S4 Ep36: Female Founder Transforms Food Waste into Better-for-You Snack Brand with Betty Lu, Confetti Snacks
“Together, with the collective intelligence of the group, we can strive and achieve something much larger than ourselves.” — Betty Lu
Nature is about diversity. Yet, today's society divides edible produce into "good" and "bad". The perfect is favored, and the imperfect are wasted along the food value chain. That's billions of tons of food each year unnecessarily and unethically dumped in landfills!
The fact that every year, millions of people die of hunger when there is already enough food produced to feed everyone on our planet is ironic, not just environmentally but also in a humanitarian sense. Food waste reduction is a win-win situation, as it means more food to feed more people without expanding into new territories while saving resources like fossil fuels and water.
Founded by Betty Lu, Confetti Snacks takes these imperfect foods and gives them new life by turning them into healthy snacks. Confetti Snacks donate a generous portion of the proceeds to help combat global hunger and malnutrition, especially in the poorest parts of the world.
In this episode, we hear about Betty’s journey and how she was able to create something beyond what we normally associate with “snack food” and make it successful. Justine and Betty also discuss food security and the food waste crisis that we are facing, how to find the right people to make your business vision a reality, and how doing “less” is better when you’re growing your company. Whether you're looking for a way to add color to your diet or simply want to reduce your carbon footprint, this episode is for you. Tune in to find out how and why Betty Lu turned food waste into a WINNING snack brand!
Connect with Betty:
Betty is the founder and CEO of venture-backed Confetti Snacks, based in Singapore and NYC. Confetti makes award-winning tasty gourmet snacks from nutrient-dense vegetables in exotic flavors inspired by Southeast Asia. These scrumptious plant-based snacks are upcycled from ugly produce and are an excellent source of minerals and fiber. A portion of the proceeds from Confetti Snacks goes to global efforts for the environment and to end hunger. Betty is a branding expert with a global strategic outlook. She is an avid scuba diver, paraglider, and world traveler.
Connect with Confetti Snacks:
Episode Highlights:
01:31 The Ironic Crisis of Food Waste and Hunger
06:08 The Confetti Concept
09:09 Finding the Right Partners
13:57 Beyond Snacks
16:33 Solve Food Security, Food Waste, and Consumer Time
19:03 It’s About the People
Tweets:
As humans, our natural instinct is to 'make the best of a bad situation'. But that instinct isn’t necessarily there when it comes to imperfect foods. Listen as @_NextGenChef and Betty Lu, founder of @confettisnacks, address food waste through upcycling food and transforming it into healthy snacks packed with Asian-inspired flavor. #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #womenfounders #confettisnacks #confettifinefoods #foodinsecurity #foodwaste #veggiechips #upcycling #missiondriven #singapore #sustainability #asiansnacks #healthysnacks
Inspirational Quotes:
02:18 “You know, the world is beautiful and spectacular. But it does face many challenges like incredible amounts of food waste simply because they're perishable, ugly, or due to a crop surplus. On the other hand, 8.6 million people die from hunger every year, because they can't afford to buy food.” -Betty Lu
09:12 “If you have a lot of intention to create something, you attract the best talent. Nothing attracts talent like talent.” -Betty Lu
10:12 “Together, with the collective intelligence of the group, we can strive and achieve something much larger than ourselves.” -Betty Lu
10:52 “For a young entrepreneur to not think you can do it all yourself, and realizing that surrounding yourself with the experts that have varying experience can help you get there, is so smart.” -Justine Reichman
11:12 “The less you do, the better. The most successful people learn to trust and delegate to other people. That's how businesses prosper.” -Betty Lu
12:08 “Your job is to make sure that you stay on task, your job is to make sure that you stay true to that vision.” -Justine Reichman
13:15 “There's no point in hand picking really smart people and then not listening to them.” -Justine Reichman
18:15 “The bigger we think, the more we can channel from food waste and upcycle them to something very useful, high in vitamins, and more importantly, so fun to eat.” -Betty Lu
19:08 “I don't think we're doing it for money. I think it's about seeing other people happy.” -Betty Lu
Transcriptions:
Justine Reichman: Welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host, Justine Reichman. Today with me is Betty from Confetti Snacks.
