Libsyn Directory

037: Beyond the Basket: The Secret Ingredient to Building a Regenerative Community with Wen-Jay Ying

Release Date: 03/18/2025

058: What Does ‘Regenerative’ Really Mean? Your Food Label Decoder with Anthony Corsaro

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“It's all about labels, it's all about claims, and it's all about certifications. Regenerative is a mess. It's a hot mess. ... I can understand, articulate, and define it really easily, but the average consumer, I don't think, can for a myriad of reasons.... The entire reason regenerative agriculture was created is the beauty of it being a transition tool to improve conventional agriculture. The challenge is it's super easy to greenwash if it's not legit, and it's really easy to lower the bar as low as possible.” —Anthony Corsaro Ever picked up a carton of “regenerative” eggs...

057: Wellness Without the Hype: Food Fixes for Brain Fog, Bloat, and Blah Days with Elissa Goodman

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“Life is so crazy, and you just want to be able to live it to the fullest and the best you can.” —Elissa Goodman Everyone’s selling the next big wellness fix—but what if the real answers are simpler than you think? We’re bombarded with superfoods, supplements, and miracle diets, but the truth is, most of us are still searching for what really works. If you’re tired of chasing trends and want to feel genuinely good in your body, you’re in the right place. Returning guest, Elissa Goodman’s journey from chronic illness to vibrant health is proof that real change...

056: Working Moms Incorporating Sustainability Into Family Life with Daniela Kratz & Shirin Aryanpour

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“Simplicity was something I learned from my family and grew up with. The fact is, you do not need fancy food, you do not need a huge variety of food. You can have some potatoes, and you can have one vegetable, and you make a brothy sauce with the vegetables, and you pour it over the freshly cooked potatoes. It can be so comforting and nourishing. So simplicity is something that is important for us to understand.” —Daniela Kratz “I grew up in a household where we cooked together. Cooking was a way of connecting for us. Culturally, food is a language of love, poetry, and respect...

055: Reframing Sustainability: Discover the Positive, Empowering Way Forward with Charlie Sellars

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“To be an effective climate optimist and person who cares about sustainability, you need equal parts of two different ingredients. The first is inspiration, because if you don't believe you can make a difference, and if you don't believe that what you do matters, then you're not going to try. You also need the other ingredient of empowerment. If you are really, really encouraged to try to make a difference, but you're not given the tools or the knowledge, then all that energy dissipates and becomes wasted.” —Charlie Sellars What if sustainability wasn’t a burden, but an...

054: Noodles Without the Guilt: Comfort Food Gets a Healthy Makeover with Jonathan Carp

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“An interdisciplinary approach to medicine is probably the way the future is going to go. There will be dieticians and a whole host of different people involved in helping someone to heal.” —Jonathan Carp For too long, we’ve been told that health comes in a medicine bottle or a doctor’s office, but what if the real power lies in the food we choose every day? If you’ve ever felt frustrated by quick fixes that don’t last or wondered how to make healthy changes that actually stick, you’re not alone—and this episode is for you. Dr. Jonathan Carp is a board-certified...

053: Making Business Personal: Lessons from 30 Years of Conscious Entrepreneurship with Susan and Brad Black

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“In the old days, families worked together, like on a farm, and that's the model we wanted to create for ourselves at EO Products.” —Brad Black Most businesses die because they chase profits instead of purpose—a raw, honest truth that cuts to the core of entrepreneurial burnout and lost passion. A lot of entrepreneurs pour their hearts and soul into a business, only to become a slave to spreadsheets and profit margins. But what if there was another way? Brad and Susan Black, co-founders of , are pioneering entrepreneurs who transformed a passionate curiosity...

052: Beauty Decoded: Skincare Truths, Sunscreen Myths & Brand-Building Wisdom with Carmine Montalto

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“You can’t be all things to all people, and a brand can’t be all things to all people. A brand can be as big as it gets with tons of money supporting it. But, there has to be a point of difference to stand out to consumers.” —Carmine Montalto Most beauty founders drown in a saturated market, chasing viral trends while struggling to build brands that resonate. They sacrifice authenticity for algorithms, forgetting that true loyalty starts with a razor-sharp point of view—not pink packaging or empty promises. Carmine Montalto is a NYC-based brand strategist with 25 years...

051: Marketing Mythbusters: What Really Makes Customers Buy with Jeff Greenfield

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“The truth is, when you start checking out other brands, you will start to notice how inconsistent they are. So just by being consistent, you're already ahead of the game.” —Jeff Greenfield. Most entrepreneurs are drowning in a sea of marketing noise, desperately trying to be heard while burning through limited resources with little measurable return. But the real battle isn't about having the most sophisticated tactics, but about crafting a message so compelling that it cuts through the digital clutter and speaks directly to our ideal customer's deepest desires and unspoken...

050: Skin Deep: The Surprising Power of Natural, Locally-Sourced Beauty Products with Nancy Rimbergas

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“You follow your passion, and when you have a purpose behind it, everything becomes a little bit clearer.” —Nancy Rimbergas Clean beauty isn't just another Instagram hashtag—it's a real movement that starts with actually caring about what we're putting on our skin. Every lotion, cream, or serum is like a tiny decision that ripples out, affecting not just our body, but the whole planet. We're not just buying products anymore; we're voting with our dollars, pushing brands to be real about their ingredients, and showing the beauty industry that we want something better. Nancy...

049: NASA's Dental Care Secret: Saving Teeth with Eco-Friendly Space-Age Tech with Belinda Lau

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“I had to find that niche, that core community of people who were trying to solve the same problems that I was and who were passionate about the solution. But if I hadn’t found that, I think it would be tough to try to keep promoting your product and your brand without actually knowing where it fits.” —Belinda Lau Every toothpaste tube and toothbrush we've ever used might still be existing somewhere on this planet! Plastic dental care products are silent environmental destroyers, with each toothbrush lingering for about 500 years in landfills and oceans. Belinda Lau,...

More Episodes

Beyond the Basket: The Secret Ingredient to Building a Regenerative Community with Wen-Jay Ying

Episode Description:

“It's having a genuine interest in your consumers, not just a transactional experience— That is the best way to build community.” —Wen-Jay Ying

Building a thriving community takes more than just a shared interest— it requires genuine connections, a sense of belonging, and a shared vision for a better future. In an age of impersonal online interactions, the power of face-to-face relationships and supporting local businesses has never been more important. Discover how one entrepreneur is redefining the way we think about community through the lens of food.

Wen-Jay Ying is the founder and CEO of Local Roots, a community-driven and minority-owned company in New York City. With over 14 years of experience in the local food movement, Wen-Jay continues to innovate and find new ways to connect people to their food sources.

Tune in as Justine and Wen-Jay share insights on traditional and online marketing strategies, operational models, the evolution of the local food movement, overcoming common entrepreneurial challenges, reflections on closing the business, and building community and customer relationships.

Meet Wen-Jay:

Wen-Jay Ying is the founder and CEO of Local Roots, a community-driven and minority-owned company in New York City. Wen-Jay started Local Roots in 2011 with the goal of making high-quality local and organic ingredients more accessible and convenient for New Yorkers. Under her leadership, Local Roots has grown into a trusted source for seasonal, regeneratively-grown produce and other local food products.

Wen-Jay is passionate about education, transparency, and empowering consumers to make better food choices. With over 14 years of experience in the local food movement, Wen-Jay continues to innovate and find new ways to connect people to their food sources.

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Episode Highlights:

01:51 Local Roots: Modernized CSA

04:15 Initial Marketing a Community Building