Ep. 180 - The Incredible, Edible… Pea? How Meala is Using Biotech to Render Eggs Obsolete
SHOW NOTES
If you’ve ever checked the ingredients on a baked good, you know how ubiquitous eggs are. They bind, they lift, they emulsify, they hold moisture — they’re simply the structural engineers of cookies, cakes, and muffins everywhere. But they’re also volatile: prices spike, supply chains break, and for anyone with an egg allergy or who’s avoiding eggs for animal welfare or environmental reasons, eggs aren’t exactly a welcome ingredient to find on the ingredient deck.
Enter Hadar Ekhoiz Razmovich, CEO and co-founder of Meala FoodTech, an Israeli startup that’s figured out how to make peas do what eggs and hydrocolloids do, and has consequently raised several million dollars in venture capital so far. Meala’s breakthrough lies in taking simple pea protein and using advanced biotechnology to unlock its hidden abilities — creating a single-ingredient powder that they say can whip, bind, and gel just like an egg in baked goods and alternative meat. No multi-ingredient formulations, no methylcellulose, no animal inputs — just plants doing some biochemical magic.
In this episode, Hadar shares how her background in R&D led her to tackle one of food science’s toughest challenges: replacing eggs and hydrocolloids without sacrificing texture, taste, or cost. We talk about how Meala’s technology works, what it takes to convince industrial bakeries to swap eggs for peas, and why she believes clean-label ingredients like this are the future of food.
Hadar is not just rethinking what we eat, she and her team are rebuilding the food system from scratch, one cookie, cake, and croissant at a time.
DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE
Meals is backed by The Kitchen Food Tech Hub, DSM’s venture arm, Milk & Honey Ventures, Lasenor, and EIT.
Our past episode with Milk & Honey Ventures’ Beni Nofech.
More on Meala’s egg replacer, GroundBaker, is here.
MORE ABOUT Hadar ekhoiz
Hadar Ekhoiz Razmovich brings over 12 years of leadership experience in the global food industry, with a strong focus on driving innovation and R&D across traditional food sectors. Throughout her career, she has led complex, multidisciplinary projects from early concept development to full commercial launch, consistently bridging technological capabilities with real market needs.
In 2021, she founded Meala FoodTech with a mission to transform the food industry. Under her leadership, Meala is pioneering clean-label functional protein that deliver superior texture, bite, and mouthfeel—without compromise and without undesirable additives. Her work empowers food manufacturers to create simpler, more natural, and better-tasting products, setting a new benchmark for next-generation of food.
Hadar is widely recognized for her strategic vision, deep industry insight, and ability to translate scientific innovation into scalable commercial solutions.
TRANSCRIPT
00:01.78
Paul Shapiro
Hadar, welcome to the Business for Good podcast.
00:05.49
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Hey Paul, wow, i'm super excited to be here. So thank you for having me.
00:10.84
Paul Shapiro
I am glad that you're here. I understand that you don't often do interviews. So this is a first time ah where we've actually been able to extract the wisdom that you're going to offer to the world here. So thanks so much for making the time. I'm i'm happy to be chatting with you. Let me ask you straight off the bat,
00:27.95
Paul Shapiro
You started this company. Why? Why are you doing this? You know you you are somebody who and looks to, from your background, be ah into product development. What led you to think, I don't want to do product development. I want to actually start a company and be the CEO.
00:44.23
HADAR RAZMOVICH
I think this is a ah great question. um And the answer is basically rely on it because ah having so much experience in developing products for the food industry, meeting so many projects, so many different companies trying to do real innovation, I understood that in order to make real innovation in in a huge impact in a big capacities,
01:12.16
HADAR RAZMOVICH
You can't do that with the same methods. So not all of the companies have the privilege to change production line and bring inside very, very unique technologies.
01:23.91
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We need to bring also new ingredients. So me and my partners, we felt like we need to create something new in order to bring new innovation to the food industry. We felt like There is a gap between the food that customers want to eat and the food that we are eating today. And there is a need for new ingredients that will bring clean label, high nutritional ingredients that can bring texture. Today in the food industry, most of the industry is relying for industrial products in two solutions.
