073: Planting Self-Care: How Lavender Teaches Rest, Renewal, And Joy with DeAnna Schaefer
Release Date: 11/11/2025
087: Unlocking Gut Health with gutBFF
Essential Ingredients Podcast
In this episode of Essential Ingredients, Justine Reichman speaks with Gita, founder of gutBFF, about the importance of gut health and plant diversity in our diets. They discuss Gita's personal journey with health challenges, the role of food in wellness, and the entrepreneurial challenges she faced while launching her product. The conversation also touches on sustainability, consumer trust, and the growing awareness of nutrition, particularly among women. Gita emphasizes the need for more accessible information and the potential of the digital age to influence healthy eating habits. ...
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086: From Butcher to Entrepreneur: The Roli Rotisserie Story
Essential Ingredients Podcast
In this episode of Essential Ingredients, Justine Reichman speaks with Thomas Odermatt, founder of Roli Rotisserie, about his journey from Switzerland to the Bay Area as a third-generation butcher. They discuss the importance of local sourcing, quality ingredients, and the impact of health and nutrition on food choices. Thomas shares insights on sustainability in food production, the role of allergens, and the significance of mindful eating and community engagement. The conversation emphasizes making informed choices about food and building relationships with local farmers. Takeaways...
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085: The Good Gluten Revolution
Essential Ingredients Podcast
Summary In this episode bvc of Essential Ingredients, Justine Reichman speaks with Cindy Anderson, founder of Manny's Choice, about her journey in creating gluten-free products based on European heritage wheat. Cindy shares her personal health challenges, including a battle with breast cancer and gluten intolerance, which inspired her to seek clean, nutritious ingredients. The conversation explores the importance of community support for entrepreneurs, the future of clean eating, and the challenges of sustainable packaging in the food industry. Cindy emphasizes the need for transparency in...
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084: From Matcha to Millionaire: Bella's Journey in Food Entrepreneurship
Essential Ingredients Podcast
Summary In this episode of Essential Ingredients, host Justine Reichman welcomes Bella, a holistic nutritionist and entrepreneur who has successfully built her brand around matcha and boba. Bella shares her journey from bartending to launching her pop-up shop, Happy Belly, which has now evolved into a platform for teaching others how to start their own food businesses. The conversation dives deep into the importance of quality ingredients, particularly matcha, and how Bella's passion for Japanese flavors has shaped her offerings. She emphasizes the significance of educating consumers about the...
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083: Clean Water, Wrong Bottle: Upgrade to Lab-Grade Hydration with Hardy Steinmann
Essential Ingredients Podcast
“The idea came suddenly one day. I was traveling and had this little Japanese perfume spray in my hand, It’s actually aluminum and the inside glass, very little. And I said to myself, that’s the concept of bottle I’m going to do. Glass.. Honesty.” —Hardy Steinman We drink water every day, yet most of us never question the container. We accept strange smells, plastic taste, and constant replacement as normal. This conversation challenges that mindset and asks us to slow down and rethink what daily hydration is doing to our bodies and the environment. Listen in as Hardy...
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082: Build CPG Faster— Stop CPG Product Chaos With One AI-Powered System with Karen Huh
Essential Ingredients Podcast
“The value you get out of Zucca and all the things it can do is far cheaper than what it would take to hire another person or hire an external consultant to do that work.” —Karen Huh Building a CPG product should not feel like juggling spreadsheets at midnight. Teams lose time, money, and clarity when formulas, costs, and decisions are scattered across multiple locations. This conversation confronts that reality head-on and addresses why speed and focus are crucial in the food, beverage, and supplement industries right now. Karen Huh shares how two decades in CPG at companies...
