S5 Ep10: The Mylk of the Future Brooke Harris
“Just plant-based isn’t good enough. It needs to live up to those standards that plant-based consumers are looking for.” — Brooke Harris
When we think of a plant-based product, we think about healthy, organic, cruelty-free foods that are full of goodness. But a lot of the products we see on supermarket shelves are not what they seem.
Many companies are marketing their plant-based alternatives as ‘healthy’ while they're riddled with sketchy ingredients from behind the scenes. They're not just looking to sell their products; they're looking to make sure they have a stake in the future of our diets.
That’s why, being ‘plant-based’ isn’t good enough anymore. As smart consumers, we want more than just an edible thing— we want meaning behind our food. We want ethics and philosophy, we want sustainability, animal welfare, and transparency.
This is the inspiration behind Brooke’s Good Mylk Co. Brooke Harris turned into plant-based diet to improve her health. Later did she realize that these products made her even sicker. So she decided it was time for her to make something that she will be confident taking in. Wanting to share her discovery, Brooke came up with the recipe for Good Mylk and scaled her business to help more like her who value what plant-based really means.
Listen in as Brooke shares what her journey from film to the food industry was like, the challenges she faced in that transition, and how she was able to create opportunities for herself and her business to grow. Justine and Brooke also talk about the idea behind Brooke’s hemp milk, the pillars of plant-based alternatives, what sustainable practices they follow in their packaging and shipping processes, and the shocking truth about most plant-based milk in the market.
Connect with Brooke:
Brooke Rewa Harris turned to a plant-based diet to transform her own health. However, she soon realized that plant-based doesn’t necessarily mean “good”. So she experimented with real food ingredients until finally, she was able to develop an alternative milk that is good for the body, good for the taste buds, and good for the planet. Hence, the birth of Good Mylk Co.
However, her idea was criticized by investors, telling her that a formula like hers will not be able to scale. Not wanting to compromise the integrity of her product, Brooke developed a flash-blast freezing technique that allowed her to keep the quality of Good Mylk as well as scale her business.
Episode Highlights:
01:29 Good Mylk — The Good Milk
06:10 The Problem with Deceptive Plant-Based Milk
09:19 From Film to Food
13:49 Introducing Hemp Mylk
17:29 Just Plant-Based Isn’t Good Enough
20:12 Sustainable Packaging
Resources:
Discount
Use Code: Justine15 to get a 15%discount when you shop at Good Mylk Co.
Tweets:
We’ve heard of almond milk, oat milk and other plant-based milk. But, have you ever heard of hemp milk? Listen in as @jreichman and Good Mylk Co. founder, Brooke Harris share an alt milk that lives up to its name. #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredient #GoodMylkCo #altmilk #plantbased #healthy #realfood #femalefounders #dairy #nutritious #sustainable #HempMilkIsLegit
Inspirational Quotes:
03:04 “We are not anti-dairy. We are anti-other plant-based milk on the market that are masquerading as ‘healthy’ and ‘good-for-you’, and they're really not.” -Brooke Harris
05:17 “You cannot afford to have plant-based milk that's making you sick.” -Brooke Harris
05:23 “Understanding what's in these milk is key because a lot of people drink these milk, and they think that they're being healthy.” -Justine Reichman
11:31 “Opportunities are accessible if you're willing to say ‘yes’ and you're willing to seek it out.” -Brooke Harris
16:26 “Eating right is a human right.” –The Next Gen Purpose Slogan
17:40 “Just plant-based isn't good enough. It needs to live up to those standards that plant-based consumers are looking for.” -Brooke Harris
18:58 “The more we educate, the more people learn, the more they ask, the more they demand a better food system. And that's really important.” -Justine Reichman
22:12 Once you own a business, you realize how far most customers are from understanding how their products get to them. So there's a lot of communication that has to happen.” -Brooke Harris
Transcriptions:
Justine Reichman: Good afternoon, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm Justine Reichman, your host. Today with me is Brooke Harris:. Well, I've been so excited to have on the show. Brooke Harris is the Founder of Goodmylk.
Welcome, Brooke.
Brooke Harris: Thank you, Justine. Thanks for having me.
