Robyn O'Brien

About Robyn O'Brien

Robyn O’Brien is the co-founder of rePlant Capital, an impact investment firm, deploying integrated capital from soil to shelf in order to build soil health and financial resiliency for farmers. She is also the founder of Do Good, a strategic advisory firm, and the AllergyKids Foundation. Random House published Robyn’s book, The Unhealthy Truth, in 2009, and her TEDx talks have been translated into dozens of languages and viewed by millions around the world.

Posts by Robyn O'Brien:

May 13 2023

Burying ‘Supermom’ to Become the Aircraft Carrier

Robyn O'Brien From Robyn 0

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, the Supermom posts are flying around.

The intent behind them is, no doubt, very well meaning.

You ask any mom you know, and she’ll give you an honest answer, sometimes motherhood is so hard that it leaves you breathless.

I’ve rattled off the statistics about the health of our children more times than I can possibly remember, you can probably recite them with me:

1 in 4 kids now has allergies, autism, ADHD or asthma
1 in 2 kids born in the year 2000 (my oldest child’s age) are expected to be insulin dependent by the time they reach adulthood.
Cancer is now the leading cause of death by disease.
And suicide rates are escalating at a jaw-dropping rate, along with depression, anxiety, eco-anxiety (the new term to describe how our kids feel about climate change) and so much more.

So what to do about “Supermom”? It’s clearly very well-meaning.

But as moms, we are navigating unprecedented change in our kids’ generation: social media introduces so much, so early, 24/7 news cycles deliver an onslaught of worry and bad news (remember our parents turning off the TV when we walked into their bedrooms at night, as it was the 10pm news that had the more disturbing stories?), there is the professionalization of childhood sports, and the digitization of everything from porn to bullying to homework assignments.

It is so very much.

On top of that, there is economic turbulence, environmental turbulence, political turbulence, and more. If you ask any mom you know, she will tell you that she worries about how it’s all impacting her kids.

We worry, a deep, deep worry, the kind that wakes you up at night, or leaves you aching when a child shares a story, or causes you to take an extra moment in the car to collect yourself.

We’ve watched too many we love use addictions to numb pain, devices to replace conversations, and we now find another labeling beckoning us, as one of the loneliest generations.

So Supermom? It feels like a title that may fit every once in a while, but regularly? Maybe could you just put that out in the garage?

And yet……we never stop trying.

For so many of us, the last few years held the pandemic, academic disruptions, health crises and so much more. The underlying and unyielding rhythm was disruption. It revealed so much, causing a heartache so deep in some cases, that it felt impossible to recover.

And yet, every day, our feet would hit the floor, every morning, in an effort to stabilize things for our children.

Which is why I have come to think of us, not as a ‘supermom’, but as an aircraft carrier.

Perhaps it’s the ages of my four children now, 18-23, but it was three years ago, when things got particularly turbulent, and everywhere we turned was disruption, that I suddenly locked in on that visual.

My four children, still school age at the time, were like these jets that would fly off to do their things, to go school, to their events, to hang out with their friends, to play sports…..and then they would return, tired, worn out, hungry, ready to unload some stuff.

And I realized, I was an aircraft carrier. That they would take off, then return home, quite literally at times, to dump their stuff, refuel, tune up, get what they need, so that they could fly off again.

Stay steady, I thought. Keep the focus, an eye on the horizon.

It felt that my job was to stay steady on turbulent seas when everything around them was changing, when nothing felt familiar, when new people suddenly appeared, when the familiar fell away. To stay steady, when the seas were smooth. To keep the lights on, always visible.

You there, Mom? Can I come home for the weekend? Can you come into my room to talk tonight?

The job was never to be supermom, it was to be the aircraft carrier for our children, on ever changing seas.

Sometimes the seas are like glass, and sometimes they throw you so hard. The goal is to be steady, no matter the turbulence, no matter the ease.

So this Mother’s Day, yes, I know, there are those ‘supermom’ moments, but here’s to the aircraft carriers out there, the ones who are forever and always a steady landing place for their kids, no matter what the conditions are.

I hope that you can find time to pull yourself in to shore, so that all you’ve supported, the beatings you’ve taken, can be taken care of, too. And, if you have hands around you to help repair the battered, tired, worn out places, the kind and gentle hands of your loved ones, your friends and family, let them help you.

