How I Built Resilience: Live with José Andrés

How I Built This · 30 Apr 2020 · 28m

What this episode covers

José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, explains how his nonprofit scaled to serve nearly 3 million meals daily during the pandemic by partnering with over 500 closed restaurants and local organizations to fill gaps left by underfunded NGOs. He details the operational model of leveraging existing culinary infrastructure to feed frontline workers, homeless populations, and low-income families across more than 100 cities. Andrés also advocates for legislative changes, such as the proposed 'America Eats Now' bill, to streamline USDA support for small farmers and ensure food reaches those in need without bureaucratic delay. The conversation highlights the shift from his Michelin-starred fine dining to large-scale humanitarian logistics, emphasizing adaptation and community resilience.

Mentioned

Companies
World Central Kitchen, USDA, U.S. Bank
Products
Minibar, Bazaar
Also
Visa

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 27m

    Founder Feature: Edouardo Jordan of The Food with Roots

    Edouardo Jordan, founder of Food with Roots and a two-time James Beard Award-winning chef, explains how the pandemic pivot from his Seattle restaurants to CPG led to products like his award-winning pimento cheese and Southern cornbread mixes. He discusses the strategic decision to lead with product quality rather than Black identity to appeal to a broader retail audience, detailing his distribution in Whole Foods and Pacific Northwest markets. Jordan also shares his vision for coast-to-coast expansion into California and Texas, while highlighting his nonprofit Soul of Seattle's model of paying vendors to participate in events to support youth of color.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 1h 00m

    #66 Sharing is Caring: How Alison Cayne & Haven's Kitchen share cooking confidence and industry knowledge

    Alison Cayne, Founder & CEO of Haven's Kitchen, discusses scaling her fresh, high-pressure pasteurized sauce brand from a cooking school side project to national retail presence in Whole Foods, Target, and Sprouts. She details the operational challenges of managing supply and demand mismatches, the strategic decision to use Social Nature for pandemic-era trial instead of traditional demos, and the distinct margin and velocity dynamics between natural channel and mass retailers like Target. Cayne also shares her framework for founder decision-making, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between short-term fires and long-term structural issues, and the necessity of building a strong foundation before expanding.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 41m

    #54 Stories from Inside Mondelēz International's CoLab Program with Pan's Mushroom Jerky & GoNanas

    Brigette Wolf and Jackie Haney from SnackFutures at Mondelēz International discuss the CoLab program, a 12-week accelerator for startups, while co-founders Michael Pan and Shannon Lehotsky of Pan's Mushroom Jerky and Annie Slabotsky and Morgan Lerner of GoNanas share their experiences. The founders highlight how the program provided access to consumer insights, operational mentoring from Oreo’s supply chain head, and networking that accelerated Pan's launch into Sprouts and GoNanas' retail scaling. The episode emphasizes the collaborative, non-competitive nature of the cohort, which fosters long-term relationships and community support among participants and mentors.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 40m

    Founder Feature: Jen Liao of MìLà

    Jen Liao, co-founder of MìLà, explains how the brand pivoted from a local restaurant to a nationwide direct-to-consumer frozen food business during the pandemic. She details the technical challenges of developing a frozen soup dumpling that survives shipping, the high costs of cold-chain logistics, and the strategic decision to subsidize shipping via cheap ad spend. Liao also discusses securing investment from Simu Liu, navigating the complex timeline of retail expansion into Costco and Whole Foods, and the operational shock of moving to a larger facility.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 38m

    Founder Feature: Morgan Murdock of Unbothered Foods

    Morgan Murdock, founder of Unbothered Foods, explains her transition from clinical dietitian to CPG entrepreneur, focusing on creating a low FODMAP, long-fermented sourdough cracker. She details the operational challenges of self-manufacturing a living sourdough starter named 'Olivia' and the strategic decision to partner with a co-manufacturer to scale production from 240 to 3,500 bags per day. Murdock also discusses raising $220,000 via WeFunder to support retail expansion into major chains like Whole Foods and Sprouts, while navigating the complexities of being a solo founder with a targeted mentorship network.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.