Spotlight: Meet the PBFA Affiliate Members Championing the Growth of the Plant-Based Foods Industry

Written by: Annie Taranshansky

This month, we at PBFA are excited to shine a much-deserved spotlight on our affiliate members: a cohort of companies that provide invaluable services to our industry’s plant-based food manufacturers, and who stabilize and support our industry’s growth, often from behind the scenes. Affiliate members can range from brokers and consultants to incubator kitchens, from marketing/design firms to nonprofit organizations deeply invested in the plant-based cause. Championing the pillars of the plant-based movement – whether aligning with sustainability, animal welfare, social justice, and/or nutrition – is tantamount to our affiliate members’ personal investment in our industry’s success.

For this series, we hosted a written Q&A between PBFA and our affiliate members who are working hard everyday to bolster the plant-based foods industry. We got to learn a little bit more about these companies’ backgrounds, foundings, brand vision and missions, as well as the crucial products and services they provide. With this first edition of our affiliate spotlight, we enthusiastically invite you to learn more about Palate Insights, Drink Me Taste Solutions, and alive Publishing Group below – and make sure to stay tuned for more affiliate spotlights coming in the future.

Palate Insights

1. Can you tell us a bit more about the history of your company and the inspiration behind its founding?

Palate was founded to create a sustainable, animal-friendly food system. During their time at McKinsey and Facebook, Alex and Han were excited by the potential of sustainable foods to slow climate change and end factory farming. Yet, slowing industry growth clearly indicated that inspiring consumers to change their eating habits would require better products.

However, the food industry has been stuck with the same product feedback tools that have existed since 1980 - think white rooms, two-way mirrors, and 1/6th of a burger patty served through a slot. Not only are these methods inauthentic to how people experience food, they are expensive and slow-moving. As a result, most brands have resorted to testing primarily with small, biased samples of friends or employees.

Palate is different. We’re revolutionizing product feedback with authentic, agile approaches that help sustainable food brands build better products faster.

2. What do people need to know about your company's mission? Can you speak to your company’s core values?

Our purpose is to create a net zero, animal-friendly world. Our mission is to help sustainable food brands build better products faster with an authentic, agile product feedback platform.

3. What products/services do you provide?

• Grocer Pulse: Stock your product on shelves of one of our grocer partners for a pop-up event. Consumers have the option to take products home to do an at-home evaluation
• Restaurant Pulse: Showcase your product on the menu of one of our restaurant partners for a pop-up event
• Chef Panel: Tap into our network of 150+ Executive and R&D chefs covering all cuisines, geographies, and food service verticals.

Learn more about Palate Insights on their website: https://www.palateinsights.com/

Drink Me Taste Solutions

1. Can you tell us a bit more about the history of your company and the inspiration behind its founding?

Over the last 5-10 years, I [Rachel Dannemeyer, Owner of Drink Me Taste Solutions] have seen the beverage industry evolve as consumers become more conscious of the ingredients that they put in their bodies and the potential benefits (or negative attributes) these ingredients have. This awareness has led to a shift in the industry to healthier, better-for-you beverages. From a formulation standpoint, creating great tasting, clean ingredient beverages with health benefits is extremely tricky. After all, there is a reason that the beverage industry has been doing what it's been doing for decades! Brands (and the product developers behind them) have had products succeed or fail based on the consumers' perception of clean ingredients, the knowledge of the ingredients' benefits, all while having the drink taste good enough to be able to come back to.

Since I began my career in the beverage industry at the start of this trend, most of the beverages that I helped commercialize and succeed were created in alignment with this trend. My success rate combined with my frustrations with the beverage industry in general, made me want to start my own development firm specifically focused on working with start-ups to create clean ingredients, natural beverages that have the benefits that consumers are looking for and, more importantly, taste great. Drink Me Taste Solutions is a full service beverage development firm guiding its clients through to the commercialization stage and making sure that they have a product set up for success.

2. What do people need to know about your company's mission? Can you speak to your company’s core values?

Drink Me Taste Solutions is founded on the principle of Transparency. Just as consumers are demanding that the beverages that they drink have clean, easy to understand ingredients and that the brands that they buy from are transparent in their mission and desire to improve the world, we believe that the beverages that we create should be in alignment with this. We never hide anything from our clients and believe that education for our clients and their consumers are key to transparency for our company and within the beverage industry. We specifically started a blog on Substack to educate our clients and their consumers on the ingredients that are commonly found in beverages.

3. What products/services do you provide?

Drink Me Taste Solutions is a full service beverage product development firm specializing in creating clean ingredient, natural beverages. We guide our clients from the concept to the commercialization phase to create a great tasting beverage that helps change the beverage industry for the good.

Make sure to keep up with Drink Me Taste Solutions by checking out their website, and following them on Instagram and Facebook: @drinkmetastesolutions and on Substack: @DrinkMe

alive Publishing Group

1. Can you tell us a bit more about the history of your company and the inspiration behind its founding?

The Leading Knowledge Experts in Natural Health and Wellness… alive is much more than a magazine

For almost 50 years, Alive Publishing Group (APG) has been Canada’s recognized leader in health and wellness. Today, the APG brand is synonymous with natural health and wellness, editorial integrity, and the empowerment of those we touch to make healthy, natural, and sustainable lifestyle choices.

But that’s not all we do! With a suite of more than 15 different consumer- and industry-facing touch points, APG is the number one go-to source for both consumers and businesses interested in advancing their knowledge and positions in the natural health industry in Canada, across North America, and around the globe.

2. What do people need to know about your company's mission? Can you speak to your company’s core values?

• Brand Essence: Raw (in its natural state, real, frank), yet Refined (elegant and cultured in appearance, manner, and taste)
• Purpose: To Educate, Inspire, and Engage in all that we do.
• Values: Trendsetters… We thrive on being at the front of the pack.
• Agile: We are flexible and can turn on a dime.
• No BS: We love what we do … and that doesn’t leave us any time for negativity.
• Next Level: We aim to exceed expectations all the time.
• Curious: We are always exploring and aren’t afraid to take risks.
• Committed: We are a great friend and can always be trusted.

3. What products/services do you provide?

For more than 40 years, Alive Publishing Group has been the go-to source for all things natural health and wellness. Today we have a suite of more than 15 different consumer- and industry-facing products. Most notable are alive Magazine Canada, alive Magazine USA and delicious living Magazines. We also have a host of other products that all support the same goal. To Educate, Inspire and Engage.

Stay informed on alive Publishing Group on their website and make sure to follow their social media via @alivehealth