About this episode

Mike Gelb interviews Tyler Mayoras about the complexities of 'better-for-you' food and the investment landscape in the food and wellness sectors.

Food can be “better for you.” But that doesn’t always mean it actually is. In this episode, Mike chats with Tyler Mayoras , Managing Partner at MANNATREE , 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&A landscape. 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. You’ll learn: ✅ Why many plant-based brands lost their way ✅ What “better-for-you” actually means to serious investors ✅ How ingredient labels matter more than marketing claims ✅ Why frozen is one of the hardest categories in grocery ✅ When brands should (and shouldn’t) expand into mass retail✅ Why…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Gelb

Guest: Tyler Mayoras

Topics covered

• better-for-you food
• plant-based brands
• investing in food
• consumer trust
• ingredient labels
• profitability
• M&A in retail

Keywords

• better-for-you
• plant-based
• consumer trust
• ingredient labels
• profitability
• M&A
• food investment
• wellness brands

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MANNATREE

Products: Boca Burger

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