ReGen Brands Podcast

#72 - Alison Czeczuga & Zach West @ Gaia Herbs

On this episode, we have Alison Czeczuga and Zach West from Gaia Herbs. Alison serves as the Director of Social Impact and Sustainability while Zach serves as the Farm Operations Manager.
 
Gaia Herbs is supporting regenerative agriculture with their 250-acre Regenerative Organic Certified® farm in North Carolina and their more than 200+ SKUs that contain various Regenerative Organic Certified® ingredients.
 
In this episode, we learn how this natural channel supplement leader has developed, implemented, and expanded their regenerative strategy plus how they’re betting that tying regen to product quality and consumer wellness will be a winning commercial strategy.
 
We talked farmworker housing, composting programs, herbal extraction, product label claim challenges and so much more in this one. Tons of insights and of course some good laughs along the way.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
🤯 Integrating regen into their 200+ SKUs
🚜 Their 250-acre Regenerative Organic Certified® farm
🧪 How Gaia’s herbs & botanicals become supplements
🧑‍🌾 Their legendary H-2A visa farmworker crew
🏠 Gaia’s new state-of-the-art farmworker housing
♻️ Upcycling their ‘herbal marc’ into compost
🤔 The challenges of producing fully ROC™ SKUs
🤝 Working with other brands on the Sustainable Herbs Program
🧘 Why tying regen to wellness is the winning strategy
🗣️ How they’re approaching messaging and label claims
 
Links:
Gaia Herbs
Regenerative Organic Certified®
Rodale Institute
H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers
Meet Your Herbs
SXSW
Regenerative Healthcare Conference
B-Corp
Sustainable Herbs Program
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#71 - Dana Ehrlich @ Verde Farms

On this episode, we have Dana Ehrlich who is the Founder of Verde Farms.
 
Verde Farms is supporting regenerative agriculture with its lineup of 100% USDA organic and grass-fed and grass-finished beef products. They have recently begun working with Land to Market to transition their supply to fully regenerative and have begun certifying certain SKUs.
 
In this episode, Dana shares the health and tourism journey that led him to South American grass-fed beef plus how they’ve grown the brand over time very unconventionally through private label business and branded sales to conventional and mass retailers.
 
Verde Farms is growing 50% year over year with category-leading velocities and recently took on its first major investment while also transitioning to self-manufacturing.
 
Tons of fun topics in this one on all things CPG plus Dana shares the behind-the-scenes look at getting their farmers to adopt more regenerative practices. Here’s a hint - the incentives have to do with boosting on-farm profitability.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
🔌 Going from semiconductors to CPG
🌍 How health and travel inspired the brand
🏗️ Building supply chain before brand
🤯 Landing their big break with Wegman’s & Costco
🥩 Moving all of their volume over to branded sales
🧑‍🌾 Transitioning their supply chain to regenerative
🤠 Why quicker time to slaughter weight is key for rancher adoption
🎯 Consumer first > Customer first
😯 Pivoting to self-manufacturing right before COVID
🚀 Partnering with Manna Tree to fuel future growth
 
Links:
Verde Farms
The End of Craving
Land to Market™
Pasturebird
Manna Tree Partners
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#70 - Briana Buckles @ Yogi Tea

On this episode, we have Briana Buckles who is the Global Senior Sustainability Manager at Yogi Tea.
 
Yogi Tea is supporting regenerative agriculture with 9 global projects dedicated to increasing regenerative agriculture adoption in the supply chain for their Yogi Tea and Choice Organics brands.
 
Yogi has been around for more than 50 years, produces over 70 SKUs, and sources more than 150 ingredients from over 40 different countries. Their products are stocked across thousands of retailers in North America and Europe. 
 
In this episode, Briana shares her 5-year journey trailblazing new regenerative agriculture initiatives at Yogi and how they are increasing regen ag adoption through a three-pronged supply chain visibility, intervention, and expansion approach. Plus, she shares the details on one of their projects in Rwanda with details on how they select farmers to support, partner with local technical assistance providers, and fund the work itself.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
💫 The original Yogi recipe
🤯 Sourcing 150+ ingredients from 40+ countries
✍️ Building a Sustainability program from scratch
🌍 Their 9 global regen ag projects to date
🔍 Why it all starts with supply chain transparency
🧑‍🌾 Their work with tea farmers in Rwanda
💲 How they think about the ROI of regenerative
😧 The challenges of certifying their complex supply chains
⚙️ How Yogi designs, implements, and funds their regen projects
🤩 Why every supply chain link needs to benefit from regen
 
Links:
Yogi Tea
Yogi Tea’s Annual Sustainability Report
Dr. Bronner’s
Fair Trade Certified
For for Life
FairWild Foundation
Rainforest Alliance
Regenerative Organic Certified
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#69 - Matthieu Kohlmeyer @ La Tourangelle

On this episode, we have Matthieu Kohlmeyer who is the Founder and CEO of La Tourangelle.
 
La Tourangelle is a French-American family-owned & operated culinary oil maker. They’re currently supporting regenerative agriculture with their Regenerative Organic Certified® Sunflower Oil and their soon-to-be-released regenerative olive oil.
 
In this episode, Matthieu shares La Tourangelle’s 20-year history as a CPG brand and 150-year history producing artisan oils, he shares what makes their production and packaging unique from other players in the category, and he also details their future plans to support regenerative agriculture.
 
Matthieu is a wealth of knowledge in all topics oil-related and he was nice enough to weigh in on the current seed oil debates, existing issues with counterfeit oils in the market, and why scaling regen in oil products might look a lot different than other categories.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
🗝️ Artisan oil-making dating back to 1867
🇺🇲 How Matthieu brought the brand to the US
🥫 Why tin packaging is better for the oil and the earth
✨ What makes La Tourangelle’s oils unique?
😦 Current fraud issues in culinary oil manufacturing
♻️ The added upcycling complexity in oil supply chains
🧑‍🌾 Farmer feedback on regenerative & organic
❤️ Why emotion > education for selling food
👀 What’s the truth about seed oils?
👏 Educating kids in their community garden
 
Links:
La Tourangelle
Regenerative Organic Certified® Sunflower Oil
Regenerative Organic Certified®
The Codex Alimentarius
The Dorito Effect
Regenified™
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#68 - Jared Simon @ Manitoba Harvest

On this episode, we have Jared Simon who is the CEO at Manitoba Harvest.
 
Manitoba Harvest is North America’s leading hemp food brand, and they’re supporting regenerative agriculture with their recently released Regenerative Organic Certified® Hemp Hearts.
 
In this episode, Jared breaks down how hemp is grown and some of the agronomic differences between conventional, organic, and regenerative organic cultivation. Jared also shares how Manitoba Harvest is developing their commercial strategy around regenerative and what this means for both their branded business and B2B ingredient business.
 
Jared was super engaging and insightful, and we really enjoyed gleaning his insights on how a legacy, scaled brand like Manitoba Harvest starts prioritizing regen, opportunities he sees in the broader regen movement, and how their work is influencing the larger, publicly traded parent company they sit within.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
💥 Their 25-year history pioneering hemp foods
🌱 The differences between hemp and cannabis
💪 Why hemp is a nutrition powerhouse
🔬 Using AI-Powered nutrition research to drive innovation
👉 Investing upstream to add value
💡 How they think about their regen strategy
📈 Scaling ROC™ hemp with B2B & B2C
👀 The future of regenerative marketing claims
🔥 Educating Tilray’s other brands on regen
🎯 Getting to critical mass with retailers and consumers
 
Links:
Manitoba Harvest
Hemp Oil Canada / Fresh Hemp Foods
Tilray Brands
Brightseed
Regenerative Organic Certified®
Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC™) Hemp Hearts
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#67 - Blaine & Brooks Hitzfield @ Seven Sons

On this episode, we have Blaine & Brooks Hitzfield from Seven Sons. Blaine is the CEO while Brooks serves as the COO.
 
