Food Systems Don't Disrupt, They Evolve

Dan Altschuler on Playing the Long Game

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About the Guest

Dan Altschuler is Managing Partner at Unovis Asset Management, a global investment firm backing pioneering technologies reshaping the food industry and addressing critical global issues. He is a strategic collaborator with a deep commitment to improving how the world eats, leveraging his entrepreneurial, operational, and investment expertise.

Dan co-founded Unovis to back visionary founders focused on creating a healthier, more sustainable future. He leads the firm’s early-stage investment efforts across North America and Israel. To date, Unovis has invested in over 50 startups worldwide, including game-changers like Alpine Bio, Oshi, Anina’s, ImaginDairy, Heura, and Abbot’s.

Prior to his role at Unovis, Dan’s career was shaped by a range of food-related ventures. He worked alongside major food corporations, founded a CPG company, managed logistics operations, and directed a creative agency, all within the foodservice and CPG sectors.

Dan holds an MBA from Babson College and a BS in Business Administration from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.  Dan serves on the boards of NovaMeat, Black Sheep Foods, and GreenOnyx, guiding these companies toward achieving their strategic goals.

About this episode

In this episode, Dan Altschuler Malek returns to Eat For The Planet for a wide-ranging, honest conversation about the state of food innovation. We dig into the lessons learned from the early rise—and recalibration—of alternative proteins, and why building a resilient food system requires patience, scrappiness, and a willingness to rethink success. Dan reflects on why food systems rarely "disrupt" the way tech industries do, how investors and entrepreneurs must evolve their strategies, and why he remains optimistic about the future of food. From manufacturing challenges to consumer culture shifts to the hidden power of blended products, this is a conversation about playing the long game—and why that's the only game worth playing.

Key Takeaways

  1. Time, not capital, was the missing ingredient: Many early alt-protein companies underestimated how much time it takes to build manufacturing, distribution, and true consumer loyalty in food.

  2. Money made the movement move too fast: Cheap capital created unrealistic expectations that food systems could be disrupted like tech—which ultimately clashed with food’s slower, more systemic nature.

  3. Blended products could offer a bridge, not a betrayal: Shifting away from an all-or-nothing approach may be key to helping consumers adopt change more naturally.

  4. Entrepreneurs must pick a lane: Whether it’s technology development, food manufacturing, or brand building, companies that try to do everything risk burning out before they scale.

  5. Venture capital must be smarter: Not every food innovation fits a venture model. Capital-heavy, thin-margin businesses may need different funding paths to survive and thrive.

  6. The future investment thesis is broader: Dan’s focus has shifted from solely replacing animal agriculture to investing across food security, health and nutrition, sustainable manufacturing, and tech-enabled innovation.

  7. Optimism is rooted in resilience: Despite setbacks, Dan remains bullish that innovation, adaptation, and entrepreneurship will continue to reshape food systems over the long term—through evolution, not disruption.