The fires in the Amazon captured the world's attention. Now what are you going to do about it? In this episode of Fodder, the podcast powered by Esca Bona, we chat with a company and the nonprofit it works with to save the forest.

Saving the Amazon - Fodder Podcast Episode 6

Paul Schulick, the founder of the groundbreaking supplement company New Chapter, has taken on a new frontier with his latest brand, For the Biome.

For the Biome launched to the public recently with natural skin care born of microbiome support. The line features waterless products, fermented cleansers, prebiotic essence sprays and CO2 extracted serums.

And while the products excite, everything about the company and its leader is much deeper. In this episode of the Fodder podcast, Schulick takes listeners on a journey into how he thinks about product development, greater lessons he’s learning (still, if you can believe it) from the plant kingdom and how natural products developers can continue to find the innovation spark.

Settle in for this deep think with For the Biome’s Paul Schulick.

The Fodder podcast is powered by New Hope Network's Esca Bona platform and underwritten by 301 Inc., Giannuzzi Group LLP, Healthy Lifestyle Brands, MorningStar Farms, Stonyfield Organic, Unilever and Whipstitch Capital.

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Innovation and lessons from the plant kingdom and beyond - Paul Schulick - Fodder podcast

Locally grown food. Locally processed packaged products. All sold at local retail. Seal the Seasons set out to put U.S. farmers first, prove “local” can work year-round and beyond farmers markets, build local economies and innovate on frozen fruit.

Trending natural foods products and ingredients, after all, aren’t the only way to innovate in natural products industry.

Seal the Seasons is changing what local means by innovating on infrastructure and distribution, all built on mission that remains core in all that they do.

Seal the Seasons CEO Patrick Mateer and Chief Operations Officer Alex Piasecki share how they brought the Seal the Seasons vision to life, along with all the road bumps on the way, and just how this business model can grow.

The Fodder podcast is powered by New Hope Network's Esca Bona platform and underwritten by 301 Inc., Giannuzzi Group LLP, Healthy Lifestyle Brands, MorningStar Farms, Stonyfield Organic, Unilever and Whipstitch Capital.

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Doing local food on a national scale - Seal the Seasons - Fodder podcast

Twenty-five years ago GT Dave started brewing kombucha in his parents’ home and evangelizing the fermented beverage to any who would listen and take a sip of the then-unfamiliar brew. 

Today, GT’s Living Foods is a billion-dollar food platform. Kombucha still stands at the forefront of the company’s product offerings. Tea, kefir, shots and yogurt build on the living food offerings.
Innovation remains key for GT, but it’s a pressure he feels, too.

“Innovation is our lifeblood,” he says. “I think that’s what most companies need to do these days to stay relevant is, to constantly be moving forward, and definitely not getting complacent, because those who get complacent are those who will lose.”

Yet, GT cautions, just because a business can innovate doesn’t mean it should. Listen in to this episode of Fodder to understand how he balances the pressure, when to let it go, what servant leadership means to him and what worries him about the changing natural products industry.

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GT Dave on changing and keeping up with a changed natural products industry – Fodder podcast

Sustainability is a journey not a destination for Rita Katona and Eric Hall, the founders of wellness shot brand So Good So You.

“As an emerging brand,” Hall says, “we’re not perfect, but we’re on a journey to be better. And regardless of where a person is, as an individual, or as a brand, there are steps that you can do each day to improve what you’re doing today at the stage that you’re at.”

Katona and Hall live this through and through as they build So Good So You. And after innumerable steps toward improving their plastic bottle packaging, in July they debuted the biodegradable BtrBtl.   

Still, it’s not the solution they seek. It’s just a step.

“When we first launched our website several years ago, we had a little tongue in cheek (statement) on it that said that we would love to pour our juice into your cupped hands, but unfortunately, as that is not possible, plastic is a way that we need to get it to you. But we are always looking for a way to be better,” Hall says.

The bottle, though, is only part of the story for the couple who commit all they do to sustainability and humanity.

Listen to this episode of the Fodder podcast to learn about the commitments they make and costs they are willing accept on the path of continuous improvement.

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Continuous improvement for better product, better world – Fodder podcast

Bella Hughes and Harrison Rice set out to build a Hawaiian company that fed a local economy and honored Hughes’ home islands. They turned to mamaki, a native Hawaiian nettle species known to offer a caffeine-free energy boost. And in 2016, Shaka Tea was born.

“We really believe what’s good for Iona, the land—and that’s true, sustainable agriculture restored native ecosystems—is good for our communities,” Hughes said. “You’re growing something in a healthy way that’s healthy. So it’s good for our bodies, and our customers, and it's good for our economy.”

Along the way to a breakout 2020, including raising $4.1 million in its recent growth round, they have learned a few things about building a local economy, introducing an unknown ingredient to a wider audience and balancing a business on a mission with growing a food business (especially during fund raising). 

We explore these topics and more in this episode of the Fodder podcast featuring Bella Hughes of Shaka Tea.

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Shaka Tea On Mission Forward Business - Fodder Podcast

Food for thought: Ideas moving the natural products industry forward

Fodder - powered by Esca Bona

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