From Regenerative Farm to National Brand: How Singing Pastures Is Redefining Clean Protein

26:07Holly Arbuckle:So with this most recent rebrand, I kind of want you to talk about some of the things that we really pulled forward when we started thinking about our consumers, how we were going to be targeting them and how we were going to make like really the most delicious part of these sticks that make them so juicy. And yes, I'm honestly saying that these meat sticks are juicy in the best way possible. You know, gravitate, have our audience gravitate. Yeah. So some of this has to do with the fact that by we so the new packaging launched in August. It was at least the full year before that that John and I started thinking about this and talking about this.

26:43And we didn't have access to spins data or error and IQ data at that point. But what we do have access to, so we had already started, our sticks were selling pasture-raised pork sticks under the Singing Pastures brand, and we called them roam sticks, meaning you could roam around and eat them or the animals could roam. And we were at Thrive Market, Misfits Market, Imperfect Foods, and then we launched in July of 2024 at Sprouts Nationwide. So we did have a little bit of traction. I don't want to make it sound like we were starting from scratch. And our positioning previously was just really about the family farm story.

27:20I actually have our packaging standing right next to us. And it's a picture on the carton of John and me, actually with pigs out in the field. And it talks about, you know, just the quality of the sticks. And they're an excellent product. And they taste good. And that's why we made it as long as we did.

27:37Holly Arbuckle:And we did as well as we did. But one of the things that I started realizing was that I was positioning everything around my identity, or should I say our identity as a family farm. And I came to realize that I need to focus on what's important for the consumer and who is our consumer and changing my way of thinking about things. So we were talking to buyers at Misfits and Thrive and other places, almost entirely women, our category managers. And they were just saying like, yeah, you know, women are eating a lot of meat sticks now. They didn't used to, right? Slim Jims, Jack Slinks, they didn't used to do this.

28:17So I thought about that. And then we also saw that minis were taking off the little sticks. That's not for the Jim bros. So I wrote a grant with Merck and MTI saying that I wanted to redo our packaging and I wanted it to be more leaning into the female audience, which is not to say it's exclusively for women, but we wanted it to be more appealing for women. So that was the starting point. John and I were also very aware that the protein trend was happening that everybody knows about now, but this was before it was being talked about. And other brands, other leading brands get their higher protein in their sticks by drying them down and getting the protein up.

29:00And we decided that we wanted to do it by adding something. So we added grass-fed beef bone broth and we added grass-fed beef collagen to the sticks. So it's a collagen powder. It's actually the same thing as a collagen peptide. It's just for USDA regulation reasons. We need to call it a collagen powder. So we did a bunch of – we were doing test runs over a six - to eight-month period because no one is doing this. We are first to market with a new recipe. but we wanted the new recipe with a new look. So I went to, I got a few different proposals from different agencies. I decided to go with you all, which I'm very happy about with Pulp & Wire.

29:41And then we went through a process. And I think that the biggest thing that's was, that made a real difference to me personally is that anybody running a brand, when you're a startup, you're doing almost everything, right? You're a Jack or a Jane of all trades. and I already know my ideas and I know my branding and I needed something new and fresh to come into it. So I went into the process when we originally get four different designs and directions thinking I knew what I wanted and it was going to be something kind of like really pretty and kind of like a woman that could do Pilates and a little bit on the clean side, you know, and there are a lot of brands like that.

30:23And so I asked for that and I got a version of that. But I also got a version of something that I think my husband said it looked like, you know, a kindergartner had been on like some kind of like psychedelic drug and like just taking color all over the place. And he was like, what is this? Now, my husband is a Midwestern farmer and is, you know, turning 50. So this was a little shocking for him. But we also have some younger people on the team and they were like, I love it. And then the Pulp and Myroutine showed us packaging from Fishwife and Graza as points of inspiration and Chamberlain Coffee.

31:01And like, look, this new trend is disruptive, illustrative. It's really colorful and fun and bold. Do you want to try that out? And I was like, absolutely. So we went through a process of blending different elements of the farm, of leading into what would be more appealing for women, what's bright and colorful. It feels young and fresh and modern. And then we ended up with our current packaging, which I love. And then I also went on Greenlight Maine, which is a Maine-based program with a pitch competition. And amazingly, we won. and so the money that we got from the prize money we put into, we invested into our website and at that point I was like, I want Pulp and Wire to do that.

