S5 Ep13: Your Favorite Food Staples, Now in Healthier Versions with Monica Bhatia
“If we can make nutrition no brainer, we can drive adoption, we can drive sustainability.” — Monica Bhatia
The food system, undoubtedly, is an industry that has a high potential in innovation, especially with the rise of technology. In fact, we are seeing endless possibilities in this arena.
But before we go bigger, we ought to consider one area that affects us all- staple foods. We cannot live without our daily staples (or at least most of us can't). Unfortunately, most of these products are mixed with questionable ingredients that do not have a business being in there in the first place. What if there is a healthier version for each of our favorite staples?
Co-founded by Monica Bhatia, Cella Farms aims to deliver nutritionally balanced staple food products that also taste great. They use fermentation technology in order to enrich agricultural products with complete protein. Now, consumers can enjoy their bread, pasta, and other staples with confidence.
Listen in as Justine and Monica walk us through Cella Farms and their mission in creating a more sustainable food system. They also talk about the importance of transparency and clean-labeling, choosing a co-founder, creating fun and healthy food that kids will love, methods of getting your products out into the market, and what drives Monica to continue on the path to creating a more sustainable food system despite challenges.
Connect with Monica:
Monica Bhatia is an impact-driven technopreneur with 15 years of experience in bio-manufacturing and commercialization of sustainable products, including food, fuels and chemicals. As an early employee at Geltor, she helped commercialize the world's first animal-free ingestible collagen. Previously, she was responsible for scaling-up algal DHA, algal fuels and food oils at Solazyme, to multi-ton production facilities in the USA and Brazil.
Monica is also the co-founder of Novol Bio, a company that develops high quality prescription eyeglasses using sustainable polymers made from corn. Being a life-long vegetarian, she understands the pros and cons of a plant-based diet. At Cella Farms, her goal is to drive technology that fundamentally improves the way humanity eats, regardless of diet styles, age or cultural preferences.
Episode Highlights:
01:16 What is Cella Farm
06:08 Consumers Decide
09:34 Passion, Imagination, & Reputation
15:20 A Bread That Kids Love
20:12 Reaching the Buyers
22:32 Future Food Tech London
Tweets:
Vegan or not, we all need staple foods like bread, pasta, and rice. What if there is a healthier version of your favorite staple? Learn more about this interesting discovery with @jreichman and Cella Farms co-founder, Monica Bhatia. #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #balance #sustainable #nutrition #proteins #staplefood #technology #cleanlabelproducts #femalefounders
Inspirational Quotes:
01:41 "If we can make nutrition no brainer, we can drive adoption, we can drive sustainability." -Monica Bhatia
03:04 "All of us, whether we're vegetarian or meat eaters, we all need staple foods. And if we can make staples healthy, there's a place on the plate for that." -Monica Bhatia
08:22 "If I want to solve a problem, I have to go solve the problem." -Monica Bhatia
13:08 "That confidence that you project as a founder really rubs on people." -Monica Bhatia
17:14 "The journey to get there is not easy, but exciting nonetheless." -Justine Reichman
Transcriptions:
Justine Reichman: Hello, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I am your host, Justine Reichman. Today with me, who I'm so pleased to have is Monica Bhatia. She is the Founder and CEO of Cella Farms. And we're so looking forward to learning a little bit about Cella Farms and about you as well. This is a special podcast that we've partnered with Future Food Tech, and she was one of the guest speakers at Future Food Tech. We're so pleased to have her to learn a little bit about what she spoke and get a greater in depth chat with her about what she learned from Future Food Tech, and what we can maybe expect from the future ones in London and other ones coming up.
So welcome, Monica.
Monica Bhatia: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Justine Reichman: It's a pleasure to have you here, Monica. So Monica, we haven't really had a chance to talk before we got to speak a little bit, and a little bit about Cella Farms, and a little bit about you. But for those that are tuning in today that are not familiar with you and Cella Farms, what is Cella Farms?
"If we can make nutrition no brainer, we can drive adoption, we can drive sustainability." -Monica Bhatia
Monica Bhatia: Cella Farms is an ultra protein company. And what we're doing is really solving for that mass market need to have good balance, but sustainable nutrition on our plates three times a day. As a consumer, as a mom, I have this feeling that nutrition is a little bit of hard work. It feels a little bit of sacrifice each time we opt for something nutritious. And so if we can take care of that, if we can make nutrition no brainer, I think we can drive adoption, we can drive sustainability. So that's what Cella Farms is about.