01:56.94
HADAR RAZMOVICH
It's super simple. There is hydrocolloids like metal cellulose. that help food manufacturers to create the texture of the food, the shelf life and that we are getting. And the other solution is basically relying on eggs that has huge cost in the last few years.
02:15.77
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We are seeing that due to the avian flu, the prices are ranking and the supply chain is not stable. And we need to find something else. And this is why it brought us to think, why not doing that with plant-based protein?
02:29.83
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Why not to create a new texture, ah new era of texture proteins that can be relied on plant-based protein and having that experience of R&D and knowing so many needs in the food industry, we knew exactly what kind of solution we need to develop.
02:53.49
Paul Shapiro
Okay, so you mentioned two different things. You mentioned hydrocolloids, and as an example, you give methyl cellulose. For those who are not initiated, basically a lot of plant-based meat, I dare say even most plant-based meat, is held together by methyl cellulose, right? That's the binder that is keeping it. It's adding texture,
03:10.48
Paul Shapiro
And it is keeping everything together and adhering all all the pieces to adhere together. And then you mentioned that oftentimes eggs are used for this, too. And so, for example, in in a corn, Q-U-O-R-N, most of their products have as a binder egg whites, right?
03:26.63
Paul Shapiro
Or in products like Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods, they're they're using methyl cellulose. And ah you argue there's a better way to do this. And the same is is so ah for many, right? There are lots of companies that offer egg replacers right now, and they claim they are one-stop shops. So what are you doing, Hadar, that's different? Like, how are you actually making peas function, for example, like an egg white?
03:55.18
HADAR RAZMOVICH
So what we are doing at Mila that is super unique and being completely different from the rest is that we are one ingredient solution. We are not bringing a combined ingredient that will bring you to the same texture of metasolidose or eggs.
04:11.83
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We are just taking the pea protein and unlocking their potential for texture, not just the nutritional value. We looked on plant-based protein in a completely different way.
04:24.03
HADAR RAZMOVICH
When we begin the company, we scanned variety of plant-based protein, basically to create a platform because our vision was to be a company that bring texture solution for the food industry.
04:36.90
HADAR RAZMOVICH
So when we started and we look for the pea protein, for example, that this is the first product that we just commercialized to the market, we looked what we have inside and how we can make everything that's inside a protein to be functional, but at the end, it will be nutritional in the same way.
04:53.42
HADAR RAZMOVICH
So we are getting the great nutritional value of protein alongside a great texture. When I'm saying a great texture, I'm referring to augulation. Today, plant-based protein doesn't know how to do augulation.
05:07.38
HADAR RAZMOVICH
They don't all the water inside of the protein when you are eating that up, and all of the structure is destroyed. So any binding gelling that you may have in a cold temperature, you don't have in hot temperature.
05:21.81
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Alongside of that, you need metal cellulose, N-Aggs are making also gelling capabilities, emulsification, things like that, that plant-based proteins, properties are very, very poor.
05:34.83
HADAR RAZMOVICH
In order to give any kind of solution, you need to add binding system, I will call them. But at Mira, you are not doing that. We are not selling a solution. We are bringing pea proteins, simple as that.
05:47.88
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Our vision is clear. We want to create lean and clean products. um
05:55.26
Paul Shapiro
Okay.
05:55.48
HADAR RAZMOVICH
So this is what makes us different.
05:56.00
Paul Shapiro
Now, all right. So, Hedar, your patents emphasize, are your pending patents, I should say, they emphasize ah what are referred to as enzyme-mediated cross-linking and physical treatment of plant proteins to deliver functionality. So, ah for the uninitiated, we're talking here about gelation, emulsification, binding, and so on, right? So, can you just clarify...
06:19.64
Paul Shapiro
Does your production process use extrusion or high shear thermomechanical texturizing? Like what is this part of your patent protected method to take regular pea protein powder and turn it into something that acts like an egg?
06:33.25
Paul Shapiro
Like what is actually, is it going into an extruder? Is it going into some other enzymatic treatment? What what actually happens?
06:40.16
HADAR RAZMOVICH
I love the question because this is something that we are getting a lot. I think we define a new category. We define a category to talk about era of texturized protein. And until now, the only texturized protein that we knew were extruded protein.
