From food scientist to entrepreneur<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"Maggie](\"https:\/\/rangeme-blog-images.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/MaggieatHarvest-Small.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFor someone marketing simple, single-ingredient products, you\u2019d be surprised to learn that Maggie\u2019s background is in food science. Her career began with product development at Morningstar Farms, creating products like plant-based chicken nuggets and Buffalo Chicken wings. This experience fueled her passion for natural and plant-based foods, leading her to develop hundreds of products for various companies, including Fortune 500 brands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she announced her decision to launch a canned bean company, many people were surprised. “People thought I was joking,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cEveryone was expecting something really over-engineered, something that has not yet been done in the plant-based arena. But I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and go back to the roots of what I know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why beans? According to Sadowsky, beans are probably the most under-celebrated products anywhere, and have been treated for the most part like a cheap commodity and exported from all over the world. She wants to change that image, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadowsky believes that beans have tremendous potential \u2013 both for people and the planet. “Beans are hyper sustainable,” says Sadowsky. “They give nitrogen to the soil; they\u2019re nitrogen fixers rather than depleting it and requiring other chemicals to put it back in. And as far as our diets, they really are this super food that is on trend with a lot of diets that are coming forth today. So I wanted something that was organic, non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free, that has simple and clean ingredients. And, of course, it needed to taste awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8 Track Foods<\/a> offers four varieties of canned beans: Organic Dark Kidney Beans, Organic Classic Black Beans, Organic Blonde Chickpeas and Organic White Cannellini Beans, and has more than a dozen menus on the brand\u2019s website to spur on creative menu ideas. But, as I have experienced firsthand with the black beans, they taste amazing on their own as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\nSustainable packaging and local sourcing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The brand is deeply committed to sustainability, and Sadowsky incorporates as many environmentally-friendly aspects into her business and processes as possible. “Our brand was built around this concept of an infinite loop of sustainability,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cEverything from how we grow the product to how we can it, to how we distribute it has to touch on sustainability.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the nitrogen-fixing aspects of legumes, which give back to the soil, the beans are packaged in steel cans, which is very unique among canned food products. \u201cSteel is infinitely recyclable,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cIt gets picked up in almost any waste stream. Even if you throw it in your trash bag, it will still get collected because there’s such a need for steel. Plus, as with all canned products, there is a long shelf life which reduces food waste.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local sourcing is another critical aspect of 8 Track Foods\u2019 sustainability efforts. Most of her beans are grown in the Midwest Michigan region, and the chickpeas are grown in the Pacific Northwest. This not only supports local farmers but also reduces transportation emissions, contributing to a smaller carbon footprint overall as she grows her distribution among U.S. retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"8](\"https:\/\/rangeme-blog-images.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-cans-trans-background-small-1.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=1024&h=1024&fit=crop\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSuccesses with RangeMe & ECRM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, much of this growth has come from leveraging RangeMe and ECRM to gain exposure and access to retail buyers. 8 Track Foods is a RangeMe Premium subscriber, and Sadowsky is very active on the platform. She makes sure that her brand profile is complete and up-to-date, and that it features all of the relevant certifications and keywords that would help her stand out in buyer searches. Many of the independent grocers she works with like Indianapolis-based Rose Market<\/a> \u2013 have discovered her in this way. (If you check out the Groceries section<\/a> of the Rose Market website, you\u2019ll actually see 8 Track\u2019s White Cannellini Beans prominently featured.)<\/p>\n\n\n\nSadowsky is also very active in participating in as many relevant retailer campaigns as she can, something she recommends to all brands as a way to get exposure to buyers who are actively looking for products like theirs. Many of her large retail accounts have come from participation in these focused retailer campaigns and summits, many of which include face-to-face meetings facilitated by ECRM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRangeMe has been a really great partner,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cWe\u2019ve had success with Whole Foods Market, several independents, and also Meijer. A lot of people think that it\u2019s a one-stop shop and they will get a bunch of buyers coming to them right away. That’s part of it, but it\u2019s really more of a tool to access buyers. There are these active campaigns that come through, such as buyers looking for women-owned