Regenerative by Design

Hello everyone, you are
listening to the regenerative by

design podcast where we will be
getting to the root of health,

climate, economics and food. I
am your host, Joanie Kenmore.

Join me on this journey as we
explore the stories of

individuals and organizations
who are working to realign our

food system with both human
health and the health of our

planet.

All right, hello, everybody. And
welcome to the regenerative by

design, podcast. I am so excited
today, because I have two folks

that I have always wanted to
interview on my podcast this

morning. And it's a husband,
wife team, which is meaningful

to me, because I also founded a
company with my husband. And

they together the rose have put
together an incredible brand

called White leaf provisions.
And I'm just gonna let them

introduce themselves to kick
things off this morning. So good

morning,

I, how are you doing?

I'm good. I'm still still just
getting going this morning. It's

early here in Oregon, where I'm
recording this morning. And I'm

just super excited that you guys
made time to talk to me today

and to tell our audience about
your amazing work.

Awesome. Thank you so much. So
I'm Megan. I am the co founder

of white leaf provisions. And I
have Keith, my husband next to

me here. And I love telling our
story. It started out as a

passion project many years ago
that has unveiled itself into a

nationally distributed brand
with a regenerative focus. And

I'll let Keith kind of tell the
background story a little bit on

it. Just to give your listeners
an update. Yeah,

totally. Thank you for for for
setting this up. This is great.

I'm always happy to share the
story. But I guess really the

foundation is a white leaf. It's
kind of I guess the meeting of

two minds between Megan and
myself. quick background on

myself. I grew up in Ireland
raised in the southeast coast of

Ireland. small rural farming
community right on the coasts.

cool way to grow up, I was
actually surrounded by

regenerative organic farms,
small family run farms, I guess

they were before they had to be
labeled regenerative and

organic. I guess that's just how
people used to farm in Ireland.

They couldn't afford to purchase
seeds. They couldn't afford the

external inputs. Couldn't afford
the expensive fertilizers. So

just through generations, they
just learned had firm in this

regenerative manner I was always
obsessed with with. Yeah, this

level of farming and food
purity. I went on to be a

classically French trained
chefs. With you know, this

upbringing, really at the core
of all of that I cooked

throughout Europe, Australia and
Asia and America for many years,

lots of years of executive
level. But being in the culinary

scene in Europe, that's where I
become aware of biodynamic

farming, which really is the
gold standard for Regenerative

farming. It's the know it's
certified by a group called

diameter. They are the oldest
ecological certification in the

world. That certification is
pretty much the forefather to

all organic certifications as we
know them today. It's really the

pillar of regenerative farming.
And I think a lot of the

regenerative certifications, you
know, a lot of their core

attributes really go back to
this biodynamic farming was

founded in 1922. Has a huge
presence in Europe. But I was

always just very, very
interested in that level of

farming and how these people
treated their firms. Maybe it's

been a few years in Europe to
with her education, lived in

Paris, Italy, Spain for a pretty
long spell. So I think that's

where she got her first
introduction to this level of

firming as well. I moved to the
States 15 years ago where we met

for the first time. So needless
to say, we were kind of geeking

out that we all have these
random things in common. We were

both obsessed with regenerative
biodynamic farming organic 2.0.

