🛒 The Check-Out: Joe Hill, One Planet Pizza

+ more in our basket - pickles, books on fungi and emission transparency tools.

Apr 18, 2024

Happy Thursday! Welcome to The Check-Out - your weekly dose of brand x sustainability inspiration, and your discovery box of what the team is loving this week. It’s great to have you here.

Cast your mind to a rainy November day. One of the FTF team (Leone, it was Leone) was scrambling to feed 300+ climate professionals at an end of year party after our caterer dropped out. Who stepped in to help? Joe, after one LinkedIn DM, connecting us to a plethora of options in a matter of minutes. Jump to today - Joe’s in the hot seat to share his three wishes for the food industry, why he thinks Bold Bean Co are killing it and why sampling is a secret sauce for changing consumer behaviour. The pizzas are tasty, the people are lovely, the planet is happy - that’s what we call a win win win.

After we chat to Joe, we’ll share what the Following the Footprints team has loved and consumed this week. Let’s dig in…

> Brand Spotlight

🎙️ Behind the Brand: 6 questions with Joe Hill, Co-founder of One Planet Pizza

*Joe with (you guessed it) a One Planet Pizza! Source: One Planet Pizza.*

👉 Hello! We’d love the non-LinkedIn lowdown of who you are, what gets you out of bed and how you got here.

Well hello! I’m Joe, co-founder of One Planet Pizza and passionate plant pusher! Since a young age I’ve always LOVED animals of all kinds and been obsessed with nature and the great outdoors. Around the age of 10, when playing on my grandparent’s pig farm in Norfolk, I made the connection between the food on my plate and the animals being raised for slaughter. Since that day I’ve made it my mission to get everyone eating more plant-based food, and helping my Grandad retire sooner as a result!

👉 Now for One Planet Pizza - tell us about your brand!

Me and my Dad are on a mission to save the world one slice at a time. As a kid, Friday night was always pizza night in our house. But, as a vegan back then, Mike always missed out on proper cheesy pizza. We decided that the world (and Mike) deserved a proper vegan pizza brand. One that refuses to compromise on taste and quality. And now we’re helping everyone eat more sustainably, with delicious pizzas that are better for people and Planet alike!

👉 How does One Planet Pizza think about sustainability? Are there any impact-related milestones or achievements you’re particularly proud of?

We were actually the first EVER pizza brand in the UK to carbon label our entire range. Achieving solid A and B eco-scores, we were able to scientifically measure the total carbon emissions of each and every pizza. We’re currently going through this process again for our new range of Sourdough pizzas and hope to score just as highly! Our next step on our journey to becoming the most sustainable pizza brand on the Planet will be achieving B Corp status.

👉 How should we be driving awareness about plant-based living? What have you seen work?

I’m a huge believer in sampling and taste testing! Getting out there in public, outside of supermarkets, in busy high streets, and showing people how tasty plant-based food is. We’re often out with our little pizza oven, cooking up pizzas and showing people how good they look, how great they taste and how surprisingly delicious they are! Getting delicious vegan food into the hands of meat eaters is my favourite form of activism.

👉 Ok, magic wand time; if we could grant you three wishes for the food industry, what would they be?

End the unfair and unjust subsidising and support of animal agriculture. From eggs and dairy milk, to beef and chicken, we’ve been paying to prop up unsustainable and damaging industries and practices for too long.
Supermarkets need to support and encourage more sustainable and healthier eating with their customers. Whether it’s better recipes or adverts, or dedicated space or promotions, big retailers need to do more to get people eating healthier food for themselves and our Planet.
Big personal one for me; I’d love to see a ban on misleading consumers with names like ‘happy eggs’ and ‘Jolly Hog’. Plant-based brands so often are banned from using terms like ‘creamy’ or ‘cheesy’ yet these companies are still allowed to trick consumers into thinking these animals are happy or jolly whilst being exploited and sent to slaughter. Come on?!

👉 Finally - We’d love some recommendations; one climate-related resource, one person to follow online and one consumer brand that’s killing it.

I religiously follow the team at Pro Veg and all of their content! A fantastic global charity working tirelessly to help educate and support people and organisations towards more sustainable food choices.

I’d recommend following the incredible Jennifer Stojkovic, author and founder of Vegan Women Summit over in the States. Incredible content and always inspirational.

Bold Bean Co are smashing it right now! Founder Amelia just secured investment from the Dragons and Dragon’s Den and is getting her incredible beans into new supermarkets and stores every month. She’s on a roll and she’s injecting passion and energy into an otherwise boring and unexciting category.

Psst - check out our interview with Bold Bean Co!

A huge thanks to Joe for taking the time to chat with us!

Check out One Planet Pizza

*A delicious ‘Peppernomi’ pizza. Source: One Planet Pizza.*

> In Our Basket

🔎 What we loved and consumed this week:

From Laura in Manchester: I have always been a pickle fiend and unfortunately was completely spoiled with quality pickles visiting my German grandparents. I couldn't get anything close to the delicious flavours from my childhood until I found Vadasz Pickles & Ferments by chance one afternoon. It doesn't say too much about their sustainability on the website, but they are made in the UK (hello, less heavy glasses getting shipped from Poland) and to me there’s no better way to increase the shelf life of tasty veg!
From Jenny in New York: I finally finished reading my “fungus book,” as I’ve referred to it with all of my friends: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake is a thoroughly researched revelation and it’s armed me with hundreds of dinner party facts about our fungal friends.
From Leone (usually) in London: I was lucky enough to attend the Climate Reality Leadership Training in New York this weekend, hearing from the one and only Al Gore himself. One of the side sessions was about data and countering disinformation - they showcased Climate Trace. It's peer reviewed, backed by loads of cool orgs and is really interesting to play around on.

That’s it for today!

Know a brand we should spotlight next? Let Leone know!
Have links that can make the team learn or laugh? Share them with us, we might just share them in The Check-Out next week.
Hungry for more? You’ll see us on Monday! That’s when we suit up and get serious, digging into a topic that is guaranteed to make you look smart at standup.

Much love,

Team FTF