Latest / Beyond Fulfillment Podcast / Consistently Great: The Passion and Purpose Driving Uncle Matt’s Organic Juice with Matt McLean

Transcript

Consistently Great: The Passion and Purpose Driving Uncle Matt’s Organic Juice with Matt McLean · Beyond Fulfillment Podcast

• 0:00
  Today we sit down with Matt McLean, the founder of Uncle Matt's Organic, the name behind America's number one selling organic orange juice.
• 0:10
  Matt is a fourth generation Florida citrus grower who had a pivotal realization.
• 0:16
  Imagine this, a conversation with a customer that sparked a return to his grandfather's chemical free farming methods, completely changing his trajectory.
• 0:26
  From the early hurdles of a niche market to to navigating industry skepticism, Matt shares the unseen sacrifices and the relentless dedication required to build a business rooted in organic principles.
• 0:40
  He'll take us through critical decisions, the pursuit of uncompromising quality and the innovation that keeps Uncle Matt's at the forefront.
• 0:50
  You'll also hear about award winning taste, the challenges of Florida's organic citrus, and the profound community impact the brand is making.
• 1:00
  If you're pass about organic food, the entrepreneurial spirit, or the power of staying true to your values, this episode is a must.
• 1:09
  Listen as always, if you found value from this content, please like and subscribe.
• 1:15
  All right, Matt McLain, welcome to Beyond Fulfillment.
• 1:19
  Hey, thanks Dave.
• 1:20
  Glad to be on.
• 1:21
  Appreciate the opportunity to tell our story.
• 1:23
  Absolutely.
• 1:24
  We appreciate you taking the time.
• 1:26
  So Matt, you grew up in the heart of Florida's citrus country.
• 1:32
  Was there a specific moment, a citrus epiphany, if you will, where you realized conventional farming wasn't cutting it for you or your family's health?
• 1:42
  Yeah, so I grew up in the citrus industry.
• 1:46
  Four generations of Florida, Florida citrus grower and we were conventional farmers until I started Uncle Matt's in June of 1999.
• 1:56
  When I got out of college.
• 1:58
  I had an import export business and I was selling juice, conventional juice, to Europe and the Middle East.
• 2:04
  One of those customers in Europe, a German fella, he asked me about organic.
• 2:09
  And at that time I had no idea what organic was.
• 2:12
  And it led me back to my grandfather and father in particular, talking to my granddad, can we even grow organic in Florida?
• 2:19
  And that's when he reminded me, hey, I was an organic farmer before pesticides were invented in the 40s.
• 2:25
  Because I farmed, you know, that far back, back in the, in the day.
• 2:30
  And it gave me the confidence like, okay, well we can farm it organic.
• 2:34
  And they used to do it that way.
• 2:35
  And my grandfather talked about at the time, you know, hey, we, we have displaced a lot of those methods of planting cover crops and, you know, using a lot of compost and those things that were more natural the
• 2:48
  way Mother Nature intended.
• 2:51
  And so he was excited to go back to farming organic that way.
• 2:55
  And he said, yeah, we can do it.
• 2:58
  We can go back to a lot of those methodologies.
• 3:01
  So it gave me the confidence that hey, if he thought we could farm it, then I thought there was an opportunity to sell it.
• 3:08
  And that was really the epiphany.
• 3:10
  And that was probably 97, 98, right around that time frame when I came back from that meeting, that fateful meeting with that German customer and then talked to my granddad.
• 3:21
  And it took me a while from there to figure out how to launch a product.
• 3:27
  And so that's why it took till June of 99.
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• 3:57
  Okay.
• 3:58
  And starting with a focus on organic, you know, before it was trendy, you know, meant you were truly swimming against the current.
• 4:06
  So what's the most significant pushback you faced from like the industry players and how did you navigate that?
• 4:14
  Well, I mean in the beginning it's just trying to find somebody that was certified organic that could co pack it for me.
• 4:20
  I, I wasn't my own manufacturer.
• 4:23
  We were beginning to develop more groves.
• 4:26
  So you had two things.
• 4:27
  One, supply, you had to find a great, you know, source.
• 4:31
  And we had a couple growers that were ahead of the curve that were forward thinking on organic and so we partnered with them to supply us.
• 4:40
  And then we found one small co manufacturer that just so happened to be right down the road from where I lived.
• 4:48
  And the guy that ran the plant happened to be a friend of the family.
• 4:51
  And so those two things were really key and it led me to be able to do Uncle Matt's Organic because it otherwise the conventional insurance industry was pretty much ignoring it.
• 5:06
  It just, it was too small of a niche.
• 5:08
  It really didn't matter to them.
• 5:10
  And it's still small today, relatively speaking of it's become much larger and more prevalent across the whole supermarket.
• 5:19
  And when you, when you first started, right, like you said, it's, it's still a smaller niche today, but back then it was way, way smaller.
• 5:28
  I mean, did you have any idea it could grow to the levels that we see now?
• 5:34
  You know, when I sat there with a guy in Germany and he was enthusiastic about what he saw and the vision that he had and what his customers were telling him, it just kind of made sense to me
• 5:49
  that if this could trend in Europe and a lot of food trends start over there and then they make it to the U.S.
• 5:55
  you know, why not?
• 5:56
  Why, why couldn't it be a better way to farm?
• 5:59
  And why couldn't it be healthier for you to consume and taste better?
• 6:04
  You know, ultimately it's got to taste better.
• 6:07
  And so when I started trying, the product thought, wow, this, this is naturally higher in sugar, organic produces more antioxidants.
• 6:15
  So it just, for me, it made a lot of sense to then say, oh, and there's no pesticides, no harmful pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers.
• 6:26
  You know, why can't this be successful long term?
• 6:28
  Now how successful?
• 6:30
  Ultimately, that's up to the consumer.
• 6:32
  You know, organic has always been.
• 6:35
  Doesn't have the same economies of scale.
• 6:37
  So our costs are higher and therefore our retail price is higher.
• 6:41
  So you're not going to go in there and just substitute one for the other.
• 6:46
  You have to sell on.
• 6:47
  Hey, there's a real value and it's either flavor or it's, you know, some other, you know, creation in their mind.
• 6:55
  From, hey, the, the product from environmental standpoint, people like to support organic because it's better for the planet or better for the local economy or they're just flat out, you know, in love with the taste.
• 7:08
  Hey, and speaking of flavor and taste, you know, we're talking off air and you just received a major award from a very prestigious publication.
• 7:18
  You want to share that for our listeners right here and now?
• 7:22
  Yeah.
• 7:22
  Awesome.
• 7:24
  Food and Wine magazine, which is awesome, they had a taste test with all the top OJ brands nationwide.
• 7:31
  So we were there against, you know, Tropicana, Simply Florida's Natural, and a variety of private label accounts.
• 7:38
  Trader Joe's was in their Whole Foods, and then of course, ourselves.
• 7:42
  And we won the taste panel for the best overall taste in orange juice, which is great.
• 7:47
  It's something we worked really hard at Uncle Matt's, they said, hey, it just naturally tastes sweeter.
• 7:53
  It's, you know, like biting into a fresh Florida orange.
• 7:56
  And that's what we try to do, be consistently great with our product every day.
• 8:00
  So really proud of our team.
• 8:02
  It's definitely a team effort from start to finish.
• 8:06
  Yeah.
• 8:07
  And I'm sure awards like that make it all worthwhile.
• 8:10
  For sure.
• 8:12
  Can you recall a time where, you know, staying true to your organic principles, you know, caused you to have to make a, like, a really tough business decision?
• 8:24
  Sure.
• 8:25
  I mean, it's like I said before, organic is not less expensive.
• 8:30
  We have, you know, our economies of scale are Much smaller than the large brands that I'm competing against, like, you know, the Coke and Pepsi.
• 8:38
  So that's the trop and simply oranges of the world.
• 8:42
  And so at any time, I could have made the easier choice.
• 8:46
  Hey, I want to make more money.
• 8:47
  I want to be more, you know, price competitive with those conventional players.
• 8:52
  And I could have gone conventional instead of organic.
• 8:55
  It could have been Uncle Matt's, you know, just Uncle Matt's.
• 8:58
  But we always stuck with Uncle Matt's organic because I had that core belief, it's better way to farm.