And so needless to say, I
quickly fell in love got married

a few years later, we gave birth
to our first son Keegan. And

when Keegan was born, that was
really the catalyst for white

leaf. We were you know, we were
like every parent right? So we

were looking for the cleanest
and best products for son cooked

on his meals from scratch. We
were like family that we're

importing the formula from
Europe. I know I notice a huge

growing number of people who
were doing that or were doing

that. But as we got older, we
were looking for snacks that

were you know on the go snacks,
Park plane ride, car ride all of

that. So we discovered baby and
toddler food aisles in the US

for the first time. We were
encouraged by what we saw but we

were also a little display to
what we didn't see. So you know

90% of the sets were organic and
GMO free which was amazing. It

was it was it was great to see
that I think was probably one of

the only sets that was in the
entire in the stores. We shopped

in that were, you know, had that
much organic and GMO free in

there. We were a little dismayed
boy, there was no mention of

regenerative farming. Nobody was
talking about biodynamic

farming, no one was talking
about soil health, nutritional

density. Animal welfare, we
just, I couldn't believe that

that level of purity and
transparency was not available,

especially in the baby food
aisle, right, where you have

such an engaged consumer looking
for the cleanest products

possible and know what he was
doing. So we set out with the

help of Megan's dad, and we
started whitely provisions we

launched in 2018. In Southern
California, we were touting

regenerative and biodynamic
farming way back when the

conversation was much smaller.
So it's, it's, it's been a it's

been an amazing journey so

far. That is really cool. And I,
I agree with you having raised

kids, my kids were born in 2006,
my oldest and I, you know,

remember being really pleased
that there were a lot of things

that were organic, or like
really defined that free from,

you know, like, okay, cool.
These are free from chemicals

that I don't want my child to
have. These are free from GMO

foods, etc. But it wasn't that
full of mindset of like, oh,

this is farmed in a way that is
going to deliver more nutrition

or deliver more impact through
the food to the baby. And and I

think that that's a huge part of
this whole market shift to

regenerative and biodynamic
thinking, is it is that shift

from just reductionism like,
okay, cool, it's free from so

that means it's better for me,
which really, when you think

about it is kind of a mental
leap, you know, it's free from

something which is therefore
better. Instead, this bigger

concept that it's like, it's
full of better, which makes it

easier to be free from because
we know healthier, plants don't

need the chemicals, they deliver
more nutrition, and that's why

they're there. They don't they
are more resilient in the field

as well. So I love this
thinking. And I was a longtime

fan of the work of Demeter. And
one of the farmers we work with

is Demeter certified. And as a,
as a consumer, it was one thing

buying things imported from
Europe. And they were Demeter.

And I was like, Oh, this is
great, because it is that

regenerative philosophy. It's a
it's a mindset that goes beyond

just the mechanics of farm
management. And, but then, as a

brand new, a brand new founder,
I realize how hard it is to find

facilities and manufacturing. So
after Megan gives a little bit

of background about herself, I'm
really excited to hear about how

you guys found a place that
would even allow you to bring in

a supply chain like this. So
Megan, go ahead and share a

little bit more about your
background. And because you guys

have such a great story, and
then let's and then after that,

I'd love to deep dive into like
the mechanics of how you guys

got started. Sure,

yeah. So I grew up the daughter
of serial entrepreneurs. One

notable company that my parents
had was a snack company in the

90s that exited Campbell's Soup
under the Pepperidge Farm brand.

So I literally grew up in CPG
space and didn't realize how

much I had learned and retained
during those years, my summers

are spent interning with them
for decades. And so we, when we

decided to look at this company,
I had reached out to my parents,

my mom had formulated a product
from scratch. Essentially, it

was a brownie that was made from
purees, of prunes and dates and

other gorgeous fruits to take
out the fats, because you have

to think we're in the 90s when
everything was fat free. And so

I was, like Keith had mentioned,
I was quickly fell in love with

the way Europe does things with
food and farming. And my my

education took me to Europe, I
have a master's in photography

and as a fine arts major. So
really a completely different

path from what we're doing
today. But what was the same is

the passion I have for this
level of purity and transparency

and the food supply. And like
Keith had mentioned, when our

son was born, we really wanted
to have that same kind of food

access here in the US. And so
our mission really was in the

beginning was to build this
supply chain in the US. But like

you mentioned, it was quite
difficult to do so. So we went

back to well, let me start back.
So we naively had reached out to

a lot of the manufacturing
facilities here. And what's

shocking is that there's there's
only like two or three that

actually make the baby products
for every baby brand, you see.

