Vegan Business Talk

VBT 064: Interview with Susan Prolman of Veg Shop

In this episode I interview Susan Prolman, who started Veg Shop on the Etsy platform a year ago as a hobby to test the waters in becoming a business owner. Susan is a lifelong advocate for animals. She’s served as Executive Director of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and as Director of International Campaigns for The Humane Society of the United States. She's lobbied against factory farming and for environmental protection in Washington, DC for years. Before graduating Georg...

Vegan Business Talk episode 063: Andy Tabar of Compassion Co Interview

Katrina Fox of Vegan Business Talk interviews Andy Tabar of Compassion Co.

VBT 063: Interview with Andy Tabar of Compassion Co

In this episode I interview Andy Tabar, owner of Compassion Co, an organic, US-made vegan clothing line that he runs out of his van while traveling across the US to vegfests each year. Andy is an animal rights activist who completed three trips with Farm Animal Rights Movement’s 10 Billion Lives tour, traveling to nearly every continental state and having more than 10,000 one-on-one conversations educating college students and concert-goers about the cruelty inherent in animal agriculture. ...

VBT 062: Naijha Wright-Brown and Greg Brown from The Land of Kush Interview

Katrina Fox interviews Naijha Wright-Brown and Greg Brown of The Land of Kush.

VBT 062: Interview with Naijha Wright-Brown & Greg Brown of The Land of Kush

In this episode I interview Naijha Wright-Brown and Greg Brown, founders of vegan soul food bistro The Land of Kush in Baltimore, Maryland. Naijha, a native New Yorker, born in Manhattan’s lower east side and raised in the South Bronx, is a people person, with over 20 years of customer relations experience. She’s held managerial, technical and administrative positions at Verizon Wireless, Dow Jones Markets, and Credit Suisse First Boston. She co-founded and organizes Vegan SoulFest, an annu...

VBT 061: Ed Lower and Malindi Lovegrove Interview

Katrina Fox interviews Ed Lower and Malindi Lovegrove of The Chocolate Yogi.

VBT 061: Interview with Ed Lower and Malindi Lovegrove of The Chocolate Yogi

In this episode I interview Ed Lower and Malindi Lovegrove from The Chocolate Yogi in Sydney, Australia. Ed, who’s from the UK, worked as a bookkeeper for many years in the media, entertainment and technology industries, while nurturing his creative side with a side hustle as a voice-over artist for TV adverts, cartoons and online media. Malindi, who’s Australian, has worked as a Community Development Worker in South Africa, the UK and in Tanzania, where she lived and taught about sexual he...

VBT 060: Cayla Mackey and Dave Pittman Interview

Katrina Fox interviews Cayla Mackey and Dave Pittman of Unicorn Goods.

VBT 060: Interview with Cayla Mackey and Dave Pittman of Unicorn Goods

In this episode I interview Cayla Mackey and Dave Pittman from Unicorn Goods, whose tagline is ‘the world’s largest vegan store’, in Rhode Island, New England. The couple have run several social enterprises including Nashville’s culture magazine Native, and Taco Bike, a certified organic restaurant. They started Unicorn Goods, an online store, in November 2014, offering a large range of vegan goods across a number of categories using an affiliate model. CEO Cayla oversees the overall visio...

VBT 059: Interview with Susie Pusch

Katrina Fox interviews Susie Pusch of Bungalow360.

VBT 059: Interview with Susie Pusch of Bungalow360

In this episode I interview Susie Pusch, owner of handbags and accessories company Bungalow360 in California. Bungalow360 is renowned for its whimsical animal themes, exemplifying the company’s commitment to protecting the planet’s species and environment. Products are crafted of natural cotton canvas and printed with water-based inks. The line consists of handbags, wallets, kids’ accessories and vegan leather items, with a new bamboo line in the works. Susie started out hand-crafting the ...

VBT 058: Tracie O'Keefe interview

Katrina Fox interviews Tracie O'Keefe.

