At Alectro, we’re constantly on the lookout for sustainable alternatives to everyday items. This is an opportunity to share the brands that we love and that are making the world a greener place.

Mr Organic is on a mission to make plant-based foods more enjoyable at your dinner table. The B Corp-certified company freshly grows much of its produce from their own farm in Pontinia, Italy. This means that their products are better sourced, better tasting and better for the environment.

It's interesting to see how the world and people's attitudes to brands are changing continuously. Mr Organic has seen first-hand that challenger brands are becoming much more popular and they expect this trend will continue in the future.

Now with over 120 products in its range, Mr Organic is rapidly growing whilst sharing its devotion to food and the planet.

We caught up with Maddie Grinham, Brand Manager at Mr Organic, to discuss how they’re challenging the world of organic foods.

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Why does Mr Organic exist?

“It was created to address the need for a more sustainable farming system.”

The original Mr Organic, Valerio, comes from a long line of Italian farmers. When he inherited his family farm and took over from his father, he eventually started learning more about the benefits of organic produce. He started learning about food system management and was really inspired to make the switch to organic food to create Mr Organic.

Maddie explained that Mr Organic wants “to inspire customers to eat less meat or to be a bit more conscious about where their foods are comings from.”

“For us, a big part of the B Corp certification and why we found it so beneficial was because it really gave us that chance to take a step back and evaluate which areas we’re doing well or require to improve in. I think having that kind of introspective thought was really helpful.”

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What key things does Mr Organic do best?

Mr Organic’s products are all 100% vegan and 100% organic.

“We know that the way we farm, and the way that we manage the crop system is really beneficial to the environment.”

Generally speaking, organic farming encourages more wildlife on average in the farming area compared to other mass farming techniques. This means that organic farming has a higher positive benefit for biodiversity and plant and animal life. Organic techniques help with storing carbon in the soil and will be better overall at caring for the soil.

Mr Organic’s reviews

Mr Organic is meticulous when it comes to product creation, new product development, getting the taste exactly right, and using the best quality ingredients from the best provenance.

“The feedback we receive is that people love the taste and the quality of our products! I think it's increasing now amongst consumers that the sustainability element and the ethics of the brand all come into those purchasing decisions.

But I think we can get people to love us for the taste and then be inspired by the brand's sustainability credentials. This is exactly what we would love to pursue.”

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What are the trends in the food industry?

“I think there's much more awareness now than there were 10 years, or even 5 years ago.

We find that when we ask people, what sort of changes are you making to shopping to be more sustainable? They say things like, we're eating more plant-based food, we're eating less meat.

So there's definitely that awareness that vegan equals sustainable, but there's not quite that awareness with organic just yet.

I think organic is something that may be perceived as a bit elitist and a bit exclusive, which absolutely isn't the case. 60 years ago every single thing we ate was organic and people are now slowly getting back to that way of thinking that actually, these are just natural products.”

With the world’s population rapidly growing, we have seen that mass farming can have many negative impacts on the environment. Mr Organic is aiming to combat this issue by helping people to understand that organic farming has lots of benefits including how the natural processes can obtain some of the freshest and most delicious food.

Along with this, Mr Organic is also trying to make its products more affordable for its consumers, especially with food prices soaring and the current cost of living crisis.

“We're finding people are shifting a lot to more natural alternatives to meat, say things like tinned beans and lentils which were popular 10 or 20 years ago. We are seeing a resurgence with price being the main factor.”

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What’s next for Mr Organic and what new initiatives should we get excited about?

It can be challenging for small or early-stage businesses to set large sustainability goals. Mr Organic, now B Corp-certified, is here to showcase that little steps make a difference.

“I'd say the best way is to just be really methodical about it and be really self-reflective.

One of the best things anyone can do is to take a really honest and really candid look at everything the company is doing and say: We know this is good, but how can we make this amazing?

And only by having that really deep look at every single stage. Be it with the suppliers we are working with, the office internally, reviewing every single stage of the business and asking ourselves: can we improve it? What little steps can we make?

I think it's the same for not just businesses, but for anybody looking to be a bit more sustainable.

It’s not about making huge, monumental life changes. It's just about these little improvements which hopefully over time add up to a big improvement.”

The three main goals for Mr Organic in the future are:

• To reach carbon neutrality by 2025.
• To be 90-95% plastic free by the start of 2023.
• To expand their range of delicious foods for their customers to enjoy.

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Thanks so much to Maddie for taking the time to talk to us about Mr Organic’s sustainability journey and future.

If you're interested in finding out more, make sure to keep an eye on their socials @mr_organic and visit their website for updates or more information!

Let us know who you'd like to see us cover next in our Brands we Love series by emailing hello@alectro.io

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