Nicole Astra:
Welcome to Talking Plant Protein. I'm Nicole Astra.

Nicole Astra:
TiNDLE is already shaking up the industry with its product, as it rolls out around the world. Co-founder and CEO, Andre Menezes, spoke with us about TiNDLE's success, and what goes into the creation of this revolutionary product.

Nicole Astra:
[Jazzy Lipini 00:00:23] again, tell us more about, is it Lipi, Lipi? How do you pronounce that?

Andre Menezes:
Lipi.

Nicole Astra:
Lipi, what it does for your plant-based chicken and then where the inspiration came in creating it?

Andre Menezes:
Excellent question. So put it short, it's chicken fat made from plants base, and why Lipi? It comes from lipids and we created a solution, and I'll tell solution to which problem, that would solve the problem that we wanted, and that represented what lipids represent to the chicken, basically. And when we called Lipi and we trademarked it as our proprietary blend and emotion that gives that taste. So one step, in more details basically, when we looked at chicken, we kind of decrypted what chicken is really craved for, why people really like chicken. And there were three things, taste, texture and versatility.

Andre Menezes:
So for texture, we solved with extrusion process, getting the right bite, the right fibers, the right experience when you bite. On the taste, I'll go to the versatility first. On the versatility, we wanted to make sure that's a product that you can actually play with, just like you can with chicken. So we didn't want to just do another nuggets or another tenders. I mean, everyone likes nuggets and tenders, but it's not exciting enough for our audience, that at least to according to our-

Nicole Astra:
And that great culinary experience, right?

Andre Menezes:
We really understand chefs very well. I don't see many chefs getting extremely excited with nuggets. It's fine. I mean, everyone likes nuggets, but it's not something you go out and crave for, or tenders. Having said that, so the versatility was a key pillar that we sought for, and coming to the last, the taste. So we understood in depth what it means to taste like chicken. Why chicken tastes like chicken, and that basically connects to the chicken fat, which is also the reason why dark chicken meat from wings or legs are actually juicier and better tasting than breast or filet. And the difference is basically on the fat, and the way the fat is, put it simple, like the way the fat is inside the meat basically.

Andre Menezes:
So that was one, understanding how that fat component was so important, and also how that plays a part. I mean, differently from a beef burger where you want those crumbles of fat that you can see, and many players are doing with coconut fat, there's nothing wrong with that. On a chicken, you don't want to see that. I don't know anyone who wants to see chicken fat. So we wanted to find a way to get that incorporated into the structure of the product. That's how Lipi came about. It had to be an emotion that would connect within the fibers that it become juicier. Then it would be, if it was spots, and it would brown nicely when it cook, and it would smell like chicken, and that's what Lipi is.

Nicole Astra:
I'm going to switch gears to marketing. Do you have any marketing tips for small, alternative protein companies? Maybe we should say you were two people when you started. So small's relative.

Andre Menezes:
Yeah, exactly.

Nicole Astra:
Where do you want to go?

Andre Menezes:
What's small, right? I mean, we are still small. We're still a 37 people company, but we had two last year in April. So I guess, I don't know if it's going to sound super helpful, but genuinely, what I believe is that as a company, you really need to understand what you stand for, who you are, what you're good at, and what do you want to do? And one macro tip, that's not exactly marketing from a communications perspective, but as a business, it's where do you fit in the world? What are you trying to do? But not only from your love of the product that you developed, which is a common mistake by startups, being fixated about the technology or the product only, but what are your consumers craving?

Andre Menezes:
What is the market really needing? What are your customers looking for? How do you sell? Who were you talking to? How do you solve for the problems that you really have, and not, how do you get something that you like and try to sell? So if I have one big tip to give in terms of marketing that would drive everything you do, is start from the outside. What's the market? Who were you talking to? What's your consumer like? What are the customers? How do you get to them? How do you get them excited? What level of communication, what style of communication do you need to do? And then you plug your technology or knowledge or product into that system, not the other way around. That's one big tip that I would give.

Nicole Astra:
Hopefully you feel inspired to continue innovating and expanding the plant-based food revolution. If you've learned something new, drop a comment for us and let us know who else you'd like to hear from, as TPP continues to bring you access to influencers.

Nicole Astra:
Ahead in our final installment, Andre discusses the importance of truly knowing the customer, and how that relates to a successful business.