Building a Mission-Driven Supplement Brand: Regenerative Farming Meets Clinical Research

25:46So a really important key ingredient in your protein is the A2. So, I mean, maybe, Brian, if you want to speak to that a little bit. I mean, that is, there aren't too many brands that are using A2. There's a few that are kind of like leaking out there. But honestly, I think it's how you're using that A2 mixed with the ingredient profile, mixed with those key ingredients that you're putting in, really is what makes those proteins unique. Yeah, the A2 is an incredible addition. And it really is coming along in a big way. You know, a lot of folks out there think they're lactose intolerant. And there's a thing called beta, you know, beta casein, A1 beta casein, A2 beta casein.

26:18And ultimately, people just don't digest A1 beta casein very well. And when they try the A2 beta casein, you know, and that's the only certain, you know, breed of cows that gives this, you know, we work with Alexander Dairy in Northern California, Crescent City. And, you know, we went out there and visited those guys. They've got, you know, regenerative organic certified, you know, property out in these cows. They just live, you know, 365 days of the year on pasture. And, you know, they're living the good life out there. And, you know, they're implementing all these regenerative practices on the farms.

26:52And they, you know, the feed they get is, you know, all, you know, all grass and clover and coastal grasses and things like that. It's amazing. So what you're getting is you're just getting, you know, an unbelievable amount of, you know, your amino acid profile, of course, is complete, but you've got this nutrient-rich milk that delivers these high levels of omega-3s, great omega-3 ratios, CLA, vitamins, E and A, all the things that you would look for in, you know, really high-quality milk. and you know so you're getting it from Alexander that's the A2 and people are really experiencing a big difference in terms of digestion going back to what Hank said about you know taking a product you can feel if there is a complaint against protein it's typically gut related you know and we've got a lot of different ingredients that are in this product aside from the A2 we've got you know our grass-fed whey organic grass-fed whey is from rumiano cheese which is right down the road from Alexander and they're both Northern California.

27:45And, you know, very similar situation, 365 days a year on pasture. They were the first ones to ever be American Humane certified, a non-GMO project verified. So we've just got two of the best suppliers in this area to provide us with really nutrient dense, great, you know, milk protein powder. And then of course we've got the probiotics, which is our Bacillus subtilis AB22 that we've got in there. That's also going to support digestion, you know, and you know, it's got, it balances the gut. It helps with nutrient uptake. It helps repair gut lining in a lot of ways on its own standalone as a probiotic.

28:20That's what I took with my psoriasis that helped me get back to digestive health. And aside from that, we're seeing some early science that shows that this also breaks down plant fiber. And that's why we included it in our plant protein because it's helping break down our plant fibers. But it's also able to break down glyphosate and microplastics, which is also part of our next launch. So, I mean, the ingredients that we have going in these proteins are really intended to make an impact and a difference. And yes, the margin's terrible and things are, you know, you know, it's because we want to make products that work.

28:50People feel and you're going to notice the difference. And the beauty is we call it a men's and women's protein is because they are geared towards what men are looking for and what women are looking for. So there's a little bit more, 600 milligrams of the KSM-66, the raw KSM-66, because that's where you're getting that increased testosterone, building the muscle, boosting of testosterone, increasing strength is what I was trying to think of. But you're getting all these claims because we're catering these formulas for the guys and for the women for what they're looking for, aside from just the protein aspect, but what they're looking to get out of their performance from these products.

29:24Yeah, I want to say two things I want to add on to that before we change here. but I'm going to give a shout out, Brian, to the wizard. I can't believe I'm doing this in this podcast, but he deserves it. A guy named Mike Choi, who does a lot of our flavoring. First of all, you talk about flavoring a Chatavery gummy, which is incredibly hard to do. But when you're trying to flavor a vanilla and a chocolate protein with all these different herbals and a full bottle of ashwagandha and Chatavery, and you taste these proteins and you can't taste anything, but I would call it heaven. I don't know how he does it.

29:54The guys at Wizard, they taste incredible. And we also didn't talk about our plant protein. We did do a women's chocolate manila plant protein. We know there's a big market for that there. I'm not a huge, as my team knows, a huge consumer of plant proteins, but it's the best plant protein I've ever had. It's not gritty. It's smooth. It tastes like whey. We're probably going to expand in that area. And to Brian's point, the AB22 probiotic that we have in there, which is just another feature I completely forgot about, it's probably the best probiotic on earth. It's kind of a foreshadowing to what probably we're going to talk about with our next launch coming out.

