How She Built the $45M Company of Her Dreams with Neka Pasquale

Nika Pasquale. It is a pleasure to see you.

It is a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.

I've spoken on the phone once, but this is the first time we've actually looked each other in the eye. And. Yeah, I'm just gonna start by gushing a little bit. Like I. And I told you this when we talked. I've been Remedy your product, your salads and your bars and your. Every single week. My wife will tell you it is literally, I'm not exaggerating, eating lunch, eating specifically Urban Remedy. It's one of my favorite parts of my day.

I created the Miracle morning, I would argue.

What do I derive more satisfaction from? My Miracle morning or eating Urban Remedy at lunch? It's neck and neck. It is a close tie. So thank you for what you've created because it adds so much value to my life. I can't even tell you.

Well, thank you. That just means the world to me. Thank you so much. I love hearing that. That's incredible.

I'm not exaggerating. I'm not pandering. Like, I am so enthusiastic about your. Your salads. I just. Yeah, I love it. I love it so much.

Thank you.

So let's talk about that, like, first, before we get into Urban Remedy and. And what you've created. What did you do before Urban Remedy?

So I am.

For a living. Yeah.

Yes. I am still a licensed acupuncturist. I studied Chinese medicine. I have my master's in traditional Chinese medicine. So I've been an acupuncturist and herbalist for the last, like 20, about 20 years. So I had a private practice before I started Urban Remedy, where I just did one on one sessions for about 11 years. And that's where I really delved into food is medicine. And really, you know, I think it's really interesting. Like, we can read about diet and the importance of diet, but when you have a practice and you're treating chronically ill people and you see what's working for most people and how changing your diet is so critical. Like, the people in my practice that were willing to change their diet and eat a low inflammatory diet and stop eating inflammatory foods would get better so much faster than people who were unwilling to change their diet. And so that's really the premise, you know, that I started Urban Remedy under really just using food as healing and also just really delving into, you know, our. The way that we farm and, you know, the toxins that we're exposed to, you know, in the food System and really just kind of connecting the dots with those very important subjects. Yeah. And so I, you know, I found that, you know, I would teach people how to eat like this. I would do retreats and people would come and feel great. I would do all the food and juicing and all of that. And then over time, people be like, I just can't do it. It doesn't taste as good. I can't deal. It's so expensive to go shopping and then chop everything and make everything. And so I just kind of started doing it on the side and I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna juice and like make food for people on the side. So I had a full acupuncture practice and then I had like a commercial kitchen and I was making all this food. And then I finally got to the point when I got pregnant with my son in 2011, where I was like, you know, I was like six months pregnant and trying to do all this stuff, and I was like, you know what? I think it's really time to take a break from, you know, the one on one, which is a really difficult decision, and just kind of really focus on the food part because I felt that it was so important.

Wow. You know, you said you talk about food is healing. That's your. And it says on your website, like, more than a tagline. Right. Like, it's really what you believe. Have you ever heard of or seen the documentary raw for 30 days?

You know, I think I saw. When was that? A while ago.

A long time ago.

Yes.

Probably more than a decade ago.

Yes. Yeah. It was basically they took.

They took a couple dozen, roughly, or 16 or something like that. Yeah. Type two diabetics.

Yeah.

Into like a cabin where they could not access any other food other than what they were given. They were raw, vegan, and 100% of them were off of their insulin within 30 days.

Yes. Well, I was. Was that a guy from Australia?

I do not remember. It's been okay.

I believe I met him one time. But I actually, when I had my practice, probably a little bit before that came out, I was lucky enough to take some courses with Dr. Gabriel Cousins, who wrote the book, a book about using plant based foods to cure diabetes. And he would bring people and do the same thing. He has a place in Arizona. And that was very, very inspiring to me. And so I incorporated some of those principles into my practice at that time. And at that time I was doing mostly live raw food and juicing. And a lot of people ask as an acupuncturist In Chinese medicine, they say you don't want to eat a lot of raw cold food because it's really difficult. Difficult for the spleen and stomach, for your digestion. But I kind of use those principles where I would use warming ingredients, and I still do to things that are, quote, like obviously lettuce. Not obviously, but lettuce is cooling, for example, like, very simple. And so when you add things like ginger in your dressings or red peppers or things that are warming, you can offset the very cold properties of things that are cooling, which in Chinese medicine might be a little bit hard on the digestion.

