The truth about "functional" products

0:00Welcome back to the Curious Consumer. Today we have a special guest, Sorella from Simply Simply on the pod. So we're excited to get into that conversation. Let's get into it. We're so excited to have Sorella here from Simply. We would just love a quick intro. Could you share a little bit about yourself and the history of Simply? Absolutely. Well, thank you both for having me here today. I am Sorella. I am co-founder and CEO of Simply. Simply is the leading regenerative organic pantry staples brand. We're redefining the pantry staples with grains, beans, and oils. We started in January 2020 alongside my husband, Matt Cohen.

0:42Back then, it was really about being able to preserve Mother Earth and being able to have a medium to act for climate change, food being the third biggest contributor to the changes that we're seeing and we're experiencing every single day. but now five years on the road now I am a mother of three beautiful children and food and accessibility of great nutrient dense single origin ingredients is front and center for me and being able to to fuel and feed my family with nourishment and the best ingredients forward so now simply really stands for being able to provide a pantry staples that are clean no heavy metals, no glyphosates, no chemicals, no pesticides for food that should be able to nourish you and your loved ones.

1:32One of the biggest things about Simply is that it's regenerative. And I think a lot of consumers may not know what that exactly means and would love to hear from your own words, what does regenerative mean and also how you're trying to get that across to consumers? Yeah. And I didn't know what regenerative also meant back in 2020. And for simply it really started with a way of finding food and where food has been grown for from thousands of years and the connection to the land to the people that grow it to the animals that are part of the ecosystem and there isn't regenerative organic agriculture without ancestral agriculture and today the movement of regenerative agriculture is based on being able to restore from to the soil versus depleting what modern agriculture has been able to what has done into the soil and it really focuses on three main pillars it's what is the soil health so after the harvest what do you leave behind and if you are able to have a really healthy soil a soil that you treated well that you rotated with different crops and you give the nutrients that it deserves it's going to grow food that is going to be more nutrient dense for you.

2:48It also looks at the fair practices of the people that take care of that land and govern that land. So sometimes we don't think of farm as a business, but it truly is. And it's at the core of making sure that that business works. And the main, one of the main factors is the people that take care of that. And then third is the animals. We also might not think the importance of the animals as part of these, of farming, But they take a very important role to make sure that the pests are taken care of, that the soil is being able to be nurtured in a way that it can take the seed and it can grow that crop.

3:28Thank you for walking us through that. Just generally, I don't think consumers necessarily know what regenerative is. But beyond that, even when a consumer is familiar with the concept of regenerative, they don't always, they including me, don't always know how to evaluate when something is legitimately regenerative or not. And I know your products are ROC certified, regenerative, organic certified. What does the certification even mean? And I know there are a lot of certifications out there. Like, how do you know which ones are legitimate? Yes, and it is complicated, right? Regenerative organic certification, or ROC, as known in the market, is the only regenerative organic claim that builds upon organic.

4:05And it makes sure that if you're able to have a claim that is regenerative, it should be a claim that is also a clean product that doesn't have chemicals in it, that it doesn't have fertilizers or pesticides. And that's what the Regenerative Organic Alliance, with a certification of regenerative organic certification, claims for. I'm a marathon runner and I always think about it as the regenerative organic certification is that price that you get at the end of the race. You're doing the right things for the environment. You're doing the right thing for the soil to make sure that you're growing food that is nutrient dense and is not depleting, but it's restoring the land for the people and for the animals.

4:42But then everyone else that is still on that race that is trying to get to that gold standard is what the other regenerative claims are into the market. They might be doing some practices that are still good for the soil, and they might be paying above market price for that crop or for the farmers, but they're not comprehensively taking care of all the factors yet. They're working towards that. And through that, their soil and their land might have trays of chemicals. So they can't have a 100 % claim of that it's going to be free of arsenic or sodium or glyphosates on your label. So it is a big distinction in the marketplace.

