The Pick List The Pick List

It's the season finale and Julia is joined by Kevin Yu, founder and CEO of SideChef, a home-cooking platform and provider of shoppable recipes.
They talk about the role of recipe inspiration as a driver of sales in grocery, making it easier for consumers to figure out what's for dinner and how recipe and meal planning habits are changing due to the cost-of-living crisis. Plus, they discuss how recipes can encourage people to waste less and adopt more sustainable food habits, the evolving role of QR codes in ecommerce packaging and lessons for grocery from the video games industry.
Articles discussed by Kevin and Julia:
How Grocers Are Managing the Large-Scale Problem of Food Waste | Progressive Grocer
I Feed My Family Of Five For $100 A Week — Here's What A Week Of Groceries & Meals Looks Like For Us | Buzzfeed
The True Value of Pairing QR Codes With E-Commerce Packaging | Inc.

Julia is joined by Vishal Patel, co-founder of Sollasa, an up-and-coming spirits brand developed specifically to go with Indian food. Vishal is also investment director at Distill Ventures.
He talks to Julia about the growth in low and no alcohol options and what's behind young people moderating their drinking, his journey with Sollasa and why he’s pursuing a food-first strategy for his brand, how to justify the price of lower-alcohol options vis-à-vis full-strength drinks - and the ongoing challenge of how to increase diversity and inclusion in the drinks industry.
Articles discussed by Vishal and Julia: 
UK low-and-no value to hit £450m | The Spirits Business
Gen Z for zero tolerance: why British youth are turning off booze | The Observer
Opening the door: how is the whisky world tackling diversity and inclusion? | Whisky Magazine
 

Julia is joined by Ronen Givon, CEO of REKKI, the mobile ordering app for chefs.
Ronen created REKKI after spending 10 years running restaurants in London (he was one of the founders of Hummus Bros), where he saw first hand how little grasp many chefs have on their food costs.
He talks to Julia about how to make independent restaurants profitable, which ingredients are trending on his platform (and what's getting harder to source), the changing cultural role of restaurants - and why 'menu engineering' shouldn't be a dirty word.
Articles discussed by Ronen and Julia: 
UK’s star chefs get creative to keep menu prices down | The Observer
Cancelled flight? Shoddy clothing? Disappointing meal? Blame skimpflation, the hidden curse of 2022 | The Guardian
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen restaurant review: ‘The Damascus chef in Soho’ | The Sunday Times

Julia is joined by Ann Perkins, founder and MD of healthy snacking brand Perkier.
Ann shares why she's passionate about moving the health debate on from calories, her take on the opportunities and challenges arising from the cost-of-living crisis and HFSS and how to navigate the dangers of greenwashing. Plus, how to use social media listening to inform the NPD process.
Articles discussed by Ann and Julia:
Last chance to give views on controversial menu calorie count plans | STV News
What is greenwashing? | Business News Daily
Why we should be using social media to inform NPD | The Grocer

Julia is joined by George Dymond, chief executive officer of Planet Organic.
They talk about George's quest to 'right-size' Planet Organic and expand its store estate, including outside London, and how he is modernising its supply chain. Plus, George reflects on how the cost-of-living crisis is likely to affect the organic sector and Planet Organic specifically, the flight to value along with a flight to quality, the importance of bringing fun to healthy eating - and why he is drawn to industry topics that are complex and don't come with easy answers.
Articles discussed by George and Julia:
How organic food can navigate the cost-of-living crisis | Food Navigator
‘Clean’ eating gets complicated by new climate research | Supply Chain Brain
The snacks putting fun back into food | FT
 
 

Julia is joined by Cashain David, founder of up-and-coming rum brand Kromanti Distillery & Blending House.
Cashain talks to Julia about why he started a rum brand after living most of his life as a teetotaler, the importance of recentering the narrative around rum, moving the category beyond tropes of pirates and parties on the beach, and the need a more diverse and authentic range of stories about its history and heritage. Plus, he shares how he approached defining his company's values - and the opportunities he sees in the low&no alcohol sector.
Articles discussed by Cashain and Julia:
Decolonizing the whitewashed world of Caribbean rum | liquor.com
Everything you need to know about company values | Inc.
UK sales of low-alcohol and no-alcohol beers almost double in 5 years | FT