Justine Reichman: Thanks for rescheduling too, by the way.
Brooke Harris: Absolutely, I completely understand.
Justine Reichman: So Brooke is the founder of Goodmylk, which makes a variety of great milks with like, I can't believe it like three ingredients in most of them.
Brooke Harris: Yeah. Real food ingredients only.
Justine Reichman: Oh, my god. So tell everybody, because I was so amazed when I got my package, that these packages are made with real food ingredients. And you can read all of them, you can understand what they all are. And so when you go to drink this, you know exactly what you're having. And it's great. So tell everybody, for those listening or watching, what exactly is Goodmylk.
Brooke Harris: We make our dairy products that currently fall with milk and creamer, and we make our products using real food only. So for less, real food ingredients, everything is really as if you made it homemade yourself, but you don't have to go through the headache. So we have two formats with a frozen concentrate. Literally, you thought add water, give it a stir and you have fresh homemade milk. And then we have our powdered creamers that are really good. You can scoop them into your coffee or your matcha, blend them in. Some of them have fun adaptogens and mushrooms in them so they have this added boost. But really, the whole idea around everything we do is really nutrient dense, good for you dairy products, plant based dairy products.
Justine Reichman: Which I love. And I say this selfishly because I don't do dairy mostly because it doesn't make me feel good. Yeah, because I have something against it. But it's because I can be very congested and nasally, which is not uncommon. I think it affects a lot of people. And since I recently found out that I can't do almonds, and I can't do oats, which I'd been doing for so long, and then I thought, I'd try him. And then when we were talking, you're like, you got to try my hemp because you might be able to do hemp. And you were right, you're hemp made a difference because I did not react the same way.
“We are not anti-dairy. We are anti other plant-based milk on the market that are masquerading as ‘healthy’ and ‘good-for-you’, and they're really not.” -Brooke Harris
Brooke Harris: Yeah. And I think even with the almond and oat, it's worth checking out because there's a massive difference beyond just real food ingredients in our products. There's a massive difference in what we're doing and what's out there as far as quality. And the biggest motivator for us, we are not anti dairy. You don't even really hear us talk about dairy much in any of our marketing or on our social media. We are anti other plant based milks on the market that are masquerading as healthy and good for you, and they're really not. They're not healthy, but they have ingredients that are actually damaging people's health. And that's how I got into this as I was plant based. I thought I was doing something good for myself in a few years and got really sick. It took a few years from that for me to find out that it was these plant based foods I was consuming thinking they were healthy that were making me sick. And plant based milk at the time, almond was my favorite, and actually still is but it was my almond milk that was making me sick. And when I flipped over the carton and read the ingredients, I was blown away by the fact that there were a bunch of ingredients I had no idea what they were. They definitely weren't food. And then in the nutrition panel, when you're plant based, you are trained to know that nuts and seeds have all kinds of protein. And if you flip over a box of almond milk, there's one gram of protein per serving. And so what that means is there's actually like two to three almonds in a cup of boxed almond milk that you buy from the store.
Justine Reichman: So very much. More than making a cup of almond milk, how many almonds actually go into that real cup of almond milk?
Brooke Harris: Yeah. So in our almond mylk, there's like between 26 and 30 almonds per cup. So there's six grams of protein and a cup of Goodmylk, and you can feel the difference when you consume it, but you taste the difference. It tastes like fresh real food especially when you do it side by side and then you start to realize, wow, the other stuff at the store is just this chemical, this creamy looking chemical mix. It's not real food at all.
Justine Reichman: That's a big difference.
“You cannot afford to have plant-based milk that's making you sick.” -Brooke Harris
Brooke Harris: Yeah. And this is a product that is not being plant based. It's not something you have once in a while. If you're drinking plant based milk, you're probably having it every day, first thing in the morning in your coffee or your smoothie, or you're pouring it on your kids cereal, or giving it to them in their bottles even. And it's not a product that's like an ice cream or a cookie that you have once in a while where you can be like, it's not a big deal. There's a few weird ingredients. You cannot afford to have plant based milk that's making you sick.