5:20that Regen of Organic Certification really claims to be a clean product that is organic and free of any chemicals where the others really are focusing on that transition. We saw that simply as the first food brand to achieve rock certification South America for your quinoa and beans. One that's huge and amazing, but what does that look like in practice? How are you sharing that with the world? What a brand that its DNA is Regen of Organic Agriculture. We have to focus on how food is grown. So it's simply we build our own supply chains. We're the owners of working directly with farmers across 13 countries for products that are in beans, grains, and oils.

6:04And we do that by being able to create direct relationships with a farmer and work them through our internal regenerative pathway program. which is we meet at the farmer where they're at and we're able to work with them directly to transition them to that regenerative organic. So it is really important to be able to do the work, the hard work of working with the farmers, transition the land and put that work into supply chain because having claims and being able to provide a product to market, it's amazing. But without that internal change of a mission-driven company like Simply, we wouldn't be as impactful.

6:41I've heard, at least in the United States, that there is resistance to some of these practices from farmers who have been using certain farming practices forever and ever. And there's just like this large barrier to entry and they are fearful that the demand won't match all the effort they're putting in. Can you describe like how are you educating the farmers and ensuring that there will be enough demand and removing some of that fear that comes from the supply level? In my 15 years of working with farmers directly, before simply working with domestic farmers, I have never met a farmer that does not care about their soil, does not care about their farming and their outputs and yields.

7:22And sometimes the structural benefit that has been put in place in the United States for farmers to be guaranteed a certain amount of money or purchasing or insurance for their crop, it contradicts with their personal struggle of knowing that they want to take care of their soil and their land for a better, for the better, for the next generation or for a better future. So the conversation really shifts of if we're going to be able to work together and transition for a system that doesn't depend on chemicals and doesn't depend on fertilizers, then I'm going to be your partner to create a market for that.

8:02And that's what simply really comes in. So we are a stable market where we will work with them through the transition and once they achieve certain goals, also to be able to support and be there for the long term. So long term contracts are really important. Stability of market is really important. I would say stability of market is even more important than a premium. Sometimes you coming back year over year, making sure that you're going to support them through that transition is really important. And the good thing is in the United States now, there is a market that values that. And there's also programs that be able to support capital for farmers to be able to transition to a transition organic or transitional regenerative organic state.

8:48Are there differences, I guess, culturally between how different farmers are speaking about these practices in different places? Do you feel like the United States is like behind in some ways? I will say that international, it's more of, farming can also be very cultural and it could be very spiritual and it could be a part of their identity. And not in the U.S. it's not, but it's in a way more ancestral and indigenous where it has been done for, you know, for hundreds of years or one specific area has been done for thousands of years through generations. And there's a lot of pride for that. And through that, the way that regenerative agriculture is done in those countries, it's a way that it was taught down from generation to generation.

9:41When certain crops get a specific height of demand, some of those practices are lost. So farmers are focused more on a cash crop. And it happened on the quinoa when there was a quinoa boom 20 years ago. And people started to focus just on that crop, right? They started to not rotate it with beans or rotate it with potatoes because that was the crop that paid at the end of the day. So when we simply came into some of those communities, we wanted to understand why those traditions were lost. And if we're able to create a market for some of these other crops, would they come back to it, right? And create, again, that nutrient density to the soil.

10:17And that's how we got into the business of beans. We got into the business of beans because we wanted to reinstitute those ancestral knowledge into practice. into the United States. And we work with farmers that are also multi-generational farmers. And there's definitely a sense of identity and a sense of pride that comes with farming and the work that they do. And I think that the main difference or the shift that I have seen is being able to, the uncertainty in a way is heavier than international. Because international, they can consume that product themselves. They're smallholder farmers. So the risk is not as big.

10:52where domestically, you know, if you're going to go, there's one farmer for, you know, 50, 100, if not more acres. So if you're able to put a crop, the risk is bigger because they're not going to be able to consume them themselves or send it to a local market and do a farmer's market stand, maybe for some extent, but the scalability of their work is a lot bigger. And we're an international that maybe fear is less than domestically. I want to also talk about your expansion to Whole Foods. So you launched into Whole Foods in 2023. It's been three years later. You just launched a new line. We're curious about those past three years, how customers have been adopting Regendiv and if you've really felt that wave yourself.

