Reducing Food Waste: Christina Dorr Drake Of Willa’s Oat Milk On How They Are Helping To Eliminate Food Waste
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Don’t compare yourself to others. You’ll never feel like you’re moving fast enough, and just about every other entrepreneur feels that way too.
It has been estimated that each year, more than 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States. That equates to more than $160 billion worth of food thrown away each year. At the same time, in many parts of the United States, there is a crisis caused by people having limited access to healthy & affordable food options. The waste of food is not only a waste of money and bad for the environment, but it is also making vulnerable populations even more vulnerable.
Authority Magazine started a new series called “How Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Supermarkets, Hospitality Companies and Food Companies Are Helping To Eliminate Food Waste.” In this interview series, we are talking to leaders and principals of Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Supermarkets, Hospitality Companies, Food Companies, and any business or nonprofit that is helping to eliminate food waste, about the initiatives they are taking to eliminate or reduce food waste.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Christina Dorr Drake.
Christina Dorr Drake is the CEO and a Co-Founder of Willa’s Organic Oat Milk, which has a simple mission: to create a plant-based milk that tastes as good as it is for people and the planet. Christina and her co-founders were shocked to discover that there is a great deal of food waste in the making of plant-based milk, and food waste is a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My background is in marketing, innovation strategy, and brand development on the agency side. From the beginning, I wanted to create a company that is fully committed to having a net positive impact on the health of people and the planet.
Prior to starting Willa’s I was leading strategy for Panera when Panera was removing artificial ingredients and preservatives from their menu items. I was shocked to discover that some of the ingredients in the plant-based milks in my refrigerator were the same ingredients fast food restaurants were taking out of their menu items.
My mother’s background is in elementary education, but she is also a phenomenal cook and baker, and has taken our Grandmother Willa’s original oat milk recipe, and turned it into the products we sell today. Willa’s Chief Product Officer, Co-Founder, and my sister, Elena, is a chemical engineer with an MBA who has spent her career trying to improve the food system from the inside out. My husband, Russell Drake, who leads sales, had a background in entrepreneurship and was a Master Trainer in Sales and Leadership for Dale Carnegie.
Together, we share a motivation to transform our broken food system and to create a company whose actions and decisions live up to its values. The further we went down this entrepreneurial path, the more we realized we aspired to change the plant-based milk category. While it is well documented that other brands discard 20–30% of the oat, namely the healthiest parts, Willa’s uses the whole entire oat.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company or organization?
Willa’s story is one of resilience. In January of 2020, I was blindsided by a breast cancer diagnosis at 36 years old while we were just getting ready to launch Willa’s. I had always been a health nut and had no family history. I worked full time through 5 and half months of chemotherapy, followed by a lumpectomy/lymph node surgery and radiation treatment in the midst of the pandemic.
During this time, our whole business plan was turned upside down as well. We were meant to launch in offices, coworking spaces and coffee shops in April of 2020. When the pandemic hit, we had to put aside the plan we had been working on for the past year, and shift our strategy to e-commerce and Amazon.
Getting through these enormous challenges as a team has given us so much more confidence. There will always be challenges and problems to solve, but as you get further and gain more traction, these past experiences remind you that you have gotten through tough times that felt insurmountable before and you will get through whatever comes your way next.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
We thought that within a year or two we’d all have excellent work-life balance because we were calling our own shots as business owners, only to find four years later that we’re still working 7 days a week!
The lesson here is to remind yourself that you get to decide how you spend your time and structure your day. For me, it’s about constantly reevaluating my priorities, and saying no to anything that isn’t a priority. Before the start of each week, I also try to book time on my calendar with friends and lunchtime workouts.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
I love Brene Brown’s definition of leadership: “A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and has the courage to develop that potential. Leadership is not about titles or the corner office. It’s about the willingness to step up, put yourself out there, and lean into courage.”
Most of the people on our Willa’s team are experts in areas I am not. They have skills I do not possess like supply chain management, beverage formulation and manufacturing. While I come from a marketing and strategy innovation background, our marketing interns can create far more engaging content, and understand Tik Tok on a level I never will!