Justine Reichman: No. And understanding what's in these milks, I think is key because I think a lot of people drink these milks, and they think that they're being healthy, and they're taking it for granted. And the premise for me for these conversations that we have is about giving people the platform to share their stories so that people can make more informed choices. So this is amazing, because I think that a lot of people are taking stuff off the shelves and they're assuming that it's made of almonds, and they're assuming it's made of oats. And they're assuming that because it says oat milk or almond milk that it is what it says it is. But I think the story here is that we really need to understand what the ingredients are so that we can make a more informed choice.
“Understanding what's in these milk is key because a lot of people drink these milk, and they think that they're being healthy.” -Justine Reichman
Brooke Harris: There's a lot of layers to food, but definitely in this category. And so it starts with the ingredients, absolutely. But there's a lot of hidden practices in the processing of plant based milks too. So a lot of these plant based milks, let's take oat milk, for example, name the brand, it can be really any brand that pops in your head. The same story with all of them. They're these highly, they're oats, yes. And at the core oats are good for you, but these oat milks are processed in a way that turns them into maltose sugar, which is incredibly bad for the audience, but spikes your blood sugar. They're not organic so they're full of glyphosate and other pesticide ingredients. And then when the additional processing of adding canola oil, the heat processing that happens to make them shelf stable, the adding of the dye potassium phosphate and other preservatives turns them into these like ultra high processed foods which we usually throw like candy bars and Coca Cola in that category. But really, these oat milks on the market have fallen right in line with those things.
Justine Reichman: Wow. So before this, you got into this because you had a health issue and you were eating this, and you then started making your own. But to build a company around this, that's not just a health issue. I mean, so what inspired you to say, okay, I'm taking this into my own hands. And now, I want to build my business. I want to build a business around this.
Brooke Harris: Yeah. I wish that I could say that there was a moment where I was like, okay, I'm gonna build a business. Here's my five year plan, this is where this is gonna go. It was more of really just putting like one foot in front of the other. I had my own issue so I started making homemade plant based milks and realized, holy shit, these are delicious. But it's a pain in the butt to make, I don't know if you've ever tried but you'd have to like, though, construct the seeds and nuts overnight, and then you blend it and then put it through the cheese cloth. And it's messy, and you get a very small amount that's then gone in 30 minutes and you have to start all over. And so I knew that the process of making homemade clumpy salts was not accessible for most people just from having the time. So I started really small at the Farmers Market and just started putting these, making them homemade and fresh myself in a commercial kitchen and started putting them out there to see what people thought, and they took off. And at that time, I was serving a product that was fresh and had a five day shelf life. So not scalable as far as a larger business, but the response was so great. And I really saw that there was a need for it. And that is what motivated me to figure out, how do we scale this, and how do we scale it without compromising? And that's where we came up with the format's that I mentioned before, and that you've tried the frozen concentrate and the powders so that we didn't have to add those weird ingredients, and the end product could be as nutritious and tasty as if you made it yourself at home.
Justine Reichman: Because it's amazing what you've done and how you've scaled it, and how you're now growing exponentially in a variety of ways. So what were you doing before this?
Brooke Harris: Yeah. I went to film school. So I came out to LA to work in film and TV. Through a little bit of that career path is kind of what triggered, like help trigger the illness issues. You're constantly on the go, you're working very early and working very late and just eating these like, I was plant based, but I was eating a lot of these grab and go foods and on the go. And so that kind of propelled digestive irritation. And wellness was always my other passion and food, really, but I didn't know how you make a career out of that. I've just kind of stumbled into lucky being in LA that it's a very accessible place to start a business, and that you have options you have. I started at the Farmers Market. So it's a very small commitment to be able to, I didn't need investors, I didn't need a ton of funding behind me. I just had to make an offer one single day and get myself to the Farmers Market and see what happened.
Justine Reichman: But it's interesting. You coupled your passion and decided to try something in an area where it really is accessible. Because the Farmers Market is an accessible place, and LA is the perfect place to do something like this because people are looking for alternatives. They're looking for good products. People are knowledgeable, and they're really interested in their personal well being and the new best innovative product. So you couldn't have picked a better spot. This was your first shot at entrepreneurship.
