When considering who to welcome as a formal advisor, we look for experts who can move fluently between the technical detail and real-world implementation; a combination which is often tricky to find.

This year, we were fortunate to welcome Sharon Walbert to our network, who brings three decades of experience navigating global food and agriculture value chains.

We sat down with Sharon to explore some of the big questions facing our sector today.

For a fuller introduction to Sharon, click here to view her profile page.

Sharon Walbert, Synthesis Capital Advisory Board

Rosie: We see enormous opportunity ahead for our portfolio in driving scale through partnerships with incumbent corporates. From your experience inside global food and bioindustrial companies, what does a “smart partnership” look like today, one that accelerates scale without sacrificing long-term strategic advantage?

Sharon: The best partnerships are built on transparency, clear objectives from both partners, and a mutual understanding that both parties must be successful for either to win. I’ve seen too many “partnership" discussions derailed too early in the process because one or both parties aren’t clear on what they truly want and ask for too much for fear of missing out on something they don’t even want. Having the right decision makers from both parties (usually a P&L owner at a corporate) is critical. I counsel founders to be firm and transparent with potential corporate partners to achieve outcomes that enhance not limit the potential value of the company. Founders have more leverage than they think.

Rosie: We’ve taken the view that there won’t be one single winning production platform (e.g. cell cultivation, plant molecular farming, continuous fermentation); each will have its role to play in the system. From your perspective, where do you see the greatest opportunity for durable scale over the next decade? And what practical constraints (regulatory, supply chain, procurement behaviour) will most determine who captures that opportunity?

Sharon: I hate to sound cynical, but the last several years have shown that what drives adoption and change in the food system is:

1) Scarcity - Both the supply disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and the recent cocoa crisis showed that CPGs are unwilling to change at any price until commodities became unavailable. Then, they look for ready alternatives, even if at a premium. What is most at risk? What can be scaled in a relatively short timeframe with readily accessible raw materials? Achieving durable scale requires adoption by the largest MNCs for whom reliability of supply is key. You can’t replace a scare commodity with another challenged or fragmented supply chain.

2) Cost optimization - Affordability will continue to be a struggle for consumers worldwide, and CPGs are more limited in their ability to pass increases onto consumers. So, cost parity is a must. Cost reduction should be the goal.

3) Asset utilization/technologies that fit core competencies - Technologies requiring complementary assets or unit operations similar or complementary to existing scaled technology (fermentation, extraction, separation) have an easier path to acceptance due to avoidance of capital and core competency fit.

Rosie: What made you want to work with Synthesis, and what has your experience of working with the team been like so far?

Sharon: I love working with good humans who are also smart business people trying to solve real problems. Synthesis believes not only that the challenges of our global food system must be solved, but that they can be solved profitably in the hands of the right founders. Their approach with founders is both collaborative and delivered with a healthy dose of reality.