"I Know a Guy" Isn't a Sourcing Strategy | SURCH Foods

Phil Chang and Kenny Vannucci sit down with Sylvia Bennett, founder of SURCH Foods (that's S-U-R-C-H), a B2B search platform built to solve a problem the food industry has quietly lived with forever: there is no good way to find ingredients, packaging, co-manufacturers, or expertise. 

Sylvia spent her career in the industry — starting in a Sobeys bakery, then product development and private label at Sobeys and Walmart, then R&D at a cookie plant — and kept watching sourcing managers dig through old business cards because "I know a guy" was the only system available.

We flipped this episode on its head. Instead of starting with Sylvia's story, we start with the platform, walk through it live, and then back into why someone with her background decided to build it.

The honest takeaway: a search engine for food ingredients shouldn't be revolutionary in 2026. But it is — and it only works if the industry actually shows up and gets listed.

Find Sylvia at surchfoods.com or [e-mail].

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