Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Rody Hawkins.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a meat scientist and now I am making plant-based proteins, God does have a sense of humor. I started my career at Oscar Mayer in the 1980s where I created Lunchables. I came to North Carolina in the late 1980s to run Research & Development for Slim Jim and study the ability to make meat and other foods shelf-stable. Most of my career was involved in helping over 130 different food companies solve complex food manufacturing problems and create new food products and processes.
A concept of plant-based protein that had the texture of the meat was presented to me and my technical partners and we saw it as a mission to help feed 10 billion people by the year 2050. We were in the unique position to make this happen and we wanted it to happen in North Carolina. We were concerned that the technology would not make it to the market if we partnered with a large food company, so we decided to develop the manufacturing ourselves by forming Improved Nature in 2015.
We received our first round of funding to prove the technology and built the manufacturing facility in 2016. We spent over a year developing all the unique products that could be made with our technology. We began selling in 2018 and have seen continued growth since the launch to the point that we will outgrow our initial facility in 2022. We currently sell our products on three continents and in more than 26 countries in both foodservice and retail markets. We have a very flexible product.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We are making fibers from plant protein without any other ingredients; only heat, pressure, and steam. The process is very hard to control in a high-speed process. The practice has allowed us to consistently produce quality products for our customers. Our base product called Nature’s PRIME is shelf-stable for 4 years, so we have a very portable quality protein product.
Nature’s PRIME is a base ingredient that can be used to substitute any animal protein in almost any recipe. We have had some issues with manufacturers having the in-place systems to hydrate the product into their food processes. While this is a short-term challenge, we currently sell our Nature’s PRIME as an ingredient to companies that have taken our product to market. These plant-based menu Items have been very successful with consumer acceptance.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Early in my career, I made a decision to understand all I could about shelf-stable foods. This knowledge has allowed me to solve many distributions and shelf-life issues related to providing convenient and quality food in all sorts of feeding systems. This led to the attention of the U.S. Military after the first Gulf War and since then I have been working the military on good tasting, shelf-stable sandwiches, pizza, wraps, pastries, and all sorts of rations.
The military supplies FEMA with food during an emergency situation and these products end up all over the world. Currently, the market for these sandwiches, etc. includes not only the US Military, but NATO, United Nations, and mobile population feeding as well. There are not many other people in the world that know as much about this particular market.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My faith has kept me on this pursuit of excellence in helping to feed the world. The pursuit of shelf-stable food technology did not have a lot of science or history to learn from, without the extremes of canning, dehydration, pickling, or salting. All these processes are extreme and do not always provide a satisfactory eating experience.
Understanding how these and other processes work together to preserve food, allowed me to push the boundaries of food preservation, product development, and creating solutions for how to feed people. When problems were too complex, God provided knowledge, people, and inspiration to help solve the problems. To me, many of the things I have accomplished are miracles or blessings from God.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ImprovedNature.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvednature/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImprovedNature/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/improvednature
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCChI0WFWx4lSY8XPlbZCaxw
Image Credits:
Eamon Queeney (of North State Journal.)
