Each year, around 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean, killing wildlife and damaging the enviroment for future generations. Much of this pollution originates from the wasteful packaging used for everyday grocery products. But a greener grocery alternative is making waves from across the pond. Joining us today is John Hughes, Chief Strategy Officer at The Modern Milkman, a UK-based grocery delivery company that brings locally sourced goods directly to customers without any single-use plastics. From the startup’s early days, John sought to invest heavily in data modernization. Hear how his data-driven approach has helped the company cultivate a shared mission with customers to make the world a cleaner, safer, and better place for all of its creatures.

Key Moments:

00:00 Episode Start

04:46 What is The Modern Milkman and how did John become associated?

08:38 How did John bring a data-driven approach to The Modern Milkman?

11:07 How has data helped lead to the company’s growth?

21:36 What is unique about The Modern Milkman business model?

23:16 How does data inform the customer experience?

27:33 Data literacy among the leaders at The Modern Milkman

30:38 The Modern Milkman’s data stack

35:04 The benefits of working with startups

38:22 How does The Modern Milkman proactively manage cloud costs?

40:34 Data stack modernization advice for larger companies

45:42 Lightning Round

Mentions
“The Blue Planet” (BBC Earth program)
DoorDash Engineering (blog)
Braze - API Guide
“Three Must-Read Data and Analytics Books with Tim Harford, Zhamak Dehghani, and Brent Dykes” (The Data Chief podcast, Episode 57)
“The Data Detective” (Book by Tim Harford)

Get even more insights from data and analytics leaders like John on The Data Chief. https://www.thoughtspot.com/data-chief

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