“Opportunities are accessible if you're willing to say ‘yes’ and you're willing to seek it out.” -Brooke Harris
Brooke Harris: Yeah. And oh, yeah. So certainly, there's that envy that you have of like second time founders. And just all they know, and I constantly joke and say like, man, I was an idiot last week. Because every week, you learn so much. I can't believe it, I thought that last week or didn't know this. Certainly, some quick learning. But I think that the biggest advantage that I've always had is just my willingness to say yes. And again, being in LA and a place where their opportunities are accessible if you're willing to say yes and you're willing to seek it out. And those have been two things that I've always been on board with. When I started my business, I didn't know anyone. Like I said, I didn't have any investor funding. I didn't have a big foot in the door anywhere. I didn't even know what I was doing manufacturing wise. We've made up the process ourselves the whole way, and it's just been a matter of being curious and saying yes to opportunities that came my way, and then seeking out the opportunities that we wanted.
Justine Reichman: What was your big first win?
Brooke Harris: I would say probably starting to work with Blue Bottle Coffee. I didn't know it was huge because I didn't drink coffee. I didn't know who Blue Bottle was, they just wanted a barista blend for their cafes and I was like, sure, what does that mean?
Justine Reichman: Equator is big too, right?
Brooke Harris: Yeah. I know a little more about coffee now, and they told me what they wanted. I created a barista blend for them. And at the time, they had one cafe that we were servicing and it wasn't a good amount. It was something like 40 gallons a week that they were going through. And then all of a sudden, they opened another one, and another one. And now, we serve as like 30 of their cafes in Southern California. And it was their team that really helped me understand how special this product was in coffee, and what a difference it was and made me realize, oh, there's something here that we should continue to look at.
Justine Reichman: I think it's interesting, because I think that's really an interesting story that you shared. Because I look at Oatly, and I look how Oatly also expanded. And if you look, they went the barista route too. One of the things I looked at and how I became so knowledgeable about them was that I tried oatmilk at Equator Coffee, and it was available at all the coffee shops, and they had the barista blend. So when all these alternative or plant milks are now being offered in the coffee shops, people are becoming more and more familiar with them. So it was a really smart way for consumers to get awareness around them for the coffee houses to be able to offer it and for the auto plant companies to now offer their products and awareness for people.
Brooke Harris: Yes. And the thing is, though, there's still very little alternative milk companies that can really enter through that channel, which is a great thing for us. And the reason I only saw success, and the reason we are seeing success is because our products actually work and perform well with coffee. And so our products kind of started that way by default just because of the quality and the standard that we had, and the amount of real food ingredients. Our almond mylk nutrition wise has a similar nutrition profile to whole milk, which means it has fat and protein, and that's what works really well in coffee and texturizers really well for coffee. So moving forward, we formulated all of our milks to work really well for coffee, and we're able to do that just using real food ingredients.
Justine Reichman: Is it with hemp mylk?
Brooke Harris: Yeah, yeah. So hemp really has a natural balance of protein and healthy fat. And if you use enough of the hemp seeds, it will automatically steam and texturize well because of that. And hemp is all like, I'm so glad that hemp works for you because it has all kinds of other nutritional benefits. It's incredibly sustainable. I really think it's the milk of the future. It has everything that people love about alternative milks, like you can't go wrong with them.
Justine Reichman: Yes. No, I like it. Here in the Bay Area, in Miranda in particular, I can't find a coffee shop aside from Starbucks, which I don't go to, that offers hemp milk. If I go to Equator, they don't offer yours there.
Brooke Harris: We're working on it. Feel free to request it every now and then. Hit me up. We will be launching in the Bay Area in a bigger way very soon. But we, in particular, yeah, the really thing that's cool about the Bay Area is it's a foodie town, foodie neighborhoods. And so we're taking the hemp mylk into a meeting, and the owners and decision makers are tasting it and falling in love with it, but they're a little bit afraid because they've never heard a customer ask for hemp milk. So we've got to get the customer the right combination of getting the customers on board and giving them confidence to get it on the menu.
Justine Reichman: You have small sizes that you bring out?
Brooke Harris: We have sample sizes.
Justine Reichman: Get them over, I'll start bringing them around myself.