And their minimums were so
intense, like 300,000 pouches

per unit per SKU. And being a
small brand we really thought we

would only be a rich regional
brand. We didn't think we were

ever going to be where we are
today. So we we looked back to

the store So we we said okay,
Demeter biodynamic is in such

mass supply in Europe. Let's go
over there. Let's work closest

to the farms that we're going to
be sourcing from. We wanted to

really have that focus. And we
partnered with a really gorgeous

manufacturing facility in
Europe, who understood what we

were trying to achieve, who was
willing to work with us on much

smaller minimums. And so when we
started new imported, an almost

full 20 foot container, and we
were scared, how are we? How are

we going to sell through this,
and now we're doing about 540

foots a month. And I

think another key attribute to
that, too, is back then, I mean,

we were, we were trying to
figure this out for years before

we launched in 2018. So the
regenerative conversation was

very regional. I mean, we were
big supporters of Brookdale and

some of these other smaller
groups that were another much

smaller brands that were
supporting this, but beyond that

conversation was way smaller
than it is today. And that

diameter certification. What we
liked about it, but it also was

made everything a little bit
more complex is that everything

has to be demoed or certified in
the chain for you to put that

certification on your product.
The firm's naturally have to be

certified your handling for the
products raw and finished

ingredients have to be certified
and processing facility has to

be certified. So everything has
to be seen and signed off, which

we really liked. But in order to
do that, it comes back to those

conversations we were having
with some manufacturers in the

US, they didn't want to put on
an extra additional

certification, we called
hundreds of firms in the US the

supply chain just wasn't there.
It's it's much today, like it is

we see what's happening with
regenerative movement, it's

growing. But back then, it was
not really where it is today.

And we kind of took an internal
look at ourselves, like what can

we do for this movement in the
US, I mean, we still we want to

put a product on shelf and start
educating people about this

level of farming, you know, so
that's we never deviated from

the diameter certification 95%
for ingredients or diameter

certified, and it's been, it's
been really good way to go. For

us. I think

a lot of a lot of consumers
don't understand that the

judicious dedication it takes to
maintain that level of

certification through a supply
chain. And, and that it is it is

an additional layer that you
have to be really passionate

about, like you have to really
believe that wholeheartedly,

that it's better and that it's
worth all of those extra layers

of time. And, and barriers
honestly, like when you find

something that you'd love to
bring in. But you realize, okay,

we've got the supply chain
there, Demeter certified, it's

except it's what we want. But
there's nobody around to process

it, that you would literally
have to just find something

else. And that there's a
sacrifice there for that

quality. And it's something that
I didn't know, as somebody who

came in from hard sciences and
health care, I had no visibility

into really what happened in the
food system, from a business and

supply chain level. And for me,
that's been an interesting wake

up call. How little access to
specialty manufacturing there is

in in North America. I always
assumed it was everywhere. Yeah,

so are you guys still producing
like 100% of your products in

Europe.

So we have an applesauce line we
produce out of Colorado. And

then we are growing into a
another line of applesauce due

to consumer demand for it, which
we're going to be working with

the largest diameter orchard out
of Chile. So we're going to be

partnering with a company down
there. Again, completely set up

supply chain. And we as a brand
back into the demo or

certification. So we're agnostic
to our location based on that.

We do have a product line that
we're developing that's kind of

not able to speak about
publicly, but that is we're very

proud of this one. And this one
will be a US grown and

manufactured product. And that
goes back to the ethos of the

brand is we do want to build
this level in the supply chain

in the US. Like you mentioned,
it does take time, and we're

leaning into what is readily
available in the US from a

supply standpoint. And so that's
kind of what we're doing and

it's a nice add on to our
product line for our customers

journey as well. And I

think exactly what you were
saying Joanie, I think over our

journey what I've noticed is it
just it sounds very easy to

people kind of outside Google
where can you just get more

farmers to grow these products?
But yeah, you know, there's

every everything has to be you
know, the logistics have to be

set up the processing has to be
set up to storage, it's it's in

the

farmers market to see the demand
for it from the customer. And

that goes back to why we are
doing it from Europe. The way we

are doing it is because we need
to show the farmers in the US

that there is a demand because
the more we grow with our

products that we have right now
it shows that there is To demand

for more regenerative and that's
how we landed on this third

product that we're developing is
we surveyed our customers. And

they said, and we said, what do
you want to see next? Because we

were fielding many emails and
social media DMS about I love

your baby food line so much, but
you've gotten me hooked on this

kind of supply chain, I want
more of this product line. What

do you have next? What can you
bring? And so people don't want

to go backwards. They want to
they want to go down this

journey with us. And that's kind
of the goal of white leaf as

well. When we named the brand
white leaf provisions, it was

never to be a baby food company.
It's just something we started

with whitely provisions, we've
always aim to be a family brand

with regenerative at the core of
all products that we've

launched.

So for our listeners who aren't
familiar with your products, can

you explain what products you
have on the market today?