31:47Also, because you already knew our brand and I knew you would be able to make it like really bright and fun and colorful. So there has been a real shift from focusing on like look at me to like I would say like in some ways I feel like our new director is all about, this sounds trite as I say it, but it's all about feeling hopeful and fun and like the whole thing with the protein on the go and you're out and you're doing things. I just feel like life can be very heavy for myself and others. And so I'm really excited about this packaging trend where we're just bringing in more color and beauty and it's not, life isn't in whites and grays right now.

32:33Holly Arbuckle:Snacking should be fun and clean and better for you doesn't have to be white either. You know, it can be bold and bright and beautiful. And I remember really going through the initial vision boards and getting into creative. And we had, you know, because we heard you. We're like, all right, you want clean. Let's see what that would look like. You want this. Let's push it a little bit further. And what if we did something crazy? And then ultimately got into creative. I'm like, team, I want to try something crazy. Let's push it. Push it further. Go all in. Because sometimes we like to show safe, but then we like to show way out there.

33:04Holly Arbuckle:And sometimes way out there works. And sometimes you're like, I saw it, but I'm much more comfortable somewhere in the middle of the road. So and I think that's the most important piece of creative process is sometimes you need to surprise and delight a little bit, not just always take the feedback and do exactly as you're told. Like take the right back, internalize it and then bring what you're good at and your skill set into the equation and then have a conversation. It's never, and I think you saw this in working with us, and sometimes this does happen. It's never like, here are your three looks, pick one.

33:32Holly Arbuckle:We will not make any changes. So for us, it was very much a collaborative process and wanting to make sure that the illustrations were right and they were ownable for you and that we don't scale them and that we could create a whole world around this brand. And honestly, kudos to your team, because I've been seeing all your graphic emails coming through for, you know, Black Friday sales and Thanksgiving, and they are so cute. and you are taking all the assets and you are doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing with them. So it's really nice to see that when we hand over the brand and the assets and the pieces that, you know, your team knows exactly what to do with them also.

34:07Holly Arbuckle:Sometimes that doesn't always work. So that always makes me feel good. It's like, yes, we did our job. We gave you the tools and the toolbox to be successful, you know, and we can kind of buy a... Yeah, and I talked to... My point of contact is Michelle at Pulpelmeyer. And we talked about this because we actually, I think at one point we had four different designs on the table and we picked two of them. We were like, we want three and four as if those two choices combined and had a baby and then we picked out all the elements we liked and didn't like. So I think that what also helped is we didn't just say like thumbs up or thumbs down to anything.

34:44We were very selective about picking and choosing like we really like this, but not this as much so that it still felt authentic to us and who we are as a brand, you know, so that was important, I think. And Michelle had said, well, we often present things that are a little bit more on the creative edge, but people then go back to what's safe and comfortable. She's like, so kudos to you for leaning in. And I was helped because, again, it takes a village. One of my advisors is Deb Lester, who's on the founding team at Goodall's. She used to be the president of Annie's Mac and Cheese. But when we talked about it on our calls, she said, look, like Goodall's Mac and Cheese, which has taken off, by the way, they're doing great.

35:24She's like, we have like hot pink and like neon green. She's like, if you're going to lean in to being different, be really different. And so that's what we've done with our pack. So between the packaging, I say that that's maybe one of the reasons somebody buys it for the first time. And the second time they buy it because of the taste, because it just tastes so different. And the macros are so amazing. And we even got solicited by the Special Forces Nutritionists. They were at the Nutopia show. That's like our Special Forces Nutritionists for like Navy SEALs and the elite teams. And they walked the show and they were looking like for the very best and cleanest ingredients because they're supreme athletes, right?

36:07And they're exposed to a lot of chemical toxins and things. So they're drilling down on food and supplements that are going to help them be at their optimized health. and this is the furthest from like caring about like what they don't care at all what the packaging looks like they only care about the macros and the clean crafting you know and it's by invitation only and they asked us to join like their catalog of things that they're going to offer so you know we have a combination of things but if you have a really good product and it looks crappy it just isn't going to sell it doesn't matter how good it is and unfortunately there are products with great packaging and really not great on the inside.

36:50So if you can do both, have wonderful packaging and then sustainable quality ingredients and great crafting and it tastes good and it's good for you, like that's the sweet spot.

37:01Holly Arbuckle:Well, and I think that was like that was for threading the needle, right? We needed to stand out on the shelf. We wanted to cater to a female audience, but we don't want to alienate a male audience, which I think we really did a good job like, you know, again, striking that balance, but you had a phenomenal product inside there. So once, as long as we can get it in their carts, get it in their hands, get it in their mouths, they will come back because it really is, they are the best meat sticks on the market. But that is also a female-driven product line is something that we're starting new. I think you and I had talked about this earlier.

37:31Holly Arbuckle:You're starting to see that with big corporate brands. They're leaning into that also and creating female-specific sublines. Now, I think that's great. It can be alienating. Fine. And I think for us, it was like, again, we threaded that needle of not wanting to alienate anyone, but wanting to stand out, be bold, make snacking fun, bring all of our macros to the front of the pack. But then also be that happy snacking space for kids and women in that too. Yeah. And I think it has to do with authenticity, too. Like I'm the CEO of the brand. My husband's a COO, but we just have different places. we both have authority within our family and our relationship and our business, but we just have different things, right?

38:12Like he is in charge of the farm. I am not the one out there doing it. Do I support? Absolutely, if asked.

38:18Holly Arbuckle:But, you know, I used to do a lot more. Now I'm behind the computer a lot more. But then I'm making the bigger decision for the direction of the brand. So we're women-led, women-owned. I hired an all-woman team to help me come up with the branding. Like we kind of built this in. with a different eye toward it, right? And it is, I don't think it's alienating. I got that question yesterday on a call, like, is it alienating for men? And I am in rural Maine and we sell at the local hardware store and we are doing great at the local hardware store. So I think people just see bright, fun, colorful. You know, it just doesn't have the edge of like, you know, Sasquatch or, you know, a giant bull's head or, you know, what's one of them, old trapper.

39:09Like, I am never going to identify as an old trapper, right? Like, it's just, that's fine for somebody, but there's just a lot of us that are looking for clean protein on the go that don't identify as that.

39:22Holly Arbuckle:When we think about innovation and growth and expansion, what does that look like in the next couple of years for the brand? Is it really sticking to the three flavors, which is the cured bacon, the beef, original beef, and then we've got this amazing pork pineapple that is, you know, arguably my favorite. Are you thinking about adding more SKUs or is it really just continuing to flood the market and get into more retail, more doors? No, we'll add more SKUs, 100%. I mean, the reason that we did three is that every time you add a SKU, because people in their mind, like just like friends, right, are like, oh, you should do this, you should do this, you should do this.

39:59I'm like, every time you add a flavor, you have to buy all the packaging for that flavor. You have to warehouse it. You have to get all the ingredients. I mean, you just need. So we've been focusing on building a really strong base with our first three flavors. Some of the directions that we will be going in the next year or two is 100 percent. We're going to do minis because a lot of people just want like something smaller that's convenient or for kids' lunch boxes. So that is something. We are a craft meat stick brand. So we are saying we're craft meat sticks, just like there used to be soda.

40:35And then there became a category of craft soda. You know, our products are craft because better crafting, they're fermented and slow cooked, but then also premium ingredients and they have bone broth and collagen. So they have additional things that kind of escalate the brand. But we can do any kind of protein. We could add chicken, turkey, in addition to grass fed beef and pork. We're going to be launching at Costco in 2026 in the Northeast. We're not launching with pork. We're launching with the grass fed beef stick. But any protein is possible. And there's just a ton of fun flavors out there that we daydream about.

41:13And I think that, you know, I'll take suggestions. But, you know, I've been eating chili crisp, which is a new product. I'm like chili crisp chicken. That would be really good. You know, hot honey beef. I mean, there's all kinds of fun stuff that we can do that we could have fun flavors that align with our fun branding. And I'm super excited about that. But we're going to build very consciously and very strategically. I don't want to be one of these brands that gets a little bit of money and then goes out and blows it all and then says, oh, no, now I need more money. You know, we're really thinking about how we build a strong foundation and then our strategic in growing in a sustainable way.

