Rooted in the Right Supply
We were finally making a name for Nature’s Wild Berry on social media and it couldn’t have happened without Steve Babcock, Ari Raz, Jennifer Garner, SAS-ASMR and Elongated Musk. Demand was showing signs of life with every stockout and reorder. But the ones who were supporting us from the supply side deserve a lot of credit too.
Our farmer didn’t know what to think of us when we pitched him in 2016. He knew I was committed because the berry changed my life and I didn’t want to go without it for another three years. He called us the Californians, meaning the ones crazy enough to try preserving the berry and its miraculin. Now that we had a product and traction, he could see we were serious about taking it further than anyone before us.
As the premier supplier in the western hemisphere, he was already famous for cultivating top-shelf miracle berries. But he also had deep relationships within the miracle berry community. Scientists at world-class universities. Doctors at major hospitals. Media contacts from regional to national syndication.
He was especially known for getting miracle berries into the hands of cancer patients with chemo-induced dysgeusia. Most people have heard of side effects like hair loss and nausea. But dysgeusia creates a lingering metallic taste that ruins your appetite and tanks your quality of life.
There’s still more science to be done before any official claims can be made. But the same berry that turns sour to sweet for healthy taste buds also works on dysgeusia. Not sweet, just normal. Which can be everything.
When I first heard this, it hit me hard. Both my parents had cancer, diagnosed just 18months apart when I was in my twenties. It rocked me. And now, working with this farmer and this berry, I could make a real difference in someone else’s life. That meant something.
Next week I’ll share what happened when our farmer visited us for the first time and how it reshaped the journey.
Now for this week’s flavor test.
While I was out grocery shopping, a plump pack of blackberries caught my eye. I picked the ripest-looking one, gave it a rinse, and popped it into my mouth.
It was good. Tart but not harsh. The sweetness was there if I waited for it but it didn’t exactly beg me to grab another.
Then came the berry. I chewed Nature’s Wild Berry for a full 30 seconds and dove back in. This time the sour part of the tang vanished, unlocking a perfectly balanced sweet underneath.
The before might have reminded me of a sour candy. The after was all jam.
If you’ve got ideas for what I should taste next, throw them in the comments. These experiments help us all discover something new together.
And for those of you who read this far, you know what’s coming. Somewhere in this post is a hidden alphanumeric discount code. Spot it, plug it in on the site and get 20 percent off for the next 48 hours.
Just a small thank you for being part of the journey. It’s wild.
— Hank