#113 - Peetachai "Neil" Dejkraisak @ Jasberry - Fighting Farmer Poverty With Regenerative Superfood Rice
Description
On this episode, we’re diving into the incredible origin story of Jasberry with the company’s Co-Founder and CEO, Neil.
You’ll hear how a life-changing high school friendship, a Google search for the world’s best rice scientist, and two years living in rural Thailand all led to a new superfood rice brand that you can now find on shelves at every Whole Foods nationwide.
We unpack Jasberry’s mission to tackle generational farmer poverty, the science behind their superfood purple rice, and why organic and regenerative rice farming is actually lowering costs and producing higher yields for their farming partners.
Neil also shares how Jasberry works with 2,500 rice farmers in Thailand who earn 14x more than the national average, why they're focused on expanding into foodservice for their next phase of growth, and how they’re dealing with a new, brutal 19% tariff.
Episode Highlights:
🌾 Superfood rice with 40x more antioxidants than brown rice
🌱 Rooting the mission in farmer poverty and social justice
👨👩👧👦 Living with farm families for 2 years to earn trust and understanding
📉 Confronting a system where farmers were earning just $0.40 a day
🥇 Fueling the brand with breakthrough genetics from Thailand’s top rice scientist
🌍 Working with 2,500 farming families across Thailand
💥 Increasing farmer incomes by 14x above the national average
💸 Taking 7 years to scale and land national retail distribution
🍽️ Focusing on foodservice and direct-to-consumer for future growth
🚫 Wrestling with a new 19% tariff on Thai imports
Links:
Northwestern Kellogg School of Management
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