Sustainability Baked into Every Bite! - Susgrainable

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Marc Wandler, CEO of Susgrainable, located in Marc Wandler, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Susgrainable Health Foods rescues spent grains from craft brewers to create nutritious, delicious, easy-to-make flours and baking mixes. Susgrainable is redefining what it means to have a sustainable business model by leveraging technology and partnerships to create Upcycled Barley Flour from what was previously considered waste in the beer industry. With its circular business model, our bold vision is to create a world where food waste and diabetes are a thing of the past. Susgrainable is on a mission to rescue the 450,000+ tons of brewer's spent grain produced daily by craft breweries in Canada– doing our part to decrease the staggering 58% of all food is wasted statistic. Our mission is also to increase the discussion around consuming enough fibre. Spent grain is primarily composed of fibre and protein, with the sugars being used for the beer itself. Most Canadians aren't even getting 50% of their daily fibre intake – one Susgrainable cookie helps you get 25% of your daily fibre while fighting food waste at the same time!

Our customers, concerned about their personal health and our global health, desire CPG products that fight food waste by creating new and innovative upcycled products, creating a positive impact on our society and the environment we inhabit. Susgrainable supports our customers in their journey to live a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. Our baking mixes and premium baked goods are available online and in select retailers in the Vancouver market - fighting both food waste and high sugar/low fiber diets. Our recipe for success means staying true to our core values: Health, Collaboration, Empowerment, Accountability, and Fun. In doing so, we aim to strike the right balance to build healthier communities, healthier people, and a healthier planet!

Tell us about yourself

Prior to running Susgrainable, I worked over 16 different roles in management, customer service, and operations for a major Canadian airline, WestJet, and government healthcare, Alberta Health Services. Our story begins during my time as an MBA student at UBC Sauder. During one of my classes, we were tasked with identifying a relevant issue and creating a possible business solution for the problem. A colleague who came from Vancouver's craft beer industry mentioned the problem breweries were having with disposing of their spent grain byproduct. Realizing the byproduct is exactly what Canadians needed more of in their diets; we figured tackling 2 big problems with one simple solution was a worthwhile venture. After my MBA was complete, I carried the business forward with Clinton. Clinton, who grew up on a barley farm, was motivated to honor the effort farmers exerted into growing their crops by having spent grain reach the plates of families rather than being a part of the tons of waste filling up our landfills.

Our main motivation lies in building a more resilient and sustainable food system. As believers and advocators of circular business systems, our business model is inspired by the three principles of the circular economy: eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials, and regenerating natural systems.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Fighting food waste, tackling the lack of fiber in the Canadian diet, and creating work opportunities for students are some of our major accomplishments. With our primary focus being on creating a positive social impact, our positive financial impact is the byproduct of our work – as most traditional for-profit businesses focus on creating financial returns first, with impact as a secondary focus. We believe flipping the hierarchy of these 2 characteristics is the future of successful sustainable businesses. Our focus on impact has led us to our greatest achievement, rescuing 10,000 kg of spent grain per year from craft breweries that would otherwise be a part of landfills today.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Initially, it was being called crazy for taking on something so innovative in the CPG space. Once people try our product, they tend to start believing that we are not so crazy after all. Since then, it's been building awareness for our brand on a bootstrapped budget which is compounded by the fact that we are first-time founders, so investors tend to have very little faith in us. Combine this with COVID, which caused us to pivot while adding a lot of risk and uncertainty, flipping the market on its head, and you end up with a company and a brand with a lot of unrealized potentials, held back by its lack of capital.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Know who you are, from having a consistent brand to a well-defined business plan that informs your goals, strategic decisions, and steps you need to take to become successful.
2. Conduct thorough market research to understand your industry, competitors, potential customers, and target market.
3. Build and maintain a strong network. Building a network of advisors, business partners, and professionals in your industry that can provide you with opportunities and insights to grow your business that would otherwise not be available to you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://susgrainable.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susgrainable
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susgrainable/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/susgrainable
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/susgrainable/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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