Find the people who love you, your family, your chosen family, your friends, and let them love you, because the work we do is some of the most important work anyone anywhere could possibly be doing.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Love,

Robyn XOXO

January 17 2023

5 Megatrends Shaping Every Industry + the Future Leadership Required to Succeed

Robyn O'Brien Uncategorized 0

If nature taught us anything, it’s that homogenous systems fail.

That homogeneity is pervasive in corporations, where diversity is lacking in the C-Suite and on boards, and it’s also deeply lacking in funding opportunities. Women do not have access to funding opportunities, which means innovation and emerging leadership is coming from a homogenous demographic, not a diverse base, and it shows. A global survey of CEOs, released this week, reveals that a special kind of leadership will be required because deep change is possible only when individuals at all levels adapt and grow.

TechCrunch reported that in 2012, women raised 1.8%, then 1.7% in 2016. And in 2021, there was an anomaly, which saw 2.3% of venture dollars allocated to all-female U.S. teams. For 2022, that number was tracking back down at 1.9%.

In Europe, the story is quite similar, although 2020 was the standout year that saw women raise 2.4% of all venture capital on the continent. Last year paints a more realistic picture: All-women teams raised only 1.1% of all venture funds in Europe. Only 1.1%.

That’s abysmal. It’s tough to lead when you don’t have access to capital.

So when PwC released its 26th Annual Global CEO Survey this week, it wasn’t surprising. And you get a sense that a lot of these leaders don’t know what to do. They’ve been operating with a system that worked in the 20th century, but a system that is now failing them in the 21st century.

The data suggests that a special kind of leadership will be required because deep change is possible only when individuals at all levels adapt and grow.

So let’s dig into it:

Roughly 40% of CEOs from 105 countries and territories predict their organizations won’t be economically viable in a decade if they continue on their current trajectories.

The pattern is consistent across a range of economic sectors, including technology (41%), telecommunications (46%), healthcare (42%) and manufacturing (43%).

52% of CEOs think that labor/skills shortages will impact their profitability to a large or very large extent over the next 10 years – a top 3 issue for them. (As our friends at Danone candidly told us, COVID took the lives of 1.1 million to date, many who worked in their supply chains, as truck drivers, field workers and more)

When asked about the forces most likely to impact their industry’s profitability over the next ten years, about half or more of surveyed CEOs cited changing customer preferences, regulatory change, skills shortages and technology disruption.

Roughly 40% flagged the transition to new energy sources and supply chain disruption. And nearly one-third pointed to the potential for new entrants from adjacent industries.

Five broad mega-trends emerged—climate change, technological disruption, demographic shifts, a fracturing world and social instability.

A majority of global CEOs expect some degree of impact from climate change in the next 12 months—primarily in their cost profiles (where approximately 50% expect a moderate, large or very large impact) and their supply chains (42%). Fewer (24%) are worried about climate-related damage to their physical assets.

Combating climate change requires a coordinated, long-term plan. It won’t be solved if the only companies working on it are those that face immediate financial impact.

Perhaps that’s the frustration we are feeling in the food industry right now. It’s impacting us. Corporates are telling us that climate change is costing them anywhere between $30-50 million a year. In others words, the food industry is on its knees.

Many companies are trying to decarbonize, innovate and craft climate strategy in parallel

According to the PwC report, many companies appear to be strategizing today without the information provided by an internal pricing mechanism for carbon. More than half of all CEOs in the survey (including 38% of those at the biggest companies and 70% of those at US companies) say that their company has no plans to apply an internal carbon price to decision-making, even though doing so could help them account for considerations like taxes and incentives, and clarify strategic trade-offs.

To make matters worse, 87% of global investors said they think corporate reporting contains unsubstantiated sustainability claims, often referred to as “greenwashing.”

The disconnect across time horizons begs the question of whether CEOs run the risk of being blindsided in the near term as they focus on here-and-now threats. Inflation and macroeconomic volatility stand our more prominently than other key threats.

Nearly three-quarters of CEOs responding to this year’s survey project that global economic growth will decline over the next 12 months.

CEOs who say they are exposed to geopolitical risk are taking action, with nearly half increasing their investments in cybersecurity or data privacy, adapting supply chains or adjusting their geographic footprint.

Boosting supply chain resilience has been a growing priority for many organizations since at least 2020.

Technology investments are a top priority: around three-quarters of companies are focused on automation, up-skilling, and deploying advanced technologies such as AI. Drilling down into the underlying rationale for those investments, roughly 60% in each category is focused on reinventing the business for the future, and 40% is concentrating on preserving the current business. That 60/40 ratio was remarkably consistent across the full spectrum of investments—another reflection of the balancing act CEOs are striving to strike.