or locally-grown brands, and those are very powerful. The Meijer deal, for example, came from a submission we made via RangeMe to the Meijer Localization Summit, which got us into 250 stores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nFor someone marketing simple, single-ingredient products, you\u2019d be surprised to learn that Maggie\u2019s background is in food science. Her career began with product development at Morningstar Farms, creating products like plant-based chicken nuggets and Buffalo Chicken wings. This experience fueled her passion for natural and plant-based foods, leading her to develop hundreds of products for various companies, including Fortune 500 brands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she announced her decision to launch a canned bean company, many people were surprised. “People thought I was joking,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cEveryone was expecting something really over-engineered, something that has not yet been done in the plant-based arena. But I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and go back to the roots of what I know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why beans? According to Sadowsky, beans are probably the most under-celebrated products anywhere, and have been treated for the most part like a cheap commodity and exported from all over the world. She wants to change that image, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadowsky believes that beans have tremendous potential \u2013 both for people and the planet. “Beans are hyper sustainable,” says Sadowsky. “They give nitrogen to the soil; they\u2019re nitrogen fixers rather than depleting it and requiring other chemicals to put it back in. And as far as our diets, they really are this super food that is on trend with a lot of diets that are coming forth today. So I wanted something that was organic, non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free, that has simple and clean ingredients. And, of course, it needed to taste awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8 Track Foods<\/a> offers four varieties of canned beans: Organic Dark Kidney Beans, Organic Classic Black Beans, Organic Blonde Chickpeas and Organic White Cannellini Beans, and has more than a dozen menus on the brand\u2019s website to spur on creative menu ideas. But, as I have experienced firsthand with the black beans, they taste amazing on their own as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The brand is deeply committed to sustainability, and Sadowsky incorporates as many environmentally-friendly aspects into her business and processes as possible. “Our brand was built around this concept of an infinite loop of sustainability,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cEverything from how we grow the product to how we can it, to how we distribute it has to touch on sustainability.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the nitrogen-fixing aspects of legumes, which give back to the soil, the beans are packaged in steel cans, which is very unique among canned food products. \u201cSteel is infinitely recyclable,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cIt gets picked up in almost any waste stream. Even if you throw it in your trash bag, it will still get collected because there’s such a need for steel. Plus, as with all canned products, there is a long shelf life which reduces food waste.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local sourcing is another critical aspect of 8 Track Foods\u2019 sustainability efforts. Most of her beans are grown in the Midwest Michigan region, and the chickpeas are grown in the Pacific Northwest. This not only supports local farmers but also reduces transportation emissions, contributing to a smaller carbon footprint overall as she grows her distribution among U.S. retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, much of this growth has come from leveraging RangeMe and ECRM to gain exposure and access to retail buyers. 8 Track Foods is a RangeMe Premium subscriber, and Sadowsky is very active on the platform. She makes sure that her brand profile is complete and up-to-date, and that it features all of the relevant certifications and keywords that would help her stand out in buyer searches. Many of the independent grocers she works with like Indianapolis-based Rose Market<\/a> \u2013 have discovered her in this way. (If you check out the Groceries section<\/a> of the Rose Market website, you\u2019ll actually see 8 Track\u2019s White Cannellini Beans prominently featured.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadowsky is also very active in participating in as many relevant retailer campaigns as she can, something she recommends to all brands as a way to get exposure to buyers who are actively looking for products like theirs. Many of her large retail accounts have come from participation in these focused retailer campaigns and summits, many of which include face-to-face meetings facilitated by ECRM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRangeMe has been a really great partner,\u201d says Sadowsky. \u201cWe\u2019ve had success with Whole Foods Market, several independents, and also Meijer. A lot of people think that it\u2019s a one-stop shop and they will get a bunch of buyers coming to them right away. That’s part of it, but it\u2019s really more of a tool to access buyers. There are these active campaigns that come through, such as buyers looking for women-owned or locally-grown brands, and those are very powerful. The Meijer deal, for example, came from a submission we made via RangeMe to the Meijer Localization Summit, which got us into 250 stores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nSustainable packaging and local sourcing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSuccesses with RangeMe & ECRM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n