VBT 058: Interview with Tracie O’Keefe, clinical hypnotherapist, naturopath & wealth builder

In this episode I interview Tracie O’Keefe, clinical hypnotherapist, naturopath and wealth builder in Sydney, Australia. And full disclosure, she also happens to be my wife! Over four and half decades she has started, owned and run several business in many industries in different parts of the world. While at college at 15 in the UK, studying the beauty business, Tracie worked three part-time jobs and started her first business which provided home hairdressing services. She went on to be a p...

VBT 057: Interview with Stephanie Prather of Vegan Gastronomy Culinary Academy

In this episode I interview Stephanie Prather, co-founder of the Vegan Gastronomy Culinary Academy on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Vegan Gastronomy is a vegan cooking school that offers in-person training in the city of Palma, with a focus on teaching students to create healthy, delicious, sustainable, and economical vegan dishes. Through its Global Vegan program, it also takes its training on the road to other cities across the globe and has recently partnered with equipment maker Fishe...

VBT 057: Stephanie Prather Interview

Katrina Fox interviews Stephanie Prather of Vegan Gastronomy.

VBT 056 Mary Mulry food scientist interview

Katrina Fox interviews Mary Mulry, food scientist at FoodWise One.

VBT 056: Interview with food scientist Mary Mulry of FoodWise One

In this episode I interview food scientist Mary Mulry, managing director at product development consulting firm FoodWise One in Denver, Colorado. After gaining a PhD in food science and human nutrition, Mary’s first jobs were with Kellogg’s and Kraft in the early to mid-1980s, working in both analytical chemistry and product development. She entered the natural and organics industry when she took a position in product development at herbal tea company Celestial Seasonings in 1989 and has wo...

VBT 055: Interview with Clare Mann of Communicate31

In this episode I interview Clare Mann, a vegan psychologist and communications trainer from Communicate31 in Sydney, Australia. Clare consults with a range of clients all over the world to enhance their communication mastery. She runs public and in-house training programs for corporations, large SMEs and non-profit organizations in communication, team-building and ethical leadership, and is editor-in-chief of the digital business magazine Ethical Futures: Conversations that Matter, which ch...

VBT 055: Clare Mann of Communicate 31 interview

VBT 054: Interview with Tracye McQuirter

In this episode I interview Tracye McQuirter, a public health nutritionist and plant-based educator in Washington DC. Tracye is a real trailblazer. A vegan of 30 years, she co-created the first vegan website by and for African Americans nearly 20 years ago with her sister, historian Marya McQuirter. She directed the country’s first federally funded and community-based vegan nutrition program, the Vegetarian Society of DC Eat Smart Program, launched with funding from the US Department of Hea...

VBT 053: Interview with Doron Petersan

Katrina Fox interviews Doron Petersan of Sticky Fingers and Fare Well.

VBT 053: Interview with Doron Petersan of Sticky Fingers and Fare Well

In this episode I interview Doron Petersan, founder of Sticky Fingers bakery and café, and the newly launched Fare Well diner in Washington DC. Doron started Sticky Fingers in 1999 in her home kitchen before moving to a small basement storefront where she teamed up with Kirsten Rosenberg to create a vegan baking empire that included a chain of stores in South Korea. After Kirsten moved on to pursue her other passion of music, Doron went on to win the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars twice and ex...

VBT 052: Interview with Stephanie Redcross of Vegan Mainstream

In this episode I interview Stephanie Redcross from marketing and training consultancy Vegan Mainstream in Florida. Stephanie is a pioneer in providing services to vegan business owners. She started Vegan Mainstream in 2009 after leaving the corporate world where she worked for many years for Fortune 500 companies such as GE so she could meld her passion for entrepreneurship with her love for the vegan lifestyle. She formed many of the vegan professional groups on Facebook, Google Plus and ...

VBT 052: Stephanie Redcross Interview

Katrina Fox interviews Stephanie Redcross from Vegan Mainstream.

VBT 051: Interview with Susan Carskadon – natural food and products consultant

In this episode I interview Susan Carskadon, a natural food and products consultant in Denver, Colorado. For decades, Susan has been identifying innovations and categories ahead of trend while creating demand and effective streams of commerce for numerous companies in the natural and organic industries. Over the past 35 years Susan has been instrumental in advancing many consumer products and new concepts. This included spearheading consumer acceptance of Tetra Pak in North America in 1985,...