Seven Sons is supporting regenerative agriculture with its direct-to-consumer meat business that sells regeneratively raised beef, bison, pork, and chicken as well as seafood and other snack items.
 
Seven Sons sources their regeneratively raised meat products from their own 550-acre farm in Roanoke, Indiana, and from other regenerative farmers around the Midwest. 
 
In this episode, we hear how the family farm transitioned from a conventional hog operation to a multi-species pastured livestock operation, plus Blaine and Brooks take us behind the scenes on all things direct-to-consumer e-commerce and how they’ve grown their business to 75,000 orders a year.
 
This was an absolute masterclass in operating a DTC brand, connecting with consumers authentically, and making regenerative products accessible through convenience.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
👏 Growing to 14,000 customers & 75,000 orders a year
😦 Their family journey from conventional pork to regen beef
⁉️ Are there actually seven sons in this business!?
🤯 Scaling to 53 pickup locations then shutting them down
👉 Why education isn’t a winning marketing strategy
😵‍💫 How to avoid “death by diversity” as a farmer
🍗 The challenges of pastured poultry economics
🎯 Winning with Quality, Authenticity, & Convenience
💲 Their winning DTC playbook (acquisition, retention, assortment)
💡 Being your own customer to improve your business
 
Links:
Seven Sons
Graze Cart
Pasturebird
Byron Center Meats
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#66 - Kyle Krull & Anthony Corsaro - Expo West Recap: Claims, Capital, & The Fallacy of Competition

On this episode, Kyle and I are flying solo to bring you some updates and thoughts coming out of Expo West.
 
For those who don’t know, Expo West is “the annual Super Bowl of CPG” with over 67,000 attendees this year and a gathering of anyone and everyone working on CPG brands supporting regenerative agriculture - from certifiers, to investors, to the brands themselves, and many more.
 
Kyle and I spend some time covering our personal highlights, favorite new products, plus the state of the union for CPG capital investment and regenerative marketing claims.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
🖤 The power of human connection 
🤤 Our favorite new items from regen brands
🔊 Regenerative dominates Climate Day content
⭐ Regen brands take home 5 NEXTYs
😍 Big sourcing commitments and funding rounds announced
💯 Today’s major operating hurdles for regenerative brands
💰 Current investment landscape and implications for regen brands
👀 California defining “regenerative agriculture”
👉 The fallacy of positive competition in the regenerative movement
🙏 Using hope, empathy, and vulnerability to create harmony in regen CPG
 
Links:
ReGen Brands
Expo West
Force of Nature Meats
Big Picture Foods
Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed
Sol Simple
Artisan Tropic
Alec’s Ice Cream
Patagonia Provisions
Climate Day
Regenerative Organic Certified®
Regenified™
A Greener World
Soil & Climate Initiative
The Stockdale Paradox
One Step Closer
TIG Brands
Steward
Lil Bucks
California Defining Regenerative Agriculture
Silk
White Oak Patures
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#65 - Hovik Azadkhanian @ Heirloom Coffee Roasters

On this episode, we have Hovik Azadkhanian who is the Founder and CEO of Heirloom Coffee Roasters.
 
Heirloom Coffee Roasters is supporting regenerative agriculture with its 6-SKU lineup of Regenerative Organic Certified® whole bean coffees.
 
In this episode, we learn how Hovik is carrying on his family’s legacy as a third-generation coffee roaster, how the brand has grown from one Bay Area retail location to going nationwide with Sprouts in less than a year, and why regenerative agriculture is the key to saving coffee.
 
