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The ReGen Brands Weekly - Volume 22

The ReGen Brands Weekly - Volume 22

Weekly episodes, recaps, and news from the world of regenerative CPG

Brought to you by The ReGen Brands Podcast

This Week’s Episode:

Highlights:

🤯 Their 1,000-acre regenerative farm in Jeju Island, South Korea
🆒 Michael’s background in nature photography & air quality
🏆 Winning global tea awards and becoming Regenerative Organic Certified®
😯 How all types of tea actually come from the same perennial tree
🔬 Plans to lab test all products for nutrient density, antioxidants, etc.
🧑‍🍳 Selling to MICHELIN Star restaurants and other high-end foodservice accounts
🪿 Heavy rainfall, volcanic soil, wild geese, and other unique aspects of their farm
😵‍💫 Wild Orchard regenerative teas versus conventional teas
🥳 Recent retail wins (Jimbo’s + MOM’s) and plans for the future
⚡ What regen can learn from the clean energy movement

“The typical supply chain has so many middlemen. There's lots of pressure on the farm to lower the price and the farmers get trapped by that commodity model. We’re showing the value of regenerative to conventional farmers saying, ‘If you engage in this, your farm will be more resilient, you'll be able to mitigate risk against climate change and you'll get a better return.’ We have to collectively create a market for that return and that value to the consumers because unless we provide that value proposition to consumers, we can't really gain market share.”

Michael Ham

Recap:

Don’t have time for the full episode? 😵‍💫
Check out the recap! 🙃
Everything you need to know (+ funny GIFs) in less than 5 minutes. 🥳

ReGen Brands Recap #37

The World's First ROC Tea

ReGen Brand News:

🍼 Nature’s Path expands with Love Child Organics acquisition

Nature's Path Organic Foods has acquired Love Child Organics, a Canadian organic baby food and children's snack brand.

Nature's Path Acquires Love Child Organicss

Credit: NOSH

🐻 Kodiak Kernza® Cakes from Kodiak Cakes was an On Trend Award Winner at the recent KeHe Holiday Show.

Learn more about Kernza® Cakes here.

🚜 Merge Impact Unveils BEE: Biodiversity & Ecosystems Evaluation - The First Solution to Measure, Track, Verify, and Monetize Field-Level Biodiversity

Merge Impact will work with regenerative and organic farms to measure biodiversity metrics, such as species and habitat density, and provide each farm with a biodiversity score.

Using these initial results as a baseline, Merge Impact will provide tailored recommendations about how to further increase biodiversity and then continue tracking progress, ultimately connecting the farm to food brands and supply chain managers seeking ingredients, crops, and animal products with transparent, easily verifiable biodiversity impact metrics.

As the premiere client of BEE, A-Frame Farm will bring the valuable building block of biodiversity to improve sustainability metrics across the board for customers, including Simple Mills and Lil Bucks.

🥛 Farmer-owned dairy cooperative First Milk and manufacturer Yeo Valley Production are to create a “regenerative milk pool” in the south west of England. (🇬🇧 News from “Across The Pond”)

The farmers involved will have to commit to delivering what the group calls “better outcomes” across various metrics including animal welfare, climate, biodiversity and the local community.

First Milk says it operates the “largest regenerative farming programme in the UK dairy sector”. More than 90% of the cooperative’s members are signed up to the regenerative farming programme it started in 2021.

Farmers involved have been paid a premium of 0.5ppl (pence per litre) since April 2022.

AC’s 2 Cents: Coincidence that a premium (even a small one) led to a large % farmer adoption? I think not.

🛒 McKinsey’s monthly update on the US Consumer: June

Lots of interesting data to nerd out on, but I was particularly intrigued by this:

Credit: McKinsey

AC’s 2 Cents: I’m bullish on premium CPG (what most regen brands are) to continue to be in high demand and resilient to economic uncertainty and even downturns because it is bolstered by lasting health + wellness trends, an affluent + less price-sensitive consumer base, and very important to retailer growth + profitability. (I’m confident but admit I’m also biased 🤷‍♂️)

💰 “We Can’t Sell Yogurts and Save the Planet”

“The story of Danone, Unilever, and the ongoing battle between purpose-driven CEOs and their increasingly powerful activist investors.”

AC’s 2 Cents: I really enjoyed reading this piece from Mike Lee that details the tension between lasting sustainability commitments and short-term shareholder returns. I especially enjoyed the 3 “methods” he laid out for merging sustainability goals and business operations:

The Cash Machine Method, Governance Method, & “Profits Through Purpose” Method

🥩 Verde Farms Champions Beef Sustainability And Regenerative Agriculture

Recently, the brand relaunched with a first-ever consumer-focused brand campaign, “Beef From A Better Place,” alongside expanded distribution nationwide and partnerships with leading retailers and food service providers including Amazon Fresh, BJ’s Wholesale, and True Food Kitchen.

Verde is now supporting 62 verified regenerative land bases, including more than 100,000 hectares (or 247,105 acres).

Credit: Verde Farms

🕺 But wait, there’s more!

➡️ Our friend (and overall legend) Wyatt Ball joined the Earth 911 Podcast to chat about the Land to Market verification, Ecological Outcomes Verification (EOV™), and conveying regenerative outcomes to consumers.

🎧 Check out the episode here!