Justine Reichman: Wow. Okay. That's very ambitious, and I think quite a good mission in this environment, both for people's health and wellness, but also for the planet. So you just came back from the conference a couple of weeks ago, where do you see yourself within the whole scheme with, I don't like the word scheme, but you know what I'm saying, right? Within the whole arena of plant based foods and alternative proteins.
"All of us, whether we're vegetarian or meat eaters, we all need staple foods. And if we can make staples healthy, there's a place on the plate for that." -Monica Bhatia
Monica Bhatia: There's a whole community around this team of all proteins right now. I think that's hardening our plant based proteins. There are microbial proteins, there are proteins that are trying to mimic meat. So we very much think of ourselves as a big part of that community. Yeah, I'll be like maybe on the early stage of the concept side. And I think that maybe in some ways, we are fun to have because we're also challenging this idea that proteins may or may not have to come in a form that mimics meat, maybe proteins can come in a different form. And that could also become a parallel widespread approach to creating more sustainability and adoption. So what we're doing is trying to put proteins in staple foods. We believe all of us, whether we're vegetarian or meat eaters, we all need staple foods. And if we can make staples healthy, I think that there's a place on the plate for that.
Justine Reichman: Well, that sounds good. I liked the idea of it. Can you give me an example? What would that look like on my plate?
Monica Bhatia: Absolutely. So for example, if you opted to have an avocado sandwich for your lunch or for your breakfast, if you use Cella bread in that instance, then your Cella bread could deliver 20 grams of complete protein just from eating the bread. And so the idea here is that you don't even need meat on your plate, so to speak. You can deliver the complete protein and the right amount of protein per meal just from staples.
Justine Reichman: Wow, that sounds great. I think that you're solving a problem there. You're delivering something healthy. And so one of the things that I hear when we're eating alternative proteins and plant based foods is what goes into these products. How transparent are these companies being? Are we seeing a lot of fillers? Can you talk to me a little bit about that, and what's going into your products?
Monica Bhatia: Yes, absolutely. I would actually tell you that we are extremely intentional about it. My Co-Founder, Baljit, he is an expert in grains packaged foods even more than me, has been in the industry for almost 25 years. And so together, we've kind of, in some ways seen it all. And so therefore have the benefit of knowing why as a manufacturer you'd even need to put ingredients that are not clean that are maskers or artificial. And so what we are trying to do is, in that example of bread that I gave you, every single ingredient that you'd bake your bread in your own kitchen, plus our protein. So it's as clean and as simple as that, and we're showing that this can be done. Now, to understand how we have to take a step back. So it is all rooted in our technology. So when we choose the source of our protein, and when we create that protein as an ingredient, what we do is we put technology so that the texture and the taste of the final product, like bread for example, is exactly like a classic. So we don't have to put fillers in there. We don't have good maskers, or binders, or other stuff in there. And therefore, clean labels. I think clean labels eventually will become one of our differentiating attributes in terms of how people recognise and think ourselves.
Justine Reichman: Wow. That's great to hear because I know that it's very concerning. Oftentimes, we hear about some of these alternative proteins, and you look at the ingredients, and there's a lot of filler, and there's a lot of different oils and different things that are not necessarily healthy, good for the planet, or good for the person. So I think that transparency, and eating what's in your house, and eating things that we're familiar with, and really limiting the ingredients can be so important. I think people are really paying attention to it now and asking those questions where they didn't before.
Monica Bhatia: Absolutely. Consumer is the king consumer, that's the best part about being in this space right now. I think consumers really want all protein, and consumers are very intelligent at reading every single label, every single nutrition fact about the product. I think consumers ultimately will decide the products that will be here for the long haul, even in bread. Just as simple as bread. I see so many ingredients, the ingredient line does not even stop. And then lately, what's been concerning is that there are these breads that just for the sake of making the carbs zero, there's so much of refined and processed flour, and artificial ingredients, which I think that it's going to start leveling off because the consumer is really starting to get more and more educated. At Cella, like I said, like, we are really creating that strong foundation of science. So just to give you an example, our first microbial protein that we are creating has a nutty taste. So therefore, we decided to actively apply that into baked goods, because baked goods is where 90 flavor goes really well. And that's why we don't have to put a mask, our taste is naturally good. And this is the power of the platform that we want to create, eventually. The taste, the microbe and the protein, they all kind of come together in the right way.
