The Collaborative brings practitioners and emerging leaders working across the food system. Community is essential to our work, from guiding and mentoring students to shaping and sustaining the Collaborative.
Guide & Mentor
Mentor a Student
A few honest conversations can change the course of a career — a new opportunity, a shifted mental model, perspective on a tough choice.
Speak in a Class
Students learn most from practitioners speaking honestly about what they’ve built and what they see coming.
Propose a Project
Bring a real question you’re circling — a market challenge, a strategic decision — to a student team for a semester-long project.
Shape & Sustain
Invite Others
The entrepreneurs, investors, and practitioners you know are exactly who this community needs at the table. Your introduction matters more than you’d think.
Join Our Council
Our Community Council in the making will offer a structured way to help guide the Collaborative’s direction — advising on programming, connecting us to the community, and lending credibility to the work.
Give As You're Able
The Collaborative is sustained and grown through community contributions. No gift is too small. Organizations can also explore partnership opportunities.
In the Haas Newsroom
Coverage of affiliated founders, students, and alumni from the Haas Newsroom.
Will Rosenzweig's food systems legacy will continue through new Haas collaborative
The Collaborative for Food Systems Innovation will carry forward decades of food systems mentorship from Will Rosenzweig.
How 2 plant-based food activists turned a class project into a global nonprofit
Derrick and Sartor founded Plant Futures, a nonprofit with a mission to build a plant-based curriculum, promote careers in the plant-based food industry, and develop Plant Futures chapters at campuses worldwide.
Once Upon a Farm: Alum helps transform kids' nutrition
John Foraker, MBA ’94, joins organic baby food company Once Upon a Farm as CEO, scaling it into a national brand.
Research shows the unintended consequences of food waste apps
A UC Berkeley study finds surprise-bag apps like Too Good to Go can paradoxically increase retailer overproduction and consumer overbuying.
Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness on 'persistence over resistance' and the future of plant-based foods
McGuinness discusses focusing on core products and appealing to flexitarians rather than alienating meat eaters.
How an MBA student used a Berkeley Haas course to redirect food for good
An Evening & Weekend MBA student launched a food-rescue initiative donating uneaten lunch to the Dorothy Day House after being inspired by a Design Thinking course.
Haas MBA student team nabs $75,000 for supply chain startup at Impact Pitch Competition
Arado, a startup streamlining Latin American small-farmer supply chains, wins funding at the Invest for Impact Pitch Competition.
Victoria Williams-Ononye, MBA 19, Senior Manager of Product Strategy, Oatly
A Haas MBA grad applies food-innovation training to develop sustainable, culturally relevant oat milk products.
Amanda Parker, MBA 18, Managing Director, Cowgirl Creamery
A Haas MBA grad leads the artisanal cheese company through pandemic challenges by blending empathy with financial acumen.
Revolution Foods
Two Haas MBA alumni built a social enterprise serving over 500 million nutritious meals to schoolchildren across 23 states.
Can plant-based seafood replace the real thing? Startup Impact Food thinks so
Three UC Berkeley students founded Impact Food to build a plant-based raw tuna alternative.
LAUNCH Diaries: turning insects into tasty dog food and building smarter billboards
Two LAUNCH accelerator teams — SuperPetFoods (insect-based dog food) and BumpR (rideshare ad tech) — prepare to pitch at Demo Day.
Startup roundup: Caldo, Eat Makhana & Kyte
Three Haas ventures — automated food assembly, healthy snacks, and car rental — target distinct market opportunities.
Stephanie Lawrence and Aashi Vel, MBA 13s Co-Founders, Traveling Spoon
Two Haas MBA grads build Traveling Spoon, connecting travelers with local hosts in 50 countries for authentic home cooking experiences.
Sustaining the Sustainable Food Initiative
Krave Jerky founder Jonathan Sebastiani donates funds to expand the Sustainable Food Initiative’s entrepreneurship education programs.
Two alumni-led companies are leading the transformation of school food
Revolution Foods and Back to the Roots founders disrupt school meal programs with healthier alternatives, as featured on NBC’s Today Show.
Students Focus on Better Farming Methods in Patagonia Case Competition
UC Berkeley’s Team Greenscape competes among finalists pitching sustainability solutions at Patagonia’s case competition.
On the MBA Elective Menu: A New Food Venture Lab
Haas launches a Food Venture Lab course taught by William Rosenzweig, letting MBA students identify food system challenges and build business solutions.
Haas Entrepreneur Sells Startup Krave to Hershey
Jon Sebastiani launches Krave jerky through the Berkeley Lean LaunchPad class, later selling the company to Hershey.
Open Innovation Found to Be Basic Ingredient of Chez Panisse's Success
A Haas case study shows how Chez Panisse built the California cuisine movement through a collaborative ecosystem of suppliers and customers.