#239 - The New Non-UPF Verification with Megan Westgate
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Megan Westgate—founder and CEO of the Non GMO Project—to introduce her groundbreaking new certification: Non UPF Verified. With nearly two decades of experience in food integrity, Megan unpacks why ultra processed foods are driving a global health crisis, how the new standard was designed to fill a critical gap in the marketplace, and what it means for brands, retailers, investors, and consumers alike.
Megan shares the origin story of the Non GMO Project—starting from a laptop on her bedroom floor with no desk and no salary—and draws powerful parallels to the cultural moment we're in now around ultra processed foods. She explains how the Non UPF Verified standard was designed to find a meaningful middle ground: not rubber-stamping all industrially produced food, but also not making the bar so high that no brand can realistically achieve it. The standard requires that at least 70% of a verified product's ingredients be minimally processed, prohibits ultra processed ingredients like hexane extraction and non-nutritive sweeteners, and sets category-specific limits on refined added sugars.
The conversation dives into what ultra processed really means (and why the definition is more contested than you'd think), how this standard differs from organic and Non GMO, and why 52% of consumers now say degree of processing is their number one concern when buying food—more than GMOs or organic. Megan also shares early momentum: 300+ brands on the waitlist, 115 products already verified through the pilot, and early adopters including Amy's, Simple Mills, and Spindrift.
Whether you're a founder formulating a new product, a brand considering certification, or a buyer trying to make sense of the UPF conversation, this episode is essential listening.
Listen in as they discuss:
- How the Non GMO Project started from scratch—one laptop, no desk, no salary—and what made it take off
- What "ultra processed" actually means and why the definition matters so much
- The Non UPF Verified standard: prohibited ingredients, the 70% minimally processed requirement, and category-specific sugar limits
- How Non UPF Verified differs from organic, Non GMO, and clean label claims
- Why 52% of consumers cite degree of processing as their top concern—surpassing GMOs and organic
- The business case for early-stage brands to formulate for this standard from day one
- What the certification process looks like: document-based, no on-site inspections, no testing required
- How legacy CPG brands are responding (spoiler: new product launches, not reformulations)
- Early pilot brands: Amy's, Simple Mills, and Spindrift
- Where to find the standard, consumer research, and how to get started at non-ultra-processed.org
Episode Links:
Megan Westgate – Founder & CEO, Non-GMO Project + Non-UPF Verified
🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganethompson/
🔗Non UPF Verified LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/non-upf-verified/
🌐 Website: https://www.nonultraprocessed.org/
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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Are you going to crush it on Amazon this year? |
| 0:04.0 | It's such an important channel, but it's so hard to do a loan, and most agencies are a total rip-off. We can't afford $5,000 a month and a commission on our sales. They just don't get it. That's why I love our partners at Daybreak. They are full service, meaning they do the creative work, the listings, the logistics, and of course, all the ads, all with the most reasonable retainer out there. |
| 0:22.9 | I work with them personally. |
| 0:24.2 | I'm so grateful we have such a good partner to recommend out to you, our community. |
| 0:28.1 | They do evaluate your product first to see if it might be a fit. |
| 0:30.9 | So if you want them to have a look, email them. |
| 0:33.0 | Startup CPG at daybreak.com. |
| 0:35.8 | And they'll do a free audit for you. |
| 0:37.4 | Good luck, everyone. |
| 0:52.1 | People who want natural food don't want GMOs. |
| 0:54.7 | That's just inherent. |
| 0:56.2 | So that was the reality. |
| 0:58.3 | So then what we saw is there was a real risk for natural products companies. |
| 1:02.6 | If they weren't taking steps to make sure that their products were non-GMO, then there |
| 1:07.1 | was a gap between consumer expectation and the reality of their product. And the more |
| 1:12.7 | UPF someone eats, a higher risk they'll have for these illnesses. And on the bright side, when |
| 1:19.0 | someone reduces their UPF consumption even a little bit, it can have positive impacts on, for |
| 1:24.9 | example, their risk of diabetes. And so really what we're looking at is ultra-processed food is now the majority of the food that |
| 1:33.6 | people are eating in packages, but it is totally possible to make industrially produced food |
| 1:39.5 | that is not ultra-processed. |
| 1:41.3 | And that's what we're seeing leadership from now in the natural products |
| 1:44.5 | industry with this new program. |
... |
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