Justine Reichman: It just makes me want to ask you, before you were a founder, you two were a consumer and you're still a consumer. But as the consumer, what made you want to become this founder? What inspired you to build this business?
"If I want to solve a problem, I have to go solve the problem." -Monica Bhatia
Monica Bhatia: Absolutely. So Cella really started because of this idea that I had and the frustration I had. I'm a lifelong vegetarian, and I try really hard to eat well. I was frustrated by the fact that no matter how clean I eat, I still end up eating a lot of carbs and very little protein. I am personally not a fan of protein powder so I always looked at my bread because I love bread. I was like, can you become healthy and my life would get easier. And then I realized that if I want to solve a problem, I have to go solve the problem. So I spent almost six months studying, researching the idea and coming up with the hypothesis that this is how scientifically we can approach it.
Justine Reichman: So are you a first time founder?
Monica Bhatia: I'm actually not. I started a company back in 2014. Very different from food, but still touching that pillar of sustainability. So that company's name is NovolBio. What we're doing there is we're creating sustainable bioplastics that would actually help to make the prescription eyewear, such as one you're wearing, clear, but also zero waste, more sustainable. And actually, I think cheaper so that it can address, again, a mass market need.
Justine Reichman: So as a serial entrepreneur and now going into foods, but I think you probably take some lessons learned from that first experience being in a better for you environment, better for your business. What did you take from that business into this that allows you to continue to build and be successful here?
Monica Bhatia: Obviously, a lot. Everything in life teaches you a lot. But I think as a previous founder, I really took with me first and foremost that deep conviction, that confidence and passion that, hey, I am very intentional about creating a product that works for all of us in terms of nutrition and sustainability. And that's what I'm going to do. I think pitching the company that we really help people see that I'm here for a purpose. I would say that that's the number one thing. Number two is the imagination. Helping people imagine what something can be. And then what happens is, even if not everybody latches on to the mission, a lot of people too. And that's how we start building teams. That's how I got my co-founder by really sharing my vision with him, my imagination with him. And now, he's equally a co creator of imagining what Cella can be. And last but not the least, I would say, honestly, I think bringing my reputation. I've worked in the industry for 15 years. And having that vast network, but also with a reputation allowed me to email anyone or cold call anyone I haven't spoken to in years and ask them for help. And they were willing to help me because they really believed in me. So I would say that.
Justine Reichman: That's amazing because I think reputation is a lot. I think connection as a lot. I think being able to find that co-founder is hard because it's much more fun to do it with somebody else. Yeah, more fun when you can brainstorm. And it's more fun when you have somebody else to kick ideas off of, or somebody else that can share the burden and can help when you're frustrated with somebody, with something. So where did you meet your co-founder? How did you find your co-founder? How did you know he was your co-founder?
Monica Bhatia: It's quite a story. I've known my co founder because he's been, my co founder has been an industry expert. He was previously at a company called ADM. ADM is one of the largest food companies in the world, and he was a VP there. So I met him as part of my previous company, Geltor, and we visited them. And so that's how I got to know him. So that's been like four years, and we are friends. We often used to call and share ideas about industry. And so when I started having this concept of making healthy green flowers, he's the first person I called and I said, look, everybody else will applaud me for starting a new venture. But what I really want is a true critique on whether you think this idea can work because you're an expert. And that's kind of where we started, really, connecting about Cella. So he would always text me, hey, I have a few hours here, call me. And we brainstorm. I told him that if there was a co-founder for me, that's you. And for six months, all I heard was, I'm not in the right place in my life to have that happen. So what I did is, I told him, look, even no is better if you do it intentionally. So why don't you come visit me in the Bay Area, see what we've done? And then you say no, and then you know? You'll find that peace in your heart to say that, okay, I said no, but I really thought about it. And I'm convinced of it. So he visited me with his wife, and they both decided that they were gonna do so far.
Justine Reichman: What changed his mind?
