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Christopher Kong
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Better Nature Tempeh 🌟
Professional Background
Christopher Kong is a visionary leader and philanthropist who has made significant contributions to the food industry through innovative health solutions. As the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Better Nature Tempeh, Christopher is dedicated to promoting plant-based nutrition and sustainability. Under his leadership, Better Nature has become a hallmark for health-conscious consumers, offering high-quality tempeh products that are not only delicious but also rich in protein and packed with nutritional benefits. With an ambitious goal to have 100 million people incorporating tempeh into their diets by the year 2030, Christopher is spearheading a movement aimed at improving global health and dietary habits.
His passion for tempeh, a traditional Indonesian staple made from fermented whole soybeans, has led to a deeper commitment to tackling malnutrition, particularly in Indonesia, where the product originates. Christopher is proud to lead a certified B Corporation that contributes 1% of its sales to initiatives combating malnutrition in Indonesia, reflecting the company’s strong ethical values and social responsibility.
Education and Achievements
Christopher’s educational background is impressive, with a Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry from the prestigious University of Oxford. This academic foundation has greatly influenced his approach to health and nutrition, as he leverages scientific knowledge to advocate for better dietary choices. Prior to his master’s program, he attended Winchester College, where he excelled in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics Pre-U. These subjects undoubtedly laid the groundwork for his analytical thinking and problem-solving skills, which have been indispensable in his professional endeavors.
Previous Experience
Before launching Better Nature, Christopher gained valuable experience in the business and consulting sectors. He worked as an Investment Analyst at Founders Factory Ltd, where he honed his skills in analyzing market trends and identifying growth opportunities for sunrise companies. His time at McKinsey & Company as a Summer Business Analyst provided him with insights into strategic business operations and effective management practices. Additionally, Christopher served as the President of CapitOx, Oxford's premier society focused on Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Consulting, where he displayed exemplary leadership skills and a commitment to fostering a collaborative learning environment for fellow students.
Personal Interests
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Christopher is an avid cyclist and marathon runner. His adventurous spirit is evident as he undertook the remarkable feat of cycling the full length of the UK in 2022. Not one to shy away from challenges, he further showcased his endurance in 2023 by completing both the Paris Marathon and the Valencia Marathon, all fueled by his preferred source of nutrients—tempeh. Christopher’s physical achievements are not merely personal milestones; they are part of a larger mission to raise awareness and funds for YUM, a charity dedicated to addressing infant malnutrition in Indonesia.
With a strong commitment to health, sustainability, and social impact, Christopher Kong is a leader who inspires others to join in the movement towards better nutrition and wellness through innovative food solutions, emphasizing the power of plant-based eating. His journey reflects a blend of passion, professionalism, and purpose, positioning him as a prominent figure in the health food industry.
Achievements
- Co-founded Better Nature, a leading provider of tempeh in major retail chains including Tesco, Asda, Lidl, and Whole Foods.
- Played a pivotal role in Better Nature achieving B Corp™ certification, illustrating a commitment to social and environmental responsibilities.
- Led initiatives to promote tempeh as a staple protein source to 100 million people by 2030.
- Raised significant funds for YUM charity through athletic challenges, inspiring many to engage in health-centric and philanthropic activities.
Highlights
For the first time EVER in UK retail, #tempeh (specifically Better Nature Tempeh) is on gondola end in 230 Tesco stores nationwide! 🙌
If you’re in #FMCG, you’ll know just how powerful gondola end space can be. The space between aisles in a supermarket is the perfect place to be seen and picked up by the tens of thousands of consumers who shop at supermarkets every day 🛒
So when it comes to hungry #challengerbrands playing in extremely competitive categories, hardly anything in-store is more valuable than space outside of your category 💰
On gondola end, exposed to the main thoroughfare of the store, you can tap into fresh audiences - audiences which wouldn’t otherwise have bothered to walk along your aisle, or those which wouldn’t have spotted you amongst the melee of all the other exceptional (and MUCH bigger) brands on shelf 👀
In short, being on gondola end puts you in a league of your own and allows you to interrupt the #shoppingbehaviour of entirely new customer groups. If you have a great product with a high returning customer rate, these opportunities are pure GOLD 🤑
But naturally this space is extremely limited so EVERYONE is fighting for it. Furthermore, retailers make more money from the sales of products on gondola end than how much they would typically charge for such opportunities so even if you had more money than the big dogs in your category (which you don’t), you can’t outbid your competitors for this space. In most instances, this is space that money literally cannot buy 😅
But after a stellar Q1 of sales in Tesco, our buyer gave us this opportunity and we did not miss a beat. We JUMPED on it!!
It's an incredible feeling to be right up next to brands like Vivera, Quorn Foods and The Vegetarian Butcher. A year ago, a month before we launched into Tesco, #tempeh was nowhere to be seen and I practically idolised the #salesstrategy of these brands. Now, Better Nature Tempeh is getting closer and closer to playing in the same ball pit and #tempeh is getting the attention it deserves 🥹
Thank you Tesco for backing Better Nature Tempeh and the #tempeh category by giving us the opportunity to prove ourselves on gondola end. We won't let you down!
Supercharge your protein (and your gondola ends) with Better Nature Tempeh 🌟 On a Tesco gondola end near you!
Elin Roberts Eluney González Fabio Rinaldo Dr. A. Driando Ahnan-Winarno Noora Pärssinen Ursa Dornik
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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