As a leader my goal is to ensure Willa’s lives up to our values and our Grandmother Willa’s name. That requires ensuring our values, beliefs and vision and goals are communicated clearly, and understood so that everyone is aligned and empowered to work collaboratively forward. By Using all of their unique skills and knowledge to ensure Willa’s lives up to its mission, we can create an oat milk that tastes good for people and the planet.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My parents and grandparents, including my Grandmother Willa, encouraged us to “learn from other peoples’ mistakes”. We, of course, have to acknowledge that you often have to make your own mistakes to find your own path.
However, when it comes to starting your own business, especially a food or beverage business, there are landmines at every turn and the barriers to entry are high. Whether it’s saying ‘yes’ to a large retailer before you’re ready, or not knowing what to look for in a contract, not knowing where those potential landmines are can be catastrophic.
In the early days of Willa’s, we started by reaching out to every business owner and entrepreneur we knew and asking them “what are the pitfalls to avoid?” and “who else do you think we should meet with?”
We could not have gotten this far or created such a strong foundation for Willa’s without the advice and guidance of fellow entrepreneurs. The founder community, in my experience, is made up of some of the most supportive and generous people I have ever met. They are beyond busy, but take out the time to share what they’ve learned along the way in the hopes it helps someone else avoid the same mistakes, and equally capitalize on opportunities that come along.
Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition of terms so that all of us are on the same page. What exactly are we talking about when we refer to food waste?
At Willa’s, we refer to ReFED’s definition of food waste. ReFED is a national non-profit dedicated to ending food waste and they define food waste as:
“Uneaten food and inedible parts that end up being landfilled, incinerated, disposed of down the sewer, dumped, or spread onto land”. It’s a subset of “surplus food” — which ReFED defines as all food that goes unsold or unused by a business or that goes uneaten at home — including food and inedible parts (e.g., peels, pits, bones) that are donated, fed to animals, repurposed to produce other products, composted, or anaerobically digested.”
“Some surplus food is inevitable, but the goal of food waste reduction efforts is not only to get food out of landfills. It’s also to make sure food is going to its “highest and best use” and that is, being eaten by people. This can be seen in guidance provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in its Food Recovery Hierarchy. Essentially, all of the resources required to produce, transport, store, and sell a truckload of strawberries have been better used when those strawberries are consumed by people rather than, for example, added to soil as compost — or worse, disposed of as waste.”
It’s clear that food waste isn’t good for society, and it’s important to acknowledge that in the US, 10.5 % of people are food insecure. What is often less obvious is that food waste is also bad for the planet. According to the United Nations, if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest contributor to global warming in the world after the U.S and China. In the U.S alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions too.
Can you help articulate a few of the main causes of food waste?
- People often think of food waste solely through the lens of the garbage bin in their kitchens, but according to ReFED, “nearly 90% of surplus in food processing is byproduct — the peels, stems, bones, and other parts not used in the main product — and production line waste. Many of these trimmings, such as potato peels from french fry lines, are still edible.”
- In the case of oat milk, it is well documented other brands discard 20–30% of the oat raw material, and that oat material ends up in landfills where it creates methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas 28 to 36 times more potent than the carbon that comes out of passenger vehicles. Food waste is the number one material in America’s landfills, accounting for 24.1 percent of all municipal solid waste (MSW).
- Sometimes this wasted oat material is sold as feed for livestock. However, that also requires resources and shipping that have a negative environmental impact. It also means that people are missing out on the healthiest parts of the oat with the most prebiotic fiber and protein.
What are a few of the obstacles that companies and organizations face when it comes to distributing extra or excess food? What can be done to overcome those barriers?
At Willa’s, we don’t make decisions solely based on profit. Redesigning the way oat milk is made and using the whole oat was neither the easiest or cheapest way to start our business. Had we made decisions based entirely on the bottom line, we would have gone with the same process other brands use. However, we knew finding a more honest and wholesome process was the only way to live up to our values and our Grandmother Willa’s name.
The food system generates about 35% of total global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, and these complex problems have created new opportunities for small brands to come up with new solutions and shift the status quo.
I haven’t seen many other brands using whole ingredients the way Willa’s is to avoid food waste entirely, but I hope many will follow! What I have been seeing, though, and have been inspired by are the new brands upcycling surplus ingredients and turning them into delicious food and beverages, including Rind, Seconds Crackers, Pulp Pantry, Renewal Mill and Spare Food Co.
By supporting and purchasing zero waste and upcycled brands, we can draw more attention to those who are leading change in the food industry and continue to fuel innovation in the food system.
Can you describe a few of the ways that you or your organization are helping to reduce food waste?