• 9:04
  It's better for the planet.
• 9:05
  It's better for human health.
• 9:08
  And I have stayed true to that from the very beginning in 1999 till today, and I intend to stay that way forever.
• 9:17
  And if you walked into my house, you would say, I also consume organic.
• 9:23
  It's littered throughout the refrigerator, in the pantry.
• 9:26
  And my kids would tell you, okay, we have a dad that is dedicated to organic and to healthy food.
• 9:35
  And one of my kids laughs.
• 9:37
  She goes, you know, I may be the only person in my grade that's never eaten at a McDonald's.
• 9:44
  And it's like, well, I'm not keeping you from McDonald's.
• 9:46
  If you want to go to McDonald's, well, you know, we'll go to McDonald's, honey.
• 9:50
  But she said, no, you know, dad, I really don't feel compelled that I should go to McDonald's.
• 9:55
  I'd rather, you know, eat organic, healthy food if that's the option I can get.
• 10:01
  Wow.
• 10:01
  Well, way to lead by example.
• 10:03
  There's okay.
• 10:05
  And, you know, building a brand from scratch requires immense personal sacrifice.
• 10:11
  What were some of the invisible costs of your entrepreneurial journey that most people don't see?
• 10:18
  Well, I mean, I think time is money, right?
• 10:21
  In business, time is money.
• 10:23
  And the invisible cost is you're 24, seven on the clock.
• 10:28
  But fortunately for me, I love what I do.
• 10:32
  But, you know, you spend a lot of time always thinking about the business.
• 10:36
  Try to come up with ways to be, you know, better for the consumer.
• 10:41
  You know, a new product innovation.
• 10:44
  You know, you're looking at new accounts.
• 10:46
  How do I get into this account or that account?
• 10:48
  And so even while while most of your employees are, you know, nine to five or whatever hours they.
• 10:54
  They work, the entrepreneurs, always on the clock.
• 10:58
  And so if you have a family, a wife and kids, you have to be cognizant of that, because you definitely don't want to, you know, waste time just thinking about business all the time.
• 11:10
  You want to make sure you're spending Quality time with family.
• 11:13
  So.
• 11:13
  But that is a.
• 11:14
  That's a cost.
• 11:15
  That's invisible, that you're.
• 11:17
  You're always 24, seven, you're entrepreneur, running your business.
• 11:23
  And your website talks about love at first.
• 11:25
  Sick.
• 11:27
  So how do you maintain, you know, that level of passion and authenticity, you know, especially as your business scales and grows?
• 11:35
  And now you've become the number one selling organic orange juice in the country.
• 11:42
  You know, we break it down from a business standpoint.
• 11:45
  We start with, you know, one mantra, which I tell everybody consistently great.
• 11:51
  That's our tagline.
• 11:53
  And so with every bottle you open from Uncle Matt's, we want it to be consistently great.
• 11:58
  It's got to be labeled great.
• 12:01
  It's got to be capped great.
• 12:02
  It's got to be packed great, and it has to obviously taste great.
• 12:07
  So if you start with that as your goal, and then you dedicate your business around it, so everybody has goals and objectives around their position and job description.
• 12:19
  That goes to being consistently great.
• 12:21
  You know, the whole team comes together, and we accomplish great things when we do that.
• 12:29
  Love that.
• 12:31
  All right.
• 12:32
  And, you know, as we mentioned, the.
• 12:34
  The organic market has evolved drastically over the past couple decades.
• 12:39
  But what's the biggest misconception that people still have about organic products?
• 12:47
  You know, I would say people, a lot of them just get confused on what is organic.
• 12:51
  There's so many different seals and labels and certifications out there.
• 12:56
  And so people will get confused.
• 12:58
  The others will greenwash themselves.
• 13:00
  I mean, just for instance, like the non GMO verified, while it has a lot of good for people that are trying to avoid GMOs, a lot of people think that that could be organic.
• 13:13
  And no, you can be non GMO citrus.
• 13:17
  There is no commercially available GMO citrus.
• 13:21
  You could still go, you know, herbicide with Roundup and spray with harmful pesticides and put the non GMO seal on your orange juice, but it has nothing to, you know, it's nowhere anywhere close to organic certified.