Yeah, we have 10 Baby food
skews, they kind of start from

an age range of three months
upwards. I'm sorry, six months

upward. So we've 10 Baby food
pouches, but snacks. And then we

actually have four applesauce
skews as well. Our current

applesauce is rent for four
ounce cups. And growing all the

time, we're actually getting
those reformulated into four

pack pouches as well. They'll
come to market later this year.

And then like Megan said, we're
actually working on a few other

products. I guess they're going
to be more kind of in the

lunchbox section. But yeah, we,
I think what we've done is

starting with the baby food
line, we, like Megan had

mentioned, like, you know, as
babies aged out of our products

they're looking for what's next,
you know, there's, there's,

there's a lot more, when does
that does the kids grow up and

go to school and look for snacks
and things like that. So

and that's a really tough gap to
I mean, I relate to this as a

parent, where it's one thing
when you're feeding your babies,

a they can't necessarily say no.
I mean, they can with spinnings

have been out. But it's like
basically like very little

children, they eat what you put
in their hands, then you enter

the school age zone where
suddenly lunchbox planning can

be quite intimidating for a lot
of parents. And especially when

you don't have a lot of time, or
when your kids are doing some

activity where they're not going
to sit down and they can't like

eat like more of like a true
bento box, or thermos type

lunch. Like I have those kids
like where my youngest is. She

always wants to bring food she
doesn't like, like grab and go

food. So at school, she always
brings a thermos and it's like

super heated up like dinner type
foods, like she's just not like

a chips and sounds kind of kid,
like the rest of her, her peers.

But when she does have to go on
a field trip, and it's like,

okay, it's gotta be something
super grab and go. I feel like

there's often a huge void of
things that I'm like, Okay, I

feel good about you eating this.
And you'll actually eat it and

like it and not like trade with
somebody else for something that

I would be mortified to know
that you're eating. What kind of

what kind of thinking process
have you guys put into that part

because your parents you see it
and you get it, it's, it's tough

to meet kids at that grade
school age gap and make it cool,

make it delicious, but still hit
all the checkboxes that we as

parents want for nutrition.
Right? So

we're tasked with that too. And
we kind of drilled down and

said, Okay, what, what do we
find wrong with the products

that are readily available. And
it's usually for us, it's the

insane amount of sugar in
something that doesn't have to

be there, or the insane amount
of sodium. And so we kind of

want to create products that
kind of are very nutrient rich

and have less of both of those
items in there. I went down the

snack aisle recently and ended
up not getting anything because

of the sugar count in half the
products and so that that is

where he is some but it is it's
trying to do that balance

because you don't want the child
to be alienated when their

friends have something that we
normally wouldn't them to have.

But you also want that same
experience. And so it goes back

to our supply chain, though, in
terms of what is available and

what can we lean into and make
and so what we've taken our

stance on is reinventing some of
the fan favorites from decades

ago and making them just
elevated is kind of our thought,

which

is a cool design process because
I feel like if we can give

anybody whether it's kids or
adults the permission to kind of

have their cake and eat it too.
So enjoy something in that same

delivery modality whether it's
like a pouch squeezer, or

whatever that might be, but it's
like delivering something of

better quality. It's like the
barriers to acceptance and

repeat use have been reduced.
Because like now You have a kid

who's hanging out with like,
like, I know your pouches

because I've bought them for my
children. And they're like

hanging out with their friends.
And they all have a pouch or

something. So it's like it
already fits into that kind of

status quo of what they're
looking for. You know,

otherwise, I feel like kids gets
self conscious really easy about

things in their lunch. Like,
I've gotten a lot of grief from

my children about this, over the
years, where they're like, Mom,

we are the only kids that take
this kind of stuff to school. I

wish it just looked more normal.
And I think it's because we were

doing a lot of scratch things.
And so it's not coming in a cool

pack. So I actually personally
as a mom love that you guys have

embraced like packs that are
more familiar in that way. But

holy, Kamali, like squeezer
packs, that's an entire another

supply chain to manage to, like,
how have you guys managed to

navigate that, especially
through the ethos of better for

you organic, etc? Yeah,

so we work with really great
partners. Surprisingly, there's

not that many pouch
manufacturers in the world. And

yeah, there aren't their parent
companies on one another. So

we're always looking to to push
into the next best thing. And

we're really excited for the new
applesauce launch. Because we're

we're stepping out of that seven
layer pouch, and we're going

into a single layer, still a
pouch, but better for the

environment, while we work to
push the limits even further.