11:34Yes, very exciting moment for us to be able to continue to expand that portfolio with 10 more SKUs, 10 more new products into the shelf, and being able to be the first one with regenerative organic certified avocado oil. I think that we see now that sustainability, regenerative organic claims are not just a marketing claim or a trend, but it truly is an activist voice of the change and being able to seek ingredients that are cleaner and nutrient density, specifically on grains, beans and oils, right? were some of the categories that people might have seen them as commoditized, but they were commoditized because maybe they were in abundance, and they were in abundance because the way that they were grown in an agriculture that it was for higher yield but not for an agriculture of nutrient density, the consumer that goes into whole foods.

12:22So what we have seen is we launched lentils specifically, or green and red lentils, and gosh, they're crushing it. I mean, it's not only the movement, the velocity, but it's just a validation. how consumers are really purchasing and the connectivity they have with their food. I mean, we're asking them a lot, right? We're asking them to soak beans overnight, and we're asking them to take their time to slow down. But in a way, we think of taking that moment to nourish yourself and nourish your loved ones and taking that time to slow. So that has been really exciting. And avocado oil, which is an incredible program of Ethiopia.

13:00And as we think about avocados, right, avocados are native, fun fact, from Peru, and they were expanded through, you know, through the Americas to Mexico and then brought into other countries through colonization. But as he came to Ethiopia, really as a tool to be able to provide development, economic development to that country and being able to work with a farm and a partner that can grow those crops from an agroforestry perspective, multi-cropped with vanilla and coffee and process it and refine it in and contribute and create all that opportunity is such a big testament that the consumer is demanding products with a store.

13:42and most importantly with claims that they can fuel themselves. So yeah, it's been a really exciting push. And now simply we're the number one contributor of the growth of the bean category and not only in whole foods, but in natural, where the category is growing at a 5 % and simply is growing at over 70%. The demand of clean ingredients are there. And we're just so excited to, you know, we've took our time to develop these supply chains in the last five years because product of this authenticity doesn't grow overnight. It takes a long time to do that, but we're here and we're so excited now that we have this incredible portfolio of products to expand into our partners like Whole Foods and all their grocery stores in the market.

14:28It's such an incredible expansion. And also just 10 products at one time is a huge feat. that is almost unheard of, especially to all be accepted into the store at the same time that you're gonna have an awesome brand block on shelf, I'm sure. Something I'm interested in is, so I am pescatarian. I eat a ton of beans. I'm obsessed with beans. I would consider myself not the most average American in that sense. I think especially recently, we've heard a lot from a federal level that me and dairy are back, especially as a source for protein as everyone's shifting to thinking about including more protein how are you bringing people back to beans beans are having a huge moment beans and lentils legumes in general having just such a huge moment and it feels that they're more culturally relevant than ever which is really really exciting and i think it is a big part of the protein and being able to to fill that plant-based protein but i think it's mostly important because of fiber fiber is one of those in the United States fiber is there's a big gap into the fiber diet of the US American and beans is really well positioned to be able to fulfill that into the market so yes you know being able to take your time to soak beans and you are what we call it a bean soaker it's it takes a while so you know we're working on to how do we how do we educate the consumer to take that time and being able to do that to be able to achieve the diet that they're looking for at the shelf but also maybe some other ways to create more convenience for them so they can be able to you know when they have time they're able to create I mean once you soak beans some it's actually really hard to go back because you're able to understand the flavor and the deepness of quality that it goes with a fresh bean but how come how can there be other some some other ways when you don't have time but you still want to have fill that gap on your diet so I actually we've seen the opposite where the category is grown the the category itself is also growing the category has grown five percent year over year and natural so there is growth that we see that and i think now with simply bringing products that are clean because they really there isn't much on the on that on this category that offers products that are organic fair trade we test our products for over 200 different chemicals and pesticides to make sure that our claims and our studies are there and you know we'll have the visibility and being able to share a story so i think that the category also overall has grown but it's going to continue to grow i think from an outside perspective i don't i don't see that as much and it's really interesting to like be rooted in the numbers that the category is growing and obviously fiber i'm sure has a lot to do with that i think brands like rancho gordo have done a really good job too of bringing people to the category especially in like soaking beans one of the things that we've come back to a few times is that this is like not a convenient product.