06:59.18
HADAR RAZMOVICH
So no, we are not using extrusion. um Extrusion is something that creates that that the the flakes that that we know for alternative meat and other products that we are eating from cereals and and a lot of other food that we are eating.
07:14.92
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Our product is coming as a powder. So what we are doing, we are looking inside the protein, what we have inside of it. um Proteins are amazing. I think I can sit and talk on proteins all day um because it's whole world inside of the protein.
07:35.61
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We are looking, I think the food industry looked on plant-based protein until now just from the nutritional point of view, but it's a world of magic. And if you are looking inside of those plant-based protein, there is so many components that you can just to processes from physical processes to enzymatic process that unlock their potential. So even pea protein that doesn't know how to gel, that doesn't know almost to do nothing in terms of textural properties, suddenly can do all of those things just by unlocking those things from that protein. And again, our platform technology know how to do that, not just for pea protein, for a variety of proteins.
08:19.15
Paul Shapiro
Is the ingredient that you're creating, Hadar, a novel food? Like, obviously, pea protein is not a novel food, but you're subjecting it to what sounds like novel processes. Does that create a novel food for which you have to have regulatory approval?
08:32.08
Paul Shapiro
Or is it considered a food that is already generally recognized as safe?
08:37.83
HADAR RAZMOVICH
It's generally recognized as safe. So we are not novel food and we have an expert opinion and we made a lot of tests from safety tests to nutritional evaluations. So we are not a novel food.
08:49.91
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We are using biotechnology, but those are things that are well known. We are just looking at things from a different perspective.
08:58.77
Paul Shapiro
Okay. So let's talk about how you started the company then, because you were into product development. You were thinking that nobody is actually able to take on this major challenge that you are addressing here, which is creating a single ingredient replacement for eggs and baking.
09:14.30
Paul Shapiro
um What was the motivating factor for you? Were you thinking, yeah, this is a big challenge and I like it because I like innovation and I like the challenge. Were you motivated by some other factor to replace eggs like environmental or animal welfare concerns? Like what was actually the reason that you wanted to take this dive and start beating your head against the wall as an entrepreneur?
09:36.08
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um a combination for sure. I think from animal welfare, sustainability, building more healthy,
09:46.69
HADAR RAZMOVICH
ah
09:49.60
HADAR RAZMOVICH
better ah food system, all of those motivations brought me to the things that I'm doing today. um i think it's a huge challenge and I love huge challenges.
10:01.22
HADAR RAZMOVICH
and Looking at something that people did for dozens of years the same way and use the same ingredients and trying to rebuild a new food system is something that I'm excited about.
10:16.91
HADAR RAZMOVICH
and I'm really feeling that we are living in an era that we are actually building a food system from scratch. We are thinking like what we want to eat, how we want to consume it, what is the impact that we want that the food that we are consuming will have from a sustainable point of view, from animal benefits.
10:40.81
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We are looking on everything. And I think this is a new way to look at food. And I'm super excited to be part of it. So I don't think there is just one box to tick.
10:51.29
HADAR RAZMOVICH
I think that when you are going to the entrepreneurial world, you need to tick several boxes. And luckily, ah I have the the most excited one.
11:01.63
Paul Shapiro
Okay. And so what were the first steps that you took, right? Not everybody knows like how they would even start a company. I think that you started the company four years ago. Is that correct?
11:10.34
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Almost four, yeah.
11:11.89
Paul Shapiro
Almost four. Okay. So, ah you know, startups have very high mortality. Many don't make it to their fifth year, to their fifth anniversary. it sounds like that's likely for you. So congratulations.
11:22.84
Paul Shapiro
So tell me, what were the steps that you took, though? You went through the kitchen in Israel. What what is the kitchen, for those who don't know? And how did you go about raising money? Because you've raised millions. So how did you do it?
11:36.37
HADAR RAZMOVICH
First of all, you mentioned one of our best partners and we have several amazing ones. So we couldn't do nothing without our amazing partners and and the kitchen. And I will explain in a sec what is the kitchen and people need to know and hear about them.
11:55.09
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um But the first thing that that we did, we we are three ah co-founders, myself, and Dr. Tali Feldman Sivan, that is responsible for the business side and all of the strategy.