Welcome Betty.
Betty Lu: Thank you Justine. It's lovely to be here.
Justine Reichman: It's great to have you here. We got to chat a little bit a couple weeks ago, it was before Expo West. I know that there's been a lot going on, but I'd love to just dig right and get people to have a moment to hear who you are, what Confetti Snacks is and learn a little bit about what you're doing, because it is so exciting. You're tapping into so many innovative spaces, and I say that because you've tapped into quite a few spaces there. Not just the snack market, but also the upcycling market. Am I right?
Betty Lu: Yes, absolutely. Yes.
Justine Reichman: I didn't want to say that. I said that with hesitation. I guess upcycling, but I wanted to confirm it with you as I said it.
“You know, the world is beautiful and spectacular. But it does face many challenges like incredible amounts of food waste simply because they're perishable, ugly, or due to a crop surplus. On the other hand, 8.6 million people die from hunger every year, because they can't afford to buy food.” -Betty Lu
Betty Lu: Yes, you're absolutely right. I started Confetti three years ago. It was inspired by a journey and an adventure I took around the world. I loved the outdoors. I love hiking and camping. It's a really a big struggle to find something that I can bring up the mountains with me so I started experimenting with buying some veggies from the Farmers Market slicing it. At that point, I was feeling so homesick for Singapore and all the amazing food that we have so I started experimenting by putting baking veggie chips in my own kitchen and seasoning them with amazing flavors inspired by Singapore. And I really wanted to create a company that soft, major problems facing the world today. The world is really beautiful and spectacular, but it does face any challenges, like the incredible amount of food waste that is thrown away every year, simply because they're perishable, they're ugly, or due to a crop surplus. On the other hand, 8.6 million people die from hunger every year because they can't afford to buy food. So how can we create a company that can solve both challenges? So that's how I created the inspiration to start this company. We take ugly produce or crop surpluses, upcycle them into an award winning snack, which is really fun, adventurous to snack on, super colorful hence the name Confetti, the celebration of fan base colors. A portion of our growth is packed to hunger relief efforts to feed the hungriest people in the world.
Justine Reichman: Wow, you're an inspiration. I mean, I strive to do that with my B Corp, and you solve so many problems, and it's really ambitious. I would imagine that the people listening to this, this is what I strive to do with this podcast. It's to inspire, and your story really does that. Your business, it's successful, and you've built a business that not only provides a product that's healthy, but it also has an impact in the world to solve a problem. That's really important.
Betty Lu: Yes, absolutely. Thanks so much Justine.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing, and that was your goal going in. So you've achieved it, you've built a business that is successful, creates a healthy snack, and that is solving a problem in the world.
Betty Lu: Absolutely. And I think this entire concept only works when we think really big. We smash every glass ceiling imaginable and thing as big as we can because the sheer amount of food waste is so enormous, and the amount of people suffering from hunger is also very enormous. So if we don't think big on day one and think of ourselves as a global brand, the bigger we think and the more impact we can achieve only when we scale. In the very early days when I looked for a factory and a manufacturer, the first question I give to them is, how many million units can you produce every month? Because the amount of upcycling we can do and the poor people we can feed with this project only happens with skill and immense skill.
Justine Reichman: So when you started this business, how big did you envision it would be? Coz you were thinking that was your, I see it, I hear it, I was gonna go.
