ReGen Brands Podcast ReGen Brands Podcast

On this episode, we have Christian Ebersol & Nick Wallace of 99 Counties. Christian serves as a Co-Founder and CEO while Nick is also a Co-Founder and the Chief Farmer.

99 Counties is supporting regenerative agriculture with its direct-to-consumer, e-commerce business that partners with small family farms in Iowa and sells a myriad of regeneratively raised meat products to people in all of the lower 48 states.

In this episode, we talk about Nick’s personal journey that led to the creation of Wallace Farms, his vision to regenerate the 99 counties of Iowa and how crossing paths with Christian led him to turn his direct-to-consumer farm business into a brand aggregating from farmers across the entire state of Iowa and servicing customers across the nation.

99 Counties is truly on the front lines as Iowa is ground zero for degenerative agriculture that is driving countless human and planetary health issues.

Among the 50 states Iowa ranks:


Dead last in soil erosion rates


2nd to last in ecosystem impacts


4th to last in conservation practices


5th highest rate of water nutrient run-off


7th highest incidence of cancer 


And the 11th highest obesity rate



Episode Highlights:

🤯 Iowa’s massive problems linked to food & agriculture

📈 How Nick started Wallace Farms and grew it to $1M+

🤔 The growth plateau that caused Nick to think bigger

🙏 Nick’s inspiration for 99 Counties from the Acres Eco-Ag Conference

🛻 How Christian met Nick and became his Co-Founder

✉️ Using direct mail “love letters” in their marketing strategy

🥩 Solving for whole carcass utilization through product development

📦 Differences between a DTC-focused and retail-focused brand

🇺🇸 Going national to do more good in Iowa

🔥 Why it’s time for all of us to “pick a side”

Links:

99 Counties

Acres USA

Ragbrai

Land To Market

Follow Kyle and AC on LinkedIn

On this episode, we have your two favorite podcast hosts: Kyle Krull and Anthony Corsaro.

It has been 29 episodes since we jammed out together without a guest and it definitely felt like the perfect time to do it again. It was not planned but it was perfectly timed.

Similar to Episode 16, we spend a great deal of time breaking down all the things we’ve learned from all 44 episodes, 42 blogs, and more than 1,000 conversations we’ve had collectively with and about regenerative brands.

Quite simply, we talk about the biggest problems facing regenerative brands and what we’re trying to help build to fix them.

We go in-depth into the what, the why, and the how on The ReGen Brands media platform, The Regenerative Coalition Trade Association, and Outlaw Ventures' early-stage regenerative CPG fund.

Episode Highlights:

🤯 The biggest differences between regen brands and conventional CPG

👏 How regen brands go beyond the co-packer

👍 How regen brands include the farm in product development

🎯 How regen brands are creating new or better market outlets for farmers

🥳 Kyle leading a regen panel at SproutsCon

😡 The massive costs during manufacturing & “the journey to the shelf”

👉 Why and how regenerative isn’t promoted like other product claims

➡️ Why and how we think we need to solve that huge problem

👎 The lack of investment tools and support for regen brands

💯 Why an early-stage VC fund is the best way to start creating that

Links:

Regenerative Coalition

Outlaw Ventures

ReGen Brands

The Almond Project

Follow Kyle and AC on LinkedIn 

On this episode, we have Chris Langwallner who is the Co-Founder and CEO of WhatIF Foods.

WhatIF Foods is supporting regenerative agriculture with their BamNut Milks & BamNut Noodles all made with the bambara groundnut as the key ingredient.

In this episode, we learn about Chris’ grandfather and upbringing in Austria that inspired him to “leave the world better than he found it,” the incredible regenerative ecosystem being built around the Bambara groundnut stretching across multiple continents, and what it means to truly be a “planet-based” brand.

Episode Highlights:

😍 What are BamNut Noodles and BamNut Milk?

