Keep Your Customers Close - Lessons Learned at Impossible Foods by Reed McCord

In this Future of Foods interview, Reed McCord, founder of First Bite, reflects on the realities of scaling food brands in the complex foodservice ecosystem. McCord explains how First Bite was built to solve a critical gap he experienced at Impossible Foods—a lack of visibility into customers and purchasing behavior once products move through distributors. Today, First Bite provides manufacturers with data, CRM tools, and digital rebate systems to identify restaurant partners, track performance, and build direct relationships with operators.

The conversation centers on the importance of staying close to customers despite these structural barriers. McCord argues that the most successful food companies are those that actively seek feedback, understand where and why their products are used, and iterate quickly. Drawing from his experience, he offers a clear takeaway: growth in food isn’t just about distribution—it’s about maintaining genuine, data-informed connections with the people actually serving your product.