What We Eat Matters with Seth Goldman of Eat The Change

Nov 30

The foods that we choose to eat represent our single biggest environmental impact. This is the belief of today’s guest, activist entrepreneur Seth Goldman, who wants to inform and empower consumers to make choices that align with their concerns around climate change and wellbeing.

Seth is the co-founder and Chief Change Agent of Eat the Change, a snack company on a mission to create chef-crafted, nutrient-dense snacks that are kind to the planet and delicious to eat! He is also the Cofounder of PLNT Burger and Honest Tea, Chair of the Board at Beyond Meat, and the author of Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently—and Succeeding.

Today, we speak to Seth about his original mission when founding Honest Tea in 1998 and how that vision evolved as he developed the family of brands under the Eat the Change umbrella (including Just Iced Tea). He also shares his drive to make a real impact rather than simply being a passenger on our planet. Whether you want to launch a product in the natural foods category or just lighten your carbon footprint, you’ll gain inspiration from this conversation about why what we eat matters. Plus, you’ll learn something about persevering as a purpose-driven brand leader in the big food ecosystem along the way!

Key Points From This Episode:

A deeper understanding of why what we eat matters.
Persevering as a mission-driven entrepreneur in the big food space.
The importance of being an actor rather than a passenger on our planet.
The story behind how Seth because a purpose-driven entrepreneur.
A snapshot of the food and beverage industry in 1998, when Seth launched Honest Tea.
The honesty, sustainability, and taste at the heart of Honest Tea’s mission statement.
Why Seth refers to what Eat the Change is doing as a “joyful experience.”
The significant impact that Honest Tea/Honest Kids has had for consumers and Coca-Cola.
Seth’s vision for the growing family of Eat the Change brands.
What Seth loves about innovating in the planet-friendly snack category.
Key advice for differentiating yourself as a mission-driven entrepreneur.
Why Eat the Change gives every employee a stake in the company’s future.
Why Seth says you can’t be a “desk chair entrepreneur” in the natural foods business.
Consumer insights you can gain just from visiting the stores you’re stocked in.
What the future of food looks like from Seth’s perspective.
Encouraging trends in the plant-based foods category.

Tweetables:

“Build a brand like you’re always going to own it. Make every decision [one] that you will be [as] proud of today as you will be 10 years from now, or even if your children owned it. If you create value, good opportunities will come.” — @HonestSeth [0:12:26]

“What we eat matters. What we eat is our single biggest footprint on the planet, environmentally. So, let’s make sure people have choices that are as planet-friendly as possible.” — @HonestSeth [0:18:44]

“America’s diet is in desperate need of addressing. Our planet is in serious need. I don’t want to be a passenger on our planet. I want to be an actor. I want to be able to make an impact.” — @HonestSeth [0:25:16]

“A grocery store or any store is a live laboratory for consumer research if you look at it through that lens.” — @HonestSeth [0:33:58]

“[Eat the Change] is a call to action. It’s a call to accountability and a call to empowerment. It means that every consumption decision we make has an impact. What is means is [that our] customers are thinking about the impact of their choices. That’s a very encouraging trend.” — @HonestSeth [0:40:00]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Seth Goldman on LinkedIn

Seth Goldman on Twitter

Eat the Change

Mission in a Bottle

Honest Tea Mission Statement

Modern Species

Gage Mitchell on LinkedIn

Evolve CPG email