Consensus in Conversation Matt Ryan of Soli Organic on Indoor Organics, Carbon-free Fertilizer, and the Ag Tech Revolution
Soli Organic grows approximately 120,000,000 units of fresh herbs and greens every year, making it the number one grower of fresh, organic, culinary herbs in the U.S. That’s an impressive agriculture story on its own, but Soli has an even more amazing twist – they grow it all indoors! Led by CEO Matt Ryan, former head of brand management at Disney and chief marketing officer at Starbucks, the company is taking the indoor agriculture sector by storm (or rather, soil) with its commercial-grade organic growing systems and sustainable soil-based technology.
Founded over 30 years ago as Shenandoah Growers, the Virginia-based company has grown under Matt’s leadership to serve over 20,000 retail locations across the country while developing an integrated platform of farms, production, and logistics facilities. As the only controlled-environment producer to use soil-based technology, Soli is still growing rapidly, even launching a 140,000-square-foot soil-based vertical farm in Texas earlier this year.
Hear Matt Ryan share his business wisdom from game-changers like Disney and Starbucks, the revolutionary potential of precision fertilizers for indoor, soil-based growing, and how Soli is working to make flavorful, nutritious, and affordable organic produce available to all.
Episode Highlights:
- 00:00 Matt Ryan on indoor organic technology
- 00:46 Conor Gaughan introduces Matt and Soli Organic
- 05:30 Harvard studies, history, and passion for business
- 09:47 Working at Disney and marketing at Starbucks
- 13:57 Joining Soli’s board, becoming CEO, and its origin
- 17:30 The elevator pitch, soil tech, and precision organic fertilizer
- 24:10 Defining organic, sustainability in farming, and climate tech
- 29:57 Raising capital, critical storytelling, and the triple bottom line
- 36:03 Community engagement and leaving a legacy
- 38:20 Where to learn more
- 39:23 Conclusion and end credits
If you liked this episode, listen next to Nicolas Pinkowski of Nitricity on Lightning-Powered Fertilizer and the Decarbonized Future Of Food
More on Soli Organic and Matt Ryan:
Connect with Conor Gaughan on linkedin.com/in/ckgone and threads.net/@ckgone
Have questions, or a great idea for a potential guest? Email us at CiC@consensus-digital.com
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Consensus in Conversation is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media produced in association with Reasonable Volume.