Ep. 028 – Expert Part-Time Food Blogging with Jessica Gavin, Sr. Research Scientist from Nutrilite

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Today we have an amazingly bubbly guest. Jessica Gavin is a Sr. Research Scientist for Nutrilite, which is a division of Amway. She’s been there for about 9 years which I find absolutely amazing.

What’s also super cool is that Jessica has her own food blog at jessicagavin.com which has amazing pictures and recipes. Her blog is one of the most professional food blogs I’ve seen as someone who is a food scientist.

More importantly, Jessica has decided to showcase a scholarship for aspiring food scientists and this is the first thing on our show notes. We definently encourage any student listening to apply.

Keeping this short, because this interview is jam packed with great information just about how to be a good product developer, communicator, and mother.

Note: Though Jessica and I work for direct sales companies, we cannot sell our own products! However, I hope through our conversation, you can tell they treat us quite well.

About Jessica Gavin

Jessica Gavin, CFS, CCS is a Senior Research Scientist specializing in Nutrition based food, beverage, and supplement formulation for the Nutrilite Health Institute, a division of Amway. She earned her Bachelors and Master’s degrees in Food Science and Agriculture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where her work was published in the Dairy Science and Technology Journal, Le Lait. Jessica’s passion for food led her to pursue an additional Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts at The Art Institute of Orange County. Her collective education has enabled her to infuse her experience in nutrition, food and culinary science to develop healthy product innovations. She specializes in children’s supplements, multi vitamin and mineral solid dose delivery forms, beverages, probiotics and fiber formulation. Jessica is a Food Communications advocate as part of the Institute of Food Technologists program. Outside of her career, Jessica enjoys sharing her love for culinary science on her food blog. You can find her recipe creations and science tips at www.jessicagavin.com.

Key Takeaways

– Why Jessica stayed in her company for 9 years
– How to use a culinary mindset in a product development aspect
– Why Nutrilite grows their own Botanicals
– Jessica’s blogging skills and why she did it, and what she does (around 42:00 minutes in)
– Why Jessica wants to give you money

What We Talk About

Nutrilite- Amway
Botanicals
Flintstones Vitamins
Probiotics
Direct Sales
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Taryn Yee
The Most Important Skills in your job: Learning to build trust
Every failure is an opportunity to learn
Stages (pronounced: Stauge)- volunteering at a restaurant
Culinary Science
Ali Bouzari
What’s your dream job: Culin-neer? Own company
What do you look for in a job?: Your company values you
Most exciting food technologies: Clean Label, Gluten-free, GMO-free what you don’t put in
Soybeans
Pea Protein
Supply Side West
What’s the biggest problem the food industry has to face?: Pseudoscience and communication
Uber communication
Millennials
What’s your beat?
Who inspired you to get into food?: Jessica’s Grandfathers (crazy story)
Favorite thing you like to cook: Home made dumplings
Butternut squash macaroni and cheese
Tofu
Favorite Quote: Wayne Gretski: Miss 100% shots you don’t take
Favorite Book: Science of Good Cooking
Favorite Kitchen Utensil: Spiralizer
What would you eat for a month?: Croissants
French Polynesia
Advice for the Food Industry: What is your Passion? What energizes you?
Advice for your freshman self: Study abroad or take interational lessons
Take internship opportunities
Cargill
Slaughterhouse in Texas
Jessica Gavin’s Blog
Reddit
Consistency is key
Income Report
Trolls
Scholarship