to challenge the status quo in the food industry. With a commitment to fair supply chains and nutrient-dense, traceable ingredients, the company has rapidly become a leader in regenerative organic foods—securing partnerships with major retailers and foodservice providers alike. At Natural Products Expo West 2025, we sat down with Herrada to discuss SIMPLi’s journey, its latest partnerships, and the future of regenerative agriculture in plant-based food. SIMPLi started with a strong mission to create a more transparent and ethical food system. What inspired you to take this path? Sarela …

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Johannes Schmid-Wiedersheim © Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH

IFFA: “Alternative Protein Solutions Have Grown Strongly at IFFA”

IFFA, the leading international trade fair for innovations in meat and alternative protein processing technology, will take place in Frankfurt from May 3 to 8, 2025. Under the motto “Rethinking Meat and Proteins,” the event will spotlight key future topics shaping the meat and protein industries. Showcasing the entire value chain—from processing and packaging to cutting-edge ingredients and emerging trends at the point of sale—IFFA 2025 will provide a comprehensive industry overview. The key topics for 2025 are maximum performance, value creation from data, sustainability in practice and new product worlds. Johannes Schmid-Wiedersheim is Director of IFFA and Texcare International. He has worked in the trade fair industry for over 20 years and has been with Messe Frankfurt since 2012. In addition to his responsibilities …

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Image: Monica Bordin on LinkedIn

Violife: “As Category Leaders, We Have a Responsibility to Push the Entire Industry Forward and Set a New Standard”

As a leader in the plant-based cheese category, Violife is on a mission to redefine dairy-free indulgence. Known for its creamy textures and bold flavors, the brand continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in plant-based dairy, ensuring that consumers never have to compromise on taste, texture, or nourishment. At Natural Products Expo West 2025, vegconomist sat down with Monica Bordin, Head of North America Commercial Operations at Violife, to discuss the brand’s latest innovations, how consumer expectations are evolving, and why clean-label ingredients and nourishment will define the future of plant-based dairy. Let’s start with your latest campaign. Can you tell us about ‘Creamy Confessions’ and how it connects with consumers?Absolutely! Violife has always been a brand that challenges norms and embraces bold, …

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Rosie Bambaji HAPPIEE!

Rosie Bambaji © HAPPIEE!

HAPPIEE!: “Plant-Based Seafood Has the Potential To Drive the Next Wave of Transformation”

HAPPIEE! is a Singapore-based company specializing in plant-based seafood alternatives, including shrimp and squid. Since entering the UK market in 2023, it has secured listings in major retailers and is working to expand consumer awareness of plant-based seafood. Rosie Bambaji, Marketing Lead at HAPPIEE!, has over a decade of experience in food retail, including roles at Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Her expertise in category management and brand growth has been instrumental in securing national retail listings and increasing consumer awareness of plant-based seafood. In this interview, Bambaji discusses HAPPIEE’s market positioning, the challenges of consumer adoption, key trends in plant-based seafood, and the brand’s strategy for continued growth. To start, can you tell us about HAPPIEE! and what makes the brand unique in the plant-based seafood …

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Matthias Krön © The New Originals Company

New Originals Company: “We Recognized Early on That Tofu Will Be a Key Pillar of Our Future Diet”

The New Originals Company, headquartered in Vienna, was founded in February 2024 by the Lunter family – tofu pioneers since 1991 – NLT Management Holding and Raiffeisenbank Landesbank Oberösterreich, an experienced investor in the food industry, and already employs over 600 people in six European countries. The New Originals Company focuses on the development of innovative tofu products that meet modern nutritional requirements. With already five brands, all of which stand for innovative, high-quality tofu products and plant-based foods, the company aims to expand further in the rapidly growing European market for natural plant-based foods. Regional roots and comprehensive traceability of raw materials along the entire supply chain remain an important part of the mission. Matthias Krön, CEO of the New Originals Company, gives us …

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Matthias Balz INTERNORGA

Matthias Balz © INTERNORGA

INTERNORGA: “The Growing Demand for Sustainable Alternatives Is Significantly Shaping the Global Gastronomy Market”

For over a century, INTERNORGA has been the go-to event for hospitality professionals, offering a comprehensive overview of market developments, cutting-edge solutions and future trends. It is the ultimate meeting point where industry leaders, innovative start-ups, and top decision-makers come together to shape the future of foodservice and hospitality.  The event, which draws over 80,000 visitors and 1,200 exhibitors from more than 30 countries, has become a vital hub for hospitality professionals seeking to tap into global trends, discover the latest innovations, and expand their international network. With its new theme, ‘Where trends take off,’ INTERNORGA takes place from 14 to 18 March 2025 in Hamburg, Germany. Matthias Balz has been instrumental in shaping the successful development of INTERNORGA – the leading international trade fair …

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Riku and Anna Väänänen

Riku and Anna Väänänen - Image supplied

Riku Väänänen: “It’s About Creating a System Where Every Stage of Production Respects Both Nature and Animal Welfare”

Riku and Anna Väänänen are a Finnish couple who left their corporate careers in Switzerland to pursue their passion for winemaking in the renowned Côtes de Bourg region of Bordeaux. Since 2016, they have been producing high-quality vegan and organic wines at Château Puybarbe, earning consistent praise from top wine critics, with all their wines scoring over 90 points from Decanter, Wine Enthusiast, and other respected reviewers. Their portfolio includes four distinct red wines and a celebrated rosé, Annabel. In this exclusive interview, Riku Väänänen shares his remarkable journey from the corporate world to sustainable viticulture. He discusses his dedication to soil regeneration, organic farming, and vegan winemaking, explaining why he chose to certify Château Puybarbe under the Biocyclic Vegan Standard. Riku also highlights the …

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