Ep. 192 - From Advocate to Entrepreneur and Tuna to Tomato with David Benzaquen, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Hugger Foods

I met David Benzaquen, CEO and Co-founder of Ocean Hugger Foods, and his company at multiple different events and tried some of their sushi. As someone who’s in the space, I was super impressed.

I’m always impressed with David’s network and because he’s so intertwined within the plant-based industry, I wanted to ask him why he decided to go into building businesses and how can we all can get started creating something impactful.

Learn step by step how David built Ocean-Hugger Foods. From building his skillset at Plant-based Solutions to meeting the chef who had this crazy idea to turn tomatoes into tuna, to scaling big enough where they produce in the United States, Europe, and Asia. It’s an incredible story and I guarantee you’ll take something valuable out of it.

David Benzaquen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ocean Hugger Foods, a company which manufactures plant-based seafood alternatives to address the overfishing crisis. The company has received innovation awards for its flagship Ahimi product from Whole Foods Market and Sysco, and has been heralded in the New York Times, USA Today, CBS Morning News and more. David has also served as an advisor to numerous plant-based food companies, accelerators and investors. Learn more about his company Ocean Hugger Foods at www.oceanhuggerfoods.com

People have been saying My Food Job Rocks is a great food business podcast. If you’re a food entrepreneur or want to become one, I highly suggest doing your research.

Luckily, my friend Rachel Zemser has the perfect resource for you. She has a book called the Food Business Toolkit that will help you understand everything about starting a food business from formulation to regulation. Use the code MYFOODJOBROCKS at the checkout for 10% off not only the book, but it also applies to an hour of consulting. As someone who’s started their own food business, acquiring knowledge is super important.

You can find the book here: https://alacarteconnections.com/shop/

Money will come and go, but you’ll always run out of time so it’s very important to get the knowledge necessary to move forward.

Who are you?: I’m the CEO of a plant-based fish company, Ocean Hugger Food
James Corwell - CSO
Tsukiji Fish Market – The auction off 4 million pounds of tuna
How did you meet James?: I read about him and he launched a Kickstarter campaign
I actually reached out to James on LinkedIn. My background was launching and scaling plant-based companies so it was a great skillset
We hear each other speak in the conference and went from there
Certified Master Chef
Ahimi – tomato tuna
We sell Ahimi in food services such as restaurant chefs and college and universities
Can you describe your history?: I used to be an advocate, but I felt like it wasn’t impactful. I would start measuring marketing campaigns by doing experiments that changed their behavior
Bolthouse farm and the baby carrot
Paul Shapiro – Advocate to Entrepreneur
Why do you think people switch from Advocate to Entrepreneur?: Food is emotional because it affects our emotions (taste, price, etc). Most people don’t have the time to educate, but they can make choices when they buy
How have you seen the process of animal advocacy?: I learned that taking it slowly and meet them where they’re at and enter our world slowly.
Flexitarian
Mintel’s definition: half their meals are vegetarian
What are the components to make a plant-based company?: Team, grit, and endurance
Naming matter: We tried Tomato Sushi and it didn’t work. But Ahimi – Spirit of Tuna
What does CEO mean to you?: Defines the path and direction and mission
We produce in North America, Europe, Asia
Unami – Unagi Eel
Shelf-life: We flash-freeze our product to maintain maximum freshness
National Restaurant Association Show
My Food Job Rocks: I get to impact the world with delicious food
DOT Foods
Algae products
Duckweed, Water Lentil
What is the biggest challenge the food industry needs to face right now?: Inefficiencies in the system. The reason why we’re selling garbage is that we still believe that the consumer wants to have everything we want right now. This is changing
Cargill – Head of the protein division is focusing on plant-based
Tyson Foods is doing the same
How do you compete on the price of meat?: The meat industry puts a lot of band-aids. It’s cheap and scale. For plants, we will get there, and that’s about investing in the growth of the crop and products
Annie Ryu Jackfruit company
What are the health benefits for Ahimi?: Fish has a lot of mercury and plastic in it. Our biggest fans are pregnant women actually. We haven’t found consumers to care about protein but they are about omegas
What would you like to learn more of?: Molecular gastronomy
Jeremy Piven
Favorite book: Mission in the Bottle (Seth Goldman, Founder of Honest Tea, chairman of Beyond Meat)
Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to start their own plant-based company?: Call me. But also go for it. Why does the world care about your product? There are many channels to get the word out there
Perfect Day Foods
Perfect Day ice Cream
Plant-based Solutions - plantbasedsolutions.com
Online Masterclass