mission with mechanics By Joanne Cleaver, contributing editor Culture CORPORATE CULTURE IS ABOUT MORE THAN POOL TABLES AND OTHER FLASHY AMENITIES — IT’S OFTEN ABOUT DOING HARD, FOCUSED WORK TO DETERMINE WHO TO HIRE AND HOW THOSE HIRES WILL WORK TOGETHER. WE EXPLORE WHAT MAKES AN ALT-MEAT COMPANY A GREAT PLACE TO WORK AND WHY IT MATTERS. purpose into action that delivers prom-ised results, ultimately fulfilling the company’s mission. It is one of the first gears that found-ers use to show investors how they’ll win the talent they need to design and build the products that fulfill their vision. And when a company brings its product to market, its reputation — based in no small part on what consumers know about its culture — becomes part of the brand story that helps attract consumers. Culture is not synonymous with mission, a distinction sometimes lost in a strongly values-driven industry like alternative protein. Saving the world one bite at a time is an irresist-ible clarion call to those with deeply held views about animal welfare and environmental protection. But culture enables founders and initial employees to put that mission into action. Move fast and break things. The infamous Silicon Valley mantra wouldn’t take alternative protein start-ups very far. Moving fast, heedless of regulations and protocols, is counter to food safety and could tee up a collision course with well-established consumer preferenc-es. And food had better be whole and safe — not broken — when it heads to customers. But the product and process stan-dards that put the brakes on some of the tech-adjacent dynamics for alternative protein startups also set them up to cultivate smart workplace cultures that buoy steady, consistent growth. Culture drives collaboration, pro-ductivity and a company’s ability to deliver on its promises to investors and customers, says Christopher Bell, a workplace culture consultant, president of Creativity Partners and executive in residence at the College of Media, Communication and Information at the University of Colorado. “Culture-driven companies are more innovative,” he says. Ideally, culture is the dynamic that converts shared Co-founder Zack Werner loads plant-based shreds into one of the compa-ny’s smokers. CULTURE IN ACTION Doni Allen joined The Better Meat Co. with a pragmatic perspective on how corporate mission translated to culture. She rose through the ranks at Goodwill, learning how to mesh the nonprofit’s commitment to its workers and thrift-seeking consumers with the directive to make money to keep the organization afloat. Alt-Meat February 2025 Rusty Williams 15
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