About this Episode:
Season 1, Episode 6: The Time is Now with Paloma Lopez
For 20 years, Paloma Lopez has been dedicated to building healthy and sustainable food systems and programs for companies like Kellogg and Clorox where she had incredible success designing programs that had social and environmental impact. After a departure from corporate life and a 10-month stint travelling the world, she felt the call to become a greater vessel for change in the food industry that puts people and nature in the center of design and decision-making. Now as co-founder of Future Fit Foods, Paloma is changing the way we source, package and consume convenience foods, through her new product line, called SUPPAS.
With discipline, bravery, and purpose as her tailwinds, Paloma practices what she preaches: the Time is Now…
In this Episode
⭐ In the wake of the Boulder, CO wildfire tragedy, a reminder that time is precious
⭐ Where it all began: picking oranges and wild asparagus with her sister in Spain
⭐ The gap: a lack of home-cooked, nutritious foods for people’s fast-paced lifestyles
⭐ Discipline as a core value of what matters; it is through consistent behavior that we see achievement
⭐ A 10-month global sabbatical inspires Paloma to look into the past for the future of food
⭐ Who is the CEO? What it’s like running a start-up with your spouse
⭐ What the Incas and NASA have in common
⭐ Beyond recycling: closed loop, composting and packaging return solutions
Unique Offer
CauseGirl Podcast listeners get to try SUPPAS at 10% through February 2022. Use promo code: causegirl22 and get 10% off your order at getsuppas.com. Enjoy!
CauseGirl Call to Action
Paloma’s advice on just doing it now:
- Be brave and be the change we want to see in the world.
- The time is now. Whatever is in your heart, get on it right away! Even if it’s a small step toward your goal, like making a phone call. You can only make it happen when you make space for it.
- Know what your sources of energy are in life. When you are going uphill or against the stream, you’re going to need a lot of energy to get back on track and not give up. It’s not going to be a perfect road, but if you keep your energy replenished, you will be in a good place to make your dreams come true!
People Links & Resources
- Future Fit Foods
- SUPPAS, Paloma’s brand of instantly fresh, plant-based soups
- The Wonder Twins, Paloma and Sean share their SUPPA powers on their blog at Future Fit Foods
- At Stake Advisors sustainability consulting
- Incas Process for Freeze-Drying Food, called Chuño
- NASA’s history of Freeze-Drying Food for Astronauts
- Aspen Institute Business & Society Program / First Movers Fellowship
Connect with Us!
- If you haven’t already, follow the CauseGirl podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode! Don’t forget to rate and review our podcast.
- Let’s keep the conversation going! Find Elena here on Facebook and LinkedIn, and @CauseGirlGlobal on Twitter and Instagram.
- Find Paloma Lopez and Future Fit Foods on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and on Instagram @FutureFitFoods.
- We’d be so grateful to hear your takeaways from this conversation. Share your takeaways on Twitter and Instagram or email me directly at elena@thecausegirl.com.
- Want more? Visit TheCauseGirl.com and sign up for more CauseGirl inspo including alerts, events, and more!
Episode Transcript:
Quotes from this Episode
“Once you’ve lived through something so tragic that takes so much away from you in just a moment, you realize that you can’t wait around in life. You just have to go for it. And even if it’s small steps to start heading in that direction.”
"Know what your sources of energy are in life. When you are going uphill or against the stream, you’re going to need a lot of energy to get back on track and not give up. It’s not going to be a perfect road, but if you keep your energy replenished, you will be in a good place to make your dreams come true!"
“Now we’re at a cross point where we really need to think beyond. We need to deliver convenience to people, but much, much, better foods. Not just for our health, but for the planet. We’re at a point in history where there is no excuse for not having win-win-win foods – foods that are tasty, with so many options that are convenient, but also packaged responsibly."
"What people often don’t think about is that food is chemistry. So anytime you put food in your body, there is a chemical reaction that happens inside of you...But what often happens in today’s lifestyles is that we’re moving so fast, we’re not listening to those natural reactions - how our body feels. And a lot of foods that when we overdo them, like too much sugar, salt, or, carbohydrates…one way or another, our body is probably not functioning at its best."
“Closed loop is essentially finding ways where there is no waste. Where whatever could be waste becomes an input to something else so it’s a perfect loop. It goes back. Outputs become inputs. Inputs become outputs. And outputs become inputs. For packaging, it’s packaging that doesn’t just go into a landfill and that’s the end of its life and becomes methane or contaminates the community. It actually is a material that can be recycled, reused, or composted, and goes back into the stream. So that’s a closed loop."
“The time is now. Even if it’s a small step towards your goal, start today. Start making some phone calls. Whatever that’s in your mind and in your heart, get on it right away and try to make it happen, because you never know what’s going to happen around the corner. There is never going to be a better time than today."
Meet your hosts:
Elena Sacca Smith
Host