Business reinvention will be a full-contact sport for CEOs and their top teams during the years ahead, and the data suggests that a special kind of leadership will be required because deep change is possible only when individuals at all levels adapt and grow.

What this report failed to capture (or maybe it did and it wasn’t shared) is the demographic makeup of these CEOs. How many are women? How many are people of color? How many LGBTQ+?

If the past and current venture capital funding are any indication, not nearly enough.

And you know who has the skill set to adapt and grow? The skills needed during these turbulent times? The very cohort not getting funded.

Resiliency, creativity, collaboration and courage are abundant in those who have had to figure out how to make it happen without access to capital. And the faster you can get us onto your boards and leadership teams, the better you will be for it.

The food industry is the canary in the coal mine. And it’s on its knees. Everyone from CEOs to private equity teams are talking about how their COGS are getting hammered. How their work force has been impacted, and where there are labor shortages, in factories, on farms. We are all experiencing that hammering impact first hand, with the sticker shock we are seeing at grocery stores and things like egg-less shelves. Eggs alone have seen a 49% price increase over last year. It’s a sensitive industry, sensitive to all of these trends: climate change, technological disruption, demographic shifts, a fracturing world and social instability.

So the question is: Are we paying attention? Because the food industry is already telling us what this report just revealed.

A special kind of leadership is required as we move forward, leaders with courage, creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, collaborative skills and the ability to build strong coalitions, and the faster you embrace that, adapt and grow, the more resilient you and your organization will be.

Source: PwC released its 26th Annual Global CEO Survey

October 25 2022

The USA Lags Behind the Rest of the World in Banning Harmful Pesticides

Robyn O'Brien Health, Food Politics 0

Would you be surprised if I told you that the United States uses a lot of agricultural pesticides that are banned in Europe? Maybe not. But what about pesticides that are banned in China? Or Brazil?

by Nathan Donley, BioMedCentral,

50 years ago the USA led the way in regulating pesticides, but research published in Environmental Health finds that the country is still using many pesticides that are either banned or being phased out in the EU, China and Brazil. In this blog Nathan Donley, author of the research, tells us about his study and how an unofficial policy of relying on voluntary pesticide cancellations has led to this situation.

Would you be surprised if I told you that the United States uses a lot of agricultural pesticides that are banned in Europe? Maybe not. But what about pesticides that are banned in China? Or Brazil?

After all, many people still remember the transformative period in the 1960s and ‘70s when Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring spurred the United States to establish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and transform the country’s pesticide laws. The years that followed saw a flurry of activity from the EPA – banning pesticides like DDT, aldrin and toxaphene and fending off legal challenges from agrochemical companies infuriated that they were now subject to regulatory oversight. The agency used its new found authority to impose commonsense safety and health measures on a lawless industry, protecting countless human and animal lives in the process.

Since then, many countries around the world have followed the lead of the United States and strengthened their pesticide regulations. But today, the United States’ leadership has waned significantly and much of that is evident not in what the agency does, but what it often fails to do.

Let’s compare

Nations with large agricultural economies tend to use a lot of agricultural pesticides – that is certainly the case with four of the largest agricultural economies in the world: the United States, European Union (EU), China and Brazil. Comparing the ability of regulatory agencies in each of these nations to ban some of the most harmful pesticides used in agriculture is one way to differentiate those that are progressing from those that are lagging.

I recently compiled the approval status of over 500 pesticides in each of these four agricultural economies and found that the United States stills uses a whole lot of pesticides in outdoor agricultural applications that are banned or being phased out in the EU, China and Brazil. Just how much is truly staggering: The United States uses around 320, 40 and 26 million pounds of pesticides each year that the EU, China and Brazil, respectively, have deemed too dangerous to use within their borders.

There are more than a dozen agricultural pesticides that are EPA-approved but are banned by at least two of the three other nations in the study. The majority of those pesticides have not significantly decreased in use in the United States over the last 25 years.

Not just any other pesticides

As you might expect, the pesticides that are banned by multiple other regulatory agencies but still approved in the United States are not on the benign end of the spectrum.

Five of the pesticides – bensulide, dicrotophos, phorate, terbufos and tribufos – are in the neurotoxic organophosphate class that was once used in chemical warfare in World War II. Another, paraquat, is one of the most acutely lethal pesticides still in use today, with a teaspoon-sized dose being enough to kill a grown adult.