• 13:38
  And what we have to do to be audited, the different materials we're allowed or not allowed to use, we have to wait three years from the last prohibited substance.
• 13:47
  So there's a lot of confusion that can happen with all the different seals out there.
• 13:51
  So I think just making sure that the customer knows that organic is the gold standard for farming and the gold standard for food.
• 14:00
  Okay.
• 14:02
  And from selling directly to consumers to navigating the complexities of national distribution, you know, you've seen a lot within the business growth.
• 14:14
  What was the steepest learning curve that.
• 14:16
  You encountered oh, you know, I would say by far, it is growing farming organic in Florida.
• 14:28
  We went from three acres in my dad's backyard to in our peak, before citrus greening disease showed up, we had 1500 acres.
• 14:36
  And we had it over 35 different growers, three different counties right down the middle of the state.
• 14:43
  Lake County, Polk County, Highlands County.
• 14:46
  And there was no textbook a how to.
• 14:49
  There was no YouTube video.
• 14:51
  You couldn't go to the University of Florida and get a whole farm plan.
• 14:57
  And so we had to do it by just, you know, the good old fashioned way.
• 15:01
  Hard work and effort, and through tough experiences, we could tell you a whole lot of things not to do and not to try ways to lose money on organic.
• 15:10
  But at the end of the day, we found a good way and a good farm plan, and we were productive.
• 15:17
  And so I would say that would be the most difficult thing we had to overcome.
• 15:22
  Florida is a subtropical climate, so while it's wonderful because we get 55 inches of rainfall average per year, and we have a nice, you know, warm conducive for growth that also grows a lot of weeds, that also attracts
• 15:38
  a lot of pest and disease.
• 15:40
  And so you have to combat that or work in harmony with nature in order to do that organically.
• 15:47
  And so that was.
• 15:48
  It's a very tough environment to do it, but if you can do it, it's also very rewarding.
• 15:55
  Wow.
• 15:56
  Okay.
• 15:56
  So, I mean, would you say Florida is one of the tougher markets to grow organically?
• 16:02
  It is because of the strong pressure from weeds, disease, and pests because of the subtropical, humid climate.
• 16:11
  The more you go into an arid desert climate similar to California, parts of southern Texas, parts of Mexico, as we travel around the globe, you know, those are the regions that the weed pressure isn't as intense and the
• 16:28
  disease pressure isn't intense because of the heat and the.
• 16:32
  The arid climate.
• 16:35
  Interesting.
• 16:35
  Okay.
• 16:36
  Yep.
• 16:37
  All right.
• 16:37
  And, you know, so, Matt, you've been a pioneer in the organic space for quite a while now.
• 16:43
  If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice on this journey, what would it be?
• 16:51
  You know, in the beginning, you have these visions of grandeur.
• 16:56
  Okay, my brand is on one product, and then you walk in the supermarket and you think, gosh, could I be in that category?
• 17:04
  In this category?
• 17:05
  In that category, you think, you know, gosh, if I have a little success here, maybe it could just be, you know, the next General Mills.
• 17:13
  So you really just, you know, the.
• 17:15
  The old adage, you know, an inch wide and a mile deep, stay in Your lane.
• 17:21
  Stay really focused is what I would tell myself.
• 17:25
  Do the, you know, stay really into what you do best, which at that time was orange juice, and it still is today.
• 17:32
  It's our number one seller.
• 17:33
  But don't get distracted on, on other categories and other items.
• 17:39
  Do what you do really well in the beginning and try to get as far as you can with distribution.
• 17:44
  You know, I spent too much time just distracted on other things.
• 17:49
  Could I do milk, could I do eggs when I should have been more focused in the beginning?
• 17:54
  Months would really drive an OJ and OJ distribution nationwide with the key accounts and the key accounts that are large enough that can really make a difference with your business instead of, you know, one or two shops at
• 18:07
  a time.
• 18:09
  Okay.
• 18:10
  Wow.
• 18:11
  And you know, entrepreneurs often face moments of doubt.
• 18:17
  Was there a time that you, you felt like giving up and, and if so, what pulled you through?