So were you. So Urban Remedy is organic vegan, right?

Certified organic, yes.

Now. And it's not completely raw, right? Mostly raw.

We have a lot of, you know, I would say in the last, you know, five years, I've incorporated more cooked components. But things that are cooked are, you know, really in their whole state. Meaning, like something like we use, like, energy regenerative, certified, obviously, organic rice and our breedable.

Yeah. Organic quinoa in our macro bowl. So I have incorporated some cooked ingredients because people. I think that there really has to be a balance, and so I've tried to do that. So people that are raw, there's options for people that just want raw, and then there's options that are more hearty and filling for people that would like to incorporate those.

I appreciate that. I, you know, I. One of my favorite restaurants in the world is Cafe Gratitude. I'm a.

Yes, me too. Yeah.

And they used to be. They were raw vegan for many, many years, and then they incorporated cooked food, and it's like, it's nice to go there for dinner and have something warm, you know?

Yes, I agree. I love how they have transformed the same way, but different. And I love. Yeah, they have the best nachos I've ever had in my life. I love their food. It's so good.

I love their food. It's where. When I go. I used to live near their San Diego location.

Yeah.

My 30th birthday, that's where I went to San Francisco. San Francisco. Went to San Francisco. Like, my life revolves around Cafe Gratitude when it's nearby. I want to ask you, too. So now, are you. What's your diet like? Are you completely vegan or what's your diet like?

I am not completely vegan, but I do not eat dairy.

And I, you know, I don't really like to put myself in a category of, like, vegan or not vegan. I like to say that you know, my.

Theory or my, you know, belief around food is really more around like regenerative agriculture and farming. So everything that I choose will be organic or pasture raised or you know, on that level I'm not, you know, I've done it all like I've been raw for many years. I was vegan, I was vegetarian, I've done a lot of diet. So I just really try to do intuitive eating and eat what I feel is right for myself at the time. And I don't like to put myself in a box because.

I like to be able to be flexible.

Sure. Flexitarian, right is what they call it.

Yeah, yeah.

For me, the way I usually define my diet if people, because I get asked sometimes, yeah. It's, I say I'm raw vegan by day and Paleo by night.

I love that. That's great.

I'm literally, I'm organic, raw vegan for breakfast with my smoothie, with, for remedy for lunch and then whatever my wife makes for dinner which is often pasture raised chicken or last night grass fed steak or wild caught salmon, you know, or whatever.

Yeah, I think for me it's really, I try not to have judgment in anybody's choice of what they're eating except when it comes to like factory farming or conventional farming. Those for me are always a no.

But let's, let's, let's not gloss over, but dive in a little bit. What, why, why no to factory farming and why are you so passionate about regenerative agriculture?

I mean I just think, you know, when we say like for example, urban remedy, our food is healing to people on the planet is because when you look at the bigger picture of, let's just say the United States right now and how many mono crops we have that are conventional and how much the pesticide use, use on those crops is affecting the soil and affecting our air that we breathe in our water.

That piece right there, I just don't want to contribute to that and I don't want to put those chemicals and pesticides in my body. So I choose to eat only organic because I want to support organic farming, regenerative farming, which support soil health, which is one of the things that's going to really help, you know, heal the environment and our planet and help to support our, you know, our echo, our ecosystem. It's like when you hear about like the bees and the butterflies and all of these really important species in the environment that are going extinct and are being killed off by all of these pesticides, I, for me that's like A hard no in organic farming and regenerative farming. Those things are part of the farming process and thought about. And. And so I believe very strongly in that whole system. And I think it's better for me personally. It's, you know, I love, like in Chinese medicine, you know, there's a saying, what's better for me is better for you. What's better for the environment is better for everybody. So it's kind of that thought that we're all interconnected. You know, when I make a choice like that, it's good for me, but it's really. It's good for the bees and the butterflies and, you know, everybody, you know, in our society. And then when you look at something like factory farming, I mean, that is just always a hard no for me because, you know, I mean, that kind of farming is so incredibly humane, inhumane to the animals and the environment. I mean, the waste that it creates that goes into the water systems and that the insane cruelty and suffering that these animals endure is. I mean, I think it's just criminal. I think if anybody were to visit one of these factory farms or even watch a documentary on how these animals are treated, and that's. That's dairy. So include like, milk and cheese and obviously any kind of meat or eggs. I don't think anybody would ever choose it. But I think a lot of people have their blinders on, and I don't like to say complicit, but I think anytime. I do feel that if you are buying factory farm meat, there is a complicity that happens because then you're really supporting something that is very inhumane and would just, like, hurt anybody's heart, you know, to see. And I'm not staunch vegan, and I'm, you know, I'm not coming from that place. I'm just coming from a, you know, a place again of we're interconnected and why do we have to have these being suffer so that we can, you know.

