Ben McKean, Founder & CEO of Hungryroot
Ben McKean didn’t start Hungryroot to sell groceries.
He set out to simplify food decisions for people who want to eat well without spending many hours planning for it.
That mindset — clear, practical, built to scale — is exactly what we care about at Beanstalk.
The company’s early version was built around plant-based meals. But in 2019, Ben made a decisive pivot: Hungryroot became a grocery assistant powered by machine learning, delivering curated items based on taste, goals, and dietary needs.
Today, two-thirds of what ends up in a customer’s cart is filled by AI.
It wasn’t a trend-chasing move. Ben’s background gave him a long view. He’d previously founded Savored, a restaurant booking platform he sold to Groupon at 26.
He went on to lead Groupon’s food division, gaining a front-row seat to how people eat, search, and spend.
That perspective carried into Hungryroot’s next phase. In a category known for burn, Ben chose profitability and reached it. That alone puts the company in rare air.
The tone at Hungryroot mirrors his own. His official bio says he puts Tabasco on everything.
He also pitched for Georgetown’s varsity baseball team, which tells you something about how he handles pressure and pace. Direct, competitive, calm.
Ben's track record crosses formats, channels, and business models but the throughline is clear: operational clarity, applied at scale, still wins.
It’s no wonder we're looking forward to having him at Beanstalk.
Want to meet leaders like Ben at Beanstalk?
Apply to attend here.
Know someone who should be in the room?
Let’s meet them. Drop us a line here: vip@beanstalkevents.com
