<p>Food can be “better for you.”<br>But that doesn’t always mean it actually is.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Mike chats with <strong>Tyler Mayoras</strong>, Managing Partner at <strong>MANNATREE</strong>, a growth equity firm focused on investing in food, beverage, and wellness brands that genuinely improve human health. Tyler has spent decades investing across food and agriculture, from early plant-based pioneers like Boca Burger to modern brands navigating today’s tougher retail and M&amp;A landscape.</p><p><br></p><p>Tyler breaks down how “better-for-you” food has evolved, why many plant-based brands lost consumer trust, and what investors really look for when evaluating health claims, ingredient labels, and unit economics. He also shares hard-earned lessons from scaling brands too fast, why frozen is one of the most brutal categories in retail, and what founders misunderstand about profitability, category creation, and selling to big CPG.</p><p><br></p><p>You’ll learn:<br>✅ Why many plant-based brands lost their way<br>✅ What “better-for-you” actually means to serious investors<br>✅ How ingredient labels matter more than marketing claims<br>✅ Why frozen is one of the hardest categories in grocery<br>✅ When brands should (and shouldn’t) expand into mass retail✅ Why profitability now matters more than growth at all costs<br>✅ How strategic buyers really think about M&amp;A today<br>✅ The biggest mistakes founders make when scaling too early<br>✅ Where Tyler sees the next opportunities in food and wellness</p><p><br></p><p>👉 If you’re building or investing in food, beverage, or wellness, this episode is a grounded look at what actually matters beneath the hype.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps</strong><br>00:00 Intro<br>01:00 Tyler’s path from private equity to food &amp; agriculture<br>03:00 Early lessons from investing in Boca Burger<br>05:30 The rise and fall of plant-based burgers<br>09:00 What “better-for-you” really means<br>12:00 Ingredients, labels, and investor red flags<br>15:00 Sugar alternatives, sweeteners, and health tradeoffs<br>18:30 Why sustainability messaging often comes second<br>21:00 The realities of launching food brands in retail<br>24:00 Why frozen is such a difficult category<br>27:00 When brands should expand into mass retail<br>31:00 Natural vs conventional grocery shoppers<br>35:00 Why M&amp;A expectations have changed<br>38:00 What strategic buyers want today<br>41:00 Growth equity vs venture investing<br>45:00 Revenue and profitability benchmarks<br>49:00 Category creation vs smart trade-ups<br>53:00 Oversaturated categories and the protein boom<br>57:00 Where Tyler sees future opportunity<br>01:00:00 Lessons learned and advice for founders<br>01:05:00 Breaking into food &amp; beverage investing<br>01:08:30 Book recommendations</p><p><br></p><p>📬 Subscribe for more founder stories &amp; scaling insights:<br>👉 The Consumer VC Newsletter – <a href="https://www.theconsumervc.com/" target="_new" rel="noopener">https://www.theconsumervc.com/</a></p><p>Follow Mike Gelb:Twitter / IG / TikTok → @mikegelb / @consumervc</p><p></p>