Camille Hardy on Building a Tech-Savvy Food Startup from the Ground Up

2025-06-03

What does it really take to launch a perishable food brand that refuses to cut corners? In this episode of The Bites and Bytes Podcast, host Kristin Demoranville talks with Camille Hardy, founder and CEO of Chunky Vegan, about building a baby food company that blends clean ingredients, operational resilience, and cybersecurity from the ground up. Camille brings decades of experience from Disney, NBCUniversal, and Sony Pictures in enterprise IT, ...

What does it really take to launch a perishable food brand that refuses to cut corners?

In this episode of The Bites and Bytes Podcast, host Kristin Demoranville talks with Camille Hardy, founder and CEO of Chunky Vegan, about building a baby food company that blends clean ingredients, operational resilience, and cybersecurity from the ground up.

Camille brings decades of experience from Disney, NBCUniversal, and Sony Pictures in enterprise IT, but it was a simple trip to the grocery store that lit the fuse. What started as frustration over toddler food labels evolved into a mission: to build a brand that embodies transparency, safety, and smarter technology across the food supply chain.

You’ll hear:
• How Camille’s corporate IT background gave her an edge in food startup chaos
• The hidden costs (and ethical choices) of making clean food for infants
• Why packaging, yes, even the glass, matters more than you think
• Where AI is already improving forecasting, planning, and personalization
• The role of cybersecurity and data privacy in food startups, even small ones
• Real talk on sourcing, compliance, and what the future of nutrition could look like

If you work in food, agriculture, supply chain, food safety, or startup innovation, or just care about what we feed the next generation, this episode is a must-listen.

Show Notes:

BBC article “How humanity has changed the food it eats”

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Episode Key Highlights

00:05:44 – Why Camille Started Chunky Vegan
00:14:10 – The Challenges of Producing Fresh Baby Food
00:15:30 – Why They Follow UK Food Standards Over U.S.
00:22:33 – Farm Sourcing, Traceability & Food Safety Practices
00:26:48 – Even Glass Jars Need to Be Tested for Lead
00:30:24 – AI Plans for Ingredient Sourcing & Custom Meals
00:32:29 – Cybersecurity, Privacy & Encrypted Customer Data
00:36:35 – Failover Plans, Cyber Resilience & Small Biz Security
00:38:26 – Future Plans: Senior Nutrition & Store Expansion
00:43:16 – What Needs to Change in Food: Cold Chain Affordability

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🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a women-owned cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries. AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience. Their services include:

Security Resilience Advisory
Security Resilience Assessments
Security Awareness & Training
Exercise, Drill & Scenario Workshops

Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.

AnzenOT
Industrial Cyber Risk — Simple. Smart. Swift.
AnzenOT is the SaaS risk management platform built to bring clarity and control to Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity. Designed for critical infrastructure sectors, AnzenOT translates technical risk into clear, actionable insight for decision-makers.

Key features include: