Nourishment, Intentionality, and Building Community with Kate Taylor Martin of Nutbar

What if the key to better health care isn't just in hospitals, but in how we think about nourishment, space, and human connection?

In this episode of Collected, we sit down with Kate Taylor Martin, founder and CEO of nutbar, a superfood café with six locations across Toronto. Kate's journey began in an unexpected place: the hallways of St. Michael's Hospital, where she worked after university and witnessed firsthand how strained our health care system is, and how little it prioritizes healing environments and nourishing food.

That experience sparked a mission. Kate enrolled in the Institute of Holistic Nutrition and discovered her calling: to create spaces where people could feel genuinely good—not just through what they ate, but through every touchpoint of their experience.

From a basement café in Summerhill to six thriving locations, Kate has built nutbar on a foundation of unwavering integrity. No cut corners. All organic ingredients. Housemade nut milk from scratch. Beautiful, intentional design. And a tagline that says it all: feel good here.

This conversation explores:

• How health care environments shaped Kate's thinking about wellness and design
• Why food is medicine—and why hospital food fails patients when they need nourishment most
• The intentionality behind every detail at nutbar
• Building trust and community by staying true to your values, even as you scale
• Why wellness has become "the new luxury" and what that says about modern life
• The power of collaboration over competition in Toronto's wellness ecosystem

Kate's story is a reminder that real change doesn't always happen inside the system. Sometimes it happens when someone steps outside of it, asks "what if," and builds something better from the ground up.

If you've ever wondered how thoughtful design, quality ingredients, and genuine care can reshape an entire industry, this episode is for you.

Learn more about nutbar here: https://nutbar.co/

Follow nutbar:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nutbar.co/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nutbar.co

About Collected by Unum Co.

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience—how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Each episode, hosts Megan and Farah sit down with people who are challenging the status quo, leading with empathy, and making an impact through their work and their stories.

Stories move us. They open eyes, shift systems, and remind us what really matters. Real change begins when people show up for people, and this is the space where those conversations live.

Created by Unum Co.

A patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca
💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn
and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.