In addition to causing immediate, acute harm – only a fraction of which is reported to state agencies and poison control centers – other pesticides on this list can have more indirect effects. The medically-important antibiotics oxytetracycline and streptomycin are used on many fruit trees to fight bacterial diseases in the United States, and recent expanded approvals by the EPA have all but guaranteed that they will be more widely used as pesticides than they are as human medicines. This comes despite strong objections from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that this could facilitate the development of antibiotic-resistant human pathogens.

May I have a volunteer, please?

There is one key difference in the way these other nations go about prohibiting pesticides that is likely playing a major role in this discrepancy. The United States utilizes voluntary, industry-initiated cancellation as the primary method of prohibiting pesticides, which differs significantly from the non-voluntary, regulator-initiated cancellations that predominate in the EU, Brazil and China. In the last two decades, pesticide makers in the USA have voluntarily phased out nearly 60 pesticides – yet I can count on one hand the number of pesticides the EPA has taken upon itself to cancel during that same time.

Voluntary cancellations can be the product of a negotiation and, therefore, don’t always represent a truly “voluntary” act. However, many voluntary cancellations are business decisions rooted in simple economics rather than human and environmental health concerns. Furthermore, if a regulatory agency is “negotiating” the cancellation of nearly every single pesticide it decides to ban, then that is a strong indication that the regulatory system is broken and that far too much power is being held by the pesticide makers.

Abdication nation

What does it say when the country that once had the strongest pesticide laws in the world is now relying on the regulated industry to erase the worst pesticides from its roster? And what does all of this say about the industry that tells us we need to keep using these poisons on our food or face famine? If the most successful agricultural economies in the world are growing the same crops and dealing with many of the same pests we are without the use of these dangerous pesticides, then there is no good reason why we should continue using them in the United States.

In the 1970s, the EPA recognized the importance of banning the most dangerous, persistent pesticides that were still in use at the time. We all benefitted immensely. Now, 50 years later, there is broad scientific consensus that some of the pesticides once considered to be “safer alternatives” are too harmful to safely be used. As other nations are, to varying degrees, taking steps to get rid of the worst-of-the-worst pesticides, the United States is relying on the pesticide industry to regulate itself.

October 17 2022

Robyn O’Brien Interview: Following the ‘North Star’ in food systems transformation

Robyn O'Brien Food Financials, From Robyn 0

Carrie Norton at Greenbiz.com recently interviewed Robyn O’Brien about the intersection of food, finance and female leadership.

As the environmental and business landscapes continue to evolve, there’s a common thread: Systems thinking has never been more critical to solving the pressing issues of our time. And few challenges are more urgent than food system transformation.

To explore the intersection of food, finance and women’s leadership, I recently sat down with Robyn O’Brien, co-founder of rePlant Capital and a former financial and food industry analyst. Following is an excerpt from our discussion on courageous leadership, systems thinking and following the North Star in the journey toward the future of food.

Carrie Norton: What have you learned over the last decade that you’re taking with you into this next decade?

Robyn O’Brien: This month, I spent a fair amount of time reflecting on the last decade because It was 10 years ago that my book, “The Unhealthy Truth,” was published. I think one of the most important lessons I have learned is that courage is contagious — and one of the bravest things we can do is to own our own story.

I have this strange combination in my background: attending business school on a full scholarship to Rice University, going into investments on a team that managed $20 billion in assets, being a mother of four, launching a hedge fund. That doesn’t fit into anybody’s “box.” It made a lot of people uncomfortable, and I had to confront that discomfort. Through the process, I realized that discomfort is really just growth.

Our food system has a systemic, structural problem. In every problem, there is an enormous opportunity to create really smart systems that address the challenges we’re seeing. And to me, that’s inspiring. That’s my focus moving into the next decade: innovation and inspiration.

Norton: What you’re describing here is a solutions orientation.

O’Brien: Exactly. We need a lot of people around the table — farmers in particular. Our farm economy is completely upside down; there’s more than $426 billion in farmer debt. When I stand on these farms in Kansas or Nebraska or Ohio, my first thought is, what young family would want to move out here to grow our country’s food?

My second question is, what happens if they don’t? What happens if we really are hitting this shortage of farmers, this crisis in the U.S. farm economy? Additionally, farmers are hit with fires and floods and droughts. No one person or organization can solve this crisis. But if we come together as a country, we can.

