017: What It Takes to Launch an Exceptional Food Product with Values with MJ Kinney

Essential Ingredients Podcast

"Plant-based was born and became adopted by the industry because this is not necessarily a vegan product, but it has some of these same values." -MJ Kinney

Creating a plant-based food product is no small feat— from developing a nutritious and flavorful recipe to designing your labeling and packaging, and eventually coming up with a strategy for getting your products into the hands of potential consumers.

It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and passion to get to your first sale. But if you have a great idea for a plant-based product, it can be extremely rewarding both personally and professionally.

In this episode, Justine sits with MJ Kinney, the founder and Principal Food Scientist at FareScience. MJ works in the advancement of plant-based food products in terms of nutrition, taste, price, and scalability. Her work in moving food science forward is not only tailored with the society's need for better alternatives but also to promote product development with values.

Listen in as Justine and MJ discuss the necessary steps in launching a plant-based food product— from concept building, to finding the right contract manufacturers, and from making sure your product follows the plant-based values to finally seeing your own products in store shelves. They also talk about the shaming around vegetarianism and veganism, how plant-based was born, and how long it takes to launch your product.

Meet MJ:

MJ Kinney uses her specialized scientific, social, and commercial knowledge to develop exceptional food products that do well for both producers and consumers. MJ is a food scientist and the founder of FareScience, specializing in alternative proteins. Her innovative approach relies on a comprehensive understanding of how R&D, marketing, sales, and project management interact. MJ’s creative and unique strategy is born from her varied roles in and around food science, as well as her successes in business to business, business to consumer, and non-profit sectors.

MJ’s product development experience spans the natural, organic, and plant-based foods segment, where she has formulated according to a wide variety of standards including vegan, clean label, USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO, allergen-free, gluten-free, protein enhanced, and reduced sugar. She is a go-to expert for the application of plant protein ingredients into alternative meat, egg, and dairy products, as well as puffed snacks, cereals, beverages, spreads, sauces, and much more.

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Episode Highlights:

03:32 Meet MJ and Fare Science

06:07 The Shame and Guilt Around Vegetarianism

10:11 How Plant-Based Was Born

16:54 What Goes Into Contract Manufacturing

19:42 Working with Contract Manufacturers

24:19 When Your Labor Bears Fruit