17:27Do you ever get pushback from retail partners or people asking for you to make like a canned version or something that is like more instant and convenient? Yeah, I mean, I think that when you think about Pinterest staples, right? Specialty grains and beans specifically where you are asking the consumer to do more, especially in a culture and environment where our time is very limited And we are used, we're used getting more used to as a society for speed, where you're able to get things when you want them, especially in cities that we have learned to be on that mindset. So yes, we get asked to do that.

18:05But I think of those two consumers are completely different consumers. I think the consumer that does take its time to soak beans is going to be a different consumer, or maybe just in completely different occasions than the consumer that is going to get more on a ready-to-eat prepared meal. And I think those both occasions are very different and very important as well. Our mission at Simpli is to connect people around the world through the joy of food, and we're doing that with our ingredients. But I think the other occasion is also just as important where you want to have nutrient density and you don't have time.

18:41So you want something that is going to be faster and be able to do that. And I think that there is a space for that where being able to bring in perhaps something that will work in the future. How do we bring our functionality of our food that is, you know, in high protein, complete plant based proteins, our high fiber, our full amino acids into that format? And we had to focus on creating the supply chain. But now that we have a full portfolio of products, can we get there? I also think just to tie the bow on that, even if people are not the bean soakers, you can still capture them through your oils, which is one of the benefits of having multiple product lines.

19:19So that's pretty incredible that you are touching consumers through so many different products. Is there anything else that you want to share? Anything you're excited about at Simply right now, how people can support? Yeah, well, you can support by just being able to go to the shelves, not only Simply, but any other product that has a regenerative organic claim specifically and support this movement. I think that we're in a very important, it's a way and a tool for us to be able to fight climate change, but most importantly, bring to you foods that are just deeper on nutrient density and food that is going to fuel you and your loved ones.

19:52I will say you can find Simply in your local Whole Foods and your local Sprouts. We just launched with Publix. So if you're in Florida, please support us there and obviously our website and Amazon. So we're really excited to be in the forefront of this movement and that it's really just beginning and being able to start with pantry staples because these are the food items that touch your, you plate every single day. It was so good to have you, Sorella. Thank you so much for sharing so much information about this category. We are so excited for you and your Whole Foods launch and we'll be picking up some Simply on our next Whole Foods run.

20:28Let's get into the news of the week, Jenna. Let's. Also, why do I feel like I can't exist in this space without acknowledging that I'm wearing a beanie? Like, I can't. It's very Brooklyn of you. This is the elephant in the room. We need to talk about it. I'm wearing a beanie. The beanie is from Ithaca Hummus. It says beanie on it. All right, now that we got that on. All right, let's get into it. We went a little, I guess I went a little off of the typical script. This Express Checkout in the newsletter and the curious consumer as well is a very positive space. We aim to always be uplifting brands and sharing their wins and innovations.

21:10We're not really in the business of taking people down. And this still isn't a takedown. But this week, we talked a little bit more about something we mentioned on the podcast last week. So if you haven't listened to that episode, you probably should. A term that we have now discovered no one else has said before. So I am taking credits that I coined, apparently. Function washing. So function washing, we are vaguely defining as brands that are marketing and then often upcharging for functional benefits that they actually aren't really delivering. Usually this is because they claim that they have some functional benefit, but then they underdose.

21:50So they don't actually have a high enough of a dosage of that functional ingredient for it to actually have any functions. So the news that had sparked this in the last week's conversation was a plant-based ready-to-drink protein brand coming out with a SKU that has creatine in it and saying plus creatine, but it actually only had one gram of creatine in it, which is only a fifth to a third of the daily recommended value for any individual, like let alone athletes. And that is a form of function washing, but a lot of brands do this. So kind of backed into, I would say, how and why this is happening and some other examples of it.

22:30We've seen it for years. This not a new phenomenon whatsoever. I think there's more claims that are trending that brands want to jump on, which is fair. I get it. And something I said was we're not asking for perfection, just a little bit more transparency. It's great that brands are trying to incorporate additional health benefits into their products. Consumers want that. Clearly, Retailers want that as well. But I think it's important to identify really how much is in there and if it's really meaningful or not. And if you want it to be meaningful, make a skew that has the meaningful amount of that item in it.

