Both Nikhil and Alejandro see the mushroom kits

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as more than a cool science experiment or a way to save money on produce. Their ultimate goal with Back to the Roots is to build a sustainable business that is profitable, while helping both the environment and their community. This year, the company is on track to divert 3.6 million pounds of spent coffee grounds taken from Peet’s Coffee & Tea from going straight to the landfill. Every time a customer posts a picture of themselves with a completed kit on Facebook, Back to the Roots donates a kit to the school of that customer’s choice. “We’ve now donated to more than 400 schools nationwide,” Nikhil says. “It’s been an incredible program.” And, for every kit sold at a Whole Foods store, one dollar is donated to the Whole Kids Foundation to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle amongst kids.

Whole Foods Market stores have been one of their biggest boosters since the beginning. Shortly after tasting their success at Chez Panisse, Alejandro and Nikhil brought their bucket to the produce manager at the Whole Foods in Berkeley. The store’s team passed the bucket around the store and were so impressed that they called in the regional coordinator, who shared their enthusiasm. uganda whatsapp number database “This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in produce,” he told them. “If you do this, we’ll blow it up in Whole Foods.”

Nikhil and Alejandro started out by selling their mushrooms straight to Whole Foods and farmers’ markets as produce. Soon, everyone began asking how they could grow the mushrooms themselves, so the pair began making and selling the kits. The first kits were little more than bulky plastic bags filled with inoculated coffee grounds. “They looked disgusting,” Nikhil said.

Nikhil and Alejandro soon switched to putting the bags of grounds in recyclable boxes. As they demoed and sold the kits, they listened to customer feedback and improved the presentation. They also discovered that their original marketing strategy was too narrow. “When we launched, we didn’t know who the buyer was,” Nikhil said, explaining that they thought their biggest market would be in the natural food space. “Since then, we’ve learned we’re getting the best response on these things from families and kids.”

Kids love the kits because they get rapid gratification. It takes just 10 days to produce a batch of mushrooms with the kits. “Kids wait 90 days for tomatoes,” Nikhil says. “For kids, that’s a lifetime.”

The Back to the Roots team is taking the lead from their customers and working to improve the kits. Right now, they’re working on a box that comes embedded with vegetable seeds. When the mushroom kit has exhausted its harvest, customers will be able to plant the box, use the spent grounds and spores as compost and grow vegetables in a container or right in their garden. And it’s not just about the kits; they’re currently exploring ways to bring aquaponics – raising fish and plants in a symbiotic relationship that also provides fresh food – to the consumer market to further make growing food at home fun and easy.

“Our whole vision,” Nikhil says, “is to create experiences that make food personal again and to educate and inspire.”


As a special offer for VerticalResponse customers, Back to the Roots will take 10% off your online order when you enter “verticalresponse” as the coupon code at checkout. To take advantage of this special offer, simply visit Back to the Roots online at https://www.bttrventures.com/.