Riana Lynn Keynote Speaker

Founder of Journey Foods, an innovate food technology company used by Unilever and Ingredion
Former Director at Cleveland Avenue, the private equity fund focused on food and beverage brands
One of MIT's 30 top innovators under 35

Riana Lynn's Biography

Riana Lynn is the founder of Journey Foods, a food tech company that supports cutting-edge product management and data services for food businesses.

A biologist by training turned entrepreneur, Riana Lynn has developed high-growth and nationally recognised food businesses, using innovative technology. These include “Peeled”, at the time one of America’s fastest growing beverage brands offering bespoke beverage nutrition and early cold-press innovations, and “Food Trace” which developed software and mapping applications for better food sourcing management data.

After the acquisition of her second business, Riana Lynn was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Google. There, she acted as a business development coach, start-up mentor, and diversity advisor. Following this, she joined Cleveland Avenue, a private equity and venture capital fund focused on food and beverage brands. It was founded by former McDonald’s CEO, Don Thompson. In her capacity as Director, Riana worked with and advised several of their portfolio companies, including Beyond Meat, Farmwise, and Farmer’s Fridge.

Riana left Cleveland Avenue in 2018 to focus full-time on her latest venture, Journey Foods. The company’s proprietary AI platform helps companies use data to find the most nutritious ingredients at the lowest price. It also makes recommendations for healthy and affordable ingredient swaps. Journey’s customers include Ingredion and Unilever.

Her accomplishments have been featured on MIT 35 under 35, CNBC, Forbes, USA Today, Wired, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur Magazine, Food Tank and more. Riana Lynn graduated from the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science.

Food Innovation & Supply Chain Evolution

Leveraging data and technology to solve critical challenges in global food systems.

Technology & Entrepreneurship

Building successful startups in the food-tech space and navigating venture capital as a diverse founder.

‍AI & Data Integration in Everyday Business

Practical applications of artificial intelligence to transform traditional industries.

‍Sustainable Agriculture & Food Justice

Connecting modern technology with traditional farming practices for equitable food systems.

‍Women's Leadership in STEM

Breaking barriers and building bridges for women in science, technology, and entrepreneurship.

She operates at the intersection of food, technology and data, leading innovation in how food products are developed and optimised.
She translates scientific and technological insight into practical solutions that help organisations create more nutritious, sustainable and cost-effective food systems.
She brings entrepreneurial expertise from building and scaling high-growth food tech ventures, including Journey Foods and earlier category-defining brands.
She is an engaging speaker who combines science, business and innovation to explore the future of food and supply chains.
Her insights equip organisations to leverage data and AI to improve product development, sustainability and global food accessibility.