🙏 How Chris’ Austrian town and grandfather inspired him

🌏 Chris’ career in food across the globe

😡 Our huge combined problem of land degradation & deforestation

🤩 The game-changing Bambara Groundnut 

🇺🇸 Why they chose the US as their 1st commercial market

🧪 The massive R&D lift to commercialize new crops at scale

🤝 Their amazing work with farmers in Africa

🤯 Upcycling Bambara waste to create biochar and renewable energy

🔑 Gen Z spending and voting power is the key to a regenerative future

Links:

WhatIF Foods

Follow Kyle and AC on LinkedIn 

On this episode, we have Ash Glover-Ganapathiraju who is the Founder and CEO at Ojaswe.

Ojaswe is supporting regenerative agriculture with their lineup of pantry staple items like pancake and muffin mix made with regeneratively grown chickpeas.

In this episode, we learn about how Ojaswe’s product mix is truly farmer-first and regeneratively inspired, Ash shares how being a queer, BIPOC, and immigrant founder has shaped her journey, her brand, and her products, plus we dive deep into the most urgent issue facing the immediate and long-term future of regenerative brands.

Episode Highlights:

🥞 Ojaswe’s pantry staples made with regen chickpeas

🤯 Moving from India to Arkansas

☕ Working in big CPG and turning down sustainability roles

👏 Empowering everyday eaters through regen CPG

💯 Why food is emotional and there is no “one right answer”

🔥 How smaller brands are paving the way in regenerative

🎯 Building products based on the needs of farmers

🙏 Ash’s experience as a queer, BIPOC, & immigrant founder

👉 The biggest (certification) problem facing all regen brands

🤠 How brand collaboration and retailer support get regen to scale

Links:

Ojaswe

Terra.do

Axo Foods

Axten Farms

Diaspora Co.

Casad Family Farms

Follow Kyle and AC on LinkedIn

On this episode, we have Courtney Boyd Myers who is the Founder & CEO of AKUA.

AKUA is supporting regenerative agriculture with their lineup of frozen, plant-based meat alternatives like burgers, crab cakes, and ground meat that are all made with regeneratively farmed kelp.

In this episode, we learn how the brand pivoted from shelf-stable kelp jerky into frozen household mainstays, their exciting new partnership with Nickelodeon & Spongebob, plus Courtney shares her operating and fundraising journey as a mother and female founder.

Episode Highlights:

😡 How changing her Dad’s diet inspired her

🤝 Partnering with GreenWave to support regen kelp

🤔 Why they started with kelp “jerky”

🥇 Pivoting through the “Kelp Beta Burger Club”

👀 The “Innovation Limits” of CPG

👍 Flavor > Nutrition > Sustainability

🤩 Their EPIC Spongebob partnership

💯 Courtney’s experience as a mom and female founder

💰 Their Republic fundraise happening NOW

👏 How to bring down regen COGS & SRPs

Links:

AKUA

GreenWave

Invest In AKUA

Follow Kyle and AC on LinkedIn

On this episode, we have Ashley Walsh who is the Founder and President of Pocono Organics.

Pocono Organics is supporting regenerative agriculture with their 380-acre Regenerative Organic Certified® farm producing fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, microgreens, and a myriad of hemp-based CPG products.

In this episode, we learn about Ashley’s health journey with gastroparesis that inspired the farm, their farm’s journey into the myriad of enterprises they are running on-site, and their growing CBD-infused CPG lineup that they are currently scaling.

Episode Highlights:

🤤 Enjoying a CBD-infused “marsh-mellow”

👎 Ashley’s health journey with gastroparesis

💫 Rodale Institute’s instrumental role in their work

🧑‍🌾 Practices on their 380-acre Regenerative Organic Certified® farm

🧑‍🔬 Research trials on-farm with Rodale + Jefferson University

🙏 The amazing medicinal power of hemp & CBD

🤯 Why Nano-Particle CBD??

🔥 Why vertical integration is so important for their product quality + innovation

👀 New CBD products coming soon!

🤩 Selling regen products to NASCAR fans at Pocono Raceway

Links:

Pocono Organics

Rodale Institute

Regenerative Organic Certified®

Nano-Particle CBD

Pocono Raceway

Follow Kyle and AC on LinkedIn