Brands for a Better World (formerly Evolve CPG)

When we look at the sectors that are contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture is responsible for 15 to 20 percent, but today’s guest believes that the food industry has an opportunity to do better; a lot better! Today, we speak with Jonathan Reinbold, Sustainability Director for Thomas Foods, about the food industry’s impact on our health and the environment and t...

To create a CPG product that is 100% organic, 100% traceable back to the family farm, and 100% tested for pesticides and herbicides is no small feat. In today's episode, we speak to someone who has done just that. Jason Freeman is the Founder and CEO of Farmer Direct Organic, a certified organic supplier of beans, grains, legumes, and all sorts of healthy whole foods to stores across the US and Ca...

Making a sustainable CPG product a household name doesn’t sound as challenging as it is. Today we speak to Pilar Ochi, Vice President of Marketing at Alter Eco, a sustainable sweet snacks company. She joined the company because this was the first brand that she found that does more for people and the planet than they talk about. While this sounds like any marketer’s dream, narrowing down the messa...

If you have a food and beverage product, getting it onto the grocery store shelf is not enough; it has to sell! Today’s guest, Alli Ball, Founder of Food Biz Wiz, is a former grocery buyer turned wholesale consultant, and she helps food and beverage brands understand how to be successful on the retail shelf. In this episode, Alli pulls back the curtain and offers insights into the minds of buyers,...

Feeling constantly sick, tired, and weighing 300 pounds at 18 years old, Michael Fata embarked on a pursuit of health, which, after much experimentation, led him to the discovery of the benefits of hemp. Hemp, though often confused with marijuana, has no mind-altering properties and is a great source of essential fatty acids. When Michael founded his company, Manitoba Harvest, not only did he have...

The general trend towards healthier living and better information about nutrition has many layers, with one of the main tenets being an increase in transparency from food brands about the ingredients used and their sources. Today we are joined by Colleen Kavanagh, the CEO and Co-Founder of ZEGO Foods, to talk about how the company is enabling its customers to live healthy and fulfilling lives, and...

The California Certified Organic Farmers, or CCOF, extends across the US and certifies more operations than any other organic certification company or organization in the country. This week we get together with Jessica Beckett Parr to discuss her work as director of the CCOF Foundation, and how her devotion to agriculture was shaped from a young age. Tuning in you’ll hear about the history of CCOF...

Your morning cup of coffee has a far greater environmental impact than you might realize. Ironically, the current unsustainable practices have the largest effect on the industry itself. Today’s guest, Paul Evers, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Riff, an innovative cold brew coffee company that looks to use the whole coffee plant, reducing waste and increasing sustainability. In this episode, Paul unp...

Food Waste is a global issue and plays a pivotal role in the onset of climate change. While the problem might seem overwhelming, there are increasing opportunities for consumers to impact change through their choices. This week we welcome Turner Wyatt, CEO at The Upcycled Food Association, to discuss how his company is helping producers and consumers make better decisions that will have a global i...

After getting sober in 2015, today’s guest, Kelsey Moreira, set off on a journey to make the world a little sweeter by starting Doughp Legit Cookie Dough, a company that makes edible, bakeable, and ridiculously tasty cookie dough. You’ll hear about Kelsey’s lifelong interest in marketing and how her ambition drove her to use alcohol to relieve stress before reaching a turning point that changed so...

Company culture is one of the pillars that will define an organization's outcomes, and the more intentionality and balance that can be brought into a workspace, the better for all involved. Linwood Paul and Matt D'Amour join us on the show today to talk about the idea of the business zip code, and how geography and assumptions can negatively impact the systems and processes at any business. Our gu...

So many businesses struggle to find the right words to market their sustainable and social impact products. Today’s guest is Carolyn Parrs, CEO of Mind Over Markets, and she joins us to talk about the green consumer and the best ways to market sustainability.  One of the big themes in today’s conversation is how to get people to adopt your sustainable product. People fall into different tiers acco...