30:31But it's been shown to Bron's point of being a cellulose digesting probiotic. Not many probiotics will help digest cellulose. And people on that plant-forward diet, which is huge out there still, need this probiotic in there. So that probiotic's in there, too, as well as the Chatovery for women and the chocolate and vanilla. So, yeah, just a great, great product all the way around. Well, let's talk new product innovation, because honestly, I'm thrilled at the products you launched with. And I will disclaimer that Shatavri gummy is delicious. It's a raspberry pomegranate. It is really good. It does not carry a heavy herbal or, you know, tannin kind of driven flavor.

31:14It really is delicious. So you guys did a great job on the flavoring. But you have some new products coming out that I might just be more excited about than the first launch because it is, you know, we'll make sure that this is airable at the right time. But we are talking probiotics and detoxes. And honestly, let's talk detoxes first. That might just be what I'm most excited about because I would love to take all of them in. Whatever order Jordan says you should take them in. I'm really excited because I think that is going to solve a lot of needs that people have out there. because there's so many buzzwords that we hear with microplastics and parasites.

31:49I mean, I feel like on social media, we're just being bombarded with a lot of this information. And to be able to have a detox regime that can actually help address some of these health concerns is really exciting. So let's talk new product innovation. Yeah, Bron, let me start because I know you're going to get into formulations of them real quick. I'm sorry I keep jumping ahead of you. But what I would say is, first of all, I think we're going to have probably eight new items with this launch that we'll talk about. It could have been 28. We had to pare it down to eight because there's never enough to talk about.

32:22The detoxes, we decided on two, but I can say these are two in a series of detoxes that are coming out. These are the two we wanted to start with, and I'll let Brian talk about them. But what I would say is, you know, I talked about we didn't really look at data when we started creating formulas and products for this company. Thank God that, you know, our intuition and our experience proved correct That we are playing category-wise in the industry, dollars-wise We're in the biggest categories It's not a niche little category we're talking about We're talking herbals with ashwagandha and shatavri Which is, you know, top three or four in the industry We're talking protein powders, which is one or two in the industry Next, we're getting into digestion Which, for Brian and I and Jordan, Jordan's our formulator Jordan, you know, works for, he helps formulate these products.

33:10But, you know, Jordan's background is digestive health too. Garden of Life was founded on a digestive health platform. And so we're really, no pun intended, getting back to our roots with these probiotics. It's a big category. We think the category for both of these is, I don't want to say stale, but just haven't been much innovation lately. And of course, you know, Jordan, he's created, I don't know how many number one SKUs, not just in a category, but in the industry. He catches lightning in a bottle more than anybody. But these products, there's three, maybe four of these products that I can see being number one in the industry again and being very unique and innovative.

33:49And again, on the detox and the probiotic side, this is just the beginning of this platform. And there's some call-outs and wording on this, which, Taji, I know you're familiar with. You helped us do some of this wording and placing on the packaging. I can't wait for people to see these. The people that have seen have been like, to your point, and you talked about this in the past when you're with us at the farm or whatever, like, well, how am I going to take that and that and that and that? You know, you're going to look at all these and go, I got to take all of those now. So, Brian, I know you want to jump into the products and talk about them, but you can tell we're excited about this launch.

34:22Yeah, this is, for me, this is a really big deal. It's always been digestive health has always been a big thing for me because it's what got me in this space, you know? I mean, you know, psoriasis is all about digestion. There's so many things that are linked back to the gut. And, you know, that was, you know, Jordan's initial, you know, deal with Garden of Life and how Garden of Life came to be a thing because of his, you know, battle with digestive illnesses. And it was soil-based organisms, you know, and a raw food diet, you know, and probably a lot of prayer, you know, that helped get him where he needed to get to.

34:51And, you know, since then, he has, you know, shared that protocol with a lot of folks. This probiotic line summer, you know, line that we're launching and the detox line is just there's eight SKUs. You know, Hank mentioned you got three of them that are shelf stable, three of them that are cooler and then two that are detoxes. You know, these are some of the best formulas, you know, that we've ever seen as far as effectiveness is concerned. We've worked a lot of aisles. We've talked to a lot of people about a lot of different probiotics. And we have a lot of respect for, you know, a ton of brands that are out there, you know, making the best formulas they can and doing the thing.