12:09.15
HADAR RAZMOVICH
And Niran Gruda, that it is chef, but is that is everything behind the product. He is the one that developed the first product and is an expert in innovation.
12:23.28
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um So collaborating with amazing partners, having a strong partnership, um it's if someone would need to ask me, I'm saying that this is the the most important thing.
12:36.07
HADAR RAZMOVICH
ah to have amazing co-founders with you. The next best thing is to have a great investors, to have amazing um partners that will go with you on this journey.
12:49.47
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um So we were super lucky to have the Kitchen Hub that were our first investors. so For all of you that don't know the Kitchen Hub, it's one of the biggest incubators and basically and they are have a lot to the reason why there is such an amazing food tech ecosystem in Israel.
13:10.01
HADAR RAZMOVICH
and So they build an incubator that invest in early stage company, but also building ah early stage company. So in their portfolio, you can find one of a lot of the biggest innovation that came out of Israel.
13:26.90
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um So we had them and they helped us a lot along this journey. We had Amir, Jonathan, Rit, that help us and guide us through this ecosystem. And we had a lot of experience in product development. We had a lot of experience in the food industry, but entrepreneurial world was, for me, quite new. So having so so um such a good experts is a crucial thing alongside of you that will guide you through the way.
14:01.46
HADAR RAZMOVICH
And then we collaborate with TSM Fairmanic Venture that invested in us also. So we were lucky to have such an amazing investors from the early days.
14:17.96
Paul Shapiro
Yeah, you guys have a ah great roster. So DSM, which is one of the largest companies in the space in and the kitchen. And I understand Milk and Honey Ventures or Benny Unifec is also on your cap table.
14:27.79
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Amazing, Benny.
14:28.42
Paul Shapiro
And yeah he Benny has been a guest on this show before. We'll include a link to his episode on the businessforgoodpodcast.com website. But Hadar, let us talk about just now that you know you have the money, you have the team, you have this technology, you've got your pending patents.
14:46.28
Paul Shapiro
What does the biz dev look like? Let's say I am a commercial baker, I'm using a lot of eggs in my products. What's your pitch to me? Why should I take a risk and a chance on a small startup and saying, hey, I'm going to put your pea protein into my baked goods. What's it going to do for me? What's the pitch that you make to them?
15:05.50
HADAR RAZMOVICH
It's super simple. um Today, you're taking a risk by using eggs. You're taking a risk of allergen. You are taking a risk of price that is ranking up.
15:17.75
HADAR RAZMOVICH
One day have a lower price and the next day you have a very, very high price. And the prices are just going up and up and up. um And the supply chain is unreliable.
15:30.15
HADAR RAZMOVICH
And from the other side, you have a pea protein. that you are using in low inclusion rates that have high functionality. And we can bring it to you in a price that will make you a cost reduction.
15:41.82
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We can do egg reduction that is completely seamless, and we can do egg replacements in both cases. You can save in cost more than 30%. This is the just the the product that are reduced.
15:57.01
HADAR RAZMOVICH
So think about what is happening when you are completely replacing eggs. And the most important thing that I think that is important for the food manufacturers, but above all, for their consumers, you are not compromising on anything.
16:11.09
HADAR RAZMOVICH
You won't compromise, not on the shelf life, not on the production process, and you are not going to compromise on the texture and the taste of the food that you are eating.
16:22.35
Paul Shapiro
So the main argument, if I am the commercial baker is this is going to reduce my costs. It's going to give me a more stable supply ingredient and it's going to reduce allergens in the product, right? Because obviously the commercial baker is not thinking about animal welfare or sustainability. You're saying that you can bring this to them at a cheaper price.
16:39.85
Paul Shapiro
So how are you going to scale? But if you look at other companies in this space, many of them rely on ah very expensive processes. They have to, for example, have bioreactors or extrusion equipment, which we talked about earlier.
16:56.85
Paul Shapiro
Many of them have to pay a lot of money to get regulatory approval in ah you know their geographic jurisdiction. It sounds to me like your barrier to entry is lower. Is that accurate? Like, what do you actually need? If you're thinking, how are we going to scale? Like right now you guys are at pilot scale.