And the thing is, because of the way that they're raised and the hormones that they're pumped for with and the GMO grains, they're fed too, like, exactly. Right. Like, they suffer on the front end and from the back end.

Yeah.

It's interesting. You know, one thing I almost. I almost. I will not eat out at, like, 99% of restaurants. And it's because my favorite restaurant used to be Yard House. You're familiar? No, it's a chain. And they've got, you know, 200 beers and they've got just amazing food taste. Wise, Right. Yeah. And. And my. My coo, she was a waitress there. That's actually where I met her. She was the best waitress ever. I hired her as in my intern and then my assistant, now my. My coo, But Tiffany. But. But we were. When I, I hired her, and I was like, yeah, I love Yard House. You know, it's like my favorite restaurant. And. And at that time, I thought I was pretty healthy. And it was what I would like, splurge and go. There she goes. And. And she just told me, she goes, hal, you have to realize that at 99% of restaurants, if not 99.9%, they're buying the lowest quality ingredients to maximize their profit.

Yeah.

And all they're doing is using a lot of salt to make it taste really good. And then she told me horror stories of like, what happens in the kitchen, of stuff getting dropped on the ground and they wipe it off or, you know, and so I was like, I never ate a Yard House again, like, my favorite restaurant.

Yeah.

But the thing is, most. Most restaurants use seed oils, for example, which are inflammatory, which cause disease, canc. Or on and on and on.

Yeah.

There's literally. It's less than 1% of restaurants that don't cook with seed oils. In Austin, Texas, I found a restaurant called the well, and they literally on their menu that we only use coconut oil.

That's so great.

Olive oil and avocado oil. Right. I'm like, I. You know, and our grass fed and our chicken is pasture raised and our produce is organic. Right. But I've literally called every restaurant, not every restaurant, but I want to go to in Austin. And, and I just always call with some, like, high end. I'm like, hey, is any of your produce organic? No. Is any of your beef grass fed? And it's usually it's somebody. Right. Let me ask.

Yeah. They have no idea. Yeah.

Then you don't know. Otherwise, if you, if you, if you have values in terms of the food like, you do.

Right.

You know, you don't. Right. And everyone on your team. There's not a person that works at Urban Remedy that I'm like, is your food organic? They're like, let me. Let me ask my supervisor.

Well, you know what the. I think one of the biggest, like, red flags is if you say, oh, you know, do you serve? Because I'm. If you and I went to eat, we would totally be on the same page and asking the same questions. But, you know, it's like, are you using organic produce? And really, people say, oh, we Try to use it when we can, which really means you're not using it. And I'm totally on the same page with you. I try to, you know, eat. I'm lucky because I eat in Marin and there are couple restaurants that serve organic, but usually they still are using seed oils. But I think, like, with the movement and the. There's such a big push around seed oils right now. I feel like more people are going to be jumping on the. The bandwagon, getting off seed oils. But I'm like the person. I'll go to a restaurant. I did this with my son the other day and I didn't even tell him. He wanted to go eat at this really cool place out in Point Reyes. And I like, made my own dressing and I put it in a container and I didn't want to embarrass him, but I was like, okay, I'm gonna have this salad. And you know, I don't even think it was organic, but I don't want to ask him. Embarrassed. And then like when he wasn't looking, like, I poured my own salad dressing on the salad or I'll bring my own, like organic ketchup or things like that. Because you know what I do now.

