We Have No Idea How Regen Products Are Selling (Kyle Returns!)

After a short hiatus, Kyle Krull returns as a guest for a no-fluff conversation about one of the most overlooked barriers to scaling regenerative products: we still don’t actually know how they’re selling at retail.

Despite more brands making regenerative claims and certifications entering the marketplace, there's no consistent, accurate, or accessible data infrastructure that allows us to measure how these products are actually performing in stores.

In this episode, Kyle and Anthony break down how retail sales data systems work, why regenerative attributes are largely missing from syndicated data, and what it’s going to take to fix it — from both a technical and an industry-alignment perspective.

We Don’t Actually Know How Regen Products Are Selling

Let that sink in. We have brands working hard to source regeneratively, retailers testing better-for-the-planet assortments, and certifiers growing their standards — but nobody has a clear, comprehensive view of how regenerative products are performing on shelf.

“We actually have no idea how regenerative products are selling at retail.” – Anthony Corsaro

The systems we rely on to understand consumer trends — like SPINS and Nielsen — aren’t built to track the wide variety of claims and certifications that fall under the regenerative umbrella. The data we do have is anecdotal, incomplete, or captured in silos. And without better visibility, the whole system suffers — from brands and retailers to certifiers and consumers.

In short, we’re operating in the dark. That’s a problem not just for brand operators and marketers, but also for buyers, certifiers, investors, and advocates trying to prove that regenerative products can compete in the mainstream marketplace.

How Retail Sales Data Really Works (And Why It’s So Messy)

Kyle and AC break down the 3 main takeaways to understand:

1. Retail sales data is managed by 3rd-parties - for-profit businesses capture and sell this data

2. Retail sales data is disjointed - brands need multiple platforms and partners to access all of their sales data

3. Retail sales data is paywalled - almost all data, especially the most useful, is behind a paywall and expensively priced

To understand the problem, we first need to understand how the system works. Retail sales data is collected by third-party aggregators like SPINS and NielsenIQ. Retailers choose whether or not to share their point-of-sale data with these firms, and brands then pay — often significantly — to access that information.

But that’s where the complexity starts. Every data provider has different rules for what attributes they track, different relationships with different retailers, and different levels of granularity. Some platforms only provide performance data for your brand; others provide competitive insights — but only if you pay for them. And even then, interpreting the data often requires an internal analyst or consultant.

This patchwork system makes it extremely hard for smaller brands — including most regenerative ones — to even access the sales data they need to make decisions, let alone use it strategically.

“Unless you can turn tens of thousands of rows into usable insights, the data’s worthless.” – Kyle Krull

Regen Is Invisible in the Data

Here’s the kicker: even if your product is regenerative, it probably isn’t coded that way in the system. Currently, the only dataset available for regenerative products is the limited reporting being conducted by SPINS on Regenerative Organic Certified®. This is a great start, but it excludes a vast amount of other regenerative SKUs with legitimate claims.

So we have three core issues when it comes to tracking regenerative products:

1. On-pack claim type is varied (certified front of pack, side panel romance copy, etc.)

2. Governance of that claim is extremely disjointed (many different certifications and types of uncertified claims)

3. All those various claims are not being tracked into one unified attribute by the data providers (no cumulative, singular attribute capturing the claims in aggregate as a product category)

“There’s no single attribution rule that all the data providers are using.” – Anthony Corsaro

With no unified framework across data providers, regen claims can’t be consistently coded or surfaced in reports. As a result, category managers can’t identify regen trends, brands can’t benchmark their performance, and the industry can’t aggregate meaningful insights across the movement.

The absence of this data means buyers aren’t seeing the demand for regenerative products, even if it’s there. The trend is nearly invisible — which undermines everything from shelf space and pricing strategy to investor confidence and consumer education.

The Fix for Regen’s Retail Data Problem

So what’s the solution? Kyle and Anthony outline a two-pronged approach:

1. Codify which claims and certs qualify as regenerative

2. Build a single unified attribute into every syndicated platform

First, the industry must come together to define which certifications and claims should qualify as regenerative. From there, those claims need to be codified and built into the product submission process across all major data providers — so that regenerative products can be tracked just like organic, keto, or gluten-free items are today.

“We need to get to a place where you can’t make a regen claim without third-party validation.” – Kyle Krull

The goal is not just a technical one — it’s a coordination effort. It will require alignment between certifiers, retailers, data companies, and brands. But the payoff is huge: imagine being able to see, in real time, how regenerative products are performing across categories and regions. That level of insight could unlock everything from better buyer conversations to more targeted marketing and broader investment.

That means tough decisions about governance, definitions, and accessibility. But it also means leveling the playing field and helping the best brands stand out.

What’s at Stake? Everything.

“The status quo of the data we’re providing is not going to help anyone — at least not in unison or in aggregate.” – Anthony

Without data, we can’t measure growth. Without measurement, we can’t make the case for regenerative products at retail. And without that case, we can’t scale adoption at the pace that the climate, soil, and supply chains demand.

This episode makes it clear that building a unified regenerative attribute across syndicated data platforms is not just an operational upgrade — it’s a foundational step toward mainstreaming regenerative agriculture. And while data providers are open to these conversations, they need a clear return on investment to prioritize the changes. That’s where industry leadership, brand demand, and coalition-building come into play.

If we want regenerative to go from niche to norm, we need to build the infrastructure to support it.

The good news? ReGen Brands is actively working with SPINS, Nielsen, and others to find alignment and push for practical solutions.

This ReGen Recap was written by Anthony Corsaro with the help of Chat GPT

You can check out the full episode with Kyle and Anthony HERE

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