“I was doing entertainment P.R. in Hollywood — you know, celebrities and calls at 2 a.m. — and was, what should I say? Burnt out,”  (New York Times) .. That was 5 years ago.

Today, she runs Cherryvale Farms, currently in 1400 stores with their “Everything But The...” baking mixes. Lindsey Rosenberg and I had a fun chat about her story and she dishes out advice for our listeners:

• What makes their baking mixes unique. Why they are the modern-day Betty Crocker
• How she transitioned her career from Hollywood PR to a successful food startup
• "Don't spend any money"
• Advice for becoming (or not becoming) a Whole Foods national brand
• How to pitch grocery buyers
• On bootstrapping
• Working with Dad
• The D.I.Y. spirit (note from Matt: I have seen this characteristic in among many guests)
• Why Cherryvale doesn't focus on trends

Selected Links from the show:
Cherryvale Farms
Small Food Brands, Big Success
About Lindsey
Chowhound Review
Hampton Creek (Beyond Eggs™)
Cherryvale Farms Twitter

They showed up to ExpoWest 2012 with an idea: transparent ingredient tracing using proprietary software and creative film production. Today, they are nationwide in US stores with their collection of cereals, breads, flowers, and seeds.

Danny Houghton is the cofounder of One Degree Organics. He leads ingredient expeditions around the world in search of pure veganic harvests. Every ingredient comes with a video (see below) where you meet the farmers and learn how it is made.

I really enjoyed learning about One Degree, the veganic movement, and their unique business model: technology, media, and sustainable food. Danny sheds light on:

• What is veganic?
• The "why" of One Degree Organics
• Leading world expeditions - fun sourcing stories
• The gluten misconception ancient vs modern wheat
• Organic's "dirty little secret"
• Keys to success in a competitive space

"We only want to tell stories about ingredients we're proud to tell stories about." - Danny Houghton

Selected links from the episode:
One Degree Organics
One Degree Blog
Real Salt
B.C.’s One Degree Organic Foods feeds veganic farming movement
One Degree Organic YouTube Channel (Check it out!
Salt: A World History
Wheat Belly
Khorasan Wheat
Veganic Google Search

My 5 6 favorite One Degree Organic videos:
Sumatran Treasure - Veganic Cinnamon
On Colorado's High Plains - Organic Oats and Millet
Nutmeg and Mace - Discovering Siau Island
Peace and Purity - Missouri's Organic Pecans
Alquimia Farmers - Paraguay
Indonesian Safari - Veganic Vanilla + Cloves

Our first episode of 2016. Let's revisit the wisdom for our last 10 guests. Use this episode as a recap of 10 food lessons. And if you here a lesson or guest that interests you. Check them out in the links below!