With Urban Remedy, and this was such a hack, and I don't know why I never thought of it. So, you know, traveling, I traveled. I'm a speaker, so I travel quite a bit. And it's so hard. I mean, usually what I do is I, when I land somewhere, I find the nearest Whole Foods, and if it's in a decent sized city, I can do it. So I can I load up on organic avocados and dressing. That's where I discovered Urban Remedy is in your cooler at Whole Foods. I want to ask you about that, by the way, how'd you get Whole Foods? But hang on to that thought. But so what I do now is I make my Urban Remedy salad ahead of. Before I get on the plane, I divide it into two, like Tupperware containers and then I get a cooler with ice, like a little carry on. And that's one of my carry ons. Now is my. And then listen, I have to share this hack.

You have to send me a picture because I actually want to see what that looks like.

Okay, I will do it. I'm going next week. I will absolutely have so. But listen to this hack. This is amazing. And I've never shared this on the podcast. I've been thinking I need to share this on social media. So I also get organic and urban Revenue makes organic juices. I actually support this local place that makes these organic juices. You know, they're like 12 ounces, 16 ounces. They're too big for the plane. Right. So what I do is I buy these little suja vitamin B12 glass jar shots that are like 2 ounces. And then after I drink them, I wash them out and save them. And then when I fly, I just fill eight of them with my organic juice and then I put them in the cooler next to the Urban Remedy. So like, I feel like I am eating like a king on the plane.

And so you're just doing like little two ounce shots. Oh, that's so great.

Urban Remedy. I'm drinking organic juice.

Like, it's.

So funny. I love that.

And I'll even bring enough now. I'll even double up and I'll bring four of them so I have enough to eat like on a two day trip. Like I'll just eat Urban Remedy the whole time. So. Yeah.

And people do that. We have people that are like, I'm flying to Chicago or New York, can you ship it to my hotel? And they'll just get it shipped to their hotel. I do. I. When I went to Disneyland recently, I filled my whole Disneyland fridge with Urban Remedy. I just brought a big box and I just had it in there because they don't have great food. So. Yeah, I forgot where I went.

I went and visited. It was either my dad or my sister. And that's what I did. I changed the shipping on my, on my order that week and I had it delivered to me there and it was like, I'm at home, you know.

That's so great.

Yeah. I literally might be your biggest fan.

Oh my God. What's your favorite Urban, like, what is this? What is the salad that you eat the most?

So. And what's so. I'll tell you. So I. It's. It used to be the vegan Caesar.

Yes.

And I ate it so much that it like I got a little bit too. I ate too much. Yeah, but it's the, it's the burrito bowl and the. What's the, what's the one with the crunchy. The eggplant.

Oh, the chop. The eggplant chop.

Eggplant chop salad. So my two favorite are eggplant chop is probably tied with the, the burrito bowl and then. And then. Nice. There you go.

Chop.

I had a chop today. That's what I had for lunch. Yeah. And it's funny, like for everyone listening. I'm not selling urban Remedy. Like, they're not my sponsor.

We don't pay him, I swear.

No, it is actually. It's funny. And this is my personal.

He tells the story. He goes, I think Hal sells everything, because when he starts talking about something, I'm like, oh. He goes, oh, I didn't know you were selling that now. And I'm like, oh, no, I'm not. He's like, oh, I totally thought you were, the way you talked.

I am the same way. I was. See, there's a lady that I see for body work, and I saw her yesterday. She's a somatic therapist. And. And. And she goes, mika, she goes, I just have to tell you, she goes, you know, and I had done a podcast with her, but I love her so much that I talk about her all the time. And she goes, you have literally quadrupled, if not more, my business. She's like, because you keep telling everybody. And she's like, oh, my God. And I go, I don't even realize it. I just like, if there's something that works for me, I love sharing that with other people. I'm the same way. I think it's so great.

I think we're very similar. We have a similar diet.

Yes.

Love Urban Remedy. We both are huge promoters of anything that we love.

Yes.

I want to ask you, you know, for anybody listening, like, you started this business. Urban Remedy is now in Whole Foods all over. Which, by the way. Oh, now that I have you in front of me.

Yeah.

It is not in any of the Austin Whole Foods. Can you somehow fix that?