Norton: As the CEO of Mars has stated, “The engine of global business — its supply chain — is broken.” I’d love to hear about your mission to finance and build the new food economy.

O’Brien: You can’t fix a broken food system with a broken financial system. I thought, if we’re really serious about this — and if 80 percent of citizens are trying something organic but only 1 percent of U.S. farmland is organic — why aren’t we tackling supply-chain issues? I realized that if I was the CEO of General Mills, even if I wanted to be putting more organic products on the shelf, the U.S. supply chain makes that incredibly difficult, and that Wall Street is measuring these companies with the same metrics as in 1985.

Click here to read the rest of this interview at Greenbiz.com.

September 30 2022

7 Lessons on Leadership

Robyn O'Brien Food Heroes 0

John Foraker is one of the greatest leaders in the food industry, he has also been an incredible friend and ally for over a decade.

From Annie’s and General Mills to Once Upon a Farm, his experience transcends age groups and categories. He’s launched startups, taken companies public and led the execution one of the largest transactions ever seen in the organic and natural foods industry. He is also a dad of four.

Last week, Kevin Cleary and John Foraker had the opportunity to talk leadership at the annual Crestone Capital, LLC conference in Boulder.

Here is John’s core philosophy on the subject. Enjoy the read.

Thoughts on Leadership:

1. Lead with honesty, integrity, empathy, & transparency. Do the right thing always, especially when no one is looking.

2. High performance comes from clear direction, full support, and empowering the full potential of people through personal connection & inspiration. People are everything. Having the best ones, fully empowered, is the surest way to win.

3. Culture is the most important thing, and leadership sets the tone. Lead by example, and cultivate continuous improvement. Culture is a living breathing thing and needs to be constantly nurtured. Culture should mesh with strategy & the business model to drive material positive social impact focused on making the world a better place.

4. Lead with humility, willingness to admit failure, & embrace failures as a learning moments.

5. Getting things 80% right and moving fast is always better than perfection and moving slow.

6. “The truth will set you free” – only honest assessment of current reality frees leaders and organizations to do what needs to be done to

7. Life is short, work is hard, laugh, & have fun.

About John Foraker

John Foraker recently left his role as President of Annie’s, Inc. and is a co-founder and CEO of Once Upon a Farm. He is a leading authority in the organic and natural foods industry. With more than 20 years of business experience and a sharp focus on sustainability and social responsibility, Foraker’s vision for growing Annie’s has always relied on transparent leadership and an over-arching commitment to creativity, innovation and honesty. In addition to his role as President, Foraker also leads within the greater General Mills organization as an advisor for the company’s small business incubator 301, Inc., a new venture group that invests in small promising companies.

Prior to assuming his role as President in October 2014, Foraker led investors to place growth capital into Annie’s in 1999, earning his title as Chairman of the Board. Beginning in 2004, Foraker led as Annie’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), taking Annie’s public under the BNNY symbol in 2012, just prior to the company’s buyout by General Mills, Inc. in October 2014.

July 26 2020

Not All Heroes Wear Capes: A Podcast with Two Remarkable Teenage Boys

Robyn O'Brien From Robyn, Solutions 0

We wear a lot of hats in the food industry: strategists, procurement leads, thought leaders, advisors, entrepreneurs, executives. For many of us, we are also parents.

If you’re lucky enough to find true friends in the industry, you support them in all of these roles. In 2020, we are navigating a lot together.

And when a friend shared the the work of her son, Jay, I was blown away.

Jay and his classmate, Karn, shortly after the death of George Floyd launched a fundraiser for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

You may think you’ve heard this story before, but you haven’t. The boys are fourteen years old.

One fourteen year old is African American and one is South Asian American. They are rising ninth graders who decided to very deliberately and clearly address why racism is on their minds and what they are doing about it.

We recently interviewed them on our podcast (link below). As you listen to these two young men share their thoughts, the wisdom is coming from a profoundly deep place.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen leadership this young.

As I watched today’s funeral procession of John Lewis, of his remarkable legacy crossing the bridge in Selma, Alabama, one last time, I thought of the legacy he has in these young men.

We’ve seen children lead before, when Malala began speaking out and writing about education at 12, when Greta Thunberg, at 15, began her climate protests .

It’s clear that the children are not only listening, they are also teaching and leading.

