Waves of Change: From Booming Seafood Business to Vegan Plant-Based Seafood Company with Monica Talbert

Pivot! A Vegan Business Interview Series

Full Description:

Mind Blown founders, mother-and-daughter team Shelly Van Cleve and daughter Monica Talbert, originally found success making gourmet seafood delicacies along the Chesapeake Bay. They started with a crab shack, Capt. Jack’s, which was wildly popular, leading them to create The Van Cleve Seafood Co.

The two began to see deep-seated issues with the global fishing industry right outside their front door, particularly with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices from non-domestic mega-ships. As the plant-based industry began to boom, they founded Mind Blown. Rather than alienating the seafood industry with unsustainable market solutions, Mind Blown works alongside the industry.

Together, they create solutions that help to take pressure off of edge-of-extinction fish stocks, and regenerate abundant oceans, such as their future partnership with Atlantic Sea Farms, using their kelp. Today, their lineup includes Mind Blown Coconut Shrimp, Dusted Scallops, Crab Cakes and more. The company is backed by notable investors including eight-time James Beard recipient and host of Bravo TV’s Top Chef Tom Colicchio, as well as D.C. restaurateur, founder of PLNT Burger and Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn.

Get to know Monica and Mind Blown and The Plant Based Seafood Co. better here: https://plantbasedseafoodco.com/

Quote:

If you're going through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, make sure that you let the downs go every day. Let that shit go at the end of every day and start every day new and fresh. Sounds simple, but it's very, very, very important.

–Monica Talbert

Show notes:
🌊 [00:46] Vegan seafood: brands who innovate and disrupt landscapes of industries.
🦀 [03:06] Creating a sustainable seafood brand: unacceptable practices in seafood industries and innovative new products.
▶️ [06:34] Wanting to see change in the industry and food system: the journey of creating a brand.
👉🏾 [08:42] Direct-to-consumer is a great step to test your product.
🤯 [09:32] Naming your brand can be a struggle: “My mind is blown!”
🦞 [11:49] Plant-based seafood industry has the potential to address ocean sustainability issues: making vegan seafood is not easy.
🍥 [15:25] Benefits of vegan seafood: savings, consistency, and extended shelf life.
🌞 [16:43] Most changes happen from consumer demand: balance in the market and consumer demand will take 3–5 years.
🤔 [19:34] Challenges of mass adoption of new products: inflation, a problem with repeat purchases, and education of consumers.
🔑 [24:38] The Importance of gratefulness and focusing on the positive can help in running your business.
🧘‍♀️ [28:09] Handling stress differently is crucial for business owners: lean towards your mentors for help.
🎙️ [30:07] Learning from podcasts: there are so many lessons to learn from other entrepreneurs.

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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.