41:57Holly Arbuckle:Well, and I think you were super smart, too, with the three SKUs that you redid. The pineapple, which is kind of concurrent to like a teriyaki, when you think of it, the pineapple pork. And then you've got your original beef and you've got the cured bacon. Perfect. Three easy SKUs, no questions asked. People already love those flavors. And now it gives you a platform to build or a platform to do those minis, get into bigger box stores and grow the brand. So it's incredibly smart. I think when you get too cute too soon, that's what makes it hard to issue each consumer's mindsets. Yeah, and I think that's why we started with an original pork, which is the bacon and original beef.

42:35because for most people, if they're trying something, they try the thing that is most familiar first, right? And then once you like it, then you're going to extend your stuff a little bit more to something that's a little bit weird and wacky. But that was the thought. You just nailed the thought process behind why we evolved this way. And the pineapple pork stick, which is many people's favorite. People think that we've done, I've done a lot of taste tests over the years. And that's the one that people think, I didn't think I was going to like it, but it's actually my favorite because it's slightly it's not very sweet.

43:10It's slightly sweet and salty and the flavors come together for people that like, you know, that combination in just a really unique way. It's unlike anything else on the market. And that was not done by market research. I believe my son was five or six when we said we were at the table and we said, like, what should what should we add to the pork to make a to make another flavor? And he said, add pineapple. And literally, that's why we did it. And like years later, like we're still doing it. So, you know, not everything is done. It's really the older I get, the more I'm like, oh, my gosh, we should be looking at the data and thinking about the strategy.

43:50But a lot of decisions we've made have just been like, oh, this sounds good. Let's do this.

43:55Holly Arbuckle:And then you follow the thread. Well, it's a classic combination, right? You think about like Christmas ham with a pineapple slice on top. It's perfect. They go in there. What are some of the best advice you've been given? Oh, wow. That's a really great question.

44:15One of them was keep the main thing the main thing. That was a financial counselor, because as a farm, we often diversify. we can diversify ourselves to death. And my husband is one of the most optimistic, charismatic people you're going to meet. So he's always talking to people and people say, do you want to do this? Do you want to do this? And he wants to say yes. So our advisor says that John's the kite and I'm the string. Like, I'm always like, nope, part of gardening is pruning. Like, what do we need to get rid of so that we can focus on the main thing? So that's one thing I would say is that like, Like, and for me, what has worked is like trying to like drill down and pick what you want to work on and then do it really, really well.

45:02So that that's one of the other thing that I would say, if I could throw in one more thing, is ask everybody what they think, because I knew nothing about CPG. and what has worked for me and everybody's different is that most of the questions in CPG are not brand new. You're not actually figuring something out for the first time. You just need to talk to the right people who have done it before and then say, how would you handle this? And so I crowdsource and all my big decisions with smart, really smart people. And I listen to them. I don't let my ego get away. And ultimately the decision is up to me or me and my team.

45:45and I have to live with it, right? It's nobody else's responsibility. But it is okay to not think that you know the answer and to ask three or four other people, what would you do in my situation? And then, because they'll bring up things you hadn't thought of, just like in that creative process with your team. I thought I knew what I wanted, but rather than giving me what I ordered, they were like, well, yes, here's what you ordered. And here are three other things that you haven't thought of left yet. And I love it when people do that with me. You know, it's that whole thing about you know what you know, but you don't know what you don't know.

46:19Like we all need people in our lives who are bringing something new and creative and fresh that hasn't even gone through our mind before to kind of continue. We'll just think of it as good brain health. We don't want our brains to get stale and boring. We're going to continue to try and push the envelope. And you can't do that in a silo.

46:39Holly Arbuckle:I want to be mindful of time. So I have two last questions for you. What brings you energy and joy every day to keep building what you started? I feel like this whole podcast basically answers that question. But are there a few key things that just bring you joy to keep doing what you're doing? I am really fortunate at this stage in my life and I'm in my 50s. You know, I believe more of my life is behind me than in front of me. And I'm aware of that. And so I think a lot about gratitude and what I have today. And like a lot of people, my family is, that sounds trite, but, you know, I got a kid going off to college next year and I'm just thinking every day, like I get today with him.