• 18:24
  Well, I mean, yeah, I mean every week you got times in entrepreneurs journey like, this is it, man, I'm finished.
• 18:30
  I quit.
• 18:33
  You get frustrated, right, because you, you don't control everything in your sphere.
• 18:39
  You have obviously very demanding customers, you have very demanding consumers.
• 18:44
  You have agriculture is something.
• 18:47
  We can't control the weather.
• 18:49
  So you have things that are outside of your control.
• 18:53
  So you're going to get frustrated on a weekly basis.
• 18:57
  But you have to have good systems in place, good processes in place.
• 19:00
  Think strategic, you know, think about, you know, what if scenarios, what if this happens?
• 19:06
  How do I react?
• 19:08
  How do I react so I have enough supply, how do I react if this, you know, manufacturing facility goes down?
• 19:15
  You know, what happens if we lose this large customer?
• 19:18
  Kind of, you know, you're strategically thinking on a regular basis of how to be proactive and not reactive.
• 19:27
  Okay.
• 19:28
  And beyond just the business success, what's the most rewarding impact that you've seen Uncle Matt's Organic have on your community or the environment?
• 19:41
  Yeah, we had a.
• 19:44
  Probably was it three years now.
• 19:46
  I first got the idea from the Rodale Institute.
• 19:49
  And Rodale Institute is a not for profit that does a lot of work on organic ag research and farming.
• 19:55
  And at one time in their life cycle they had a program called the R2Cents and they had brands sign up.
• 20:03
  And we were one of the founding brands that partnered with them to do 2 cents of every case we sold donated to them for research.
• 20:12
  And so that program has since no longer exists.
• 20:17
  They had a new executive director came in and replaced it.
• 20:20
  And so we instituted at Frankel Mats and I thought, hey, this would be great.
• 20:25
  And we choose local Charities that we could have an impact.
• 20:28
  Not national charities, and nothing against the national charities, but ones that locally we could go visit, we could see that really could make a bigger impact with our check size.
• 20:39
  And so that was great.
• 20:40
  And we have our employees, they actually vote and choose each quarter who is going to be on our carton.
• 20:48
  And so if you look in the back of any of our orange juice Items, so our 52 ounce pulp free, our orange juice with calcium or orange juice with pulp, you'll see on the back of the label, it's
• 20:59
  got our latest not for profit that we are donating to.
• 21:02
  Like the one where this quarter is Thrive Clermont, and it's in our local town here.
• 21:07
  And Thrive works with teenagers to give them life skills and helps them with all kinds of leadership, entrepreneurship, you know, after school programs that helps them prepare for the next step after high school.
• 21:21
  And so that's really important.
• 21:23
  There's a lot of at risk teenagers as well.
• 21:26
  Before that, we worked with Conservation Florida.
• 21:30
  And Conservation Florida's headquarters is right here in Orlando.
• 21:33
  They help protect acreage for the wildlife corridor.
• 21:37
  So with all the homes and all the expansion rapidly that we're having around Florida, it's critical to conserve land for the wildlife to have their corridor to, you know, do what they do up and down the state.
• 21:49
  So things like that, we vote on things like that, we get to have an impact.
• 21:53
  Our check size has been, I think when we first started it was around nine grand and now it's almost, it's over 13,000.
• 22:01
  So as our company grows, our check size grows and we have a quarterly event and we give them a really big check, which is kind of fun, and we celebrate them and wish them well.
• 22:12
  Fantastic.
• 22:14
  All right.
• 22:15
  And you know, Matt, the beverage industry especially is fiercely competitive.
• 22:21
  How do you stay innovative and relevant in, you know, a constantly changing market?
• 22:27
  Yeah, we, I'm, I loved.
• 22:32
  I'm an outdoor enthusiast.
• 22:33
  I'm an active person.
• 22:35
  I'm in the health and wellness industry and that's the lifestyle that I live.
• 22:41
  So I'm, you know, every day kind of challenge myself.
• 22:47
  I want to live to be a hundred.
• 22:48
  That's one of my goals, longevity and, and you get there through, you know, you are what you eat.
• 22:56
  Food is, is fuel.
• 22:57
  And so why not having the best fuel being organic?