But with us, we've we've really
been in a wonderful position

where we work with really
wonderful suppliers. And because

we started small, we've grown
into this scale, it's been easy

for us to really work with some
of these partners. Because of

that reason, I would say,

Yeah, and I think some of the
pillars of Waikerie provisions

and all the products we bring to
market really kind of stay the

same, I think leads over the
years we've had to really adopt

and how we educate people on the
level of farming and

transparency of the ingredients
that we use. So that's been a

huge, huge attribute for us.
Over the years, we know we when

we started, we started heavily
educated on biodynamic farming

and mixed results here and
there. As you can imagine, I'm

sure everybody on the
regenerative journey or

Trussville, trying to figure out
what is the what is the sweet

spot? Where do we how best to
educate people, I think what

we've drilled into about five or
six key attributes, divided

nomic farming, we have
associated our products with

eating and how good which you
may be familiar with. So he does

a whole carbon footprint
analysis of our firms or

ingredients or finished
products. Yeah, and nutritional

density will be the next piece.
And I think all of those

attributes will is kind of that
that that's going to be kind of

the foundation for everything we
bring to market. And thankfully

everybody involved in the team
at White leaf. You know, a lot

of our core team are actually
made up of moms who are

genuinely passionate about the
business we're building and want

to be a part of it. So it's been
really nice to see that piece

evolve over time.

Yeah, that's awesome. How do you
guys deliver the story of of

transparency like how are you
guys communicating with your

customers to that they see and
and learn from the degree of

dedication that you have to your
supply chain partners.

We need to do frankly, a better
a better job at that. But being

so small, we're we're stuck with
that piece. But we do work with

a lot of micro and NEEMO
influencers that have come to us

they've been more evangelical
brand followers, and they tell a

really lovely story. We really
lean it goes back to what we

were first talking about free
from and and we talk about the

beautiful outcome of a
biodynamic farm. And we really

lean into partnerships, and
really showcase different things

that different groups are doing.
Biggest Little farm, for

example, kissed the ground. And
we really lead that customer

journey to discover regenerative
for themselves. And it really

kind of leads them back into
wanting to learn more and

purchase our products that way.

I think on pack we have we put a
QR code on all of our products,

I think that got like 10 to 12
slides, and it gently educates

on on our products and why
they're different from what else

is out there. I think that's
been that's been a huge piece

for us. But I think a lot of the
support is actually coming from

the retailer level too. Right.
You know, a lot of our large key

accounts have been huge
proponents for Regenerative

farming. So they've been very,
very supportive over the years.

You know, and a lot of these
large key accounts, they

definitely took a chance on us
you were talking 2018 2019 When

the conversation was much
smaller, but but they were

acknowledged that the baby food
sets need to be shaken up. They

need something that's clearly
different. Yeah. And so they

really took a chance on us and
they've been very, very

supportive over the years,
especially with just a small

brand like ours. Yeah,

that's great. I feel like baby
food is a great place. To really

pioneer new conversations,
because I know for us in working

with regenerative supply chains
back in 2018, retailers were

like nobody knows what
regenerative is, there's no

point in even putting it on the
package. Like, there's no way to

differentiate that. And I think
it was like, especially in

certain sets, there wasn't a
strong enough signal for

consumers to really make that a
motivator for giving away shelf

space, you know, because it's
like real estate. But I think

that it's super smart to pioneer
awareness around bigger

conversations, when it comes to
supply chain integrity. I'm in a

in a space like baby, because
it's literally of all the places

in the grocery store, I would
guess the one that has the

highest rate of the consumer,
really analyzing the packaging,

prior to purchase. It'd be
interesting if somebody's done

like a little statistical study
on that, like, Of all the places

in the store that people take
that time, I bet you anything.

It's that 1020 feet in that set
where there's baby food. Yeah,

absolutely. I mean, I couldn't
agree more. I think we're

probably a perfect example of
of, you know, we're a much

smaller company than a lot of
the others that are out there.

But I think a lot of our growth
today is really just organic.

