On today’s episode we’re talking about cooking oils. Thank you Craig Shapiro for the introduction to our guest today is Jeff Nobbs, who is the founder and CEO of Zero Acre Farms. Zero Acre Farms is on a mission to remove destructive vegetable oils from the food system. Zero Acre Farms is an oil that’s instead made from fermentation.
Some of the questions I ask him:
When did you start to care about health and the science of nutrition?
You’ve started quite a few businesses before and you’ve been very successful. When did you start thinking about alternatives to vegetable oil?
What is the origin of vegetable oil?
How did you land on microorganisms and fermentation? What were other processes you were considering? Can you walk us through the process?
What’s been the challenging part on the R&D side? How do you think about your competitive advantage?
Why did you choose to raise $37 million? How were you able to raise it? What resonated with investors? What’s the most expensive part to Zero Acre Farms? Have you seen tech investors shift away from investing in CPG or only in CPG where there isn’t product innovation?
How do you approach the price point? With innovation comes a premium. How do you think about premium pricing vs. maximum impact?
There’s kind of a bifurcation within better for you products – do you value products that are better for the planet or products that are better for your body, It’s hard to create products that can fill both those requirements. How do you think about it since you’ve been an entrepreneur within health and wellness for a long time?
What were some of your lessons learned since you started a CPG brand before and a restaurant before that has impacted how you think and operate Zero Acre Farms?
What’s the company you most admire (Craig Shapiro asked this question)? How do they impact you?
What is the vision for Zero Acre Farms? What will be the most challenging to fulfill that vision?
What’s one book that has inspired you personally and one book that’s inspired you professionally?The Three-Body Problem
Think and Grow Rich
The History of the World

What’s the biggest piece of advice to founders?