Yes.

The other day, my order UPS was late delivering my order. This is how much I called every. There are three Whole Foods in Austin. I called every single one. I'm like, do you carry Urban Remedy? And none of them did. And I was so sad.

And I know we're. We are working on that. We are trying to get into the Austin Whole Foods. I think that is happening relatively soon. But definitely ask, you know, the manager, like, we'd love to have Urban Remedy.

We.

And it's so funny, because that is where Whole Foods, you know, home base is. And so, yes, we are working on being there. Hopefully, we'll be there soon.

So I want to ask you two questions is how did you start Urban Remedy? And then, like, how did you get it into Whole Foods? Because to me, like, you started this incredible company, this incredible brand, and you are now in one of the biggest chain, you know, store health stores in the world. So those, to me, are both two huge accomplishments, and they're different kinds. Right. One is starting something from scratch. The other is, like, the ultimate dream of any founder, which is like, imagine starting. You're just hoping that it gets off the ground, but then you're like, what if we got in Whole Foods one day? You're like, oh, come on, that's crazy. So those two.

Yeah, yeah. You know, and I was just having a memory of when you and I spoke, and I think it's important to weave that through. So when I started Urban Remedy, I honestly was not trying to start some big company. I really thought I was going to be opening, like, one location with a kitchen for people that were like, you and I in Marin county, where, you know, people are very open to this kind of eating. And so I opened that store. I built out a kitchen there, and.

Within six months, started as a store. As a. As a storefront.

Yes. So I. So I started. So I had my acupuncture practice, and then I started doing, like, juice and food on the side for my patients. And then they started telling people I was doing more retreats. And then it just kind of created a life of its own. And then I developed, like, a really small website for people in San Francisco and Marin that wanted to have this kind of food, and people just loved it. And we were, like, delivering, and I didn't know what I was doing. Like, I said my background was in Chinese medicine and healing and herbs and all of that. And so, you know, but I was like, I'm just going to go with this. This is the universe is like, opening this up to me. People want it. And so I just kept going with that. And then I kept getting.

What year was that that you said.

That was like, I started doing the retreats in, like, 2,014 around there. And then. Oh, no, no, 2,014. What am I talking about? Like, 2004, 2006, I started retreats. I started my. And then in 2011 is when I stopped my acupuncture practice after 11 years, which is really difficult. And that's when I was like, I'm just going to see where this goes. Like, I. I needed to. I was treating a lot of very ill, chronically ill people, and I was pregnant, and I was like, I need a break from that intensity after 11 years. And. And anyways, and so I just started doing this, and people really wanted it, and everybody was telling somebody else. And I remember, like, the first big thing that happened was I got this call, and somebody was like, we love your products. We live in San Francisco. They were Part of. What's it called? You can. They do, like, specials on. Not Groupon, but they do a special online and you could sign up and they. It was something like that. It was guilt. It was called guilt. I just remembered and I was like, sure, I've never heard of it, but, like, let's just try it. And she's like, it will be just like, on there for, like, two days. And you could sell 200 juice cleanses or something. And this is before there was, like, press juicery or any kind of juice things going on. And so I gave them my phone number. I didn't even know what I was doing. Then, like, a month later, my phone is, like, ringing off the hook because I gave them my cell phone. And I was answering the phone and I was like. And people were wanting these juice cleanses. And they were like, your cleanses sold out in two minutes. Like, do you want to do more? And that's what really, all of a sudden, it just got huge. And then I was at a point where I had just had my son and I was married. And I was like, that just was not working out. And I was really at this juncture where I was like, I have to get out of this situation. But I hadn't really been working. I was just doing Urban Remedy. And I get this random call from these guys in LA that were like, we love what you're doing. We heard about it here down in la. We want to partner with you and, you know, give you some funding. And it was just another. I'm just sharing that because it was another the universe opening up the doors for me. And they. They were like, we'll give you a million dollars. And at that point, I was like, a million dollars. Like, I could build out the best kitchen. I'll never need more money again. And so I took the money, I opened, I built out my kitchen. And then, like I said, six months later, that kitchen, we totally outgrew it. And then it was like a shit show because then I had to, like, rent an extra, like, all these huge coolers and storage units to put things. And I didn't really know what I was doing. I was the CEO. I was like, procurement. I was hr. I had a baby that I was breastfeeding. And I was just, like, going for it, though. I'm a really good multitasker, so I was like, I'm just going to keep seeing this thing through. And then anyways, a little time went by. And it was really cool because also during that point, I'm Just sharing, because it's an interesting part of my journey. I got introduced to Cindy Crawford, and she was like, I love what you're doing. I want to partner with you. I want to support your vision of what is happening. And I was like, here I am like a new mom, and I'm doing this. How is this even happening in my life? And I wasn't feeling really great about myself because I just had a child and I had, like, sort of weight to lose. And I was just, you know, I was just so overwhelmed. And I remember, like, a point where.

