INspired INsider Podcast Connecting with Customers and Creating Health Foods with Audrey Darrow Founder of Earth Source Organics
Today we have Audrey Darrow who founded Earth Source Organics in 2006. Earth Source Organics manufactures Righteously Raw Chocolate. Audrey has been on a mission to make certified organic, vegan, kosher, gluten-free, allergen and nut free, raw, Non-GMO, no refined sugar chocolates more affordable for everyone. A raw chocolate bar was $14.00 when she started and she could not afford that even with the discount so she set out to build her own certified facility. Her products are in over a thousand stores across the country and can be found in Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, and many others. She is a 2003 breast cancer survivor and had to undergo radical surgeries, long-term radiation, and chemotherapy. Audrey feels that eating healthy is a major key to her improved health.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:- [1:20] Jeremy introduces his guest, Audrey Darrow.
- [3:00] Why did Audrey get involved with health foods?
- [6:30] What was the first health food Audrey produced?
- [9:00] Audrey talks about the health benefits of Maca and when started to dip her products in chocolate.
- [13:00] Product development and learning from customers.
- [16:00] Audrey talks about her tribute to her daughter on her product.
- [19:30] Working out of a run down facility.
- [23:30] What was the first really big order like?
- [25:30] Expanding to a new facility.
- [27:00] How did Audrey get her product into Whole Foods and other businesses?
- [32:00] Audrey talks about demonstrating products in health stores and why she does it.
- [34:00] Pitfalls and challenges.
- [35:30] Keeping track of accounts and orders.
- [37:30] Audrey talks about her employees and retaining talented team members.
- [39:00] What are Audrey’s strengths?
- [41:00] What future trends does Audrey see coming down the line?
- [45:30] What works and doesn’t work with promoting products?
- [49:00] Audrey talks about co-packing products for other retailers.
- [55:00] Problems along the way are really lessons in disguise.
What does it mean to really connect with customers in a way that draws them in and makes them feel like your brand or product is something special that they get to be a part of? How can you tell your story in a way that resonates? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from entrepreneur and innovator, Audrey Darrow. In her conversation with Jeremy, Audrey opens up about her journey to create her own line of health foods, challenges she faced along the way, how her daughter gives her daily inspiration, and so much more! You don’t want to miss a minute of this exciting episode featuring Audrey!
What inspired you to get started in the line of work you are in today? Do you have a dramatic story that could really connect with customers? How are you sharing your story? On this episode of Inspired Insider, Audrey Darrow goes over her story and what led her to create Earth Source Organics. For Audrey, it all started at a point in her life where she had just gone through radical surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy for breast cancer and was working at a health food store in San Diego. She did this to get the employee discount to be able to afford the healthy foods she loved and believed would help stay her cancer-free. Even with that discount, the products remained way too expensive for her to enjoy. That moment sparked a fire in Audrey that led her on the journey to create high quality and affordable health foods. Hear more about her story on this episode!
Everyone loves a good underdog story, right? That is exactly what Audrey Darrow’s journey was from the start. As she looks back on how it all started, she remembers securing her very first facility to begin producing her health food. That facility was run down and depressing but Audrey had a dream and quickly went to work rehabilitating the space to get it certified as a location that could produce organic health food. While the path wasn’t an easy one to travel, Audrey learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way. Learn from her valuable insights on this powerful episode of Inspired Insider, you don't’ want to miss it!
One of the ways that Audrey Darrow and her team have been able to remain so successful over the years is their relentless desire to stay connected to their customers. This serves as both a practical and principled commitment. On the practical side, Audrey and her team continue to show up to supermarkets and health food stores to offer demonstrations of their product so customers and stores keep the products fresh in their minds. On the principled side, Audrey remembers her humble beginnings and wants to stay connected to the place she came from on an emotional level. Learn more about Audrey and Earth Source Organics on this episode of Inspired Insider.
Whether it’s connecting with customers or helping other health food products get on the shelves, you can tell that Audrey Darrow is passionate about improving the lives of others. This passion extends to her generosity in providing a facility that small heath food startups can utilize to get their operations up and running. What can you do to give back and build up the community that you are a part of? How can you internalize the lessons from Audrey’s story? Find out on this powerful and engaging episode of Inspired Insider, you don't’ want to miss it!
Resources Mentioned on this episode- https://www.righteouslyrawchocolate.com/
- Info[at]earthsourceorganics.com
- 760-734-1867
- Quickbooks Manufacturing
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