Betty Lu: I want it to be as famous as Oreo. You know how Oreo is famous with sandwich cookies. You know how Haagen-Dazs is famous for ice cream. I want people to think of a vegetarian, I want to eat a fun colorful veggie chip, and I want them to think of Confetti. So I imagined it to be so recognizable in 200 different markets around the world, everyone can get it in the snack now. Unfortunately, 90% of the snack aisle are still dominated by an ocean of yellow. Everything is either extruded composites, or they are deep fried potato chips, which are nutritionally bankrupt. Even when I came to the USA was very similar. I think a lot of American children grown up with Cheetos. And how do we change that from them to move from potato chips to have in something very bright and colorful, fun, but with a lot more vitamins, and for them to eat the colors of the rainbow, because different colors have different vitamins that are good for us.
Justine Reichman: I want to just talk about you as a person, you've built this amazing business that normally gives people an opportunity to eat something healthy, but also give back to the world and create something that is healthy in the world. But on a personal level, do you live your life the same way you built your company?
Betty Lu: Yes. I think Confetti is really an extension of myself, in the sense that Confetti was a brainchild of expeditions/adventures I did around the world. I am at my best when I'm a Nomad. I like to see myself as if I could be a permanent Nomad forever and just be inspired by the world moving constantly from one culture to another and seeing different landscapes, meeting this beautiful, incredible richness of the diversity of humanity that I experienced, I think that inspires me the best. So Confetti is a representation of Betty because it's adventurous, all the different cultures that we represent through this next is really colorful, we have a very brief time in this world. And the fact that you could experience different cultures through this next is something that means a lot to me because I'm so inspired by the world. I want people to be inspired the same way that I have. So instead of reaching for another sour cream and onion potato chip, if you reach out for Confetti, this is real veggies, But at the same time, it comes with exotic flavors and cultures inspired by my travels.
Justine Reichman: Well, I'm just so in awe. So who do you surround yourself with as you build this company?
Betty Lu: Oh, yeah, I think our team are as diverse as our snacks. So I come from Singapore, which is a melting pot of cultures. We have a creative director who is a super talented microcredit whose family works with honesty, super coffee, Dan chips, he is really inspirational. Our chairman is based in Brussels, and he brings a European perspective, and formerly invested in brands like Oatly, Vita, Coco, POPchips and Vitaminwater. Many of them have really skilled brands from zero to multi million or billion dollar exits, and to learn from different perspectives from different parts of the world is so instrumental, because I am a first time founder. This is my first company.
Justine Reichman: You're young. So have the vision and be able to surround yourself with all these really seasoned entrepreneurs, it must have taken great strength and vision. How did you have the vision to be able, not how did you have the vision, but you're a young entrepreneur and you had this amazing vision to be able to come up with this large, huge actually. I want to say vision again, but I want to say this huge, it was a great dream, it was a huge dream to be able to create something that was healthy that would give back to the environment, the planet, the people, and then surround yourself with the people that would help it come to fruition. So from the beginning to where you are now, how did you surround yourself with those people to make it happen?
“If you have a lot of intention to create something, you attract the best talent. Nothing attracts talent like talent.” -Betty Lu
Betty Lu: Yeah. So I think it's really like a snowball. I think if you have a lot of intention to create something, you attract the best talents and then it becomes like a snowball effect, and then the word spreads. And talent, nothing attracts talent like talent. I feel that we have--
Justine Reichman: And passion. Passion and genuine honesty, genuine people that are genuinely humble and really, it comes through.
“Together, with the collective intelligence of the group, we can strive and achieve something much larger than ourselves.” -Betty Lu
Betty Lu: Yeah, absolutely. I love the energy that this entrepreneur spring, they ask for entrepreneurs who have started so many projects. I love to surround myself with people who love to create like me, and they do all of them, they love traveling, they love experiencing different cultures, they want to make an impact in this world in their brief time on this planet. I think I'm a first time entrepreneur and there are certain things I do really well. But all the gaps in the skill sets that I don't have, it's really important to find the right talents to fill those gaps. And together with the collective intelligence of the group, we can strive and achieve something much larger than ourselves. And I think that's what these different folks bring. People who are from non Unilever, we have female VCs, we have a very balanced profile of people from different parts of the world, from Europe, from Asia Pacific, from Australia, from the United States, and everyone brings their own perspective from their little part of the world. It really adds to it, and everyone has a different skill set. And collectively, I think we can really achieve something really beautiful together.
