My name is: Max Koenig.  

My stomping ground is: New York City.

I’m known for being: An entrepreneur and activist.

I'm talking about: Zero-waste health-foods.

You can find it at: Scen at 1165 Broadway and NoHo soon, plus our website.

Before I launched this, I was: Finishing undergraduate studies in business and finance in Switzerland and London.

My interest was sparked when:

On one hand, growing up across Europe exposed me to various lifestyles and cultures in which food plays such a crucial role. On the other hand, the importance of functional nutrition became more and more important while playing soccer on a competitive level in my teenage years. Nowadays, I am hence super interested in finding the ultimate nutrition solutions for the “modern athlete” who can be found on the pitch, in the office or at the studio.

What inspired me to start this was: 

My grandfather’s diagnosis with multiple chronic diseases led both of us to switch to a completely plant-based diet, which resulted in significant improvements in our overall health. Subsequently, I partnered with Matthew Kenney, founder of a leading lifestyle company, while finishing uni to accelerate the shift towards human and planetary health.

The idea behind it is:

Climate change stands before us as the most pressing and complex challenge while chronic diseases are continuously expanding—and all solutions point towards food tech. Scen seeks to demonstrate to the world that there’s limitless potential in lifestyle-technology and, in doing so, is actively working to enhance people’s lifestyles, the number one cause of death now.

With a current focus on creating beautifully designed and innovative consumer goods and retail stores, we’re committed to demonstrating that you don't have to compromise when choosing to purchase healthfully and sustainably. We believe in using design as a tool to communicate the attractiveness of health and sustainability.

What makes it different is:

We offer food solutions derived by nutritional and environmental science that are finished by one of the world’s leading chefs Matthew Kenney. We are also showcasing the status-quo of material science with zero-waste packaging made from plants, manufactured with wind energy and printed with algae ink.

Our retail spaces have the purpose of building the first scalable, circular farm-to-table model. Fast-casual restaurants showcase a food model serving as prototype for the cities of the future.

We also have a radically healthy, accessible, delicious and functional product range with an ever-expanding ecosystem, creating a one-stop brand for one's daily nutrition.

While our current focus is to distribute nutrition for human and planetary health, our mission is to treat chronic diseases and enhance human longevity. 

Our secret ingredient is:  A healthy balance of experience and big dreams.

My favorite lesser-known detail is:

About half of the current menu is composed of the exact items my grandfather and I started to eat on his journey to recovery.

This connects you to the earth because:

We are working with nature, not against it. We solely use whole-foods and only natural materials for our interior.

The food is courtesy of an intercontinental marriage, mating New Nordic cuisine—which focuses on local, natural and seasonal ingredients—with a Japanese style of cooking known as shojin-ryori, which has been exalting the plant-based diet, as well as conservation and sustainability, for more than a thousand years. At Scen, modern nutritional science was applied to put it just a few steps ahead of the general sustainable food zeitgeist. 

A relationship with nature is so important because:

I think we find wholeness with the four elements if we treat them with respect and responsibility. I am also excited about the continuous integration of nature into a modern, urban lifestyle.

Image Credits:

Talent, @maxscen

Art Director/Editor In Chief, @igeeokafor

Photographer, @chrisruetten

Stylist, @douglashenrylewis