The food industry changes all the time so if you have a food business, you always need to keep an eye on the horizon. On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we talk to Adrian Short, one of the founders of our podcast sponsor Ulrick & Short, about how he created a once-niche business that has bloomed into a big player in the clean-label ingredients space. Join us for this fun conversation that covers starting your own business, matching up companies by culture and what the future of meat-free meat looks like!
The food industry changes all the time so if you have a food business, you always need to keep an eye on the horizon. On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast, we talk to Adrian Short, one of the founders of our podcast sponsor Ulrick & Short, about how he created a once-niche business that has bloomed into a big player in the clean-label ingredients space. Join us for this fun conversation that covers starting your own business, matching up companies by culture and what the future of meat-free meat looks like!
Adrian tells us how he “fell into” working in the food industry and about the gamble that he and co-founder Andrew Ulrick took when they applied for a £20,000 loan to start Ulrick & Short. He walks us through the journey that the company has been on and the pivot they recently took when they formed The Ingå Group. We then broaden our discussion to hit on some of the latest projects that Ulrick & Short have been involved with, including developing meat alternatives and upcycling waste rape seed into mince. Adrian also shares details on their exciting new partnership with the 100-year-old French functional bakery ingredients company, Louis François.
This episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake podcast goes to show how varied and dynamic careers in the food industry truly are. If you enjoyed our chat with Adrian, make sure to subscribe to the podcast to get our weekly episodes delivered straight to your feed.
Timestamps
[0:46] Welcome to the podcast, Adrian! Adrian tells us how he “fell into” the food industry
[4:01] How Adrian and Andrew created Ulrick & Short
[8:08] “What worried you then is irrelevant now”: Growing a business from a £20,000 loan
[12:21] Adrian’s deal with The Ingå Group
[16:30] Empowerment, trust, happiness, equality: Ulrick & Short’s core values
[19:02] How do you maintain culture in a growing company?
[23:46] Why beans are on the menu for the future of The Ingå Group
[27:15] Meat-free meat that tastes like meat: Is it the way forward?
[33:58] Consumers don’t like to compromise
[36:05] Will there ever be a replacement for methyl cellulose? Adrian weighs in
[40:48] Unpeeling the layers of working in the food industry
[44:20] Where to go to get in touch with Adrian
Links and Resources
You can follow us here on instagram
If you would like further support with myself, Amy for food industry coaching and facilitation find me here on instagram or LinkedIn
For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn
See you next time!