When you think of High-Pressure Processing, you might think guacamole, or hummus, or juices, but can you do it for a snack bar? Brenden Schaefer has spent the last three years developing a fresh-tasting fruit and vegetable bar that’s sold in retail such as Whole Foods, etc.
Brenden knows his stuff, and there’s a reason why. He worked for one of the biggest food company in the world, Pepsi! He advised the CEO Indra Noori directly making tough decisions based off of data. He took this experience and brought it to marketing emerging brands such as IZZE and ONE coconut water
With this experience in tow, Brenden started Bright Foods and has been doing super well.
Find out not only about the technology of High-pressure Processing but also about how Brenden switched from one expertise to another and how he progressed through the food industry by starting out, loving music.
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Show Notes
When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do?: I’m an entrepreneur and I started my own food company about 3 years ago.
Bright Foods is a new, organic refrigerated bar that uses High-Pressure Processing
Naked Juice
What were you doing for college?: I was a musician at first and at a difficult time in my life, I just cooked and started to develop a love for food. I spent a summer working at Berkeley California, Food PR firm. I starting loving food more than music.
After college, I bought a one way ticket to Paris to try and meet this bass player
I worked for a small food company in New York, wasn’t for me, and then someone told me to get into management consulting. I did my research and learned how to read case studies
Management consulting answers big strategic questions
After a while, it hit me I wanted to create a food company and I got in the strategic position where I gave advice to the CEO directly
How did you jump completely into different roles?: painting by numbers and going through the motion. Thinking methodically really helped me break down problems to solve solutions. What’s the best way for me to go here from there.
Propel
Naked Juice
ONE
What didn’t you know when you started Bright Foods?: The whole manufacturing side
What did having a corporate background teach you?: There’s a big difference between managing teams at a high level versus stressing about fixing a machine to get your order in soon
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Creativity Inc
How to Meditate
Tools of Titans
Vipassana Meditation
Advice to start your own food business?: Connecting with people who are qualified and well-informed and ask them how to figure it out. The more specific you are, the better
Where can we find you for advice?: @eatbrightfoods, @bhschaffer, Sometimes I post on LinkedIn.