"That confidence that you project as a founder really rubs on people." -Monica Bhatia
Monica Bhatia: I think he really saw the drive in me. Like I said before, that confidence that you project as a founder, I think it really rubs on people. He saw that I was willing to leave everything. I was a VP in my previous company, I left everything to do this. I was also able to raise some funds so he knew that I had at least got it to the point where this could really become something. And then I think most importantly, especially as a co-founder, one has to see their place, their contribution in something big. I think he was able to see that very, very clearly because of our conversation. I think that worked.
Justine Reichman: Obviously. Where's he located?
Monica Bhatia: He's actually also in San Ramon with me. I told him don't do too much research, just come here, take care of, we'll be neighbors so he got convinced to do that.
Justine Reichman: Well done. You raise money, you convince your co founder to move. Where did he move from?
Monica Bhatia: He moved from Champaign, Illinois.
Justine Reichman: Oh, okay. Better weather here, if nothing else. Maybe we can get rid of the puffer. So he moved here, you guys are now full steam ahead, and when did he come on board?
Monica Bhatia: In December. So I started the company in September, he was on board, actually January. Sorry, January.
Justine Reichman: Okay. What do you see in the next three to five years?
Monica Bhatia: Yeah. We have actually a lot of product development underway. I wish this was not virtual then I could actually have you taste our bread and eat our pasta.
Justine Reichman: Love to taste your bread and eat your bread. I'm not very far away.
Monica Bhatia: We have to meet. You have to taste it and you have to tell me what you think because the effort that we're putting is really to make sure that that piece of enjoyment, that staples, that comfort of eating bread or pasta doesn't go away. But at the same time, nutritional delivery is spot on. And so I think what we have today is we have created a slew of five or six different products. Bread is our leading product, and we are launching bread next year.
Justine Reichman: I can't wait to try it. Yes. Do you have a child?
Monica Bhatia: I make sure I need to, and then back to you're able to taste it because it's good if you eat it.
Justine Reichman: The real test is you mentioned you have a child. I have two children. Have they tried the bread?
Monica Bhatia: Yes. So this is coming straight from the mouth of an early teen, I hate bread, mommy, but I like Cella bread.
Justine Reichman: That's your tagline.
Monica Bhatia: That's my tagline.
Justine Reichman: Because of an endorsement from a child that doesn't like me, I didn't eat Fred as a kid. Oh, by the way, I am eating bread now. The eventual bread and some of these other breads that I really like. But from a kid, I gotta say, your own kid who's not gonna like anything that you put out that likes your bread says a lot, I think, in my opinion,
Monica Bhatia: I think so too. Especially their girls, they almost felt they have very, very strong opinions about everything. So yeah, thank you. It's been a good journey. But to your point, what's coming in three to five years, we believe we have a strong product line that's coming up. So with bread, we are launching it ourselves. So it's a huge, huge effort. As you can imagine the next two to five years, we're going to start small, start little, maybe in Northern California or LA, but then try to move it nationwide onto the retailer shelf. So I think that's in of itself a very huge undertaking. But we're also trying to find our second lead product that we would love to launch with a partner and most likely, for example, our pasta can be out there because our pasta is incredibly good as well and more nutritious. So that's what you can expect in three to five years.
"The journey to get there is not easy, but exciting nonetheless." -Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: That sounds very exciting. I'm sure the journey to get there is not easy, but exciting nonetheless. And are you looking to go the route of direct to consumer, like online? Are you looking to go to like Good Eggs? And for the people in the Bay Area, of course, they know what a Good Eggs is. For those on the East Coast in New York, it's like going direct to fresh direct, or something where you order home delivery. I'm trying to think of examples so those listening to us that are not necessarily in the Bay Area have a little example. Online versus, how are you looking at doing this?
Monica Bhatia: We're very methodical about the approach to come to consumers. We know that 90% of consumers still buy their bread in grocery stores, so that's the ultimate destination. But we are actually going to start B2C, online, Amazon, or through our own website. And then trying to get into small retailers, for example, Berkeley Bowl or Erewhon in LA, just start spreading the word out. I think ultimately, it's got to be on the grocery shelf. But having a partnership with Good Eggs would be amazing. Or Instacart, for example, so they can also help support the mission.