You know, I think, I think
pretty years people

underestimated how much parents
care about this, or how much

once their eyes get open to
this. Yeah, how much it's very

hard for them to look back. You
know, we talked about soil

health, and we talked about
compost, and it's still stuns us

how many parents can still just
gravitate to that they just get

it, you know, healthier
nutritional rich soil, rich

fruits and vegetables. Replacing
fertilizer with compost like

this is I think, the organic
certification. It's an amazing

pillar for everything that we're
doing, for sure. But I think

that certification was put out
there as kind of the the be all

end all. That's that's, that's
it. And I think, especially in

the baby food set, where you
have pretty much every brand is

organic, GMO free. I think
parents just being parents,

naturally, they're still looking
for the next thing, right?

They're looking to take a deeper
dive and more transparency.

Yeah. So when we start talking
about soil health, and all of

these amazing attributes, it's
amazing how parents from every

demographic, regardless their
knowledge of farming, or soil or

anything, they just really
gravitate towards it. And that's

I think that's been probably one
of the biggest driving forces in

to where businesses today, and

you're spot on parents do they
research, everything. Even we

just had a another baby about
three years ago, and it was same

thing I was on the couch,
reading, just reading countless

things on what crib sheets do I
buy what you buy, that you go

deep on on, on this? It's a
little being and it is a very

vulnerable little being. And so
and that that is why I think we

have seen a lot of success with
the brand to date is because

people take the time to research
and they take the time to become

educated.

Yeah. And it's meaningful, like
they have some sort of pain

point. That's, you know, makes
them go, Okay, I'm going for

this one, even if it's more of a
premium, etc, because there's

this perceived risk of not, you
know, preserving that purity

with the baby. And it's
interesting how quickly that can

fade as the baby grows up. And
then you end up having teenagers

and you look at what like the
typical teenager consumes. And

it's, it's rather startling how
quickly, families move away from

that, thinking around purity and
exposure to these little

developing bodies, where like,
babies are so little and

vulnerable. But then I look at
my teenagers. And think about

the effects and long term
effects of all these different

toxins and endocrine disruptors
when they're going through like

puberty, for example, like,
they're still so vulnerable. But

there's still this real
disconnect in the American

public around exposure to toxins
and food and beverages for

adolescents. And so I'm really
pleased just to know that you

guys are expanding beyond just
baby because I think that's such

an important space that we need
to innovate in like snacks, and

portable foods that are
appropriate for kids that are

beyond the baby years. Yeah.

And I think it just like you
said, it comes down to lack of

it comes down to the supply
chain in the US is dominated by

a few key players. And that's
the food that's being put out

marketplace. And it does it
takes innovative thinking and

innovative brands and people to
really just take a chance to

help change that. And we're
seeing it with our 11 year olds,

like it's a needle in a haystack
to find products that he can

grab and go that we feel happy
about giving him and there is a

lot of compromising in terms of
our own ethos with what we're

we're giving and it just It
comes from lack of, you know,

like, Yeah,

I kind of on the flip side of
that, too, is it's been really

encouraging to see the growth
and, you know, of the

regenerative movement over the
years. And I think that's also

really helped kind of lift our
business, too. We've been

definitely part of that tide,
for sure. But we see all of

these amazing products that are
coming to market. And it's

really, really encouraging to
see that too. Because we know as

founders, the dedication it
takes to push the boundaries of

that organic product and bring
something that's regenerative to

market. Yes. So it's been
amazing and really encouraging

for us to see that too.

It's been a ground swelling. And
I feel like especially in the

last two years, the conversation
around regenerative and the

intrigue from people that you
wouldn't even necessarily expect

to be interested in it. I feel
like the regenerative story has

a really incredible way of
resonating across multiple

demographics, even people that
sometimes for whatever reason,

have a bit of a knee jerk
reaction to organic, and often

maybe don't trust that organic
has the standards in place that

it that it has historically
promoted, or they just don't

think that organic is scalable,
globally, for whatever reason,

when you start talking about
regenerative and I think it's

because it's a systems based
approach rather than

reductionistic. That there, it's
like, you can see that they're

invited into this new way of
thinking that they're like, oh,

maybe we could scale this, maybe
this is something that could

totally ripple through the
entire food system and become a

new norm. And that's a really
fascinating conversation, that

I've had the pleasure of being
involved in a lot this year,

from large buyers, or large,
like food service, things like

that were like before, they
always said, Oh, well, we love

the idea of organic, but it's
impossible for us. Because

they're so big. And now they're
like, wait, maybe regenerative

is a place that we can get
involved. Maybe there's a place

for us here. And it can help us
level up our procurement. So

it's no longer just conventional
commodities with no segregation

or differentiation at all. So
it's been really fascinating

what's been happening with this
conversation across the board.