17:13.66
Paul Shapiro
To get to full scale commercial production, what's needed? What type of equipment is needed? What are the barriers for you to actually being able to produce in industrial quantities for the largest baking companies?
17:26.78
HADAR RAZMOVICH
First of all, I'm happy to to say that we are already producing in tons and industrial scale. um
17:33.00
Paul Shapiro
Okay. Oh, great. Okay.
17:35.58
HADAR RAZMOVICH
This is the amazing news. And you're totally right. We build the process. So there is a lot of deep tech and biotechnology that involve here, but at the end,
17:47.48
HADAR RAZMOVICH
when you are trying to scale up, you need to make it in a way that will be scalable. That means that you are not building a huge production line and you are not putting tons of money and equipment that at the end you are just producing a very, very small amount of quantities.
18:04.33
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um Currently, we are working with CMOs. This is the way that we chose to be the right way for us to to scale. um We are working with them and we are already producing tons.
18:16.01
HADAR RAZMOVICH
This is the first thing that I think is super, super important. Until you have high quantities and you are becoming to the huge company that you will become, um you need to work with CMOs. You need to make sure that you are making a great product and you are seeing what customers acting to this product. And I have to say that they are acting amazingly. So next year, we are already aiming for hundreds of tons.
18:44.28
Paul Shapiro
Great. Okay. So first, again, for the uninitiated, CMO is just contract manufacturing organization. So you're using ah contract manufacturer to make your product as opposed to building your own factory to do it.
18:55.75
Paul Shapiro
You sound like, though, that you have a pretty novel process. Was it hard to find a CMO who was capable of producing the Mela p-protein for you?
19:07.50
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Again, coming back to a few questions later, what helped me ah to build the company to where we are today? um We brought the best team. the best team is the best R&D and science, but also the best team in terms of scaling up.
19:28.32
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um And they took the process, the lab process, and really build it in a way that will be fitted for a full industrial scale. So any adjustment that needed to done to be done, yes, there was adjustment, but they know how to do that and how, ah would say, to translate and the process and the technology to a full industrial scale.
19:52.33
Paul Shapiro
Okay. The adjustments that had to be made, were they paid by the CMO to as an incentive to get you to work with them, or did you all pay for those adjustments?
20:01.38
HADAR RAZMOVICH
I think it's a combination and this is another strong pillar that we have. We really like, if I'm looking on how Milla built, so of course is the innovation and technology and a a deep tech R&D, but also it's rely a lot on the capability to find the right people in scale, but also the business relationship that we are creating. We are always putting a huge,
20:26.88
HADAR RAZMOVICH
and effort and a huge attention on the business. So there is different ways for these contracts and adoptions to be made and we use them all.
20:38.64
Paul Shapiro
Okay. So speaking of the business, Hadar, where are those tons going? You are producing tons of the Myla P protein. Are they primarily going to folks who are using it to replace hydrocolloid like methylcellulose in a plant-based meat?
20:52.40
Paul Shapiro
Are they being used in baked goods to replace eggs? Where the tons that you're already producing at industrial scale, what happens to them?
21:01.03
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Happy to say that the demand for board market is huge. um For egg replacement, we are seeing a really big demand for reducing the cost and having a more sustainable um and reliable supply chain.
21:16.55
HADAR RAZMOVICH
But also in terms of the plant-based category, we are seeing that a lot of the customer, I don't think that there is a customer we approach to that didn't say, yes, I want to try the product immediately.
21:27.65
HADAR RAZMOVICH
ah Most of the producers currently are looking actively looking for metacelos replacement for cleaning up the labels and also making better texture for the food. So we are super active in both of their categories and working on more.
21:43.87
Paul Shapiro
ah Okay, good. or Are they being just trialed right now? Those tons that you're producing, are they being trialed are they in market? Is somebody somewhere eating your product out in the wild right now?
21:55.08
HADAR RAZMOVICH
I believe that at the beginning of 2026 you will eat our product and I will be happy to announce that. But yes, they are they're in trials, but in trials it's not just a lab trial.
22:01.44
Paul Shapiro
Okay.
22:05.43
HADAR RAZMOVICH
And I'm saying that all the time, and that it's not like having a technology that is working and showcasing that you can do that. It's not just ah good to have a nice product at the lab.
