NutraWomen Wednesday: Collette Kakuk, Chief Strategic and Commercial Officer, Cyanotech

Humble beginnings, a desire to go to college, and patriotism led Kakuk to the US Military. After her tour of duty, she took to the west coast–a place that changed her career trajectory.

“I grew up in the Midwest and once I moved to California and became a parent, there was kind of this fundamental shift. California is very health minded. You start thinking about the things that you're feeding your family, your children and their growing little bodies. And at heart, I'm a marketer. So kind of at the intersection of all those things, I found my way into natural ingredients,” said Kakuk.

The Military vet spent time working at Layn Natural Ingredients before landing her new role at Cyanotech.

“I pivoted from botanicals into microalgae and it was kind of like (pun intended) diving into a parallel universe. I really enjoy my new role. One thing that I enjoy the most is that before I wasn't proximal to production and I am now. I can touch the farm that we have in Hawaii. I can be in lockstep with production. I can see the sustainability. I can see the true sourcing and that's one of the things I love the most about my new role because I am so passionate about sourcing and sustainability and really knowing the importance of the responsibility that we have on the ingredients side.”