Bao Zhan is the Chief Scientist of Vesta Food Lab, a meat analogue manufacturer in China. He was working for BASF in Germany and Singapore on nano technology and macromolecules. He is a food writer and a science advisor for food documentary "Once upon a bite". He was one of the 15 named inspectors for Meituan Black Pearl Restaurant Guide 2020 in China. He was also on the judging panel of World Plant-Based Innovation Awards 2022 and 2023.

Chief Scientist of Vesta Food Lab

Florence Dusseaux is a vegan expert for consulting agency Vegg2Food. She helps the transition towards a plant-based food system, through marketing and communication, strategy, business development and project lead.

Florence has been a vegan since 2015 but passionate about food since the beginning of her entrepreneurial career. In 2021, she was nominated as an influential plant-based food promoter among eight other French influencers for the first plant-based food award in France. Florence is also co-founder of La Pondation de Félicie: a sanctuary for laying hens.

Florence helps companies around the world (Canada, UK, India, South Africa, Caribbeans) to promote their plant-based alternatives from the idea to the final destination: consumer plates. Every week she decrypts food tendencies in the plant-based innovative sector in France and around the world.

Her motto is: Changing the world through plant-based food, one meal at a time.

Vegan Expert, Vegg2Food

Marina is a food engineer and specialist in New Food Product Development. She has been working as a food consultant since 2019, leading projects with plant-based companies, from startups to big corporations. In 2021, Marina co-founded Solucionaria, a food consultancy focused on R&D, innovation and regulatory affairs for the food and beverage industries. She has experience in the quality and food safety areas.

Working in R&D is her dream job, because it is dynamic, creative, and challenging. Another area she focuses on is trends and launches on the local and global markets, giving insights to companies on how to create or improve their products. The plant-based market is here to change the food industry for the better, and she hopes to help that happen in the best way possible.

Innovation Director and Co-founder, Solucionaria

Melissa Bradshaw is the editor of The Plant Base, FoodBev Media’s publication dedicated to the dissemination of news and insights on the plant-based food and beverage sector.

As a passionate advocate for all things plant-based, Melissa is keenly interested in delving into the developments of a forward-thinking and dynamic industry, exploring the latest innovations on offer and how the market is evolving.

She is interested in learning more about companies working to create meaningful change and pave the way for a greener, healthier planet.

In her role, Melissa reports on new product innovations, groundbreaking new technologies, sustainability initiatives and more. She also helps with the output of news for the FoodBev website, alongside the rest of the editorial team, sharing news and analysis from across the broader food and beverage industry worldwide.

Editor, The Plant Base Magazine

Tawanda Muzhingi is a food scientist, nutritionist and a development expert working with Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA)’s Plant Based Foods Institute (PBFI) as the Director of International Programs. Tawanda joined PBFI from Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International’s Innovation Advisors Group when he was an Innovation Advisor in the Food and Agriculture practice. Prior to RTI, Tawanda worked at the CGIAR with the International Potato Center (CIP) and the Roots, Tubers and Bananas Program of the CGIAR as a Senior Scientist and Flagship Leader based in Nairobi, Kenya. At CIP and RTB Tawanda led the market systems development, nutrition sensitive agriculture and commercialization of roots, tubers and banana crops. Before joining CIP, Tawanda worked for 10 years at the Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Services (ARS) Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, in the Carotenoids and Health Laboratory at Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA. Tawanda obtained his Ph.D. Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition and M.S. Food Policy and Applied Nutrition from the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston, MA, USA and Bachelor of science degree in Nutrition from the University of Zimbabwe. Tawanda is also adjunct professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Tawanda is co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at a startup YESBreadCo based in Bloomington, IN.

Director International Programs, Plant Based Foods Institute