Manan Mehta sits down with Tony Martens, CEO and co-founder of Plantible Foods, to explore how two Dutch immigrants are disrupting the trillion-dollar food industry by extracting RubisCO—nature's most abundant protein—from duckweed. We unpack why complete plant proteins matter, how Tony and his co-founder moved into Breaking Bad-style trailers during the pandemic, and what it takes to challenge commodity pricing while building a sustainable alternative to animal agriculture. Tony shares concrete insights on finding beachhead markets, thriving alone as an immigrant founder, and why climate tech needs to obsess over customers, not just science.

• extracting RubisCO: the most abundant and complete protein on Earth
• why the strongest animals (elephants, gorillas) eat leafy greens as their primary protein
• building full amino acid profiles from plants, not animal middlemen
• moving from Netherlands to San Diego with no support system
• living in trailers at the Texas farm facility during early R&D
• solving for taste and functionality, not just sustainability metrics
• targeting premium markets first, then iterating toward commodity pricing
• navigating FDA approval processes for novel food ingredients
• learning to thrive alone as a superpower for immigrant entrepreneurs
• why climate tech founders must prioritize customer value over their own technology

The food industry has hidden what we're really eating for too long. Tony takes us from cushy corporate jobs in the Netherlands to a deserted greenhouse full of duckweed, to building a commercial facility in Texas that produces protein cheaper than eggs. We dig into the hard realities of being an alien: leaving long-term relationships behind, operating without family or friends nearby, and developing the ability to survive completely alone while building a company on the other side of the planet.

Tony explains why RubisCO—the enzyme that catalyzes photosynthesis in every leafy green—represents a fundamentally different approach to protein. It's nutritionally complete, hypoallergenic, and already the primary protein source for the planet's strongest animals. He breaks down why feeding cattle chicken litter doesn't require labeling, but feeding the same ingredients to a processing machine would—exposing the absurdity of our current food labeling system.

The immigrant journey runs throughout. Tony discusses the intellectual curiosity that came from leaving the Dutch bubble, recognizing after two years that America does some things remarkably well (and vice versa). He shares the personal cost: the difficulty of building deep friendships when the mission demands prioritization, the sacrifices required to get Plantible off the ground, and the superpower of knowing you can throw yourself into the unknown and come out successful.

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ABOUT BELIEVE IN ALIENS:

Believe In Aliens celebrates the extraordinary journeys of people who leave everything behind to build toward a bigger purpose. Each episode explores the insights of individuals who challenge the status quo—immigrants, founders, and visionaries whose outsider perspectives drive innovation forward.

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Tony Martens:
🌐 Plantible Foods: https://www.plantiblefoods.com/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonydmartens

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Manan Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mananm/