“For a young entrepreneur to not think you can do it all yourself, and realizing that surrounding yourself with the experts that have varying experience can help you get there, is so smart.” -Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: And I think what you said is really wise. And for a young entrepreneur to realize this in the beginning and not think you can do it all yourself, and realizing that surrounding yourself with the experts that have the years of experience or varying experience can help you get there is so smart.
“The less you do, the better. The most successful people learn to trust and delegate to other people. That's how businesses prosper.” -Betty Lu
Betty Lu: Thank you so much Justine. I would go as far as to say that the less you do, the better, because it's so important. I am a perfectionist, and I'm a bit OCD. I have to do everything myself so everything is perfect. But then I realized that the most successful people learn to trust and delegate to other people, and they find the best talent, they trust them with a lot of responsibility, and that's how businesses prosper. So I feel like one really wise female VC who invested in us actually told me, the less you do, the better. It's more important for you to have a very strong team full of talents and make sure that you entrust them with very strong responsibility and let them do so with the company, and have their own talent and their hard work guide the vision of the company and make it a part of them as well. Yeah, I think that's really, really important.
“Your job is to make sure that you stay on task, your job is to make sure that you stay true to that vision.” -Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: I think it's super important to do that. I think you came up with this amazing vision, and then that's your job. Your job is to make sure that you stay on task, your job is to make sure that you stay true to that vision and surround yourself with those really smart people that can help you get there. But by no means, can I do every job. By no means, can you do every job. And that's why we surround ourselves with the experts that can help us stay on task and get there, because I can't do all those jobs. That's ridiculous. I'm not going to be an expert at all those things, but we are the visionaries. You're the visionary, and you're the visionary behind Confetti Snacks. And those visionaries are so important. But equally, so are all the people that we bring on to make sure that those visions come to fruition.
Betty Lu: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And as the captain of the ship was just important to find the right people to be on the ship and then steer us in the right direction. And also, I listened a lot to the team, I think they give a lot of brilliant ideas, and I learned so much from them every day.
Justine Reichman: That's why you chose them. You had picked them.
Betty Lu: Yes. Absolutely.
“There's no point in hand picking really smart people and then not listening to them.” -Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: There's no point in hand picking really smart people and then not listening to them.
Betty Lu: Hmm. So true.
Justine Reichman: There's wisdom in that. Why choose people for your team and then not listen to them? I never understood that, so I love what you're doing. I'm curious, as you've created your ship, and staffed your ship, and you have this amazing vision for the future, and you felt this amazing, Confetti Snacks is amazing. I can't wait to try them myself. In fact, I love what you're building to help the earth then upcycle all these amazing things. What's new and what's next beyond that?
Betty Lu: Yes, I think that's really, this is such an exciting journey because I feel like I created this in a pretty selfish way as well, because I'm a creative person. All this creative energy needs to go somewhere, and Confetti in part is a creative outlet for me to channel all my creativity into something, and I get really restless when I'm not creating things. So I think the next step is really beyond veggies. There is a lot of food wastage as well. Incredible amounts, millions of metric tons of avocado, juicy ripe mangoes, guava, all kinds of, thousands of species of fruits and veggies are thrown away every year even though they're edible and nutritious. So looking beyond a potato chip, how can we think even further beyond that and create something that really is so fun, incredible and really well to some consumers?
