The Kogi on merging indigenous wisdom with modern science and tech

The Kogis escaped colonization by retreating high up into the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of Colombia. This is nothing short of a miracle. Their ancient, indigenous culture has been preserved since pre-Colombian times giving us a glimpse of what life would have been like when the Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs ruled and we interacted with the world in another way. They recently started traveling and connecting with us – The Little Brothers as they like to call us – to raise awareness about climate change, biodiversity loss, and the need for us to come together and create a new, third world that brings together indigenous wisdom with modern science and technology. In today’s episode, I speak with Lucas Buchholz who has written a book for the Kogi and traveled the world with them as their translator. We discuss the Kogi’s message and what a food system that supports life looks like from their point of view.

A big thank you to Mac Krol for sponsoring this episode.

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Fiskerikajen's Jesper Hansen on modern day fishmongering

Jesper Hansen started his career as a Michelin chef before getting into fish. He was the Sous Chef of Søllerød Kro in Denmark helping the famous fine dining restaurant get its first star in 2006.  Then his career took a turn. Today, Jesper is the Executive Managing Director of Fiskerikajen, a modern-day fishmonger that has been selling sustainably sourced fish to many of the best and most famous restaurants in the world since 1999/

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Kaffe Bueno on unleashing coffee's full potential

Coffee is a filled with bioactive compounds that beneficial for our health and well being, but when you or I brew a cup we tap less than 1% of the plant’s full potential. The rest we throw away in the coffee grounds. That’s where Kaffe Bueno comes in. They are a bioscience company upcycling coffee grounds into ingredients for the cosmetic, nutraceutical, and functional food and beverage industry. Today, I speak with Alejandro Franco, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Kaffe Bueno. We talk about their startup journey, how we can unlock food waste to create high value products, and what it means to design a circular business model.

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3 mistakes to avoid when pitching foreign investors

As a startup you have to pitch all of the time. As your company grows and takes on new markets and foreign investors, you have to adapt your pitch to speak to them. This means some cultural adjustments in how you do business.  I just wrapped up doing the pitch coaching for the Nordic US Food Summit and noticed 3 common mistakes that almost all startups made when approaching the US market. In this minisode, I share what they are and how you can avoid them when pitching any VC, potential partner, or customer located outside of your home operating market. nLike the show? Consider becoming a patron on Substack.  You’ll get access to exclusive content like Analisa’s travel notes and  episode transcripts. Most importantly, your contribution directly  enables the creation of more content like this. Contributions start at  $5.  Sign up here.  nnWebsite: www.nordicfoodtech.io nInstagram: @nordicfoodtech nShow Host: Analisa Winther

Marine Stewardship Council on the future of fisheries

The Marine Stewardship Council is kind of a big deal in the world of fish. They are the organization that sets the standards for sustainable fisheries worldwide. If a fishery meets MSC’s standards, their products are awarded with a blue ecolabel. Many global organizations like IKEA and McDonald’s exclusively purchase MSC certified fish. For them, its a standard that denotes quality and sustainability. This also means that who and what gets certified matters a lot in the global market. 

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Line Rise Nielsen on big kitchens for food system transformation

Hospitals, schools, prisons, elderly homes, day cares, and corporate canteens are all examples of public or professional kitchens. Every day these kitchens churn out hundreds of meals, which means they have a pretty major influence not only on what people eat, but also the entire supply chain. In today’s episode, I sit down with Line Rise Nielsen, The Food Policy Director of Changing Food a consultancy that helps kitchens convert to more sustainable practices. Line and I get into how these kitchens are undergoing transition and why their role is sup important.

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Maliina Abelsen on unleashing sustainable solutions

Maliina Abelsen is the Head of Programme at UNICEF in Greenland. From 2009-2013 she was a Member of Parliament in the Greenlandic Inatsisartut where she first served as the Minister of Social Affairs and Equality and then as the Minister of Finance. She has also served as the CCO of Air Greenland and the CEO of the Arctic Winter Games 2016. This episode was recorded in Nuuk as part of the UNLEASH Regional Innovation Lab, which gathered 200 people under the age of 35 from the Arctic and Nordics to develop solutions to the challenges we are facing as a region. We had a particular focus on biodiversity, education, and health and wellbeing. In this episode, we discuss what creating a sustainable solution from indigenous knowledge and modern science and technology can look like, why food is a powerful healer, and how we must consider the whole in our creations.

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Kitchen Collective Founder Mia Maja Hansson on launching new food ventures

Mia Maja Hansson has been super influential in nurturing Copenhagen’s food startup scene. She launched Kitchen Collective, one of the first test kitchens in Europe followed by a co-working collective and street food festival for startups to test new products. The red thread in everything she does is a vision to create a more sustainable, diverse food culture that’s supported by healthy businesses and healthy people. In today’s episode, we talk to Mia Maja about her journey, common mistakes she sees food entrepreneurs make, and recommendations for running a test kitchen.

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Aarstiderne Founder Søren Ejlersen on pioneering home grocery delivery

It feels like grocery delivery services and subscription meal boxes are everywhere these days. But it’s actually not that new of a trend. Aarstiderne was one of the first to enter the space over 20 years ago. Today, they supply around 80,000 households in Denmark and 10,000 in Sweden with organic groceries. Their goal is to help more families make green food choices. Join me and the Co-Founder of Aarstiderne Søren Ejlersen as we dive into the highs and low of their startup journey and the philosophy behind their universe of good food ventures.

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