23:11That's fine. Probably more people will buy it. You'll probably open yourself up to a wider audience. We just ask for a little bit more transparency in some of these products. You're so much nicer than I am. If you want the real juice, read what I wrote in the newsletter. No, I mean, I agree with you. I agree with you that I think it makes sense that brands are hopping on these trends. Obviously, there are a lot of reasons that consumers are seeking these ingredients and functional benefits now. Something I shared was the New Consumers 2026 Consumer Trend Report, which is a great publication and a really interesting report, shared that 43 % of Gen Z and millennials consider themselves in optimization mode.

23:50And when you're in optimization mode, you are looking for a product that can fix multiple things at once. There are a thousand different things we could be optimizing for at any given point. We don't have time to be trying to have the best gut health and skin health and mental health. And so we're trying to like if I can just eat or drink a product that also offers those things, that would be amazing. So it makes sense that brands are trying to capitalize on this. And it also makes sense why underdosing would be so profitable because the FDA doesn't actually require pre-approval for making a function claim.

24:27So a brand, as long as it has some creatine in it or some L-theanine in it, can just say that it has that ingredient. And it doesn't have to actually substantiate the claim in any way. they don't have to share dosing in the same way that you have to share daily values of macronutrients in the way that you have to share daily values of certain studied micronutrients like vitamins and minerals are on an ingredient panel you don't have to share that for a lot of these ingredients you only have to put that list to them as an ingredient and some of the most beloved brands have done this poppy is like the poster child for function washing and it's not quite about this Poppy very publicly settled a class action lawsuit in March of last year for almost$9 million because it came out of the gate saying it was a prebiotic soda, but it actually only contained two grams of inulin per can.

25:21And you need five to seven grams per day to actually experience a gut health benefit. So the brand lost, you know, well, they had to settle. And what's frustrating about this is that I'm like, well, Pepsi bought them. So like, did this happen after? Did they not know? No, the Pepsi sale happened actually at the same time as the lawsuit was being settled. So there's no way that Pepsi didn't know this was happening. And guess what? They didn't care because people will buy it anyway. People won't function. They're going to buy it. And look, I think consumers should be educated, but I don't think it's their job to be.

26:00There's too much complexity. There's too much. There's too many claims. there's too much going on in their lives, in the branding world, to really make it their response, their full responsibility to understand what they're putting into their body. There's too much misinformation. There's decades and decades of like consumer psychology at play to make you buy something that maybe isn't actually what it is, or isn't as good as it says it is, or makes you think this one way that. So I think it's really up to the brands a lot of the times to be what we were saying earlier, transparent and honest about what they're giving you and selling to you.

26:37And like, I really want there to be more consumer protections. I don't think this administration is going to provide those consumer protections, but there should be more consumer protections around labeling claims and claims in general about what these products are actually offering because it shouldn't be on the consumer really. Absolutely. It should fall on the brands. I don't think that that change is going to come anytime soon. So in the meantime, some things you can do as a consumer who is buying products that you hope have functions one you can do a little bit of research and see what an effective dose is for whatever benefit you are seeking whether that's stress relief from ashwagandha or muscle growth support from creatine whatever it is look up how much is an effective dose but an even quicker thing you can do so you don't have to be burning with research because i personally don't think you should have to be is just when you are picking up a product and see that it has a functional ingredient or benefit listed on it see if it also contains any number any number at all of a dose because if it just says creatine but won't tell you how much yeah huge red flag that's pretty much telling you right now and do support brands that are disclosing the amounts of functional ingredients that they have.

27:51Or as I also said in the newsletter, maybe just accept that some food and beverage products have no function and support great tasting, high quality, sustainable brands that have no claims of any function and seek your functional benefits from just going on a freaking walk or something. So that's on function washing. It's not going to go away anytime soon. We're going to keep seeing brands do this and just stay informed. And if you are a brand and you are listening to this, do better.