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081: Your Skin is Talking: Why Internal Health Determines Skin Outcomes
Essential Ingredients Podcast
“Stop reaching externally for answers because intuitively, if you really, really sit quietly with yourself and feel, you have all the answers for yourself.” —Dr. Jennifer Haley Our skin reacts long before we slow down enough to notice. Breakouts, inflammation, and chronic issues often point to patterns we normalize every day, from food choices to stress to environmental exposure. This conversation cuts through noise and shame and brings the focus back to what our bodies are already telling us. Dr. Jennifer Haley shares how her background in nutrition and dermatology reshaped...
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080: Busy Lives, Better Health: How Drinkable Vitamins Fit Real Life with Leslie Danford
Essential Ingredients Podcast
“In an entrepreneurial journey, fear is a constant roadblock. But everything's at risk, and it's this balance between calculated risk while still managing a backup plan.” —Leslie Danford Growth does not come from chasing every opportunity. It comes from making clear choices and standing behind them. This conversation explores what it really takes to build a brand that lasts without losing direction along the way. We sit down with Leslie Danford, founder of , to talk through her evolution from a small, kid-focused idea into a national functional beverage brand now on Sprouts...
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079: Healthy Habits Start Young: Making Food Education Accessible with Carolyn Federman
Essential Ingredients Podcast
“If we can't bring the kids to the kitchen, maybe we can bring the kitchen to the kids.” —Carolyn Federman Food education often gets treated as optional, even though it shapes health, culture, and opportunity from the very start. When kids lack access to hands-on food learning, the gap shows up everywhere from classrooms to hospitals. This conversation explores what changes when education meets practicality. Carolyn Federman shares how years of work alongside Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard revealed a major barrier. Teaching kitchens worked, but they were out of reach...
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078: Menu Transparency Unlocked: Find Safe Restaurant Choices Fast with Dylan McDonnell
Essential Ingredients Podcast
“It is the most loyal customer segment that exists because people find it so hard to find places that they trust, that when they do and they have a good experience, they keep going back again and again. It’s a huge revenue opportunity for restaurants to take advantage of transparency.” —Dylan McDonnell Nothing about dining out should feel like a gamble. In this episode, we talk with Dylan McDonnell, founder of , about how accurate ingredient data and personalized menus restore trust and enjoyment at restaurants for people with celiac disease, allergies, and special diets....
info_outline“There is something missing in modern medicine that's not just about the therapy and exercises or about empowering the patient, but getting the patient to really choose self-care.” —DeAnna Schaefer
Stillness doesn’t just happen; it’s created. Between deadlines, worries, and daily noise, most of us forget what it’s like to truly breathe. But when we give ourselves permission to pause, we begin to heal in ways no medicine alone can.
After decades of treating pain through physical therapy, Point Reyes Lavender Co. Founder, DeAnna Schaefer, saw the missing piece: people weren’t just aching in their bodies, they were worn thin in spirit. So she turned to lavender and the land of Point Reyes, blending science, nature, and soul to help others rediscover calm and care.
Step into this conversation where business meets purpose, as DeAnna shares her journey of building a sustainable lavender farm, crafting healing products, and redefining what it means to choose joy, rest, and intentional living.
Meet DeAnna:
DeAnna Schaefer is the founder of Point Reyes Lavender Company and a seasoned physical therapist with over 25 years of experience. Combining her passion for healing with her love for agriculture, DeAnna transitioned from a successful career in physical therapy to establish a sustainable lavender farm in Point Reyes, California. Drawing on her scientific background and entrepreneurial spirit, she has developed a unique line of natural wellness products that emphasize self-care and community connection. DeAnna is dedicated to fostering a joyful, regenerative future through innovative business practices and meaningful collaborations within her local community.
Connect with NextGen Purpose:
Episode Highlights:
02:54 Starting the Lavender Farm Post-COVID
06:12 Learning About Lavender: Agricultural Challenges, Medicinal Benefits, & Product Development
10:56 Lavender Effects
19:00 Entrepreneurship Journey: The Importance of Passion and “Feel”
22:34 Sustainability and Product Packaging
26:41 Future Plans and Expansion