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Philip Behn

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Today's guest is Philip Behn, CEO of Imperfect Foods. In today’s episode, we cover:What is Imperfect Foods and its missionImperfect Foods’ achievements in terms of customers-served and food waste recoveredThe company’s origin storyPhilip’s journey in food and how he joined Imperfect FoodsWhat he learned during his stints at McKinsey and WalmartImperfect Foods’ value propositionThe landscape of the food waste problemHow the resources spent on food waste has compounding effectsThe artificial standards of produce “beauty” that lead to some food wasteHow Imperfect Foods’ mission is aligned with addressing climate changeWhy there’s controversy with Imperfect Foods’ businessImperfect Foods’ current and future portfolio of offeringsThe specific overlap between food waste and climate changeThe role of government in addressing climate changePhilip’s perspective on carbon offsetsLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Imperfect Foods: https://www.imperfectfoods.com/Food Recovery Network: https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/(Yale Climate Connection) “Food waste starts long before food gets to your plate”: https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/05/food-waste-has-crucial-climate-impacts/

Today's guest is Philip Behn, CEO of Imperfect Foods. In today’s episode, we cover:<ul><li>What is Imperfect Foods and its mission</li><li>Imperfect Foods’ achievements in terms of customers-served and food waste recovered</li><li>The company’s origin story</li><li>Philip’s journey in food and how he joined Imperfect Foods</li><li>What he learned during his stints at McKinsey and Walmart</li><li>Imperfect Foods’ value proposition</li><li>The landscape of the food waste problem</li><li>How the resources spent on food waste has compounding effects</li><li>The artificial standards of produce “beauty” that lead to some food waste</li><li>How Imperfect Foods’ mission is aligned with addressing climate change</li><li>Why there’s controversy with Imperfect Foods’ business</li><li>Imperfect Foods’ current and future portfolio of offerings</li><li>The specific overlap between food waste and climate change</li><li>The role of government in addressing climate change</li><li>Philip’s perspective on carbon offsets</li></ul>Links to topics discussed in this episode:<ul><li>Imperfect Foods: <a href="https://www.imperfectfoods.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.imperfectfoods.com/</a></li><li>Food Recovery Network: <a href="https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/</a></li><li>(Yale Climate Connection) “Food waste starts long before food gets to your plate”: <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/05/food-waste-has-crucial-climate-impacts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/05/food-waste-has-crucial-climate-impacts/</a></li></ul>

Ep 116: Philip Behn, CEO of Imperfect Foods

Imperfect Foods delivers fresh, delicious produce and other groceries to your door for up to 30% less than what those same groceries would cost you at a traditional store. They do it by recovering apples that are too giant, carrots that are too twisty, lentils from a surplus harvest, or olive oil with out-of-style packaging — in other words, food that would otherwise to go waste.  Philip Behn joined Imperfect Foods as CEO last year, and is carrying forward their mission to reduce food waste and deliver great value to each customer they serve. He brings a long career in food retail, along with a personal passion for serving customers.  Press play on this episode, and then go find and follow them on social media immediately — you’ll be glad you did. In addition to their excellent mission and product, their brand is exceedingly charming.  Topics by time stamp:  0:40 — Philip’s background, and what he brings to his role at Imperfect Foods. What are some practices he uses to keep his teams focused on the customer? (Including examples!) 6:30 — An agile, experimental approach within large companies: Some examples from Philip’s Walmart and consulting experience.  10:48 — What’s a digital factory? Philip and his team do what had possibly never been done before in any major retailer, and it changes culture.  16:07 — Philip previews a potential TED talk on the future of food retail, and why now is the perfect time for Imperfect Foods.  21:47 — How does a mission-driven company like Imperfect Foods keep an eye on the risk of doing more harm than good?  24:56 — Imperfect does supply chain differently: ugly foods literally don’t fit in at supermarkets.  28:30 — Traditional grocery stores: who designed the self-service grocery experience and why? Plus, the ways in which big retailers have mastered tech, and the ways in which they can’t compete.  34:00 — How Imperfect Foods customizes your shopping cart for you, and balances staples with new foods.  38:15 — Imperfect Foods as a Silicon Valley startup: What’s typical and what’s unique41:20 — Once just produce, now many other groceries: What was 2019 about, and where is Imperfect Foods headed next?  

Imperfect Foods delivers fresh, delicious produce and other groceries to your door for up to 30% less than what those same groceries would cost you at a traditional store. They do it by recovering apples that are too giant, carrots that are too twisty, lentils from a surplus harvest, or olive oil with out-of-style packaging — in other words, food that would otherwise to go waste.   Philip Behn joined Imperfect Foods as CEO last year, and is carrying forward their mission to reduce food waste and deliver great value to each customer they serve. He brings a long career in food retail, along with a personal passion for serving customers.   Press play on this episode, and then go find and follow them on social media immediately — you’ll be glad you did. In addition to their excellent mission and product, their brand is exceedingly charming.   Topics by time stamp:   0:40 — Philip’s background, and what he brings to his role at Imperfect Foods. What are some practices he uses to keep his teams focused on the customer? (Including examples!)  6:30 — An agile, experimental approach within large companies: Some examples from Philip’s Walmart and consulting experience.   10:48 — What’s a digital factory? Philip and his team do what had possibly never been done before in any major retailer, and it changes culture.   16:07 — Philip previews a potential TED talk on the future of food retail, and why now is the perfect time for Imperfect Foods.   21:47 — How does a mission-driven company like Imperfect Foods keep an eye on the risk of doing more harm than good?   24:56 — Imperfect does supply chain differently: ugly foods literally don’t fit in at supermarkets.   28:30 — Traditional grocery stores: who designed the self-service grocery experience and why? Plus, the ways in which big retailers have mastered tech, and the ways in which they can’t compete.   34:00 — How Imperfect Foods customizes your shopping cart for you, and balances staples with new foods.   38:15 — Imperfect Foods as a Silicon Valley startup: What’s typical and what’s unique 41:20 — Once just produce, now many other groceries: What was 2019 about, and where is Imperfect Foods headed next?

Imperfect Foods CEO Philip Behn