They are building justice into infrastructures where it didn’t exist, they are designing new organizations with justice at the roots and in the DNA, and they are building a better, more equitable tomorrow, for themselves, our children and their children.

On this episode of Take Out with Ashley and Robyn, I am proud and in awe to share the voices of these two young men who are working to raise $18,650 for the NAACP. They’ve already hit and re-set their goal several times.

John Lewis said, “You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for it.”

He also said, “You must be bold, brave and courageous and find a way….to get in the way.”

Please make the time to listen to these bold, brave and courageous fourteen year old, young men. They are not only getting in the way, but they are also showing us the way. They are a beacon of light and bring faith to a brighter tomorrow.

Please meet Jay and Karn. LISTEN TO THEIR PODCAST here=> Episode 133 with Jay Bowles and Karn Kaura

You can also listen here on Apple iTunes.

July 11 2020

An Inspiring Conversation with Denise Woodard of Partake Foods

Robyn O'Brien Food Allergies, Food Heroes, From Robyn 0

I loved this conversation with Denise Woodard of Partake Foods! And I am so grateful for the incredible women coming into the free-from space, providing solutions for families with children who have food allergies.

Partake Foods’ Denise Woodard is the only woman of color to raise $1M for a food start-up. During her career with Coca-Cola, food allergies were never top-of-mind for her, but when her daughter, Vivienne, began eating solid foods, it suddenly became clear she had several. And just as suddenly, their lives began to change.

Listen as we dive into what it looks like to be a mom starting a business out of your kitchen (hint, it’s not all sunshine and ease!) and who her MVP is (again, it’s not who you think!). Necessity is the mother of invention. For Denise Woodard, that necessity resulted in the creation of her allergy-friendly cookie business, Partake Foods, in 2016. Thank goodness, and thank goodness for her talent, passion and ambition. You can learn more at www.partakefoods.com

June 26 2020

An Interview with Emily Brown, founder of Food Equality Initiative

Robyn O'Brien From Robyn, Food Allergies 0

Emily Brown, a former preschool teacher and mother of two, founded the Food Equality Initiative (FEI). FEI, under Emily’s leadership, has placed over $100,000 worth of “free-from” food into the hands of those in need. Her partners are powerful, but it is her passion and tenacity that are so awe-inspiring.

FEI is a voice for individuals who qualify for government assistance but due to their medical condition of food allergies cannot take full advantage of the program.

Black children are 7% more likely to have food allergies compared to white children, so FEI started the 7% Fund to address economic and racial disparities in food allergies.

Her personal story informed her organization, and her ability to quickly solve serious logistical challenges speaks to the extraordinary talent she is. I am proud to call her a friend and hope that you will share this interview with others! You can learn more at Food Equality Initiative.

May 3 2020

Hindsight 2020: A Bedtime Story About the Virus

Robyn O'Brien From Robyn 0

This morning, a friend shared this video with me, a father, reading a story to his children.

“Tell me the one about the virus again…” a young boy asks.

Hit pause on your day for a moment to watch it. It is a reflection on where we are, our realizations, and where we can be as we come out of this.

So very much worth the watch.

Tomfoolery is a tight-knit team of visual storytellers.

Their motto? Let go and love.

March 4 2020

Expo West: 10 Trends Missed and the Opportunity in Front of Our Industry

Robyn O'Brien Food Financials, Food Politics, From Robyn 0

It’s been two years since I wrote this article, reflecting on the state of the food industry, as seen at our largest trade show, Expo West.

Up until this last weekend, it was the most-viewed article I’ve ever shared on LinkedIn. My post, inviting the industry to collaborate on improving this platform, embracing the values 21st century attendees share around environmental impact, food waste, sustainability, inclusion, diversity and more, blew it out of the water by about three fold.

The challenges still hold, and while some progress has been made, we have a lot of work in front of us, especially when it comes to a more efficient platform, one that leverages 21st century technology to meet the needs of the 21st century consumer. It is a call to action for all of us.

Can we put a cap on materials used per booth? Can we offer carbon offsets to attendees? Can we offer credits to companies with the lowest environmental impact? Can we require that attending companies have boards that include women and people of color? Can we embrace the values of the B Corp community, values going viral across our industry? Can we upcycle the food waste from the trade show floor? Can we listen to the young entrepreneurs and get them on stage, because our future belongs to them?