Justine Reichman: And then of course, there's Pod Foods. Are you familiar with Pod Foods?
Monica Bhatia: I'm not.
Justine Reichman: Look up for Pod Foods. Just check it out, see what you think. But they work with smaller companies to try to get into retailers. So when it's appropriate, it might be a good resource. So Larissa Russell, who's the CEO and Co-Founder of Pod Foods, does a lot of really great things. They've just recently launched Pod Foods Capital to help small companies get funded. I think that's what they do. So they're helping growing companies. But what they did before that I know about is that they work with these small companies and help them get into Erewhon, all the different places so that it's a little bit of an easier thing. So basically, check them out. See what you think. She's really friendly. She's really nice. She and her partner, they're in the Bay Area in Chicago, I think, or not the Bay Area, Los Angeles in Chicago.
Monica Bhatia: That's actually a huge need that they're solving. Because it's like, what do I do next? Everything is a learning--
Justine Reichman: Exactly. So if you look up Pod Foods, you'll find them. I'm happy to make an intro if you want. It's a business to business marketplace platform connecting brands and retailers, basically.
Monica Bhatia: I will definitely check it out.
Justine Reichman: So maybe that'll be helpful for you. It's like an intelligent grocery chain. An intelligent grocery supply chain, sorry to clarify. So I think that might, when you get down the road, I think it's really, what they did was solve a really good problem for somebody that is starting off that has a smaller footprint and wants to, is not in all these places, doesn't have all those relationships and wants to be in those places.
Monica Bhatia: Yeah, definitely. That's exactly the need of the hour if you ask, what am I working on today is that's what I'm working on is, how to get to the purchaser? How to get to the buyer in those grocery stores?
Justine Reichman: Then that's perfect. We solved that problem. I'm just kidding. Well, okay. So Monica, I'm so glad that we were able to have you here. One last thing I just wanted to touch on, because this was a Future Food Tech. Tell me from the learnings at Future Food Tech, you participated in that. I know, it was about all proteins. Were there any sort of themes that came out of that for you that you want to share, or that you can share with us?
Monica Bhatia: Yeah. Like I said, I've been attending Future Food for the last few years. They were not that big the last few years so I'm really excited for the whole event. All of them really, get the event to be so popular right now. I would say and I will tell you very candidly, actually, that I think the first few years that I saw Future Food, it was all about all to meat. Every single topic seems to be about all to meat. And this year, especially also in San Francisco, which is their biggest event, and then sort of repeated the theme in New York City. I'm seeing a lot more technology verticals that are coming into that event, and I think that that's the right mix. For example, plant based dairy. I've never seen that kind of crowd of plant based dairy startups in FFT before New York City. There are so many of them that I tried and really liked. The other thing I saw was only Future Food Tech, mostly, it was about startups this year. I mean, mainly, it's still about startups. But I also saw, like ADM has a heavy footprint, or they're now. (inaudible) was actually marketing their protein milk. So the big companies are also taking note. It tells me that they've made it, and now they included startups like us, which are not doing anything related to meat, and I can be more thankful than that.
Justine Reichman: That's awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that. I know with London coming up, what are you most excited to see there?
Monica Bhatia: Yeah. I think the London one has a special team, and it's very, very nutrition focused. So they're actually inviting us to come again, and basically kind of show that angle of probiotics and prebiotic in the food. So I think the London one is going to be even more differentiated. Because while it's about sustainability, it's also about nutrition. And they actually have a very special team competition as well for startups. So I think there's gonna be a lot of different features focused mainly on nutrition, but then supported by the industry giants that I'm really excited to see.
Justine Reichman: Wonderful. Thank you, Monica, so much for joining us. If anyone wants to learn more about what you're doing or follow your journey, what's the best way to check in?
Monica Bhatia: Yep. I would say, one, go check out our website, www.cellafarms.com. But also, follow us on LinkedIn. That's where we post a lot of exciting news or products that we're going to start marketing soon. So yeah, we'd love to have you.
Justine Reichman: Okay, wonderful. Thank you again, Monica. And again, as always, please check in with us every Tuesday, like and review. Let us know what you like, let us know if there's something else you want to see with us on Essential Ingredients. We're so happy to have you here.
Monica Bhatia: Thank you for having me.