VBT 050: Interview with Eugene Wang of Sophie’s Kitchen

In this episode I interview Eugene Wang, founder of Sophie’s Kitchen vegan seafood company in Sebastopol, California. Eugene started the business in 2010 in response to his daughter Sophie’s severe allergic reaction to shellfish, along with learning about the devastating impact of overfishing. Currently available in more than 2m000 retailers across the US and Canada, Sophie’s Kitchen products are unique in that they use konjac (also known as elephant yam) to create the seafood taste, are so...

VBT 049: Interview with Chef AJ

In this episode I interview Chef AJ, an educator on plant-based eating and living. An ethical vegan for almost 40 years, AJ is driven by her passion to end animal exploitation and consumption. With a background in comedy, she has appeared on several high-profile popular TV shows including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. A chef, culinary instructor and professional speaker, AJ is author of the popular book Unpro...

VBT 048: Interview with Meg and Komie Vora of Delikate Rayne

In this episode I interview Meg and Komie Vora from fashion brand Delikate Rayne in Los Angeles. The sisters grew up with a cruelty-free ethic – their father was raised Jain and their mother Hindi – and they’ve never eaten meat. As they searched for an animal-friendly wardrobe, they identified a gap in the market for high-quality vegan, ethically manufactured, sustainable clothing in the contemporary space and launched Delikate Rayne in December 2013. As the first generation of their famil...

VBT 047: Interview with Cale Drouin of Plant Based Foods

In this episode I interview Cale Drouin from Plant Based Foods, a distribution company in Brisbane, Australia. With a background in sales, Cale has worked for variety of organizations. He ran a vegan café and grocery store for three years, before moving into distribution three years ago. Through Plant Based Foods he imports US products including Gardein, Tofurky and Match Meats, as well as working with local Australian brands such as Herbisaurus to get them into retailers. In this intervie...

VBT 046: Interview with Kristin Lajeunesse of Kale Media and Will Travel for Vegan Food

In this episode I interview Kristin Lajeunesse, freelance marketing consultant, owner of Kale Media and founder of Will Travel for Vegan Food. After graduating from Emerson College with a Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing Communication, Kristin landed a dream 9-5 office job with an animal rights non-profit organization in Boston. In 2011 she felt herself drawn to an entrepreneurism and launched various businesses including Vegan Weddings (which she recently sold) and Kale Media, while...

VBT 045: Interview with Nicole Sopko and Dan Staackmann from Upton’s Naturals

In this episode I interview Nicole Sopko and Dan Staackmann from Upton’s Naturals, an independently-owned natural foods company in Chicago that creates meat alternatives using simple, recognizable ingredients. Dan founded the company in 2005, pioneering flavored, wheat-based seitan. Nicole, his life partner, who also owns two yoga studios, came on board in 2010 and now serves as vice-president. The business started off small, operating out of a shared kitchen, and has grown to the point wher...

VBT 044: Interview with Leigh-Chantelle of Epicentre Equilibrium

In this episode, I interview Leigh-Chantelle from Epicentre Equilibrium, a social media and content creation specialist from Brisbane, Australia. Leigh-Chantelle has run the online vegan community Viva la Vegan! since 2005, bringing positive education, information and vegan outreach to a worldwide audience through her blogs and videos. She’s the author of several books including Expert Tips from Vegan Athletes, Fitness Fanatics & Exercise Enthusiasts; There's a Vegan in the Kitchen: Viva la...

VBT 043: Interview with Allison Rivers Samson of Allison’s Gourmet and The Dairy Detox

In this episode I interview Allison Rivers Samson, founder of Allison’s Gourmet, the first online vegan bakery in the US, established in 1997, and now co-creator of The Dairy Detox online wellness program. Allison – aka the Maven of Mmm – is a born entrepreneur, buying her first business at the age of 17. She grew Allison’s Gourmet to the point where it was featured in high-profile media including the Wall Street Journal and delivered her treats to some of Hollywood’s most prestigious addres...