The universe kind of asked me, like, do you want to go down this path? Are you sure? Like, are you ready for this? Because it was going to challenge everything I felt about myself. Like, am I willing to, like, use my voice and to be, you know, out there with kind of the message that I have? And I was like, yeah, I'm gonna go for it. Because when I had to start showing up in a different way and working with somebody like her, I couldn't, like, half ass it because I was like, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And I remember, like, in that moment, like, being with her when we first did a photo shoot and being like, holy shit, how am I, like, doing a photo shoot? Yeah. And I remember being, like, so embarrassed and shy and like, I felt like was on the set of Saturday Night Live, like, you know, just like, what am I doing here? And then I remember, like, I better step my game up and just, like, go for it. I'm going to ruin this opportunity. And so those kinds of things and hurdles, like, have really helped me grow and.

Have more.

Kind of faith in myself and belief in the process. And so as. So anyways, over time, I hired a CEO, and he was amazing and with the company for nine years, and he is the one that I credit to us getting these Whole Foods kiosks. So we have Whole Foods as an investor in Urban Remedy, which was a really amazing partnership. We got into Whole Foods and they were supporting us when we were really small and in the Bay Area. And it was just kind of like a brainstorm he had with one of the owners was like, what if we had these branded Urban Remedy? Because they were not offering as much fresh at that time, and they were having some issues around that offer. And we were like, here, we can give you the certified organic Urban Remedy fridge. And they love the idea. And I remember thinking, how the hell are we going to do this? Like, this is so exciting, but so overwhelming because we had 20 stores, you know, in that time period. And so, excuse me, having.

Were your stores? Like, when I order Urban Remedy and I get it right there, it's prepackaged. Is that how it was sold at those stores? Or was it like an. Actually, okay, it was the prepackaged people.

Like that. Yeah. Everything is ready to eat. And so, you know, we started in the Bay Area, and that did really well. And then we went to SoCal, and that did even better. And then from there, we've just been. We're in about 300. We have about 300 kiosk or presents in Whole Foods Market, which is so exciting. And I can't even believe. Like, I was at my Whole Foods this morning, and I walked by, and I'm like, I can't even believe. Like, I know it's a dream to have your own branded kiosk at a Whole Foods, so I feel very grateful. But there's still a lot of challenges, you know, keeping it stocked and managing the inventory. I mean, we still are really. I get calls and texts all the time. Like, I went by, like, from people in New York. You never have your matcha bars. Or why are you out of this? Or why are you out of that? So that's a challenge that we're really trying to overcome. Yeah.

Yeah. That's incredible. And so how many years ago did you get into Whole Foods?

Oh, I'm terrible with time. So we've been in Whole Foods for a few years.

Before COVID so probably 20, 19 maybe, or 2018. We started. Yeah, somewhere around there.

Three, four, or five years. Right on.

Yeah.

What's new for you and what's next?

So.

What'S new? So what's new from a product perspective is we. I just developed three new flavors of cookies. Two of them are grain free. Everything we do is gluten free. So I don't usually mention that because it's always. Everything we do is like a food safe zone. We never do dairy seed oils, gluten, white sugar, artificial colorings or flavorings, iodized salt, like, any of that kind of stuff. We use really clean ingredients. So these cookies are all of those things, plus they're grain free, except the oatmeal. So I have a double chocolate, and I did. I said, did we send you cookies?

No, I'll take.