35:22And the folks that are bringing the science that are truly improving health and lives. So it's not to take anything away from those guys. It's not easy to make a great probiotic formula. But when you are a nerd and you can really appreciate a good formula, you know, you see how it stands out. And so our probiotic line that we're coming out with is the first certified organic and regenerative, you know, probiotics system that's powered by peptides. you've got Ayurvedic amplifiers in there with your you know Shatavri that's also shown up in there and then you've got clinically studied soil-based organisms as well as the lactic acid bacteria prebiotics probiotics and postbiotics you know which is going to support digestion and detoxification but as well as feminine needs immune support and even longevity and there's science behind all this stuff you know and so you know I lose people when you talk about soil-based and lactobacillus, you know, 95 % of your probiotics you see out there are lactobacillus or lactic acid bacteria, which is what you find in yogurt.

36:22You know, it's what our guts are comprised of, but they're just not strong. You know, they just aren't resilient and they got to get through heat and acid and biosolts and all these different things before they get to the lower GI. Most of the probiotics that are on the shelf die before they get there. And it's only from their, you know, intracellular nutrition, which is postbiotics that is benefiting folks in the gut. When you have a soil-based organism, Cerebacillus subtilis, AB-22, they're kind of the Navy seals, as a lot of folks call them. They've got like the sheath, you know, they call them spore.

36:53They're spore-based probiotics, so they are resilient. They make it through. And, you know, Jordan always used to call them the greatest houseguests ever. You know, they come in, they only stay for two to three days, and they leave the place better than they found it, you know? So that's got a lot to do with, you know, what it is. The peptide power of probiotics is a huge thing. peptides essentially from you know protein sources are are always found with probiotics in nature but they're not found in probiotics and supplements until now and so that's a matter of you know including we've got natto um in this in this blend um which is a fermented food and that produces probiotics so it's this kind of probiotic amplifier effect where you're buying a certain number of probiotics but as you take it it's going to continue to produce more which is going to continue to add to the digestive benefit.

37:43Postbiotics in the probiotic world is really what benefits the gut in a major, major way. And there's a lot of, we could do a whole podcast on postbiotics, but you know, the clinicals behind it, and then you get into our activeta and the power of, you know, those fruits and spices that are in there. Not only do they help amplify benefits from herbs, but they also really help to improve digestion in a big way. So we're looking at this from a very different way that the industry has ever gone at a probiotic. And, you know, and it only takes, it's somebody that really understands the space and understands, you know, the ingredients that are out there, what's been provided, how the body works.

38:20And, you know, somebody that formulates like Jordan formulates, you know, is really what it requires. But if you want to talk about a probiotic that you're going to take and really feel a difference, these three SKUs are going to be exactly that. And then with the detoxes, if you get into that, again, you know, it's organic, regenerative. It's going to have microorganisms, which is a little bit of a different twist for detoxes. You're going to have, you know, an insane amount of really good, strong probiotics, and as well as the Ayurvedic botanicals. You have mushrooms in there, as well as some minerals that are going to break down the toxins, bind them to something, and then detoxify and remove them from the body.

38:57And so we're looking at specifically targeting glyphosate and microplastics. And as we talked about with the Bacillus Subtilis AV22, probiotic has been shown in emerging science to be able to break down glyphosate and microplastics in our body. They say you consume a credit card's worth of plastic a week, you know? And so you have all these microplastics floating in your gut, and this formula is going to grab as much of that as possible and help increase or speed up the detoxification process in your body to eliminate as much of the glyphosate and microplastics as possible. So, you know, we don't want to launch...

39:37I like the term Pac-Man. You know, Brian, we use the term Pac-Man scenario. Think of that on these detoxes. It's like a Pac-Man going through the body and these SBOs break down the toxins in the biofilm. So, a lot of these toxins are protected and surrounded by biofilm that the SBOs actually can go in there and destroy like a space invader. If you guys remember that, that video game, it blasted and breaks the biofilm and then the Pac-Man eats it and gets it out. Yeah. So we don't want to launch stuff that's already out there. You know, we want to bring something new. We want to raise the bar, truly innovate and do it in a way that, you know, honors and stewards our earth and our farmers.