Brooke Harris: Yes, I love it.
Justine Reichman: You have a t-shirt that says Goodmylk I could wear?
Brooke Harris: Yeah. We have t-shirts that say Hemp Is--
Justine Reichman: Okay. I'll bring it all around the coffee shops and I'll say, hey, can you make me coffee with this?
Brooke Harris: Yeah. Love it. Okay, done.
“Eating right is a human right.” –The Next Gen Purpose Slogan
Justine Reichman: A little of that, I'll be your little ambassador. On the back, you can put my little, what do you call it? Slogan? Eating right is a human right by NextGen purpose.
Brooke Harris: Done.
Justine Reichman: Okay. We'll partner on that. How's that? I think it works well together, actually.
Brooke Harris: I mean, the missions couldn't be more aligned.
Justine Reichman: Couldn't be more aligned. I'll walk around Quarter Mill Valley, Quarter Madera, will go to Phil's Coffee, will go to Equator, you name it.
Brooke Harris: Perfect.
Justine Reichman: I think it'll be perfect. So this is your first first time out entrepreneur, you're in so many places, you're changing the way people are now thinking about their plant based milk because now they know that they don't need all that filler. It's the same thing that we're talking about when we talk about the plant based meats and these Impossible Burgers. I mean, I don't want to go off topic here, but it's the same way that we're learning when we talk about plant based, plant based meat or plant based foods, how they're putting less things in their burgers and their stuff too. So I think it's so important what you're doing, and how you're educating people on it by saying that it's four ingredients or less.
“Just plant-based isn't good enough. It needs to live up to those standards that plant-based consumers are looking for.” -Brooke Harris
Brooke Harris: I really think there is this next wave, and I see other up and coming brands that are forging the way in their own category. But there is this next wave of fluid happening and definitely in the plant based space of just plant based isn't good enough, it really needs to live up to those standards that plant based consumers are looking for. So it needs to be healthy, it needs to be real food ingredients, it needs to be organic, it needs to perform, taste good and have the sustainability piece too, it needs to kind of hit every pillar. And it just takes innovation and a little extra work. Really, nature has provided everything that we need in order to do that, and we've gone and messed it up over the decades, added chemicals and weird processing to make these foods last forever. When you look at what we're doing, we're literally using nature's oldest preservation method, free. It's not rocket science. We were using freezing instead of using a bunch of chemicals, and there are some other really cool brands doing the same in their categories. And I think that consumer demand is quickly shifting. With what's gone on in the past two and a half years, people are really starting to realize that what you eat has a huge impact on how you feel, your ability to fight illness, your ability to think clearly. And people are starting to understand how to read food labels and have a better relationship with what they put in their mouths.
“The more we educate, the more people learn, the more they ask, the more they demand a better food system. And that's really important.” -Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: And really demand a better food system. The more we educate, the more people learn, the more they ask, the more they demand a better food system. And that's really important.
Brooke Harris: It's the solution to so many things. Like maybe every problem.
Justine Reichman: We could go on, and I just think it's so important.
Brooke Harris: Yeah. Unfortunately, it's the most important thing we do every day and we're so far removed from it. It's very scary.
Justine Reichman: So I'm curious, because one of the things that really differentiates your product is the amount of things that you put in it, which is four, and the fact that you've chosen to offer it frozen. One of the options is frozen. But along with that, I would imagine one of the challenges is your packaging, because it must be difficult to come up with packaging that is efficient, sustainable and is not overwhelming. So I'm asking that because over the last few years with COVID, packaging has been a really big sore subject for a lot of people. We see packaging come here every day because of all the deliveries, and I'm just curious how you address that, and what you've done about that. What kind of solutions do you offer?
Brooke Harris: Packaging is definitely an important part of our decision making process when putting out a product. We spend a lot of time doing research and trying to find the right packaging. Everything that we do, we make sure we're using the most sustainable packaging on the market. So we start there. A lot of our products cut down on a lot of packaging waste. We're doing concentrates and powders that use a lot less, we're not shipping water. And even when we do ship frozen, we pay double the price to use cooler boxes where everything is completely compostable. So it's definitely top of mind in every decision that we make, and I think it has to be like as--
Justine Reichman: Most of all boxes must be good.
