Her Story
About Beth
Beth Statkus brings more than 25 years of experience in the food industry as a trained food scientist. She earned her food science degree from Cornell University and later obtained an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University. Her professional journey began with product development roles at Kraft Foods, followed by positions at Wrigley and Mars, where she advanced to managing the science and technology team. This experience highlighted how novel technologies can improve lives. Beth is a strong advocate for food as medicine, emphasizing the benefits of the Mediterranean and MIND diets for longevity, cardiovascular health, and brain health. Through her small startup, she focuses on educating the Parkinson's community about nutrition's role in disease prevention and progression, including addressing related gastrointestinal issues. She is a long-time member of IFT and serves on the regional board of the Parkinson's Foundation. Beth attributes her success to mentors, hard work, curiosity, perseverance, and collaboration with others facing similar challenges.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Beth
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a lot of great mentors along the way, hard work and curiosity, not really giving up when things get tough, and seeking out people or others who've gone through similar experiences to help guide us through these challenges.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice would be to just take a first step and enter into it, either join a club, or write a paper, or post something on social media, just to start the conversation. You'd be surprised at who chimes in and offers to help. I'm a big collaboration person so I would encourage people to get into this field. In the medical community is hard and we're learning so much, and every little piece contributes to it, so it's kind of a just-do-it message. A lot of these industries are male-dominated, but there are a lot of very experienced and helpful women out there, so seek them out and realize that these younger kids can do it too. There's an opportunity and to not get discouraged.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunity is getting everybody in a room together, meaning the academic organizations, the NGOs or the nonprofits, and industry people together. The challenge is in the research world the grant and funding that seems to be slipping away from a government standpoint. For a small startup like us, it's how do we get the word out effectively and cost-effectively. The food industry is tough because margins are small. It's hard to implement the Mediterranean diet in the U.S. and get more fiber into your diet. How do we get through the clutter to really help educate people in simple, easy-to-consume terms.
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