Climate Week NYC attendees got a taste of the future of food—and heard directly from the entrepreneurs powering it—at the 2nd annual Sustainable Foods Showcase, hosted by Food Tank in partnership with J.P. Morgan.
“There’s a big need and opportunity to evolve the food system to be more sustainable, everything from agriculture practices to (consumer packaged goods) chains to ingredients to restaurants,” says Jackson Morrow of Green Economy Banking Team at J.P. Morgan.
During the event, attendees tasted two cakes made by Ron Ben-Israel, celebrity cake maker and television judge, using strawberries from Oishii. In fact, as he told the crowd, he used the same recipe he’d used for his own recent wedding cake.
“When we talk about new products, it’s so hard to come up with something new, but this for us was a really nice adventure,” Ben-Israel said. “One thing I learn from events like this is to reuse food in different ways; it’s a different way to look at products.”
Businesses, especially ones led by mission-driven entrepreneurs, can be effective drivers of sustainable practices across entire industries. And sustainability is not just better for the planet—it’s better for business, too.
“It makes good business sense to have sustainable business models,” says Viraj Puri, Co-Founder and CEO of Gotham Greens. “Being able to revitalize and take non-arable, non-habitable land and turn it into productive green space and build jobs is a really cool part of our story.”
But at the end of the day, a business is a business, panelists said. And while new entrepreneurs might feel like focusing on the bottom line means neglecting a company’s social mission, panelists said a focus on capital and financial sustainability can actually be in service of more altruistic goals.
“If you’re driven by the desire to make change, you’re going to make it happen,” says Anna Hammond, Founder of Matriark Foods. At the same time, she says, “if it’s not going to work as a business, then you’re not going to be able to make the change you want to make.”
And when one business is financially strong, company leaders can use that success to elevate other food system stakeholders, too. Regenerative organic ingredient company SIMPLi, for example, works with 5,500 farmers across 13 countries.
“Long-term partnerships provide resilience in the good and the bad times,” says SIMPLi Co-Founder Sarela Herrada. “It’s incredible to see the power women hold on the farm and in communities.”
Similarly, Wholecain Co-Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer Mark Kaplan said, “the biggest incentive for sustainable practices is to bolster [the farmers’] livelihoods and support them in market access.”
Customers also play a major role in the food business landscape, in ways that bring both opportunities and challenges. For example, Michael Fox, Founder & CEO of Fable Food, said businesses like his have to push back against a public perception that a food product labelled “sustainable” might not taste good.
As Cecilia Chang, Chief Business Officer of Mission Barns, said, “People just aren’t willing to compromise for sustainability or ethics if the products don’t taste good.”
However, this is not to say that businesses should hide the positive work they do—customers are interested in it, but businesses need to be strategic in how messages are structured.
“We have to lead with nutrient density in the product attributes and what’s in it for me, rather than the incredible work we’re doing behind the scenes,” Herrada says.
But soon, says Jay McEntire, CEO of Arva, “hopefully we’ll start to see a regenerative brand on the shelves soon and we can start to vote with our feet.”
As Julia Collins, Founder of Planet FWD, says, a joyful new perspective on food is key to successful sustainable businesses.
“The future that we need will not be won on a platform of sacrifice and austerity,” Collins says. “It’ll be one where sustainability tastes so irresistible that we demand it. Deliciousness is not a bonus—it is a design imperative.”
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Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.
