Tomorrow's Bites with Andrés and Sjacco

What do you build when your country collapses, and doing nothing isn’t an option?In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we sit down with Rudolph Elias, founder of Agreen and 2XPND, to unpack one of the most intense and unconventional food entrepreneurship journeys we’ve ever recorded.When Lebanese farmers were throwing apples onto the streets because they couldn’t sell them, Rudolph started building an ecosystem. What followed was the launch of more than 300 organic products, spanning fruits, dairy, honey, olive oil, ready meals, and eventually a breakthrough cheese-snack technology that could reinvent how we think about protein, food waste, and shelf life.This conversation goes far beyond product innovation.We explore:Why farmers are paid cents while consumers pay premium pricesHow Lebanon’s crisis exposed the fragility of global food systemsWhy Rudolph believes organic only works if markets are guaranteedHow a cheese snack can replace junk food, whey protein, and popcornWhy taxing “poison” might be the fastest way to fix agricultureWhat it really means to build impact when institutions failAnd much more..👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠📸 ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠🌎 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠😊 The Guest: ⁠⁠⁠Rudolph EliasLook into the company: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Agreen & 2XPND

What happens when the trends disappear?Tim Dekens, founder of The Change Starts, shares how his brand went from riding the peak of the plant-based wave to rebuilding its identity beyond labels. In the early days, bold content featuring elite plant-based athletes gave the brand rapid traction. But when public interest shifted, the message no longer landed.That’s when the real work began. Tim explains how they reframed the brand’s purpose, focused on performance and small shifts, and built trust with athletes (plant-based or not).It’s a story about letting go of hype to find a more honest and lasting impact.In just 8 minutes, we explore what founders can learn when trends lose their power.Listen to the whole conversation with Tim here

Sergey Shevelev, founder and tea culture ambassador behind Moychay International, who built tea houses across Europe after years sourcing tea in China. He tells stories of sourcing wild and ancient teas, learning Chinese to build trust with farmers, rebuilding his life after war, and turning ritual tea into a social alternative to alcohol and quick convenience rituals.

What actually changes when you spend a full year talking to the people trying to fix the food system?In this New Year’s special episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, Andres and Sjacco sit down for their final conversation of the year to reflect, honestly and openly, on what 12 months of deep conversations with founders, farmers, scientists, and system-changers have taught them.This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a distillation.Drawing from more than 30 long-form conversations, they each bring six lessons—twelve in total—that challenged their assumptions, reshaped their thinking, and revealed uncomfortable truths about food, startups, sustainability, and human behavior.They unpack questions like:Why solving food problems is more about systems than productsWhy regenerative agriculture might be the least risky optionWhy startups are pushed to scale in ways food never canWhy there is no such thing as a “perfect diet”Why adding value at origin may be the only future for farmersAnd why mission-driven founders must learn to say no, to survive.Listen now to start the new year with clarity, perspective, and hard-earned lessons from the frontlines of agri-food.If you’ve been part of this journey, thank you. And if you’re building what comes next, this episode is for you.🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW We know that hour-long conversations might be too long, so we have distilled a lesson from each conversation in 2025 and compiled them into an e-book for you. Download the e-book with 32 unique lessons here.👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠

What if the biggest risk for your startup isn’t product, funding, or scaling, but talking about the wrong thing?In this Build in Public episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we zoom in on one of the most uncomfortable (and crucial) questions founders avoid for too long:Are people actually waiting for what you’re building?To unpack this, we bring in Elise Bijkerk, a marketing and food transition expert with years of corporate and global experience, to sit down with Andres Jara, co-founder of Favamole. Together with Sjacco & Andrés, they dissect Favamole’s value proposition live, no pitch decks, no filters, no safe answers.This is not a branding theory episode. It’s a real-time founder intervention.We explore:Why marketing is not the final step, but the starting pointThe danger of trying to be “everything” and ending up as “nothing”Why purpose alone doesn’t make people change their behaviorHow emotional needs often matter more than functional benefitsWhat Andres will actually change in the next month as a founderIf you’re building a food startup, impact brand, or mission-driven product, and you’ve ever struggled to explain why someone should care, this episode will hit close to home.And if you want to know more around marketing, here is the episode with Elise Bijkerk itself. 🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform – even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show! 👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠

What if the real food crisis isn’t calories, but diversity?In just the last century, we’ve lost 75% of global crop diversity, and today 90% of our food comes from just 15 plants. The rest? Slowly disappearing from fields, diets, and cultures.In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we sit down with Kamogelo Thumankwe, founder of Tsarona, an African superfood brand with a mission that goes far beyond nutrition. Born and raised in Botswana, Kamogelo shares how her personal roots, climate justice work, and lived experience led her to build a business that fights biodiversity loss, empowers smallholder farmers, and challenges the global food system’s obsession with trends and monocultures.We explore:Why indigenous crops like Bambara groundnuts and tiger nuts could be key to regenerative food systemsHow European consumer choices directly shape what farmers grow in the Global SouthWhy Tsarona is not trying to create the next “superfood hype”The tension between scaling a startup and staying true to your valuesWhat it means to build a food brand rooted in identity, culture, and justiceAnd much more...👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠📸 ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠🌎 ⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠😊 The Guest: ⁠⁠Kamogelo ThumkaweLook into the company: ⁠⁠⁠Tsarona

Vanilla is one of the most complex and labor-intensive crops on the planet.Each flower is pollinated by hand. Each pod takes months to cure. And for decades, Madagascar has dominated the market.But what if the best vanilla of tomorrow comes from somewhere else?In this short episode, we talk with Godfrey Kiwumulo, founder of Vanilla Point in Uganda, about why his country might be the next global hotspot for high-quality vanilla.We discuss:→ Why Uganda’s climate gives it an edge.→ How regenerative farming supports better flavor and soil health.→ The hidden labor and value behind a kilo of vanilla.In just 10 minutes, we challenge the story behind every spoonful of vanilla, and explore a new one growing in East Africa.

What if the real battle for our food future isn’t in the fields, but in the market system itself?In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, we sit down with Dr. Caspar Krampe, Assistant Professor at Wageningen University and co-founder of VGreens, to unpack the hidden dynamics shaping today’s agrifood industry. From the struggle between big corporations and startups, Caspar reveals why change in food systems is so complex, and why both Goliaths and Davids need each other more than they think.We explore:Why markets act more like ecosystems than machinesThe invisible power structures that keep small innovators from scaling and the enablers out there. How Corporations blocks disruption, and how startups can outsmart themWhy “technology” can be both an enabler and a weapon in food transitionsHow to turn market competition into true collaboration for sustainabilityThe Growth Journey of Caspar’s Own Startup VgreensAnd much more…🙏 LEAVE A REVIEW If you like our podcast please leave us a review on your favourite platform – even one sentence helps! Thank you for your support; it helps the show a lot and it helps others to discover the show! 👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠Linkedin⁠📸 ⁠Instagram⁠🌎 ⁠⁠Website⁠

Many purpose-driven food brands are rich in values, but struggle to connect with customers.In this episode, Roos Roelofs, founder of OlvLimits and regenerative olive farmer, shares how she had to shift her communication approach.At first, she focused on scientific facts and sustainability data. But she quickly realized: data doesn’t sell olive oil. Emotions do.Now, Roos leads with storytelling.In this 10-minute segment from our original conversation, we talk about:Why logic isn’t enough to win heartsThe power of emotional connection in food brandingHow purpose-led founders can find their voiceA must-listen for any founder who wants to make people feel their mission and not just understand it.In 10 minutes, this might change how you speak to your audience.

What if you spent 38 years developing pesticides, only to later realize the industry never told you the full story?That’s exactly what happened to Herb Young, a retired plant pathologist who spent nearly four decades in industrial agriculture before discovering the science Big Ag had ignored all along: soil health, microbes, and nutrient density.In this episode of Tomorrow’s Bites, Herb shares his eye-opening journey from the chemical labs of Big Ag to running his own regenerative citrus farm in Florida. He explains how understanding soil life transformed not only his farm but also his beliefs about food, farming, and health.You will find in this episode:Why the term “regenerative” was never once mentioned in his 38-year careerHow industrial farming practices quietly destroyed soil healthThe shocking difference in nutrient density between regenerative and conventional fruitHow microbes (not fertilizers) build flavor, resilience, and nutritionWhat happens when a lifelong scientist applies research rigor to regenerationAnd much more...👋 GET IN TOUCH WITH US👥 ⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠📸 ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠🌎 ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠😊 The Guest: ⁠Herb YoungLook into the company ⁠⁠Squeeze Citrus LLC