Food Service Insights with the Chief of Stuff with Alice Wistar Head of Growth and Strategy at Palate Insights

Adam sits down with Alice Wistar, Head of Growth & Strategy at Palate Insights, for a chat about her career, her role as Chief of Staff for startups, and some insights on food service. Alice shares how she accidentally fell into her dream career from pivoting from med school ambitions to vegan gastronomy in Peru, to a crash-course MBA at Black Sheep Foods during the plant-based boom.

They unpack what a Chief of Staff actually does inside a fast-moving startup, why plant-based lamb was both a triumph and a branding trap, the maddening truth behind food-service distribution, and how real-world sensory testing is shifting away from sterile lab rooms and into restaurants and grocery aisles.

Alice also breaks down the rise of “balanced proteins,” the data chefs are giving her team, and why taste, trust, and supply chain reliability matter more than anyone wants to admit.

If you’re obsessed with food innovation, startup chaos, consumer behavior, or just love a good origin story, this episode delivers.

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