22:18.25
HADAR RAZMOVICH
You need to do that in a pilot scale. You need to test it in industrial equipment. so Those towns are going for different trials already in a ah bigger level.
22:31.13
Paul Shapiro
Okay. When you make that announcement in 2026 that you said that I will be able to eat it, is that an implication that it will be in products that are sold in the United States? They're going to be products sold in the Middle East or or Europe. where Where is your first market?
22:44.69
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Our first market kit is Europe. um We are active ah in Europe in different countries, but we are also starting our activity in the US.
22:57.20
HADAR RAZMOVICH
so
22:59.29
Paul Shapiro
Okay, great. Well, I'm looking forward to being able to say that I tried some of the Miele product here. What's it going to take for you all to succeed?
23:09.83
Paul Shapiro
My understanding is you've raised several million dollars so far. How much do you need in order for you, Hadar, for you hadar to be able to get to a place where you are are cashflow positive and you're actually running a profitable business, no longer reliant on venture capital.
23:26.54
Paul Shapiro
How much more do you need to raise and do you think you can, and how quickly do you think you get there?
23:32.36
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Next year we will launch our A round um and it will be approximately across like 12 million dollar round.
23:44.43
HADAR RAZMOVICH
This is something that we think that will bring us to profitability and the reason why is that we are developing constantly our technology, we are developing constantly our innovation, we are working all the time to see what are the next new things in the market. In the plant-based category, we are seeing a lot of veggie concepts that are developing. We are always seeking for the for the next new things.
24:08.62
HADAR RAZMOVICH
But alongside of that, we are looking for efficiency. We are looking for scaling up. We really look to build a company that can produce in high volumes. So both of those things, putting the attention on innovation, putting the attention of R&D, but also making sure that it will be profitable, um makes us be a profitable company very, very soon. It's not that far from us.
24:36.11
Paul Shapiro
Great. Well, I'm very much looking forward to seeing that. And when you are a profitable company, I look forward to having you back on and we can talk about how how you accomplish something that so few companies in the alternative protein space have been able to do. I saw that Oatly just recently announced its first cashflow positive quarter since its 2021 IPO.
24:55.27
Paul Shapiro
um And i don't know of many ah yeah I don't know of many other plant-based or alternative protein companies that have have reached a point of profitability yet.
24:55.94
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Wow.
25:04.23
Paul Shapiro
So Hopefully, Mila will be among the first. That would be really stellar.
25:09.00
HADAR RAZMOVICH
We will be, but I want to say ah that you will see more and more companies. I think we are the second generation that most of us working that way.
25:19.91
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um I'm really seeing, like, as I said, we are an era that everything is changing. um and you will see more and more exit and more and more success. I really believe in this category.
25:30.85
HADAR RAZMOVICH
i think I'm lucky to be part of it.
25:35.50
Paul Shapiro
Yeah, well, I certainly feel the same way on both in terms of belief in the category and in terms of feeling of of personal luck to be privileged enough to but to do this. um I'll say, you know, when money was free flowing, let's say when you started the company,
25:50.70
Paul Shapiro
um Actually, you were right at the tail end of when money was free flowing, it seems like if you started it nearly four years ago. so But if you were started it five or six years ago, you know money was really free flowing in this space and nobody was thinking about profitability because everybody was able to raise venture capital.
26:06.42
Paul Shapiro
um And I see that in the ah in the AI space right now. was listening to an interview with Sam Altman from OpenAI, i the maker of ChatGPT. And he noted that profit becoming profitable was not in his top 10 list of of things that he wants to do right now or things that he thinks about.
26:22.95
Paul Shapiro
And I thought, well, that sounds like plant based companies five years ago for sure. um But I hope you're right. I hope that more and more companies become profitable. And it would certainly be a rising tide that lifted all waters to see that because we haven't really seen any successful exits in the last four years in the alternative protein space, unfortunately. So hopefully we'll see that. And Mila will be one of the big ones when DSM or somebody else acquires you and and your investors make a lot there.