I'm gonna. I'm gonna send you some cookies. Double chocolate, oatmeal, walnut raisin, and then the chocolate chip cookies. And they're in a little bite size or a single cookie. And they're super good for traveling and whatnot. They have low net carbs, and they're so good. And they're dehydrated and they're incredible. So those. And then we just launched some new Sun Squares. So those. A couple new flavors of Coffee Lions.

I've been having the coffee ones, like, every day.

Oh, good. Yeah, I love those too. And then we have a crispy rice, so kind of like really delving a little bit more into fresh snacking. And, you know, those products have a little bit longer shelf life. And the salads are my passion. And all of the fresh food, those are a little more difficult to scale because of purge and the short shelf life that they have. So trying to balance out those two things, I would say that's probably our biggest challenge is how do you scale fresh?

Got it. I have Brianna. Brianna Greenspan is one of my best friends, and she's the director of education for the Miracle Morning. She brings the Miracle Morning to schools, and I text her earlier. She's like, what are you up to? Can we you talk? I said, I'm not available. I'm about to interview the founder of Urban Remedy, and she texts me, best bars ever.

That's so sweet.

Yeah. So you got a bunch of fans over here at Miracle Morning. And then what's next for you in terms of, I mean, you personally, you professionally? Like, what? Whatever is on the horizon that you're excited about.

That's a good question. I, you know, I'm very focused on fixing any issues that we have right now. So really getting those kiosks optimized and like, really, like, how do we do that? Constantly working on product innovation. I have a new ingredient that I'm really excited about working with that has been. It's a very clean ingredient and it's been studied. They've done clinical trials on humans because I'm sure, you know, like, a lot of things, like even turmeric, you can't make a health claim on a label. Like, I couldn't put for lowers inflammation, but with this new ingredient that's not new. It's a. It's something you would know. They've done human clinical trials so that we can make the health claims. And so it's really exciting to be able to use something.

That has such functional benefits and be able to talk about it in the product. So I'm working on that. So I'll. You'll be the first to know when I can let that out. And then also, like, personally, I feel like I would love to share, like, more information on Chinese Medicine, living in harmony with nature. Just like, you know, a lot of those things that we were just talking about. Because I bet I'm always so busy with Urban Remedy stuff that I don't share a lot of the information, especially about like our mission and all of that, as much as I would like to. So I want to really try to make more space for doing that off.

To have you back on, just to dive deep into the Chinese medicine piece and. Yeah, yeah. There's so much more I could talk to you. I have to pick up my son from school and about to leave, but I just, I, you know, today I just almost, I guess fanboyed over Urban Remedy and I'm such a fan. What else? There was one other thing that I was going to ask you. Oh. Where can people get Urban Remedy? I order it just so everyone knows I order it. I order a box of it every week. And it's funny, my mother in law fell in love with it so I have to split part of the order with her.

He gets part of it, I get most of it. And I order it every week@urbanremedy.com but like whole food. Where do people go to get Urban Remedy?

Yeah, so we, it's one of our challenges. But it's great that we have all these channels so we send direct to you. If you order on urbanremedy.com we could ship it anywhere in the country and you could order all the products. And then obviously we're at Whole Foods Kiosk and we're also in other natural grocers. We have like juices and shots at Kroger, which is a new thing which is super exciting for us. We're at places like Jimbo's and like the Good Earth and a bunch of local natural grocers. And then we have storefronts. We have five stores now in California in the Bay Area. So we have three channels. Yeah.

Well, you need, you need more representation in Austin. If there's anything that I can do to support.

I'm gonna find out. We've been talking about it, so let me, I'm gonna find out and I'll let you know like the date that that's gonna happen.

Yeah. I'll be your biggest supporter here. So.

Cool. Well, thank you.

We will have to do this again. So much more we could talk about. But thank you so much for your time again. Thank you for.

Thank you.

Listening to the, the intuitive calling in your heart and in your soul to create food that actually heals other people and do it at scale. I think it's a remarkable mission that you're on and I'm grateful that I get to be the beneficiary of it.

Thank you so much. That means so much. Thank you so much for having me on and I look forward to talking to you more.

You are so welcome, everybody. Go check out urbanremedy.com I'm telling you, it's the best thing ever and love you so much. I will talk to you next week.