How One Rebel for A Food Cause Made Your Life Better
Ten years ago I interviewed with a fire-in-the-belly rebel who wanted to change the food world. He wasn’t an overthrow-the-government type, nor one to collaborate and go slow. Instead he was a long-time co-owner of a restaurant concept who preferred to show the industry that clean food was feasible and profitable on a large scale.
“I woke up one day and realized that I couldn’t eat in my deli anymore due to all the contaminants,” said Rusty Coco in our first meeting. He led the efforts for Jason’s Deli to become one of the first national concepts to remove artificial trans fats from its extensive menu (2005) and he offered to advise any competitor to achieve the same results (via a full page ad in The USA Today). No one took him up, but I was sold and knew that this guy was a winner.
He was born to a grocery store owner in Beaumont, Texas, and raised by an Italian mom who taught him to cook, grow food and develop a great food palate. “If you want a great pasta sauce, you need to start with growing tomatoes,” he would say in his raspy southern drawl.
As a long-time proponent of health, wellness, and no surprise, a vegetarian lifestyle, Rusty wanted to create real change in the food world. In 2000, he started taking his company down the path to remove artificial trans fats as he read enough studies to know that it was the right thing to do. It took him 5 years to accomplish and along the way, he created some industry detractors.
Sure, he was establishing a critical competitive advantage for his national restaurant brand, but honestly, Rusty never spoke with such business language. Additionally, as much as Rusty’s rebellious image led to a great deal of media coverage (The New York Times, CNBC, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, et al), he was not on a mission to be the cover story. Instead he was a pure crusader who was hell bent on creating a clean menu for regular people — especially middle class families.
When I joined the company in 2008, Rusty was getting ready to finish his R&D project to remove high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from the menu. This was no easy task as the ingredient was prolific and found in everything — from bread to sodas as well as every nook and cranny in kitchens around the U.S. Some manufacturers pushed back but most knew that Rusty was not only a visionary, he was the rare for-profit food populist who was speaking for the people. Heck, we conducted a poll in 2008 that saw more than 25,000+ vote quickly and show — few wanted artificial syrup in food.
Two years later, Rusty and his R&D team removed all artificial dyes and colorings — including the previous fluorescent-looking Mac & Cheese. At the same time, the brand started introducing far more organic items to the menu.
Rusty’s leadership also influenced the 10,000+ employees in the company. It wasn’t unusual to see people change their eating habits. Some started eating a salad a day while others reduced their carb intake; and a few made dramatic changes — losing 40 pounds or more.
While some might say that Rusty represents a great leader of a challenger brand, I agree only in part. He was more akin to a public health advocate who happened to co-own a large food brand than the typical capitalist who seeks growth at all costs. Yes, he is not the first as Greg Steltenpohl (Odwalla), Ben Cohen (Ben & Jerry’s), Paul Hawken (Erewhon), Anita Roddick (The Body Shop), and so many others came before him. But if one thing is clear today — we need more business leaders like Rusty Coco.
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