There is incredible opportunity in front of all of us for radical collaboration to move this platform forward.

~~~~

Written March 2018:

In the food industry, we have a trade show called “Expo West.” It’s been happening for over 30 years, and its size is massive, with over 80,000 attendees and over 5,000 companies presenting. This year, many commented that “the show has lost its soul.” Others were totally and completely jazzed, a real bifurcation.

And while I thought about doing another trends piece, it didn’t feel ‘value-add’ to talk about collagen and turmeric, given the enormity of what we are facing as an industry.

So after discussions with many from the industry, from food+tech to finance, here are the top 10 trends that could use some attention and some examples of the companies that are getting it right:

B-Corps: There are a lot of trends to cite from the show: CBD oil and ingredients, collagen, more turmeric, even more fermented foods, but few as important as the rise of companies seeking B-Corp certification. So what is it? “B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Today, there is a growing community of more than 2,100 Certified B Corps from 50 countries and over 130 industries working together toward 1 unifying goal: to redefine success in business.” MegaFood is one of the companies leading this transition, and as more and more companies in our industry look to this certification, the B-Corp certifying team should have a prominent place at the show, answering questions, accessible and available, encouraging participation in meaningful change. The show could provide an incentive for companies embracing B Corp in the form of a booth discount, employee discount or more.

Transparent Financing: As we grow the industry, we are only as good as our capital partners. We can’t fix a broken food system with a broken financial system. Companies should consider the source of their capital as carefully as they consider the source of their ingredients; otherwise, their returns are benefiting the very industries and companies we are trying to replace. New Resource Bank is a shining example of a financing source that is getting it right. An important question to ask: Where does your capital sleep at night? And perhaps even more importantly: Who else is it sleeping with?

Funding the Future: When you look at the non-white CEOs in our industry, they are few and far between. I reached out to a colleague to ask for a list of the ones that came to mind, and of the 5,000+ companies that participated in the show, she came back with less than 10. It’s shocking and also why I am so excited about Carla Vernon taking the lead of Annie’s and General Mill’s natural and organic division. Her own mother was a hidden figure at NASA, similar to the women in the film “Hidden Figures.” Her DNA has “change maker” markers in it. If our industry is truly going to meet the needs of 21^st century families, it has to get past the “white savior” look it currently has and embrace diversity in its leadership. The future of our country is beautifully ethnic. Let’s fund that as an industry so that we can successfully grow the movement beyond the 5-6% of the food industry that it is today. So this serves as an open invitation to the investors walking the trade show floor. Otherwise, we run the risk of putting out white people solutions to white people problems.

Zero Waste – Follow the Super Bowl: While the show has taken some steps to tackle its environmental impact, it could follow the lead of the Super Bowl which declared the goal of “zero waste” for 2018. It’s time for Expo West to do the same. We are a trade show that talks about conscious capitalism, sustainability and the climate – non-stop – and we could learn a thing from the NFL. The 2018 Super Bowl launched a huge collaboration called Rush2Recycle that targeted zero waste at the US Bank Stadium in Minnesota. “The program successfully recovered 91% of all the trash. Nearly 63 tons of the 69 tons of game day waste were recovered through recycling or donation for reuse (62%) and composting (29%), according to the NFL.”

According to Environmental Leader:

In order to reach the 91% recovery rate, the partners took these steps before the Super Bowl:

US Bank Stadium replaced most of its food vessels, service products and utensils inventory for fans with compostable alternatives

US Bank Stadium worked with Recycle Across America to design illustrated signs for new three-bin waste stations to show fans how to sort items at the stadium

Recycling and compost bins were changed to become larger and more accessible to fans

Trash bins were shrunk in size, encouraging fans to consider using alternative containers

A LEED-certification-level waste audit last October identified materials for recovery in the stadium’s waste stream

A zero-waste trial run took place at a December 2017 Minnesota Vikings home game

Steps taken after the Super Bowl included:

The SMG team sorted all fan-generated waste into the right waste compactors

The waste hauling partners collected and provided weight-tickets at each destination, including the recycling facility, the composting facility, and the waste-to-energy facility

The waste data was reviewed by SMG and combined with the reuse and donation data collected by the NFL from their community partners

Supply Chain Focus: Every year we assemble our entire industry and fail to have a unified call to action. There is no greater issue confronting our industry than expanding our supply chain, given that less than 1% of U.S. farmland is organic. As the industry grows, rather than importing the organic ingredients needed, we should be growing them here, benefiting the U.S. farmers and economy. Companies like Kashi are tackling these issues on their own, but the goal of increased organic acreage benefits everyone – from Kellogg’s to General Mills to the tiniest of startups. It directly impacts their bottom line. Make a pledge to grow your organic acreage 30% by 2030. As Richard Branson always encourages, set a goal and write it down.