The number one way is by using the whole entire oat in Willa’s Oat Milk! Willa’s has also raised the issue of food waste and created greater awareness of it through communicating our own belief in using the whole entire oat and furthering the idea that nothing good should be wasted. Purchasing Willa’s and supporting upcycled brands means helping to fight and reverse climate change. Similar to the idea of voting with your dollars, you can shop for groceries that help create change.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help address the root of this problem?
Most food waste happens before it hits grocery store shelves. The first thing is becoming more aware of food waste, not just at home but in the food system at the point at which food products are made. Second, incentivize companies to avoid food waste before it hits grocery shelves or consumers’ kitchen tables. And third of all, create more composting programs that make it easy for people to participate.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
1. There are no dress rehearsals in life. This is it.
My experience with breast cancer changed my perspective in many ways and has continued since being cancer free. What it affirmed for me is that I want to have a positive impact on this planet and the people around me. For me, this has meant frequently evaluating and reevaluating how I’m spending my time.
I spent about a year pondering whether to start Willa’s before I actually had the guts to go for it. If you’re unhappy in your career or unfulfilled in your job and you are considering trying something new, it might be a much bigger risk not to try something new than it is to not try it!
2. Wellbeing is not a luxury.
It is especially necessary on the entrepreneurial path. We are finally, as a culture, shifting away from the false narrative that entrepreneurs have to be willing to run on fumes every day to be successful. Yes, you’ll work long days and weekends. If anything, these facts highlight how critical it is to take care of yourself so that you can be at your best for yourself, your team, and the brand you are building.
While I was going through breast cancer treatment while launching Willa’s in the midst of the pandemic, life felt wildly out of control. I focused on carving out time each day for the activities that would help me get through it, which allowed me to play a role in my cancer treatment. This included working out, eating foods that made me feel nourished, journaling and therapy.
And then it occurred to me, why am I only giving myself permission to carve out time for these activities because I’m going through cancer treatment? Thankfully, I’m cancer free now. And, I’ve continued working on prioritizing my own needs because whenever I stop making time to work out or check in with myself, I see the effect it has on my ability to see the big picture and not get bogged down in the weeds of my emails and to do lists.
3. Don’t compare yourself to others. You’ll never feel like you’re moving fast enough, and just about every other entrepreneur feels that way too.
I thought we could launch within 6 to 9 months after we got started. It ended up taking 2 years and 5 months to fully launch two products on our website and on Amazon.
What I’ve learned talking with entrepreneurs, including those who have been wildly successful, is everyone feels that way and the feeling doesn’t dissipate even as you grow!
When you find yourself comparing yourself to others, remember starting a business is almost always a marathon, not a sprint. The biggest brands and those that we all assume were overnight successes, almost always took at least five years to get serious traction.
4. You hear a lot of entrepreneurs say, “this was harder than I ever thought it would be,” and even share that if they had known how hard it was, they might not have tried. What I wish people would have said though is, it will be much harder than you think, AND it will still be worth it!
5. The things that are rewarding in a typical job are not going to be the same reasons building a business is rewarding.
The signifiers of success are different! In the early years of starting a food or beverage business, founders don’t typically get paid much or at all. It’s tough!
If some part of you is used to tying your worth to your salary and 401k, starting your own business in this space will be a surefire reality check, and probably a good one.
Are there other leaders or organizations who have done good work to address food waste? Can you tell us what they have done? What specifically impresses you about their work? Perhaps we can reach out to them to include them in this series.
I haven’t seen as many brands aiming to use the whole of ingredients and avoid food waste. It’s exciting though seeing the traction of upcycled brands like Rind, Seconds Crackers, Pulp Pantry, Renewal Mill and Spare Food Co. ReFED and the Upcycled Food Association are both fantastic organizations fighting food waste.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I often wonder what the world would be like if everyone had access to, and was able to get support from therapists and receive mental health care. It’s hard to imagine there would be this much conflict, selfishness and divisiveness in the world. Perhaps compassion for ourselves and others might be the norm. Imagine that!
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Michelle Obama. There are so many reasons I admire her.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Check out willaskitchen.com, sign up for our email news and follow Willa’s Kitchen on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much, and we wish you only continued success.
Reducing Food Waste: Christina Dorr Drake Of Willa’s Oat Milk On How They Are Helping To Eliminate… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.