Amazing Grass raises funds to save US farmland through sales of new Protein & Kale product

15-Aug-2018 - Last updated on 15-Aug-2018 at 10:26 GMT

Frightened by The American Farmland Trust’s estimate that more than 175 acres of US farmland is lost every hour to development, the plant-based supplement and nutrition bar company Amazing Grass is on a mission to raise funds that will help keep small family farms alive.

“It gets pretty scary pretty fast when you think about three acres of farmland in the US being lost every minute due to development and then when you start multiplying that. The math doesn’t work out with population growth and the need for more farmland to feed ourselves … and we are getting less,” Brandon Bert, co-founder of Amazing Grass, told FoodNavigator-USA.

“In the past 20 years, we have lost 31 million acres, which is equivalent to all the farm land in the state of Iowa. That is a big deal,” and one that hits particularly close to home as the member of a four-generation small organic family farm in Kansas, he added.

Rather than watch the livelihoods of farmers like his family erode along with the ability to provide sufficient food to a growing population, Bert and his colleagues decided to raise awareness of the problem – and funds to help stop it – through the sales of a new line of products.

“What we are doing is partnering with the American Farmland Trust to raise up to $50,000 or more and that ideally will help ease some of the economic development obstacles so that at the end of the day we can sustain local food systems and keep small family farms alive,” Bert said.

“We are doing this by donating $1 from every tub we sell of our new Protein & Kale Superfood powder to the American Farmland Trust,” Bert said, noting that the new SKU is well suited for the promotion since it features organic kale grown on his family farm.

“We are really excited about this because it is our newest crop that our family is growing, and we are growing more than 50,000 pounds this year. Obviously it is organic, but it also is a superfood that you don’t have to explain to people, they just get it because they see it in the grocery store,” unlike the other cereal grasses, such as wheat grass and barley grass, that are common threads in the company’s products, Bert said.

The kale is blended with plant-protein from organic peas from North America, organic chia and organic quinoa to deliver a full serving of leafy greens as well as the protein many consumers demand. In addition, the smooth chocolate and vanilla varieties are made with cane sugar and monkfruit – not stevia, per consumer requests, Bert said.

In addition to donating $1 for each tub of the new SKU they sell, Bert said, the company also has “a little promo where if people text ‘I love farmers’ to 54815 then we will donate $1 every time they text it, which is kind of cool, because it helps raise awareness as well as help raise funds.”

Smoothie Boosters answers consumer call for simple greens

While not part of the promotion, Amazing Grass also recently launched Smoothie Booster packs – one of which is 100% organic kale and answers consumers demand for simple products with short ingredient lists.

“A lot of folks today are making up smoothies and we have heard from a number of consumers that they just want to add greens to them or add a single ingredient. They say they are not looking for a powder with 50 ingredients because they are already adding a number fresh fruits and veggies that they are picking up at their local farmers market, but they want some simple, really intense greens they can easily add,” Bert said.

Another Smoothie Booster pack combines Amazing Grass’ iconic cereal grasses with moringa, “which is a really hot item right now that a lot of folks are starting to discover and get into,” he added.

While not as new, Amazing Grass’ “pretty cool” effervescent tablets “are doing really well,” and the company has plans to expand the product line in the near future, Bert added.

He explained the tablets are riding the wave of consumers’ love of sparkling water and their desire to consume more leafy greens. The tablets come in six flavors and add bubbles as well as function to water.

“These have a full serving of greens and veggies and also are packed with 100% daily value of vitamins C, E, B1 and B12 – so it is like you are getting your fruits and veggies as well as a multivitamin all in one,” Bert said.

In addition to extending the effervescent line, Bert noted that Amazing Grass has a “really great team of folks on RD” who are dedicated to listening to what consumers want, which includes convenient options that they can find in different places in the store.