Taste Radio

Zak Normandin is a determinedly practical entrepreneur. As a new father, he was concerned that there were few companies selling organic foods for babies and toddlers. So he created his own: Little Duck Organics, a maker of USDA organic snacks. A few years after its launch, he sold the company. Although he had been successful in the food business, he wasn't satisfied with traditional distribution models. Seeing an opportunity to sell direct-to-consumer, two years ago Normandin launched Dirty Lemon, a brand of functional drinks that are sold via a text message-based ordering platform. Thomas Perez has similar views when it comes to disruptive business concepts. The CEO of Alpha Dominche, a manufacturer of ultra high-end coffee and tea brewing machines for cafes, Perez felt that consumers would benefit from learning about how the company’s equipment works and what separates it from traditional devices and brewing methods. He built Extraction Lab, a sprawling space in Brooklyn’s Industry City neighborhood, to edu