26:53.52
HADAR RAZMOVICH
First of all, I'm sure Milo will be part of those companies, but ah I think that working with our customers, seeing how much they care about their customer experience, what they they feel from ah a texture point of view, from the nutritional point of view, they care a lot about what their product, what their customer are feeling. um So when you have this perspective,
27:20.78
HADAR RAZMOVICH
There is no other way. You will succeed. so the customer will follow when they will see once they will see a great product um and everyone will enjoy from that.
27:31.98
Paul Shapiro
Nice. I like it. I like your confidence that it will succeed. It reminds me of the NASA slogan. So um one ah ah ah one of the listeners of the show, Brian Ottens, who works at NASA, he has a lanyard that says failure is not an option.
27:46.22
Paul Shapiro
And I always have loved that NASA slogan. And I've thought, well, you know, most startups fail, but ones that I'm involved in, it's not an option. So ah let's let's hope that ah that Brian's confidence is is contagious here.
28:01.12
Paul Shapiro
Hadar, you have spent the last four or so years running your own startup. Surely you have seen many other companies come and go during that time.
28:13.71
Paul Shapiro
Are there any companies that you wish that somebody else would start? Have you looked around and said, I'm busy doing Mila, but here's something else that the world really needs.
28:24.74
Paul Shapiro
Is there something that you think, Hadar, somebody who listening to the show should consider starting themselves?
28:30.64
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Wow, I have so many ideas. So if you are considering to open a startup, write me ah and we will sit for coffee. There is so many things to tackle in terms of the nutritional point of view.
28:44.99
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um I think women nutrition is something that is becoming burning um and we need to take care of that. um If I'm take looking on candies and what kids are eating, there is so much but space to do there.
29:00.85
HADAR RAZMOVICH
innovation and I can sit here and talk a lot but whoever wants, write me i need on LinkedIn.
29:09.98
Paul Shapiro
Okay, sounds good. And we'll include a link to your LinkedIn profile on the show notes for this episode at businessforgoodpodcast.com as well. Finally, Hadar, are there resources that have been helpful for you?
29:21.64
Paul Shapiro
This is your first time running your own startup. I'm sure that you have learned from many others. Is there anything you would recommend to somebody else who might start one of those companies in the category? If somebody is going to take your advice and say, okay I'm going to do better candy or it's better something for kids.
29:34.54
Paul Shapiro
Is there something that you think that they should check out that was useful for you?
29:39.87
HADAR RAZMOVICH
First of all, ah read a lot and read a lot about technologies. If you are interested in protein, for example, read a lot about other industries that protein can make and look like. Look for other solution or other technologies from outside of the food ecosystem.
30:02.70
HADAR RAZMOVICH
I think that can bring the biggest and awesome ideas This is the first thing. Second of all, create an ecosystem, your own ecosystem.
30:14.09
HADAR RAZMOVICH
I'm consulting a lot with other CEOs. There is so many people that already walked in my way before me. um So having their knowledge, what to expect, what it would look like, what they do and the don'ts, it's super, super important.
30:30.87
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um Listen. to people that have the experience from your investors, um from the kitchen that I listen to them a lot, the SM Ferminish, I didn't mention, Les Enord, that are also amazing partners, Penny, learn and listen to them.
30:48.57
HADAR RAZMOVICH
And of course, podcast. um I think that I'm listening to podcast any, and not just from my specific and ecosystem, but also from outside you just mentioned.
31:02.86
HADAR RAZMOVICH
ah One of them, I think listening how other people in other category made it is crucial.
31:12.20
Paul Shapiro
Okay, very good. Are there any specific podcasts aside from obviously the Business for Good? Are there others that you think have been useful that you have enjoyed?
31:22.17
HADAR RAZMOVICH
um Specific one, no um um I'm running tons of them. so
31:28.52
Paul Shapiro
Okay. Yeah. Okay. Sounds good. Well, Hadar, congratulations. I'm grateful for all that you are doing in order to help relieve some of the pressure that we're placing on chickens, especially to help get them out of our food supply chain.
31:42.10
Paul Shapiro
And I hope that you can help these bakeries use a lot fewer eggs. So congratulations on your success so far, and I will be rooting for your further success.
31:52.51
HADAR RAZMOVICH
Thank you. Thank you so much. It was pleasure.