One thing is clear from this episode - when people tell Hovik he can’t do something, he is going to do whatever he can to prove them wrong. This spirit underpins Heirloom’s audacious goals which range from selling 100% regenerative organic certified coffee, to pioneering emissions-free electric roasting, and much more.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
🙏 Three generations of family coffee roasting
💡 Going from B2B coffee roaster to CPG brand
👉 “The fight to save coffee”
🥇 Why Regenerative Organic Certified® matters
🧑‍🌾 Creating better futures for coffee farmers
💫 Building “premium” into the brand and packaging
⚡ Using Bellwether’s electric coffee roasters
😮 From 1 store to nationwide in 9 months
🎫 Using KeHe’s “Golden Ticket” to land Sprouts
 🔊 “We have to make it feel good and taste good to do good”
 
Links:
Heirloom Coffee Roasters
The World's First Regenerative Coffee Research Lab
Heirloom & Bellwether’s Electric Coffee Roasters
Sustainable Harvest Relationship Coffee
Regenerative Organic Certified®
Good Food Awards
KeHe Golden Ticket Announcement
Green Spoon Sales
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#64 - Jody & Crystal Manuel + Brei Larmoyeux @ Gruff

On this episode, we have Jody and Crystal Manuel and Brei Larmoyeux, who are the Co-Founders of Gruff.
 
Gruff is supporting regenerative agriculture with its Regenerative Organic Certified® Ancient Grain Grits. Gruff’s grits are made from organic cracked Farro and are table-ready in just 12 minutes.
 
In this episode, we learn about Jody and Crystal's journey transitioning their farm from conventional to organic plus all the spectacular nuance of how they’re currently weaving annuals, perennials, and animals to create a winning regenerative organic system.
 
Crystal shares the story of how feeding their many children a nutritious breakfast inspired the creation of Gruff, and we have Brei and Kyle sidebarring on how we can bring these nutritious grits to bodybuilding bros and other performance athletes across the world.
 
Gruff is a vertically integrated, farmer-led, regenerative brand with a great story and a ton of growth potential - we enjoyed diving into it all with Jody, Crystal, and Brei.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
🤤 Ancient Grain Grits made with cracked Farro
💡 Crystal’s health journey that changed their farm forever
👏 A beautiful integration of annuals, perennials, & animals
🥣 The bulk kids’ breakfasts that inspired their hero SKU
🤝 Why crop diversity requires market diversity
🤩 Beefing up on-farm impact reporting with Mad Ag
💪 Growing for Purely Elizabeth & Patagonia Provisions
🎯 Making weeds an indicator instead of an enemy
🔥 The foodservice opportunity for farro grits
💥 1 Mom at a time, 1 family at a time, 1 eater at a time
 
Links:
Gruff
Timeless Natural Food
Montana Organic Association
Montana Milling
Moz
Pluck Seasonings
Save The Bros
Mad Agricutlure
Purely Elizabeth
Weeds and Why They Grow
The Dorito Effect
EQIP
Nofence
Vence
Culinary Institute of America
School of Lunch
Three Billy Goats Gruff
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#63 - Nick Wiseman @ Little Sesame

On this episode, we have Nick Wiseman who is a Co-Founder and the CEO of Little Sesame.
 
Little Sesame is supporting regenerative agriculture with its lineup of organic and regeneratively farmed hummus products that includes a flavor lineup of Smooth Classic, Jammy Tomato, Caramelized Onion, Herby Jalapeño, and the newly launched Preserved Lemon.
 
In this episode, we learn how Nick and his team pivoted Little Sesame from restaurant to retail during COVID, the “freshly-spun” difference that makes their hummus unique, and Little Sesame’s explosive growth strategy and results.
 
We covered a ton with Nick, and this episode is super rich with insights into everything from direct-trade farm relationships, to driving product velocities at retail, to building self-manufacturing as a competitive advantage.
 
Episode Highlights:
 
😍 “Freshly spun” hummus made with regen chickpeas
😯 Pivoting from restaurant to CPG during COVID
🍋 Their new lemon preserve hummus
🔥 The ROI in self-manufacturing 
🤝 Partnering with their chickpea farmer, Casey Bailey
🤯 Farmer Casey’s “10-year regen experiment” and 17-crop rotation
🎯 Obsessing over velocities to drive growth
💰 Why brands need diverse capital stacks and new financial models 
🥳 Using seasonal SKUs and brand collabs to grow
🚀 Planning 1,000+ demos for 2024
 
Links:
Little Sesame
The Hummus Club
Timeless Seeds Inc.
Athletic Brewing Article
Glyphosate In Hummus (EWG)
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