Collaborating at the Intersection of Dairy and Alt-Dairy, with Michael Hampson from Norco Cooperative

This article originally appeared on the Tenacious Ventures website .

There’s a common misconception in the alternative protein space that continues to hold back innovation: the idea that conventional and alternative products are direct competitors. In general, the idea that consumers are dropping conventional milk for soymilk, or eschewing chicken in favor of plant-based nuggets just isn’t reflected in the data. More often than not, consumers buy both conventional proteins and alternative proteins, often at the same time. Acknowledging this, we have a lot of conviction that the future of alt-proteins writ large offers a lot of opportunities for conventional protein producers as well.

Michael Hamspon , CEO of Norco Cooperative Ltd. , agrees. Since taking over leadership at one of Australia’s largest, farmer-owned dairy coops, he’s helped lead a change journey that has led recently to a new partnership with Eden Brew , which created a precision-fermented milk alternative that can be produced in conventional dairy facilities.?

In this episode, Michael speaks about:

• Leading a cultural change at Norco that encouraged managers to be bold in tackling opportunities while thinking about failure as a professional development opportunity
• Wading into a partnership with dairy-alternative Eden Brew, and how he managed the critical reception within the cooperative
• What he looks for when evaluating agtech or business development opportunities?

For more information and resources, visit our website.?

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Useful Links:

• Check out a past exploration into New Zealand’s Dairy Pollution Problem: How an Urgent Issue is Driving Innovation
• Consider a shock scenario with us– What if global demand for beef and dairy dropped by 20%? ?
• Don’t miss the Alternative Protein Debate from Australia’s first virtual, national agtech meetup (video or podcast)
• Explore our look at an adjacent space, alternative eggs, from Unscrambling Go-to-Market and Brand with Tajya Bogumil from Perfeggt
• Dive into a classic AgTech… So What? episode where we looked at a US-based bit of dairy farm tech with Carl Lippert
• We’re fundraising for Tenacious Ventures Fund II, out loud To learn more about investing in Fund II, click here

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