The FORT Podcast: Jeff Richards

Jeff Richards is the Founder of Mooala, the fastest growing plant based milk product in the industry. They discuss Jeff’s journey from a corporate job to entrepreneurship, the highs and lows of starting a company, the trend of non dairy milk products and more.

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01:28 – How did Mooala start? 
04:48 – Aptitude Testing
06:56 – Why is dairy-free taking off faster than dairy?
09:50 – The Process of Making Almond Milk
12:55 – Is almond milk expanding internationally?
15:23 – What was the turning point for leaving an established job in finance to start a company? How were the early days?
24:43 – How do you know you’re successful when acquiring new clients and expanding to new markets beyond Texas?
31:07 – Finding a Broker
33:16 – The Process of Raising Money
36:10 – When did you start hiring more people?
39:36 – What is the process of innovating new products? Who was instrumental in building Mooala?
46:54 – What do the next five years look like?
53:40 – What conferences should newcomers to the food and beverage industry be in?
55:02 – Does it bother you that this might not be a long-lasting trend?

MORE ABOUT JEFF

When presented with a challenge, find a solution. That’s exactly what Mooala Founder and CEO Jeff Richards did. He was diagnosed with one of the most common inherited conditions in the world – lactose intolerance – and had to make the dreaded switch to dairy-free products. Just because he was among the approximately 65 percent of the human population who can’t digest lactose, however, he didn’t want to sacrifice flavor.

Richards embarked on a mission four years in the making. His goal: to craft tasty organic, plant-based beverages from real ingredients. In 2012, he began tinkering with recipes in his apartment kitchen until he knew he’d captured joy in a bottle, finding the right balance of flavor for his coffee, smoothies and cereal. Then, he wanted to share it with the world.