So there are a lot of chips that have not been experimented with. We would really love to experiment with something even more fun. I was thinking, maybe crunchy asparagus with sour cream and dill, or even crunchy avocados. We can do something with spicy zucchini. How do we get people to eat the colors of the rainbow in a very novel way? And what we have, Michelin chefs create really authentic recipes that hold true to cultures that millennial oats and preserving that culture and that history, that culinary heritage of that culture. And I think people travel around the world using snacks. I think that would be very, yeah, that would be really fun for me. And beyond snacks, how can we go even further and create multiple business units? Can we create like a dead meat from ugly produce? Why is everyone eating guacamole and salsa? Why don't people go further in? I'm thinking of doing the cream of artichoke with white truffle or mushrooms. Can we do like, yeah, like a rainbow collection of different veggies that we sneak in lots of veggies, make them taste amazing, and all of them can be made from upcycled ingredients. So how can we make colors fun again and look beyond a potato chip? There's so many parallels that can go under the umbrella of Confetti and get people to eat more veggies.
Justine Reichman: I love that. I'm just curious, have you looked into the data on, in terms of upcycling and the impact it's going to have on the environment in terms of your personal, the impact Confetti will have on upcycling, and what that number looks like right now and then sort of in three years, and in five years, just maybe with what you're doing now.
Betty Lu: Yeah, absolutely. When all these ugly produce, when they are crop surpluses, because no farm in the world can accurately predict how much a supermarket would take so they always produce in excess. And in that sense, if these surplus do not get channeled to a retailer, they go into a landfill and they decompose emitting greenhouse gasses that causes global warming, it contributes to climate change and it releases a lot of carbon emissions as they decompose. That's also important for us to think big on day one. People have snacks throughout the day, a few times a day. It's a habitual consumption habit that people do on a daily basis across the world, so how can we do that and replace the potato chips?
“The bigger we think, the more we can channel from food waste and upcycle them to something very useful, high in vitamins, and more importantly, so fun to eat.” -Betty Lu
Lay for example, they make 16 billion in revenues every year. I think they sell about a few 100 million packets of potatoes. But if we became the printer or the Lay of the world, and instead of using potatoes, we are using all these ugly veggies and all these crop surpluses and we are producing 200 million packets every month. We would collectively move millions of metric tons of edible produce away from the landfill making them into a snack, which has one to two years of shelf life protecting the food security and giving people a chip that is so much higher in vitamins and minerals. And we are saving the consumer of time as well. They don't have to carry heavy veggies from the market, slice them, cook them, wash them. We put maybe five servings of veggies in a bag so it's so convenient for them to just eat their veggies and fruits and get all the colors in their diets. So from an environmental perspective, the bigger we think, the more we can channel from food waste and upcycle them to something very useful, high in vitamins. And more importantly, it's so fun to eat. We are here to really celebrate cultural diversity and inclusion by celebrating all these authentic flavors from around the world.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing, I love what you're doing. I can't wait to share this with our community, because I think it's just wonderful. I mean, I've said it before, I'm gonna say it again, you're building a healthy product, it's better for you, it's helping the environment. You're building something that's amazing. I mean, it's my dream to build a business that makes money and has an impact, so appreciate you joining me today. I'm so glad to have you on the show and to be able to share this with our community.
“I don't think we're doing it for money. I think it's about seeing other people happy.” -Betty Lu
Betty Lu: Thanks, Justine, thank you so much. I think you and I, we are similar in the sense that I don't think we're really doing it for money. I think it's really about seeing other people happy when they open up. Like for instance, when they open up a bowl of Confetti and see all the colors and to see them smile when they're munching on it and see them enjoying it. And like, wow, this veggie could taste so delicious. That is priceless. And the fact that if we could save lives with hunger relief efforts, if we can make mother nature happy by helping in some way, by upcycling food waste into something useful, that is really priceless. And to create an army of talents and go through this entire journey through its ups and downs together, that entire journey with all these friendships, I think it's a priceless journey.
Justine Reichman: Yeah, I would agree. And I think I feel privileged to be able to share stories like yours on the podcast so that other founders can be inspired. And hopefully, take insight from these stories and your journey and make more informed choices as they build their business, or go to the store and make a purchase off the shelf.
Betty Lu: Yep, absolutely.
Justine Reichman: Thank you for joining me today, and I want to thank our guests for tuning in, and we're here every Tuesday.
Betty Lu: Thank you. Thanks Justine.