Brooke Harris: Yeah, and compostable liners. We use dry ice, so that just kind of dissipates. But we really try and do our best and think through the options at every single level. We're not perfect, and the market isn't perfect. Yet, they're still not the perfect solution, especially when you're talking about liquid and frozen products. But we're getting there. We're testing some really cool innovation that we're just waiting for samples back on for a dissolvable and edible film that could wrap around. Allow us to package it in bulk and literally have one little piece of plastic that holds all of these pods that would then be dissolvable. So we're constantly digging and searching for innovative and sustainable options. And we have a really great investment partner who is an impact fan, and they're super committed to sustainability. And so we lean on them to kind of know what's cutting edge out in the market and check in with them before we make packaging decisions.
Justine Reichman: That's great, because I know that that's one of the challenges when we see all these things and we're ordering things. And I think the other challenge is also communicating that to the customer so that they know when they're buying things, what they're getting and how to dispose of, or recycle, or compost packaging.
Once you own a business, you realize how far most customers are from understanding how their products get to them. So there's a lot of communication that has to happen.” -Brooke Harris
Brooke Harris: Yeah. Once you own a business, you realize how far most customers are from understanding how their products get to them. And yeah, so there's a lot of communication that has to happen. We like to over communicate with our community anyway. We want to be a trusted resource, and we want to share knowledge and information. And it's allowed for us to have a very engaged and active community. But education and sharing information is definitely a very important pillar for us.
Justine Reichman: So we know that you have a few products out there, or is there anything else that we're gonna see coming down the pipeline?
Brooke Harris: Oh, my R&D list is long. My team has to keep me in the closet sometimes while working on new products. But we do have some big things coming in the B2B channel with our powdered products right now. Right now, you can only find them online sold direct to you, but we're launching what we hope will be a really great logistic, and sustainable solution, and completely change the amount of packaging waste being used in these cafes. So hopefully coming in July. We're in that intense phase right now of gathering all the packaging, and working out the logistics, and doing the manufacturing. So definitely, some exciting stuff is coming in a few months.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. So if we have viewers or people listening to the podcast that wanted to get a product, where would they be able to find it?
Brooke Harris: Yeah. Well, if you're in Southern California, it's very easy. A lot of coffee shops use it, and it's the default. You go in and order an almond milk latte, and it's made with Goodmylk. And you will know because it tastes so different. We're launching very soon in San Francisco with some really great partners in the Bay Area. But the easiest and most direct ways, you can go to our website. There's also a tracker on the website that tells you what cafes we're in. You can go to the website and deliver any of our products, order them and deliver them straight to your door. So the powders and the frozen, and that's anywhere in the US.
Justine Reichman: Wonderful. Brooke, for those listeners that listen to the whole podcast or watch the whole video, is there a discount you'd like to offer them?
Brooke Harris: Yes. In your honor, let's do a 15% discount, and it can be Justine15.
Justine Reichman: Oh, I like that. Thank you, Brooke. So guys, if you're watching this and you watch the whole podcast, don't forget when you order your Goodmylk to put in that discount code and make sure you get your discount for it. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. It was great to catch up, great to learn all about your story and what you have in the works. Thank you for sending me a product to try, I loved it. I can't wait to try the adaptogen ones. I have to see if I can get myself some of that. So that looks good. What you're doing is great. I love the fact that you're so transparent about what's in the product, and how you're building everything. I just think it's super refreshing, and I can't wait to see it on the Equator. And really, we do need a t-shirt. I'm gonna go shops around with the little sound balls. I will do that girl. Goodmylk. Because eating right is a human right. I'm telling you, it works together.
Brooke Harris: Yes, yeah. Thank you for having me and for allowing me to share a little bit about our mission.
Justine Reichman: Well, thank you. I want to thank our guests for tuning in whether they're on YouTube. And if you are and you like what you see, please don't forget to subscribe. And if you're listening to the podcast and you like what you hear, subscribe and tune in every week. We will be here again soon. Thanks again, Brooke.
Brooke Harris: Thank you, Justine.
