Ep. 133 – How to Set Up For Product Development Success with Siddharth Bhide, Food Scientist at JUST Inc

I happened to be in San Francisco and met up with Siddharth at the JUST office. After an amazing tour of the place, we sat down in one of their rooms and I busted out my new equipment, a sound box where I could improve the audio quality of mics

If you’re interested in product development or want some skills to improve, I’d listen to this interview as we pour out our strategies and frustrations on scaling up. You’ll also learn some interesting tips on how to improve your own R and D process.

A note, the audio might sound a bit off, and I apologize. New technology is tricky, but we’ll nail it.

About Siddharth

Siddharth Bhide is a R&D Food Scientist since 2015 at Just Inc. (previously named Hampton Creek). He earned his undergraduate degree in Food Technology and Processing at Osmania University, and continued his graduate education at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he earned a Masters in Food Science. Before coming to San Francisco, he interned at Nestle India, General Mills USA, and Rutgers Food Innovation Center working in the domains of Food Research & Development and Food Safety and Quality Management. Currently as a R&D Food Scientist at Just Inc., he is part of the team working on their newest product, Just Egg. Just Egg tastes and scrambles like an egg, is free of antibiotics and cholesterol, and it requires less water and carbon emission to produce.

JUST, initially called Hampton Creek, started in 2011 with the goal of developing a new food system that is fair, honest and just in every community. They are tasting and trying plants that have never been explored in how to make our food better, tastier and healthier, while taking care of the environment by producing food that are created with less water and less carbon .

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Shownotes

A quick story about my experience with Hampton Creek, or JUST shownotes:

http://letters.eatjust.com/dear-23-year-old

https://myfoodjobrocks.com/?attachment_id=2529

Shownotes on Siddharth Bhide

When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you say?: I differentiate between nutrition and food science and research chefs
JUST name change
What do you do at JUST?: I do a lot, mainly scale up and commercializing products
When did you start working for JUST?: I started in November 2015.
What is the most exciting thing about your job?: Learning about all of these plant proteins
How do you test all of these plant proteins?: We have a sourcing team, an isolation team, and then it goes to the application team
What kind of misconceptions would you like to dispel today?: Asking a food scientist if they’re good at cooking is like asking an electrical engineer to fix your computer
How did you find out about food science?: I always learned about food in my family. When it was time to choose my major, food science popped out as an option. I worked in India in the Nespresso line, then got my masters in Rutgers. I worked in General Mills and then the Rutgers Innovation Center
How did you get into JUST?: Look for people who care about the mission. It’s also nice to work with very similar products
What is the most important skill you need in your job?: Being inquisitive and thinking outside of the box because of this all new development. Critical Thinking is also very important
How do you acquire knowledge on plant-based innovation?: I follow the news
Good Food Institute
Institute of Food Technologist
Google Scholar with any keywords based on clean plant-based proteins, etc
Saskatoon, Canada
My Food Job Rocks: I get to work with a basic necessity that can impact lives
Favorite JUST product: Cookie Dough
What would be your dream job title?: I actually don’t know. I’m just trying to explore
Is it ok to not know where you’re going?: Yes, but you should try different things
What do you look for at the job?: I need to be challenged and always learning
What department interests you the most?: Scaling up is what I find the most interesting because we don’t learn it in college
Lumeng Jin – Sensory Scientist
Do you recommend product development competitions?: Yes, you realize you need to solve a problem. You also learn a lot of nuances. It’s better to use this experience for a job interview
Siddharth did Developing Solutions for Developing Countries
Product Development competitions ask you how to ask for help
The biggest issue is learning about scale up, especially from a  copacker
What is your favorite trend and technology?: Clean meat and plant-based meat. Also, high-pressure processing
Holly Guacamole
How do you feel about clean meat?: I think it’s the future. The media is expensive, but we hope our plant based database can help us pinpoint the right nutrient broth
Fetal Bovine Serum
R and D presentations
JUST has 6 divisions and share information all the time
The biggest challenge the food industry has to face: The population is rising and we need to feed them. Mea production is detrimental to the environment.
Gustav Y-combinator podcast interview Zengineer podcast
Who inspired you to get into food?: My parents. Nestle manager. Dr. Don Schaffner was actually my adviser (he was in My Food Job Rocks)
Favorite Quote: Mahatma Gandi: be the change you want to see
Favorite Foods: A spice, a friend of mine packages it in turmeric foods
Turmeric needs to be solubilized in oil for it to take in effect.
Any advice for anyone in the food industry?: Go for it, be inquisitive. Anyone can join the food industry
What would you tell someone on the first day in their job?: Don’t be too fixated by the problem. You have to think of the bigger picture and some solutions don’t have to be perfect