28:26Beautiful way to put it. This actually transitions us nicely into something that is usually like functional and the claims are usually pretty good. Protein. So Nuri, which is a, they make ready to drink protein shakes in a can. They're sold nationally. only. They are Instacart's, one of Instacart's fastest growing brands for 2025. They're sold at multiple club locations in Sam's Club, Costco. They're just launching in Target. People love them. They just launched a line of protein coffee creamers. It's going to come in three flavors. It's real dairy. It's lactose free. And if this sounds familiar, last week, we talked about lactate also launching creamers they don't have any protein claims but they do have real dairy lactose free low sugar and honestly i think it was the same three flavors basically uh-huh but nuri is really leaning to three different trends right now dairy is back baby everybody's caffeinated on coffee especially coffee at home and everyone's an at-home barista they like inclusions and protein protein protein's the third one protein everybody wants more protein so this sort of mixes everything together it's a trusted brand i think this is great i think nuri just like lactate i think they're right on the nose with the trends i think they're right on the nose with the flavors as well i think these are going to do well i think this one from nuri will particularly do well yeah i i really like that point of just this happening partly because consumers are making coffee at home more.

30:06We talk a lot about how consumers are more price conscious, but also making coffee at home has become such like a social media trend. And all the girlies are making their little fancy lattes at home to save some money, but still have that like luxurious experience. So when they're making coffee at home, they are not making like a drip coffee. They're pulling out their Nespresso. They're pulling out their flavored creamers. They're frothing their flavored creamers. they're doing everything they're doing everything and because of the routine and like visual stimulation associated with making a coffee this is a product that's really ripe to go viral so it's very very smart of Nuri to launch creamers and capitalize on that trend because it's not quite the same there's not the actual like protein drink is not as conducive to content right right because you're you can't pour it it doesn't feel the same you could put in your coffee i bet it would taste great but totally could but this is more part of that like at home barista vibe and yeah me a girl in a beanie has a lot to say about being a barista honestly you look like a barista right now oh yeah let's move on to our next story this one is one that's very close to my heart candy candy is changing the world of candy is evolving i love candy so much so fun fact in college you know people have like sock drawers and like underwear drawers so one of my drawers in college was a candy was a candy drawer full full on candy i grew up with a candy drawer at home like it was in our kitchen no because like you could have like a drawer of candy in your pantry you mean this is like in your dresser well this i was i was in a college dorm of course this is in my dresser there's no pantry so with having a sock drawer i had a candy socks um okay wow but i love candy you are a candy guy and what are you seeing so recently this past week jake shane joined as chief creative officer of katches which is a german candy company it's a family-owned candy brand it's been around for a long long time they are starting to expand in the u.s and they brought on jake shane to be a spokesperson their chief creative officer which i think is just so smart so fun he's already like involved in in content creation for them which is really nice to see because zach efron joined as the same title at kodiak cakes and you don't see him in anything And it's like really a waste.

32:41But Jake, like he organically found the brand and he fell in love and now they're partnering. And Conscious has been doing a lot of activations around the U.S., both in store and off-prem as well. I saw them running around the New York City Marathon. Like I literally saw them running around with a big thing of their gummies. And it's fun because it's, I like that it's not necessarily like a healthier thing. but I do like that it's it doesn't have animal gelatin in it it's a bit more fun it leans into the like European candy trend that's happening right now with Bon Bon and Little Sweet Treat and I think it's also representative of some of these like newer brands that are coming into the space that are starting to really take ownership of the candy sector from these legacy brands joyride we've we did a whole deep dive on joyride recently um they are the number one selling candy and target right now they are a relatively new brand and i think a big piece of this new wave of candy brands is a lot of them are creator led and that's not celeb not celeb led well i guess their own form of creator of but creator led so joyride is ryan trahan who is a very famous youtubers brand feastables is a chocolate brand by mr beast they have gummies as well yes who's the most famous youtuber sour strips max chewing which uh so he had a sour strips which sold to to hershey's he was a youtuber final boss sour also has creators involved with that brand and that one's a little bit different because they they're like candyifying fruit which i think is really fun and gamifying it as well final boss sour they just launched in over 2000 walmarts They're getting this massive distribution.