VBT 042: Interview with Elizabeth Olsen of Olsenhaus Pure Vegan

In this episode I interview Elizabeth Olsen, founder of Olsenhaus Pure Vegan, a footwear company that was launched in New York in 2008. Just two years later in 2010, the line was sold in 16 countries in prominent retailers including Barneys and Nordstrom as well as eco-boutique stores. Both the brand and Elizabeth have been featured in a ton of high-profile media including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Olsenhaus shoes have captured the attention of celebrities including Emily...

VBT 041: Interview with Eric Lindstrom of ThankTank Creative

In this episode I interview Eric Lindstrom from ThankTank Creative, a consulting, design, and marketing agency in New York. Eric has more than 20 years of experience as a senior-level administrator, entrepreneur, and consultant in communications, marketing, brand management, and design for various organizations across several industries including higher education, government, facilities, financial, retail, and entertainment, picking up a slew of awards along the way. In 2014 he founded Than...

VBT 040: Interview with Liza Braude-Glidden of Beanfields Snacks

In this episode I interview Liza Braude-Glidden, co-founder and Executive Vice President of Culture and Sustainability at Beanfields Snacks in Los Angeles, which produces bean and rice chips. Beanfields is a family-owned business that was founded in 2011 by Reed Glidden, along with Liza, his wife, and Reed’s brother, Roy Glidden with the aim of creating delicious, plant-based, non-GMO snacks, with beans as the primary ingredient. The company’s products are sold across the US, Canada, Austra...

VBT 039: Interview with Jessica Bailey of The Cruelty Free Shop

In this episode I interview Jessica Bailey from The Cruelty Free Shop in Sydney, Australia, a speciality retail and online store carrying more than 1,500 vegan products, ranging from food and skincare to fashion, books and accessories. Jessica started the business as an online store in 2001 after going vegan while still working full time as an IT project manager.  Her aim was to provide a one-stop-shop where people could buy hard-to-find vegan foods without having to do the time-consuming la...

VBT 038: Interview with Kezia Jauron of Evolotus PR

In this episode I interview Kezia Jauron of Evolotus PR, a public relations agency that works with animal rights nonprofits and campaigns, documentary films, books, and vegan companies. She and her husband, Evolotus co-founder Gary Smith are a whizz at generating positive media coverage, helping organizations gain visibility, increase their followings, and generate revenues. Evolotus has promoted animal rights and veganism in the mainstream for nearly 10 years. Their clients include Mercy f...

VBT 037: Interview with Joshua Katcher of Brave GentleMan

In this episode I interview Joshua Katcher from Brave GentleMan, a disruptive vegan menswear label in New York. Joshua previously worked in creative media, including roles as director, editor, producer and director of photography for PBS and MTV. In 2008 he discovered an appreciation for fashion and launched men’s lifestyle website The Discerning Brute, which focused on “fashion, food and etiquette for the ethically handsome man”. The blog quickly established Joshua as a pioneer in the fie...

VBT 036: Interview with Wanda Malhotra of Surya Brasil

In this episode I interview Wanda Malhotra from Surya Brasil, a natural beauty company in Brazil. Wanda, who founded the business with her mother Clelia Angelon in 1995, moved to New York from Brazil in 2012 to help grow Surya Brasil’s business in the US, Canada and major markets around the world. The company’s products, which include henna cream and powder and skincare solutions are now sold in 40 countries. Wanda and Clelia are dedicated to sustainability and creating the healthiest, nat...

VBT 035: Interview with Damien Clarkson of The Growing Box

In this episode I interview Damien Clarkson from The Growing Box, a creative agency in London, UK, providing content creation solutions for ethical brands. A longtime and passionate storyteller, Damien has written for The Huffington Post and The Guardian on vegan and environmental issues. He recently co-created the short film SWINE in partnership with renowned UK animal charity Viva! and launched a new vegan education festival Vevolution. Damien and his team have worked on some of the UK’s...