Going green is set to be big business in the coming years, thanks, in part, to growing consumer demand for products that are good for the planet. But this can also be good news for brands, as embedding Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into your core strategy can help deliver long-term value. In today’s episode, we speak with Ryan Williams, Operating Partner of NextWorld Evergreen,...

The world of 3D printing and the cannabis space are two areas that have seen massive progress in the last few years. The intersection between these two spheres is what inspired today's guests to build the simple yet ingenious C-Bite! Joining us to talk about the C-Bite are the co-founders of Thriving Design, brother and sister team, Jordan and Morgan Rider! In our conversation, we get to hear abou...

No matter what kind of brand you are running, in order to be successful and create an impact, you need to be able to connect with a community and build an audience. Today we are doing things a little differently, and instead of interviewing a guest, Gage breaks down the principles detailed in the book, Influence , by Robert Cialdini, and applies them more particularly to the type of branding we ar...

In order to make the best possible decisions, we need to use all the tools available to us, and not just the rational mind, that often dominates our choices. This is where the concept of heartset comes into the conversation, and in this episode, we are joined by two inspiring guests to explore the idea of heartset and how to utilize this important tool for the benefit of ourselves, those around us...

Popularity and awareness of the B corp certification have been growing steadily and the burgeoning space is showing no signs of slowing down. Today we get to chat with Veena Harbaugh, who is the Director of Marketing and Communications for B Lab U.S. & Canada, about the topic of B corps and how her work at B Lab aims to champion this important step for the business world. In our conversation,...

Growth without a sense of responsibility is a recipe that can lead to many problems further down the road. Whether it be for a business or for a wider-reaching area of impact, sustainability and principle-led scaling of businesses should be a higher priority as we move into the future. Here on the show today to talk about this mission and how it is embodied at New Hope Network is Eric Pierce! Eric...

The recent years have shown that the vegan diet and movement are here to stay and that there is an ever-growing demand for alternatives to the traditional American diet. Joining us on the show today to speak about her journey in and perspective on the world of vegan foods and recipes is the amazing Ellen Kanner, also known as The Soulful Vegan. Ellen talks to us about her work with plant-foods, an...

With so much information available in the current age, finding trusted and convenient sources that are useful to our needs is more important than ever. This is the philosophy that has inspired Justine Reichman in her quest to supply a growing community with better information and resources for wellness and healthy foods. Justine is the Founder and CEO of NextGenChef and the host of the Essential I...

It seems ludicrous that farmers and grocers throw so much good food away. Surprisingly, very few people have come up with solutions to this problem. Outcast Foods is the world’s first sustainable nutrition company that is disrupting the status quo of food waste using dehydration. Today's guest is TJ Galiardi, Co-Founder, and CMO of Outcast Foods, and he joins us to talk about the explosive growth...

Hemp has got uses from the roots to the shoots and this magical plant along with organic farming is slowly helping America move toward a culture of health and sustainability.  Today’s guest is John Porterfield, founder of Woolen Hemp, and he joins us to talk about organic agriculture and the many uses of hemp. John has done a lot in his career to help farmers do more with less. His work ranges fro...

Social Nature is a product sampling community platform dedicated to helping people make greener choices, and today we speak to its Founder and CEO, Annalea Krebs.  Our guest is on a lifelong mission to ‘make green mainstream’ and we kick off our chat hearing about the different businesses she built as her journey unfolded. She weighs in on how her vision evolved as she built three companies, TheCh...

Companies are not legally obligated to get certified before they use the word ‘organic’ in their marketing, meaning they can charge more for products that are no less nasty to consumers. Today we speak to Kristine and Daniel Sperling, Co-Founders of Makes 3 Organics, about their certified Organic, EWG verified skincare brand that customers don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to enjoy. We speak abou...

When customers know the stories behind the products they consume, they can see their connection to a wider ecosystem and feel more empowered to become active members in it. This is the founding principle behind the storytelling, transparency, and contact platform Into, and its Co-Founder and CEO Pablo Muñoz Ledo joins us on the show today. Into combines Pablo’s extensive experience in marketing an...