Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Grace Ventura, founder of Grace's Goodness Organics, located in Boulder, CO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are Grace's Goodness Organics... a line of organic on-the-go veggie broths with wellness benefits. There are three varieties… Immune, Vitality, and Better Belly. They each support a different area of wellness and are so convenient... all you need is a mug and hot water.
The ingredients are very simple and clean, including organic veggies, herbs, MCT (a derivative of coconut oil), and nutritional yeast. These single-serve packets are great to travel with, hike, camp, at the office, a great pick-me-up to get you from breakfast to lunch or lunch to dinner. Enjoy a nourishing cup instead of that extra cup of coffee or tea!
They are savory, aromatic, earthy, light, and yet satisfying. They are great on their own, or you can create a wonderful five-minute meal with them. They are also wonderful for cleanses and intermittent fasting. We have many recipes for soups, stews, add to rice, juice, dips, or even as a flavor packet for popcorn. They are all organic vegetables, savory, no added sugar, functional with wellness benefits.
Tell us about yourself
It all started 7 1/2 years ago. I was feeling under the weather and awoke at 4 am, craving my own soup. At the time, my 17-year-old son was living with me, and I knew he wasn't going to cook for me :-) so I thought, how can I have my own soup anytime, anywhere? I thought about bullion and all of the aseptic containers of broth and soup sitting on the grocery store shelves. I don't know how long they've been sitting there, and to me, that's like dead food. Bullion is loaded with sodium and chemicals, so I knew none of that would satisfy my desire and need for my own soup with organic vegetables and the nourishment that I needed with a simple ingredient label. So I thought about dehydrated vegetables because I know that dehydration is one of the best ways to preserve the nutritional value of food.
As a Health and Wellness Coach, Massage Therapist, Yoga Teacher, and Mom of six… For over 35 years, I supported my clients in self-care and understanding how to really listen to and care for their bodies holistically. Grace's Goodness Organics is all about this mission that I have been sharing for over 35 years… Everyone deserves to be well nourished every day. Anywhere anytime.
Two of my daughters and I created the recipes with herbal combinations for different areas of wellness… Immune, Vitality, and Better Belly. Fast forward, we launched the brand as Beyond Broth in 2016 and rebranded to Grace's Goodness Organics last year.
My inspiration comes from seeing how many people in this world are not well and suffering in many ways. I want to support people in feeling vital and well.... it is our birthright.
Currently, I am expressing my mission through a brand that's really good for them…. simple organic vegetables and wellness herbs from the earth... Grace's Goodness broths.
Who doesn't want to feel like they are getting a hug for their inside!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say it is 2-fold: There is the accomplishment on a personal level as well as professional.
On a personal level, I continually evolve my interpersonal skills regarding communication, relationships, inner trust, living in alignment with my integrity, truth, passion, and mission while expressing it clearly through the brand.
Professionally...I would say as we are in the process of scaling the brand, the process requires many pitches both to investors, retailers, brokers, distributors, and the like. We are now in over 800 retail locations. My latest experience will be Grace's Goodness on QVC on March 30th!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I think a lot of the struggles are around money and being seen in a huge inundated world of food. If you have a good product and good packaging, that's a big part of it, but you have to have something so loved and seen by so many if you really want to grow to scale and share with many.
Another big struggle is getting into retail because so many brands are trying to get on the shelves.
I would add one more challenge….because they do continue :-) Is sitting at a computer… a lot. As someone who has spent the majority of my life teaching yoga, doing massage, dancing, etc. I find it extraordinarily painful to watch what sitting at the computer does to your body, especially your neck :-) So please, take care and pay attention to your body and health!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Know your why...your purpose, mission, and how to best express it through your brand.
- In time, cultivate a support system, as it is very challenging to do everything yourself. I like to think of it as a marriage...it will work best if you have others who compliment you rather than have similar characteristics. In my case, I am a creative, idea person. In the beginning, I did do everything...but not necessarily at a high level, though enough to grow. Having our CEO, Sarah Bird, as well as amazing partners and an incredible Board, has been fabulous as she has the knowledge and experience to scale the business. We are still pretty scrappy as we continue to grow…sharing different responsibilities while we each clearly have our strengths and own those areas.
- Money! It is imperative that you have financing in order to survive and thrive. It is essential not only for materials, supplies, etc. but for marketing to get the word out.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I'd like to share a bit more about the mission of the brand. My passion and mission has always been to support people in feeling great in their bodies… to feel happy and healthy, as I believe it's our birthright. To that end, I have been offering my services as a Wellness Coach through the brand in the way of Daily Wellness Tips, Cleanses/Reboot and Wellness education.
In addition, I hosted a summit in the middle of COVID, Nurturing a New World from Chaos to Goodness… Offering tools to help navigate through these challenging times. I interviewed 15 professional women in the Wellness Community, including an attorney teaching us about conscious finances; a young woman who was supporting teenagers with eating disorders; a Medicine Woman, Gut Health Specialist and on.
Grace’s Goodness Organics is about daily nourishment, not only in terms of the food, but overall wellness for ourselves, family, community…and the planet.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://gracesgoodness.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gracesgoodness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graces_goodness_organics/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/graces_goodness
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/graces-goodness-organics/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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