VBT 034: Interview with Donna Zeigfinger of Green Earth Travel

In this episode I interview Donna Zeigfinger from Green Earth Travel, a travel agency in Maryland, specializing in ethical and eco-friendly vacations. Travel has been in Donna’s blood for decades and she’s combined her passion with business, working for various travel companies since the 1980s before launching Green Earth Travel in 1997. Since then it’s become a leading vegetarian, vegan and eco-travel agency in the US, featuring in several prominent media including the New York Times and Wa...

VBT 033: Interview with Alicia Lai of Bourgeois Boheme

In this episode I interview Alicia Lai, founder of luxury shoe brand Bourgeois Boheme in London, UK. After a career as a podiatrist, Alicia, who’s originally from Australia, moved to London 10 years ago to start a vegan footwear company. Originally selling a range of lower-priced shoe brands, along with accessories, she took a break from the business and relaunched it as a high-end, luxury, aspirational brand, focusing solely on her own shoe designs. The company has built up loyal fans amo...

VBT 032: Interview with Nil Zacharias of One Green Planet

In this episode I interview Nil Zacharias, co-founder and editor-in-chief of independent publishing platform One Green Planet in New York. After more than a decade working in the digital media space, at companies including Yahoo!, DoubleClick (which was acquired by Google), PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory, and as an attorney specializing in privacy and intellectual property law, Nil decided to take his passion for the environment into building a purpose-driven media company. Since its incep...

VBT 031: Interview with Liz Dee of Smarties Candy Company and Baleine & Bjorn Capital

In this episode I interview Liz Dee, co-owner and executive vice-president of her family’s business Smarties Candy Company in the US and CEO of impact investment firm Baleine & Bjorn Capital. Liz has worked with the Smarties Candy Company – which is a completely separate entity to Smarties in the UK, Australia and elsewhere – for many years. In 2011, while doing research on veganism for the business (the American company’s products are vegan), Liz became aware of the cruelty and environment...

VBT 030: Interview with Ilsa Hess of Love & Joy Foods (Nacheez)

In this episode I interview Ilsa Hess from Love & Joy Foods, producers of Nacheez sauce, in Sacramento, California. Five years ago Ilsa was working in a government job as an IT consultant for the City of Sacramento. Before that she had professional experience in web design, graphic design, photography, product demonstration and customer service. All these skills came in handy when she decided to launch her business. One day she found herself craving some nacho cheese from a pump, so she dec...

VBT 029: Interview with David Benzaquen of PlantBased Solutions

In this episode I interview David Benzaquen from PlantBased Solutions, an award-winning brand management and marketing agency for plant-based consumer product companies, headquartered in New York. After more than a decade working in the government and non-profit sectors with a focus on education and grassroots advocacy, David immersed himself in the plant-based business sector, working for a time as a natural products broker before evolving PlantBased Solutions into its current incarnation. ...

VBT 028: Interview with Justin Mead of Vegan Style

In this episode I interview Justin Mead, owner of Vegan Style footwear and accessories store in Melbourne, Australia. Starting out with humble beginnings in two small rooms sharing with a vegan cafe and only open two days a week, to opening a flagship retail store in the vegan-friendly hub on Brunswick Street, the company has grown to become a market leader in the provision of high-quality, fashionable and stylish products that are made without harming animals and minimizing impact on the en...

VBT 027: Interview with Julieanna Hever – The Plant-Based Dietitian

In this episode, I interview Julieanna Hever aka The Plant Based Dietitian in Los Angeles. Julieanna has been in private practice in Los Angeles since 2005, specializing in weight management, disease prevention and management, and sports nutrition. She’s the host of the wellness talk show series What Would Julieanna Do? on Z Living Network and nutrition columnist for VegNews magazine. As well as being published in prominent journals, she features regularly in the media, with appearances in...

VBT 026: Interview with Kevin Newell of Humane Wildlife Solutions

In this episode I interview Kevin Newell, owner of Humane Wildlife Solutions, a humane, non-lethal and ethical alternative to ‘pest’ control in Scotland in the UK. The business uses methods to repel and deter so-called ‘pests’ rather than the current methods offered by traditional pest control services of trapping and killing. Kevin and his team are currently researching a plant-based, non-lethal, non-toxic wasp nest repellent that encourages wasps to take their young and go elsewhere. They...