40:14And so, you know, it really is very fulfilling to do this work. My hope is that by the time this airs, people can point them right to your website, right to Elevate Organic to purchase these because I am so excited personally the glyphosate, microplastics, I granted I am privy to what the rest of the detox line is going to look like. Really excited for those too because I mean like you said you're doing something different. The pre, pro and postbiotics, the mushrooms, the herbs, the Ayurvedic, that's all that's in there is just it is different. You can take all those things separately, but the way that you're formulating it to be, you know, for the body to help reduce these, you know, the ailments and improve health with these detoxes is going to be huge.

41:01And to your point, yes, that whole credit card a week is disgusting. So if we can at least, you know, go on a 14 day regime every once in a while to clear our bodies of these things. I mean, that's what everyone's looking for. That's it. A couple of questions for you, less about the formulations, but more about the business side. So some early learnings you've had. It's only been a year of, you know, since start and then getting our products out to market. But I mean, ups and downs of the brand. I mean, what have you learned along the way? Well, we hear, you know, we've heard coming into this that with a startup or something like this, that the highs are much higher and the lows are much lower.

41:44And man, there couldn't be further from the truth. There's days I'm like, oh my gosh, why did we ever think to do this? Are we crazy? But man, you know, with a small team, I think, you know, our team's under 20 people probably by the time this thing airs and we're moving mountains with those 20 people, the best 20 people on the planet that are moving mountains. But, you know, I guess I would say get into business with somebody you love and trust and can go to war with because it is that. It's a war internally and externally and it's a fight every day. Luckily, you know, we've worked together, you know, Brian and I and even people on the team, we've worked together now at three brands.

42:17So our learning curve is shorter And it's probably why people do it this way Is because you don't have to explain to people You just say, remember how we did it? Yeah, cool, go do it So I would say the highs are higher The lows are lower The reward is incredible I have no doubt that Elevate's going to be a top brand I know what we can do There's no doubt in my mind that this company And the people are going to be raised up And just blessed to be a part of something so great With our investors and our partners and people like yourself and the firms that have helped us. And I was looking back about our original business plan with Matt Borden, who is our other co-founder, and Brian.

42:55And it's crazy how our original business plan to where we are today, we did pretty good. I mean, we're kind of on pace to where we thought we would be, which is unusual. I thought there would be big zigs and zags along the way, and we would pivot hard on some things, which we've done some pivoting. But for the most part, you know, we know this story. We know this game. We call it the playbook. We have the playbook. We love entrusting one another. And, you know, we love the natural specialty business. We love creating great products. To us, it's a no-brainer. We live the lifestyle. We're heavy dosers of vitamins and supplements.

43:31We shop in health food stores. That's where we get our nutrition from. And we love the industry. And I don't plan to do anything else but make Elevate number one. I think, what was I saying? Your worst day and your best day are usually the exact same day. Right. Yeah. I think we've all witnessed that. We're like, oh, my God. Yes. This is potentially the worst day ever. What am I going to do? And then an hour later, you're like, well, now it's actually the best day ever. So it is that pendulum swing of having a business. Yeah. True. Yeah, no doubt. Now, I love this guy. Hank has just been such a good friend and mentor of mine.

44:07And he has taught me so much about life and the business and just kind of how to get along with people. Um, so I'm doing my best, but, um, you do, you learn a lot about yourselves in a startup, you know, like you're saying, like one day you wake up, there's a huge mountain on your road. And then the next morning you wake up and it's gone. You're like, where did it go? You know, and then some days Hank and I look at each other and be like, why are we stupid? Why did we even try to do this? This is, this is absurd, but it's so fulfilling and we know we're doing it, you know, for the right thing.

44:35And it's, you know, we, we have at the foundation of everything we do is love, honor, and respect for each other. We just talk about LHR, you know, love, honor, respect. We can get through everything together as long as we continue to love, honor, respect each other. And we started this business, you know, with four goals. We want to transform lives, heal the land, support our natural independent retailers and create an amazing culture. And, you know, I feel like we've done a pretty good job. But, you know, I personally give glory to God because, you know, all the challenges from day to day, it really does.

