Today we’re interviewing Akiko Okada, Research and Insight Specialist at SigmaXYZ. A consulting firm in Japan. Akiko is also the main point of contact for Smart Kitchen Summit Japan, a satellite conference of Michael Wolf’s conference of the same name,
Akiko gives us a short history of the innovation of Japan, in which she played a huge part of in her past life.
I think this interview also gives me perspective on what exactly is food tech. Whenever I talk about food tech, I generally gravitate to alternative proteins, but that’s not the case. Food Tech is where we apply any technology to food. Though the material is the cool part, there are tons of other sectors in Food Tech I personally have no idea about!
One of my favorite quotes from Akiko was out discussion on the first SKS conference in Japan. Apparently, it was just a small 200 person conference but they were all full of crazy, passionate, people!
You’ll also learn how SigmaXYZ works with big companies and startups to win. The startup mentioned in this is Base Foods. Check them out! I remember talking to them like 4 years back and now they’re big in Japan.
And of course, I talk to Akiko about Japanese entrepreneurship. In general, Japan doesn’t have many startups because it’s too risky, but Akiko gives me hope that, that soon might change.
When it comes to sustainability, the Japanese have a very different viewpoint on food. Basically, they don’t really care if food is sustainable, but they care about other things in food tech.
Ep. 286 - [BONUS] Crisis Meets Opportunity and Launching Sobo Foods
Ep. 285 - [Taiwan] How Restaurants and Foodtech can collaborate with Karen Chiu, Senior Brand and Business Development at Lypid
Ep. 284 -[Taiwan] A Dive into Taiwan's FoodTech Ecosystem with Evelyn Sun, Investor Manager at Foodland Ventures
Ep. 283 - [Taiwan] Insights and Lessons from a Decade in Taiwan with Mai Bach, Co-Founder of Oohchacha
Ep. 282 - [Japan] How Science Fiction Inspires Us with Yuki Hanyi, CEO of Integriculture, Founder of the Shojin Meat Project
Ep. 281 - [Japan] How to Introduce New Food to Japan with Satoshi Umino, Founder of Sustainable Foods, Asia
Ep. 279 - [South Korea] How a Diverse Ecosystem Pushes Us Forward with Jennifer Stojkovic Author of the Future of Food is Female
Ep. 278 - [South Korea] Building a Vegan Community in Korea with Helen Gi, Co-Founder of HAE Creative
Ep. 277 - [South Korea] From Chef to Food Tech Expert with Jimmy Sohn, Founder of TechnoPlus
Ep. 276 - [United States] The History of Man vs Food with Adam Richman, TV Host of Food That Built America
Ep. 275 - [Cambodia] The Dynamics of the Cambodian Beer Industry with Edwin Yang, Brewmaster and Supply Chain Manager at Vattanac Brewery
Ep. 274 - [United States] Big is Not Bad But Its Fragile with Chloe Sorvino, Author of Raw Deal
Ep. 273 - [United States] Authenticity is the New Marketing with Jake Karls, Chief Rainmaker at Mid-Day Squares
Ep. 272 - [Malaysia] Celebrating Native Indigenous Food and Durian with Daniel Teoh, Founder of Native Discovery
Ep. 271 - [Malaysia] How International Franchise Research and Development Works with Adwin Koh Hsien Win, Head of Food Innovation Technology at Pizza Hut
Ep. 270 - [Malaysia] The Difference Between American and Malaysian Food Companies with Alyssa Eng, Innovation and Improvement Executive at Qra
Ep. 269 - [Malaysia] The Struggling Reputation of Malaysian Food with Grace Huei Tan, Business Development at Oatside
Ep. 268 - [Malaysia] An Overview of the Malaysian Food Industry with Sew Chang Chew, Head of R&D of Hybrid Allied Dairy
Ep. 267 - [Singapore] Serving Mushrooms in Indonesia with Widya Putra, CEO and co-founder of Meatless Kingdom
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Reaching your Goals
Insights@work
The Ken Coleman Show
Business Dad
David Goggins Motivational Speech