Unleashing Innovation
Watch the webinar recording here
Listen in to a conversation betweeen Dr. Lara Ramdin and UFA members RE-NUT, Kerry and Culinex to explore exciting technology and innovations in the upcycling world, with a look to what is ahead.
Dr. Lara Ramdin - Chief Scientist/Ambassador, FoodxClimate
Dr. Lara Ramdin is the Chief Scientist/Ambassador at FoodxClimate. Often hailed as the “Upcycling Queen,” she transforms undervalued by-products into high-quality, nutrient-rich ingredients, thereby addressing food waste while simultaneously enhancing food security. Her innovative approach not only contributes to environmental sustainability but also propels the food-as-medicine movement forward by producing foods that support holistic health outcomes and are accessible to a wide population. Dr. Ramdin's work is at the intersection of science, sustainability, and social impact, making her a key figure in the future of food and an Emeritus Board member of Upcycled Food Association. Her vision and dedication to upcycling and nutrition have established her as a thought leader in creating food solutions that nourish both people and the planet.
Christina O’Keefe - Regional Head of Sustainability, North America, Kerry
Christina O’Keefe is a trailblazer in sustainable manufacturing and business excellence for the food and beverage industry. Christina joined Kerry through a Cargill Flavors acquisition in 2011. With extensive manufacturing experience within the food and beverage industry, Christina has a passion for building a food system that minimizes environmental impact and improves lives while optimizing the bottom line. Christina has over 10 years of experience in developing and executing sustainability strategies that align with Kerry’s global ambition to reach two billion people with sustainable nutrition solutions by 2030. Christina holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Roland Laux - Co-Founder & CEO, RE-NUT
Roland Laux has a master’s degree in business administration / economics from the University of St. Gall (HSG) in Switzerland. He worked for 2 years in an advertising agency in Zurich before heading west to sell ice cream for Nestlé in Chile and in the USA for 6 years. He is a co-inventor of several patent-granted manufacturing methods for chocolate (orodecacao.com), cold-brew coffee (re-coffee.ch), herbs & spices and culinary nuts. They all share the same goal: to get more of the goodness out of raw materials to make it available to consumers. Since 2022 he has been fully dedicated to the FoodTec startup RE-NUT (re-nut.com). RE-NUT developed patent-granted zero-waste technologies that double the yield from culinary nuts by processing them together with their outer hard shell to nut flour, paste and nut milk. Their vision is to revolutionize global nut processing by turning millions of tons of nutshells into valuable fiber for healthy human nutrition and for a more sustainable agriculture.
Webb Girard - Senior Director of Research & Development, Culinex
Webb leads the R&D team at Culinex and is a veteran, manager focused on projects requiring technical expertise in product or process improvement, process standardization, plant scale-up, and shelf-life determination and extension, across an extremely broad list of categories. Webb is a frequent speaker in the areas of clean label, sustainability, upcycled foods, and regenerative agriculture with a lens on product development activities.