45:06You know, you have to kind of stay in a place of peace and it helps you, you know, identify what's most important and what to focus on. And I have grown so much in just a very short period of time as a result of this. And I don't think that we're a very good startup personally because we act like we're a$200 million company. You know, we forget we don't have the budgets and we don't have, you know, all the things that we want to move real quick. And we got a great team of eight people, but it's 20 people, you know. So the challenges are there. But, yeah, it's been amazing. So I do want to be mindful of time, but I am going to ask you one more question before my last two follow up ones.

45:42What's some of the best advice you've been given? And then after that, you know, chat with Hank there. I mean, maybe what's some of the best advice Hank's given you over the years? Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Some of the best advice that I've gotten, I would say, you know, and Hank's done a lot of it, you know, with me and in the past. But I would say, you know, usually it's just really keep people front of mind, you know, because there's going to be so many situations that come up. And when you're really fully emotionally invested in a thing, like a company like this, it's easy to get out of sorts. But if you just keep people front of mind, you know, and you make sure that that's the priority and that always stays the priority and that you are, you know, basing the decisions of the company on the mission that you started and you remember where you started from and you remember the people you started with and you keep it there, then I feel like the rest is going to kind of take care of itself.

46:33Yeah, I would say that, you know, I thought about the other day, people, products, and process, you know, for a company like this, people first, the product's got to be great, and then stick to your process or your game plan. I think it's, to Brian's point, it's the people. I mean, we're working with people that we worked with 20 years ago still, you know, or that we went away from, we came back to. And it's that respect that we have for each other. I mean, Mike, who is on our team, hired me at Garden of Life. Brian and Mike hired me. And then, you know, Mike was my boss for a long time. And then Mike and Brian and I worked side by side.

47:03And then I was Mike's boss. So we just want the job done. I mean, I can sweep the floor. I can do a demo. I can reset a shelf. There's nothing I wouldn't do that I wouldn't ask my team to do. And I think we all realize that that's what it takes to get the job done is to respect each other. And I think that's why we have long lasting relationships is that we we know what we expect of one another. We were I think probably respect is more than anything because we respect the people to do a good job for them. All right. Last two questions. What brings you energy and joy every day to keep doing what you're doing and building this brand?

47:39Brian, I'll hand it to you first. Caffeine doesn't count, right, Brian? What's that? Caffeine doesn't count. We had a sigh. Yeah. Oh, man. You know, it's changed, you know, but it's always about what we're producing and what we're doing and just the thought and the understanding that we're making a difference. You know, I wake up every day and I, you know, go through just the prayers and the affirmations of wanting to make a difference in somebody's life in some way, shape or form. And that is really what pushes me. And I know there's plenty of them out there. I mean, I'll get guys that come in to fix, you know, electric or plumbing or whatever.

48:17And I'll talk to them for an hour about digestion in my garage, you know. And so I'm always looking for opportunities, you know, to help folks. And that's what drives me personally. And that's why I have to work in an organization that's aligned with that so that I can do that. That's really what gives me the energy. But to Hank's point, the people that we work with, our team and all the teams that we've had, honestly, the last three companies, just been blessed to work with such amazing people. And this team is just incredible. I just love, you know, working every day with these guys and we have a good time and we're a family and, you know, it really just, it really does.

48:50It energizes you when you enjoy the people you work with. Yeah. I would say for me, we're all, you know, all the brands we've worked at, we're super competitive. We, you know, I don't know what the old saying is, is you, you love winning more than you hate losing, or you hate losing more than you love winning. I don't know that saying, but we always are competitive. We all like sports. We all have our favorite teams and we all like to look at the scoreboard. And for us, everywhere we go, we want to be number one. We don't want to be number two, number three, and number four. We want to be number one.

49:16And for this brand, I want to be number one. I want to be the number one brand in the industry, which is extremely bold to say right out of the gate as a startup. But I say it for a different reason. I say that if we're the number one brand, that means our competitor, it's going to push our competition to chase us. When you become number one, your competition is going to chase you. When our competition is chasing us, that means that the products we're creating are so good, it's push it to number one. That means our competitors' products have to get close to us, meaning that the consumer gets the best or better because we've got great products.