And I'm sure you guys are
hearing this too.

Yeah, absolutely. Like think
just talking about our products.

I know, everyone's got a
different kind of take on on,

you know, market adopting to
their products. But you know,

we've we launched in the in the
natural set in the US, I think

we're in over 3000 doors today.
But but that seems to be where

we're meeting the customers
where where they are, right. But

that's when we launched that's
been kind of the footprint for

widely for we have noticed that
we've seen more and more

interest from the conventional
channel for products. And so

it's been really nice to now
see, you know, some of these

deeper value add baby food
brands, not just not just

whiteleys, but ones that have a
deeper level of transparency are

a deeper value add, I think
they've been the big drivers of

the baby food sets and natural,
you know, there's about three or

four brands out there. And I
think whyteleafe is playing a

part in that as well. But we see
that starting to spill over we

see conventional take notice.
And yeah, we feel that so many

calls, were just at that point
where this is extremely scalable

for what we have. But I think
it's the regenerative piece is

what, you know, a lot of these
conventional channels are

really, really interested in.
And they feel that the baby

foods that we were saying
earlier, that's where you have

probably the most engaged
consumer, right, you're buying

the very first solid foods for
baby. And it's it's a huge and

important decision. And so I
think we really witnessed that

as an amazing segue into
conventional for Regenerative.

And so we're in Meijer, and
rallies and Wegmans and a few of

those counts, but it's been
really nice to see how quickly

the products have adopted and
growing in there. Which kind of

we massively underestimated when
we went in? But yeah, I think

the baby sets are really great
into that

that's a really good sign to me
that that those accounts are

getting those velocities because
it's just an indication that

this is something that like,
more and more people can wrap

their arms around and feel
hopeful and say hey, this is

something that is better I'm
going to invest in this product

and I you know, I sometimes get
a little bit funny about you

know, when it's so just the
natural set I mean, I've always

lived in rural areas my whole
life for the most part so I've

like never lived anywhere with a
Whole Foods ever. Like not

permanently so you know, like I
I've been kind of trapped in

rural areas where you have a
Safeway and that's it's the only

store around or an IGA it's the
only store around so you're

either ordering from like Azure
standard or like, you know,

online that's changed everything
but for many, many years that

that wasn't an option. I love to
see the signal that conventional

grocery is listening, because
that's when we're going to

really start impacting, you
know, huge swaths of the

population, that's when we're
going to start seeing like a

bigger transition of farmlands
as our farmers are responding to

that consumer demand. Keep, like
you were saying earlier, like if

the farmers know there's a
demand, they, they will respond.

And I think often people,
there's a big disconnect around

the psychology and thinking of
farmers, they're business

people, they're running a
business, they will respond to

markets. And what I've heard
overwhelmingly from so many

farmers, is that they want to
grow in a different way. They

don't want to just be growing
commodities conventionally, but

they can't afford to take a risk
if that market poll is not

there. And I just think that
that's such an important part of

the conversation. And you know,
the design thinking behind

rowing and regenerative food
system transformation. Yeah,

exactly.

I totally agree. And we hear it.
Again, back to what we said,

let's put a true regenerative
product on shelf let's start a

conversation. What we've seen
over the years, I mean, we feel

that hundreds of emails and
meetings with farmers who want

to get involved. I think I can't
speak for farmers. I definitely

am not an expert, you know, but
the pressures that we're hearing

from a lot of these farmers from
the seed companies and growing

these products, conventionally,
and the cost of inputs into

farming today, it's really
driving these farmers towards,

you know, regenerative farming
in particular, you know, where

it's, it's really touching all
of the bases. And so I mean,

we've we've seen an increase in
farmers coming to us looking to

get involved, which has been
amazing.