Diversify: Jennifer Garner, in her keynote with John Foraker on Friday, remarked that everyone at the show is so “clean and shiny”. As I looked around the room at the hundreds of people attending her keynote, it was also almost entirely white. Half of all U.S. kids are going to be non-white in two years time, by the year 2020. Once Upon a Farm wants to be the first company accepted into the WIC program. It’s that kind of creative thinking that is needed. The show does not reflect that, the industry does not reflect that. The running commentary at the dinner the night before was the same, too: “It’s so white.” What multi-cultural initiatives can be introduced? Can the Organic Center’s Dinner embrace diversity in its theme each year? Can it embrace an international menu? Can attendees do the same with their leadership teams? Can the show showcase the beautiful diversity of our country going forward? We do a great job showcasing the incredible foods and ingredients from other countries, let’s do the same with people.

The ‘Give A Shit’ Booth: This goes along with the zero waste issue, but the trash and food waste spinning off of the show was of epic proportions this year. The show could use a booth where people can sign up to be “zero waste.” Something along the lines of a commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle, perhaps with the ability to pick up a bamboo cup and plate to use at the show (I’m sure there is a supplier who would be happy to oblige!). Companies could be compensated for the number of employees who choose to participate. New Hope could offer some sort of kick back or discount to those that do. A compost bin could be available that is then delivered to a local farm at the end of the show. When you participate, your nametag is immediately marked, so that you are identified as someone who “Gives a Shit” beyond the financials. You only have to look to the remarkable success of Patagonia to see what happens when you fearlessly put the planet first.

Giveback: Maybe it was the hometown Super Bowl influence, but General Mills nailed it this year with their natural and organic booth. The entire thing was built incredibly mindful of its impact on the environment and with a focus on the reduction of waste. So much so, that the plants used to decorate their booth were going to a non-profit in the LA area. In fact, a few different companies were supporting the same non-profit. With so many non-profits working in the space and doing incredible advocacy work around clean food, gardening, reducing exposure to risky ingredients, I realized that it would benefit all involved to have a list of non-profits to whom companies could donate their products, materials, supplies after the show. With Will Allen having to shut the doors on his amazing program, it is important for companies to know just how many incredible organizations there are to support. The Salvation Army is even opening a grocery store in Baltimore (heads up: Expo East). Some other non-profits that come to mind are Made Safe and Civil Eats. It is impossible to understand how we as an industry failed Will Allen’s “Growing Power.” It would have been nice to have the NBA as a partner.

Packaging: I spent time with Scandinavian colleagues at the show this year, and they asked: “Why do your companies care so much about what goes in the products and so little about the packaging around them?” They were horrified at the chemicals that sit on top of and around the foods we eat, leaching into them. I told them that Kroger is doing a phenomenal job tackling this, in real time, as are a few others, and reminded them that while they did not have to fight to know what is in their food, we did and are only just now seeing the success of those efforts. First things first, I said, but duly noted. Let’s get on smarter packaging that doesn’t disrupt the health that the products inside are trying to support.

A Kroger Booth: Few other companies have done more to shift the huge, conventional brands than Kroger. It has a market cap big enough to present a real threat, so when they launched their Simple Truth line back in 2012, the big CPG brands noticed. Their Simple Truth line went from $0 to a billion in revenue in two years flat and is still growing. Their CEO, Rodney McMullen calls the division of the company “the bright spot” in its earnings. And with Jill McIntosh at the helm of their natural and organic division, the company rightfully has earned a prominent place in the show. Others are taking notice, so more change is coming.

What is clear this year is that the leadership is changing in the food industry. Both the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Organic Trade Association feel confused in their missions, as the dividing line between conventional and organic blurs. This is creating enormous opportunities for leadership by brands themselves in the marketplace. As companies like Kroger, Annie’s, Dr. Bronner and Patagonia step into that leadership space, one thing is certain:

Courage is contagious, and it is showing up in creative, regenerative new ways from a select number of brands in our industry that are certain to drive meaningful change for years to come.

Robyn is the co-founder of rePlant Capital. To hear more of Robyn’s work, you can listen to her podcast, Take Out with Ashley and Robyn on iTunes.