49:49The consumer is getting a better product. The industry in a whole is that much healthier because we are raising the bar with the products we just described to you. And on top of that, the earth's better. If our competitors had, we didn't talk about bio bottle, guys. We didn't talk about compostable packaging that we have, the first line that has a full line of compostable packaging. We didn't talk about it. So when our competitors start chasing us and get close to us and have those same type of products, the product's better, the industry's better, and the earth is better. Good job sneaking that in there, too.

50:22Forget about the bio, cast the bio. What are we doing? I swear, every time we talk about it, we forget something. It's insane. We've covered a lot. I think we've touched on a little bit of everything, which is great. I agree. Okay, so there's eight of you. You're a new brand, but you've got this wealth of information and knowledge and these just really beautiful, efficacious products coming to market. What help are you looking for when you think about your manifestation and what you're putting out there to the universe? For anyone listening, what are you looking for to help you grow the brand?

50:54Hmm. I'll go first because Brian's probably more specific. I would say anybody that's ever worked with me at a brand in the past, I want to work with you again. I want them all. I want everybody. I want every position. I want to build the biggest and best sales team again. I want to have the best marketing first in class on everything. But, you know, I don't know specifically right now what we're looking for. I think we're looking for some marketing help, and we're making some other hires that I don't want to talk about right now. By the time this airs, I'm pretty sure we're going to have, you know, some old friends with us from previous stops, I would imagine.

51:30And I'll leave it at that to not incriminate myself. Yeah. I would say as far as health's concerned, Taja, I think, you know, I bring it back to the mission, what we're doing. We're trying to change lives. The knowledge we have and that we're sharing with our community is not widely known. There's people that still don't even know what a probiotic is, you know. so I think um I think you got to take it back to the fact that we can all make a difference you know everything matters every interaction um you see a post you see you know a product that affects you that you like tell somebody about it you know so I get a lot of people are like hey follow us on social and you know I I just started up a Facebook social thing and I don't even know what I'm doing on it but I think the idea would be spread the word you know we've got who knows a hundred plus years of combined experience, you know, really understanding how the body works and what kind of products and ingredients and how you can find the kind of health and wellness that you're looking for.

52:30And sometimes, you know, when you look at a big shelf full of products, they all look the same and you're just like, oh, eeny, meeny, miny, moe. What Elevate Organic is putting on the shelf is very different. And a lot of the content and education is going to be very impactful. I would say spread the word, pass it on, you know, tell a family, a friend. That's probably the most important thing because not only can we help get that message out, but at the end of the day, if we can educate people on regenerative, the sky's the limit, man. We get, you know, long-term contracts for farmers. With the regenerative, we're able to educate people on how to shop across a store for organic and regenerative.

53:08We break the cycle of sickness. You know, we improve metabolic health across the country. We get the crap out of our food. We improve our future generations. We, we improve, uh, the ground that we're getting our food out of, um, you know, improves the climate. You're sequestering carbon. Like you can go on and on about the improvements and the way that we can affect this. So it's a race for workers. I mean, yes, it's, it's, it's brands like Elevator Organic and there's more of them out there, you know, that are really doing great work to make a difference. And it's about, you know, taking the minute to pass that on and to tell somebody else about it.

53:42And if you want to improve your own health, I highly recommend if you're not familiar with ashwagandha, start with the ashwagandha, add the shatavri. You can thank us all later. It will make a difference in your life. We promise. I will make that guarantee. They can come after me for that. But Hank, Brian, thank you. One, thank you for being on the podcast. Thank you for creating such beautiful products also and for just caring beyond the bottom line and for caring about the ingredients where they're sourced, the team, the farmers. the soil, the animals, and the human experience in just regenerative, again, human regenerative, soil regenerative, you know, making products that will allow people to be the best versions of themselves.

54:25So thank you. Appreciate you both immensely. Anyone listening, go to Elevate Organic Nutrition on Instagram, Elevate Organic. Just Google them. You will find everything. Follow them on Instagram, follow them on LinkedIn. Great things are coming. And like I said, you can thank us later for this. So thank you both for being on. I really appreciate it. Thanks, Tasha. Thank you so much, Tasha. It was great being here.

54:52Thanks for listening to the Brand Alchemist podcast. See you again soon, and be sure to hit subscribe to get updates on all future episodes.

55:06Thank you.