A Transparent Food System with Colleen Kavanagh of ZEGO Foods

Written By Modern Species

The general trend towards healthier living and better information about nutrition has many layers, with one of the main tenets being an increase in transparency from food brands about the ingredients used and their sources. 

Today we are joined by Colleen Kavanagh, the CEO and Co-Founder of ZEGO Foods, to talk about how the company is enabling its customers to live healthy and fulfilling lives, and supporting achievement on multiple levels. 

Colleen shares some of her personal journey with nutrition and how this led into her career, the important shifts in the industry in recent years, how public policy fits into the picture, and the central theme of transparency at ZEGO! So, for a great check-in on the present and future of the world of health foods, be sure to listen in with and see what Colleen has to say!

Key Points From This Episode:

  • How customer action can quickly impact the industry and make a meaningful change!

  • Advice from Colleen around the legalities of going to market and a safe marketing plan.

  • Colleen's background and how her own celiac disease diagnosis led her getting into nutrition.

  • ZEGO Foods' process to becoming a B-Corporation and the processes around certification.

  • Pesticides and diseases; the research that has illuminated the dangers of what we consume.

  • The launch of ZEGO Foods and how Colleen formulated the vision for the company.

  • Concerns about safety and assurances related to allergies and ingredients lists.

  • The centrality of the testing process at ZEGO Foods and bringing these practices up to speed.

  • Information on A Better Course, Colleen's school nutrition program!

  • Thinking about the next few years at ZEGO; the two current goals of the company.

  • How local work in San Francisco deeply impacted Colleen's philosophy.

Tweetables:

“My family was not poor, but I was eating the wrong foods and I didn't know it.” — Colleen Kavanagh [0:03:03]

“Non-profits cannot win that battle. They play an important role, as detectives and reporters, but they really cannot be the change agent. I realized it really has to be the consumer. Nothing drives change faster than consumer demand.” — Colleen Kavanagh [0:05:06]

“Congress follows the trend, they don't set the trend.” — Colleen Kavanagh [0:09:09]

“Our stuff doesn't taste different; we just have the advantage that the ingredients that we use are safe for most people. And because we are using seeds instead of nuts, they are much more environmentally friendly.” — Colleen Kavanagh [0:19:06]

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Modern Species

A sustainable brand design agency helping better-for-the-world brand launch, evolve, and grow to scale their impact.

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