47:24I get five more minutes. And so that is part of what keeps me going. But another, and I would say even if I blew that out even a little bit more, we are really, really fortunate in that and we put everything into the farm. Somebody can think, oh, must be nice to get a farm. Like we bought a farm for that was very inexpensive in the Midwest and lived there like very frugally for a long time, you know, built that place up, sold it, bought this one. But everything we have deferred on, you know, savings and retirement, all the things we probably should have been doing and everything's always been around the farm.

48:03So I feel like the farm, the land is like almost like a member of my family. And so caring for this place, like when I feel like the world is out of control for whatever reason, there's a thousand, like I'm like, I can't control all of that. But I can, I have these boundaries and I can affect what happens in here. And so we can have this healthy ecosystem that my neighbors may never even think about it, but because we have healthy soil functioning, we have the water coming off our farm is clean. We're not spraying anything. We're not inadvertently poisoning people, right? We have more boblings coming off the farm than domestic livestock in a year.

48:44So that's what keeps me going is a sense of family, a sense of tradition, and a sense of obligation that I am I belong to a community and I have an obligation to show up as a member of that community that is going to contribute and not detract from the health and well-being of my my neighbors last question so this is my kind of throw it out to the universe cosmic energetic

49:12Holly Arbuckle:vibration question what help are you looking for to help grow singing pastors for someone who might be listening, paying attention, somebody, somebody knows. What are you looking for?

49:27Gosh, I am, I am, I am very fortunate to have a strong support team right now. So I have a lot of people that I can ask questions of. Deb Luster, the advisor I was telling you about, Like, she's my next call today. I talk to her every week. And I'm afraid to answer this question because I'm afraid I'm going to get like 100 like unsolicited emails. I think I know what I'm looking for. I'm looking for, but I'm going to answer it generally. I am looking for high integrity partners as we grow the brand. And we have had several times where we had opportunities, but I just didn't feel right about the person, whether it was somebody we were contracting or somebody who wanted, in one case, somebody that wanted to offer us money.

50:17And it felt out of my integrity. So they just didn't it didn't feel right. So at the end of the day, I would say like there is a quality that I cannot name, but that I am going to continue to look for people that I feel like this is somebody that I want to would want to sit down and have dinner with.

50:36Holly Arbuckle:because that's what's going to keep us on track, right? If we start pulling in people that I really don't like them, they have a huge ego, they're selfish, they're just in it to move things as quickly as possible because they want to benefit the most from what we've built, they're probably not my people. Holly, thank you for being on the podcast. you are such a wealth of knowledge and just a absolute you know you're amazing you're just so fun to talk to you i feel like we could talk for another hour easy um but mostly thank you for sharing your story and you know allowing myself and my pulp and wire team and everyone listening to be a part of your journey also it's really it's spectacular i will i will say this and i'm not just saying this because you're a client these are the best meat sticks on the market So, totally, before we try that, thinkingpastors.com.

51:31Holly Arbuckle:You need to order. They're still on sale today for Black Friday, Saren. I think this, is it still going on? I think so. I think so. Today's your day, everyone. If it's not, they can contact me. I'll turn them up. But you're invited to dinner. You're one of the people that would be invited to dinner. And just for your listeners, we will be putting a sign-up sheet on our, or at least you can subscribe to our email list. And my husband's going to be offering farm tours once a month, next summer, once we're in the growing season. and you don't want to walk around right now. There's not a lot to see.

51:59But so there are ways for people to have an experience of the farm if they would like to do that at some point.

52:07Holly Arbuckle:Well, Holly, again, thank you. Everyone listening, singingpastures.com. Website's adorable. Packaging's super cute. But what's inside that packaging is even better than all of it. So thank you for listening. And thank you for being here. Thank you so much.

52:23Holly Arbuckle:Thanks for listening to the Brand Alchemist podcast. See you again soon and be sure to hit subscribe to get updates on all future episodes.