On this episode of The Spoon podcast, catches up with with longtime food tech innovator and friend of The Spoon Scott Heimendinger about the hidden challenges of U.S. manufacturing, the future of kitchen robotics, and why tooling expertise has all but disappeared in America.
Scott shares insights from his stealth startup Seattle Ultrasonics and his experience navigating domestic vs. overseas prototyping. The two also explore whether a new wave of robot-ready kitchen appliances is coming, what makes Thermomix a surprise hardware juggernaut, and how AI is powering everything from sous vide to smart food storage.
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48:56
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48:56
Leading a Better for You Brand in 2025 With Zevia's Amy Taylor
In this episode, Michael Wolf chats with Zevia CEO Amy Taylor about her journey from helping to shape Red Bull into a cultural force to leading Zevia, a mission-driven brand making zero-sugar, clean-label sodas. They explore Zevia's evolution as one of the better-for-you sodas, its strategy for staying relevant in a competitive beverage market, and its commitment to affordability and authenticity. Amy also shares insights on emerging health trends, ingredient transparency, and how Zevia leverages AI and innovation to build trust and scale impact.
Amy will be at our virtual event Smart Kitchen Summit in July. Make sure to get a ticket at www.smartkitchensummit.com and use the discount code PODCAST for 15% off tickets.
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38:31
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38:31
Live From ReFED 2025: Leanpath's Andrew Shakman on Food Waste's Second Act
We were live this week at ReFED's Food Waste Solutions Summit in Seattle. We had an interview stage on the show floor, where we caught up with a number of great folks to hear their thoughts on innovation in food waste and beyond.
This conversation is with Andrew Shakman, the CEO of Leanpath. You can read my article about this conversation at The Spoon.
You'll also want to check out Eva Goulbourne's conversations with folks from the ReFED conference over on her podcast, Everything But The Carbon Sink.
Finally, make sure to check out The Smart Kitchen Summit, our virtulal event in July where we'll talk to leaders across the food system about the state of food tech and much more! Use discount code PODCAST for 15% off tickets.
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12:23
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12:23
Building a Home Cold Brew Coffee System with Mesh Gelman
In this episode we sit down with Mesh Gelman, the founder and CEO of Cumulus Coffee, to talk about reinventing the cold brew experience. A former Starbucks innovation executive, Gelman shares how his journey from coffee burnout to cold brew evangelist led him to build a sleek countertop system that delivers barista-quality nitro cold brew and cold espresso in under 60 seconds, without the need for nitrogen tanks. The two dive into the challenges of building a hardware startup, the evolution of consumer coffee habits, why cold is the future, and how Cumulus is positioning itself as both a coffee company and a tech innovator.
Check out our upcoming virtual event, Smart Kitchen Summit 2025 at www.smartkitchensummit.com. Podcast listeners can use the discount SPOONPOD for 20% off of tickets.
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37:15
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37:15
Leaving an Iconic Restaurant & Reimagining a Career With Brian Canlis
This episode's guest is Brian Canlis, a third-generation co-owner of the famed Canlis restaurant in Seattle. Brian's last day at Canlis was last week as he looks to launch a new adventure with his college roommate Will Guidara, owner of Eleven Madison Park and author of Unreasonable Hospitality.
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