Absolutely. The the upwelling of
interest from farmers is

actually overwhelming, you know,
because I get a lot of phone

calls from farmers across the
country, and even around the

world that are like, Hey, we you
know, here's what we're doing.

Here's where we're at in our
either regenerative transition,

or maybe they're like, so far
along that they're in year two

of organic certification. And
they literally got there

naturally, through a
regenerative process, they their

goal wasn't to be organic. But
their goal was to improve their

farm and their soil health and
their plant health. And what's

amazing as you'll be out there
in the field with them, and

hearing this whole story, and
hearing how everybody around

said oh, it's impossible to grow
a garbanzo bean in this region

without using fungicide. Because
it's an endemic fungus, it's

there's no way around it, that
was the group thing. And I've

seen with my own eyes, because
I've literally eaten the green

garbanzos right out of the
field, and there's no fungicide

on them. And they're, it's
because they've repaired the

soil ecology, that they don't
have that in endemic fungus

anymore, they don't need the
fungicide, they literally cured

the patient, which is the crop
of the need of the medicine,

through health and through
regenerative nutrition at the

plant and soil level. And
imagine how that transfers up

through the value chain to the
consumer. Who is eating it?

Well, I guess down through the
value chain. And when I think

about making hummus out of those
garbanzos for my kids, I think

about that whole
transformational process, what

that's done to the genetics of
the plant, like just the fact

that it's that healthy, what
kind of genetics are signaling

on and off, that are making more
phytonutrients that are creating

the immunity to the fungus,
maybe those are medicinal things

for us to we just don't know.
And this is what makes me so

excited about this regenerative
transformation that I'm hearing

about every day and seeing
across the landscape. Like the

farmers are so proud of that.
Because they're like, they're

literally talking about the
health of their system, rather

than like just the yield of the
commodity or whatever. And that

is a paradigm shift. Yes,

for sure that I think when when
our philosophy to was starting,

I mean, we came when we
launched, we were at a 299

retail price for products, but
we always, you know, we always

try to pay our farmers and
growers and extremely beyond

fair wage for their crops. You
know, that's the piece with, I

think that mindset really had to
change for our brand as well to

get more farmers involved, get
more growers involved. Yes, we

have solid dialogue with all of
our growers, even European on US

supply chain and seasons change
and things change on a farm. And

we're at that point where we can
flexibly meet these farmers

where they're at in the journey
and in their season. I think

that's been a huge, huge piece
for us as well. That's amazing

over the years, but I agree to
what you're saying. I think we

hear that story from from all of
our suppliers. We have about 17

ingredients and each ingredient
has about four or five different

farms that supplier.

A lot to manage. It's a lot
yeah,

we hear that story consistently.
You know, they watched the farm

turn and self sustaining thing
and it's just Amazing. And then

their neighbor farms are again
told them this couldn't be done.

Nobody wants it. And it's, but
then they look at their inputs

and their cost and their numbers
at the end of the year. And it's

been a kind of a win win. So
yeah, it's amazing to see

exactly.

That is what I see every day as
well. And it's what drives us

all. I think I'm being somewhere
in the value chain, getting

these goods out into the market,
is that when you see that

magical transformation, and then
you see the momentum of like,

the neighbors wanting to do
whatever they're doing, because

it's working. That's, I think,
part of what makes us whole get

up and Hustle so hard every day.
So, on that note, we're at the

top of the hour. I can't believe
how fast that went. But how can

people learn more about the two
of you and your incredible work?

Like, where's the best place for
them to follow?

Find us on Instagram? That's
where we're, we're pretty active

on there. There we have a very
small team. I think there's

literally four of us. So if you
write to somebody on Instagram,

you're actually talking to one
of us or Mr. Dan is a great spot

for us. Keith is very active on
LinkedIn. We're open books,

honestly. That's

fantastic. So widely provisions.
Is that the handle that they

look up and they'll find that
there? Yes.

At White leaf provisions on
Graham. whitely provisions.com

info at White leaf provisions,
you can email us directly we get

those as well. Fantastic.

Well, that is awesome. You guys,
thank you so much for taking the

time to join and let our
listeners know about your

journey and your amazing
products and and just the

fantastic ethos you have for
life and for making industry and

businesses that really matter.
So thank you for all the hard

work that you do. Awesome.

Thank you. Joanie, have a great
day.

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