• 23:01
  So I always look for new things, stuff that's our customers are telling us what's on trend, what's healthy for you, better for you.
• 23:10
  I'm always looking for better for you products that I could come out to market with and so things like our ultimate immune, it was orange juice as the base, but then we added elderberry, which is really good for
• 23:23
  colds and flus.
• 23:24
  And we boosted it with the acerola cherry for vitamin C and then zinc and D.
• 23:30
  And so it's a beautiful purple drink.
• 23:33
  Another one, ultimate defense, it's orange juice with pineapple and ginger.
• 23:38
  Then from there we added turmeric root.
• 23:40
  So the whole turmeric root ground up.
• 23:42
  It's good for inflammation.
• 23:43
  It's good prebiotic in the gut.
• 23:45
  And then we also boosted it with the acerola cherry for vitamin C.
• 23:50
  And we added a probiotic, a live probiotic in there.
• 23:53
  So we're looking at functionality to have orange juice.
• 23:56
  While orange juice is a fantastic beverage all by itself, packed with vitamins and minerals and also antioxidants, it's a great carrier and it's a great base for other functional things to be added to it.
• 24:09
  So we've had some fun with that and innovation.
• 24:12
  But then also from there, you know, what else can we do in that refrigerated set?
• 24:17
  Consumers give us the permission as long as we have consistently great taste in products.
• 24:23
  And we have gone into lemonades and punches and then also recently brewed craft tea.
• 24:29
  So we have a black tea, sweetened and unsweetened, lightly sweetened with agave and stevia, and then a fantastic half and half lemonade and black tea.
• 24:40
  Okay, wow.
• 24:42
  All right.
• 24:42
  And Matt, if you could distill your entrepreneurial journey into one key lesson for other aspiring business owners out there, what would that be?
• 24:53
  Geez.
• 24:54
  One key lesson depends on the stage of your journey.
• 25:00
  I'd say in the beginning, obviously, the key lesson, you know, cash is king.
• 25:05
  Be prepared, don't run out of cash.
• 25:08
  If you don't know your finances, find a good financial expert to help you so you don't do anything foolish and you basically risk the farm.
• 25:17
  And before you know it, your good idea is, poof, gone, because you ran out of cash.
• 25:22
  So that would be, you know, one key thing as a startup and then also as a bonus, you know, leadership skills, you know, look to other people, find other mentors that can help you, guide you in your business
• 25:37
  entrepreneurship journey, really help you become a leader.
• 25:40
  Because as you grow the business, you're going to have to lead your team, you're going to have to lead, you know, the company from different stages of growth.
• 25:52
  You're going to have to, you know, lead in your community.
• 25:55
  You're going to have to lead in a variety sometimes in your industry.
• 25:59
  So the better leader you can be, the I think the better your company will be.
• 26:04
  So those are kind of two key.
• 26:05
  You only asked for one, but I gave you two.
• 26:08
  Yeah.
• 26:08
  Appreciate that.
• 26:09
  Okay.
• 26:10
  And Matt, if people want to find out more about Uncle Matt's or reach out to you personally and.
• 26:17
  And find out more about what you're doing these days, what's the best way that people can reach out to you?
• 26:21
  Yeah, you can find us on social media.
• 26:23
  We're on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, also our website, unclematts.com.
• 26:30
  if you go there, you can click on that store locator tab and you just put in your zip code, and it'll tell you which stores in your neighborhood carry what items of ours.
• 26:42
  And if for some reason we're not in your local markets or your favorite product is not sold there in your local market, you can also order it online.
• 26:52
  It'll be more expensive.
• 26:53
  I'll warn you that.
• 26:54
  But we can deliver to all continental states in the US with our DTC site.
• 27:01
  All right, we'll link all that in the show notes for everyone.
• 27:04
  Wonderful.
• 27:04
  All right, well, Matt, thank you so much for taking the time to be here and sharing this valuable wisdom about your journey with our audience.
• 27:10
  We greatly appreciate it.
• 27:12
  Hey, man, it was my pleasure.
• 27:13
  Thanks a lot, Dave.
• 27:14
  Appreciate it.
• 27:15
  All right, and that's all the time we have for now.
• 27:17
  We will see you next time, Sam.