SXSW Pitch Finalist: PurePlus
The Forrest Four-Cast: February 24, 2020
If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China and the U.S. Producing uneaten food squanders a whole host of resources: seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital, and generates greenhouse gases at every stage.
In fact, the food we waste is responsible for roughly 8% of global emissions, so wasting less food presents a key opportunity to address climate change.
One of 50 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020, PurePlus helps farmers by upcycling perfectly good fruits and vegetables, the most wasted food products, that get rejected simply because they aren’t pretty enough.
PurePlus has created a healthy candy wafer called FAVES that is made from the most climate impactful, imperfect and nutrient dense fruits and vegetables.
In a new category called Earth Functional Food — food that provides environmental benefits beyond health — PurePlus is disrupting candy with stealth nutrition. This is a triple-bottom line company that makes products that are good for the health of people and the planet. PurePlus values a transparent supply chain and measures success through the wellbeing of its employees and producers and the resilience of the ecosystems that produce its core ingredients.
See the PurePlus pitch in the category of Consumer Technology & CPG, 9:30 am to 10:30 am Sunday, March 15, before a live audience and a panel of expert judges.
Winners in each of the 10 categories will be announced at the Pitch Awards Ceremony, at 6:30 pm Sunday, March 15. SXSW attendees are also invited to Meet the Finalists from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Monday, March 16. All SXSW Pitch events take place at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
Amy Keller, PurePlus Co-Founder and CEO calls this a revolution in the whole plant foods-based economy. Designed to have a long-standing and meaningful role in a cultural revolution in health of people and the planet, PurePlus, won a 2019 Environmental Media Association (EMA) IMPACT Future Innovator of the Year Challenge.
Keller revealed why she’s excited about food waste, her superpower, and the big secret to life.
What is your top goal for PurePlus for 2020?
The end goal is to create massive demand for fruits and vegetables that restores soil, climate, and health-accelerating systems.
Tell us your favorite thing about being based in Los Angeles.
We are surrounded by top-notch people. We built a team of specialists from the food innovation and operations arm of the baby food company Plum Organics, and the marketing arm of companies like JUST Water, Red Bull, Stance, and GoPro, and the business development arm of companies like This Bar Saves Lives.
With the exception of PurePlus, what tech trend is your team most excited about?
The innovations surrounding food waste. Through being a ReFED Global Innovator, I have the opportunity to partner with like-minded entrepreneurs and track the latest innovations as part of the ReFED network.
What is the most over-hyped tech trend of 2020?
Per my husband Edward Keller, at CES we saw 8K TVs. Since there won’t be any content or bandwidth for this level TV for years and the human eye can’t tell the difference between 4K and 8K, is it really worth upgrading TVs so often?
If you weren’t working for PurePlus, what would you be doing?
Global social impact campaigns focused on the environment.
What has the startup experience taught you about life?
Female entrepreneurs must have grit.
Which living person do you most admire and why?
Former Vice President Al Gore for his perseverance in educating global citizens about climate change.
What do you think is the most overrated virtue?
Pride. It can be a negative for an entrepreneur if over-confidence is all that you identify with as you build a company.
Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to learn more languages — I would appreciate being fluent everywhere I travel and not dependent upon someone speaking English.
What’s your actual super power?
Unlimited energy levels, which have benefited PurePlus immensely.
What motto or quote do you live by?
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten — or given?
Vision without execution is hallucination. The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you are willing to work.
Tell us about something you love.
I thoroughly enjoy running (I run five to 10 miles every day) and have competed in seven Ironman competitions over the years.
What do you eat when you are low on energy?
FAVES to get in my fruits and vegetable servings for the day, of course.
Tell us about a memorable celebrity encounter.
I am most impressed by Jaden Smith, Founder of JUST Water and 501CThree. We have discussed his work in reversing climate change. To know that since JUST Water was founded they have removed 1.2 million pounds of plastic and 1.4 million kilograms of CO2 removed across 20 countries is truly impressive.
If you were offered the opportunity to colonize Mars (but with no guarantee that you would ever return to Earth), would you go?
No, I am not done with my work here and especially with our current climate situation that can be reversed with work like what PurePlus and 501CThree are focused.
Look for more interviews with other finalists in this space between now and the start of SXSW Pitch on Saturday, March 14. Visit this page to see all previous interviews in this series as well as a list of all finalists.
If you are an entrepreneur, check out the SXSW 2020 Startups Track, which runs March 13–17. This track brings together founders and funders and showcases exciting new companies, products, services, and business models across different verticals and industries.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
