Why Contribution Matters More Than Attribution

In this episode of the ReGen Brands Podcast, we’re joined by Berklee Welsh and Christina Skonberg from Simple Mills — a household name in natural food and the number one cracker, cookie, and baking mix brand in the natural channel today.

While many companies focus on attribution — labeling products to claim credit for sourcing practices — Simple Mills is taking a different approach. Their regenerative efforts span 70,000+ acres, support more than 4,000 farmers, and touch four key ingredients across a diverse portfolio of cookies, crackers, bars, and baking mixes. And yet, you won’t find a single “regenerative” claim on their packaging.

Instead, they’re focused on contribution — building long-term, place-based, farmer-first systems change. This episode unpacks the strategy, challenges, and business case behind that approach — and how it’s shaping the future of the company and the category.

Why Farmers Say No to Regen — and How to Fix It

For Simple Mills, regenerative agriculture starts with a shift in mindset: the farmer is the innovator — not the end-user of a top-down program.

“We’ve learned that simply asking or telling farmers to adopt certain practices often misses the mark. Most of the farmers we talk to are really interested in using regenerative principles… but the context that they’re operating in is not always conducive.” - Christina Skonberg

That context includes everything from volatile markets to nonexistent crop insurance for specialty ingredients. It’s a big reason why their programs are designed not to dictate regenerative practices, but to de-risk them — through regenerative bonuses, seed cost coverage, and flexible, multi-year contracts.

Building Regenerative Supply Chains for Four Key Crops

That ongoing dialogue has helped Simple Mills expand its regenerative programs beyond sunflower to now include almonds, coconut sugar, and cocoa. Together, these ingredient-specific initiatives now engage over 4,000 farmers and touch more than 70,000 acres — nearly double the land required to grow their entire ingredient portfolio.

“We’re not just focused on volume. We’re also looking at impact potential. Cocoa, for example, isn’t a high-volume crop for us, but it has an outsized opportunity for transformation.” - Berklee Welsh

Each program is tailored to its region. In California, their almond work centers on water use and soil health. In Indonesia, they’re focused on agroforestry, crop diversification, and farmer income stability. Across all four, context and collaboration are non-negotiables.

Baking Regenerative Into Product Design

One of the most powerful aspects of Simple Mills’ strategy is how they integrate regenerative thinking into initial product design. From day one, sustainability is a key consideration in the R&D process.

“When we’re thinking about how we want to institutionalize this goal within our innovation process, it’s about building it into the framework. We want our team to be thinking about it automatically.” - Berklee Welsh

That mindset has already led to several standout launches — including the integration of buckwheat and red beans into product lines based on farmer input. These crops bring biodiversity benefits at the farm level and nutrient density to the plate — while also creating new markets for regenerative growers.

“We’re holding taste and quality to conventional standards. These products have to be totally, amazingly delicious for us to feel proud to put them out into the world.” - Christina Skonberg

Why Regen Is a Business Imperative, Not a Marketing Play

While many brands are still wrestling with how to make regenerative marketing claims resonate, Simple Mills has already decided — that’s not the point.

“Yes, we’d love a clear consumer unlock someday, but we are not going to wait for that opportunity to fall into our laps to advance this work.” - Christina Skonberg

Instead, their business case for regenerative agriculture is rooted in resilience, innovation, and visibility. By investing upstream — with farmers, supply chains, and new ingredient development — Simple Mills is reducing risk, improving ingredient quality, and generating team-wide motivation.

“We really can’t afford not to invest in regenerative ag. All of these things are critical for continued stable ingredient supply for us. Our business prosperity wholly depends on that.” - Christina Skonberg

How We Get Regenerative Brands to 50% Market Share by 2050

Berklee and Christina both emphasized that one of the most powerful tools in building a regenerative future is simply talking about it more. Whether it's internal alignment, supplier collaboration, or public storytelling, consistent communication is critical to making regeneration the norm rather than the exception.

They also stressed the importance of upstream investment. Regenerative brands can only scale if farmers have the tools, resources, and land access they need to grow regenerative ingredients. Solving for barriers like land tenure — especially for young and diverse farmers — will be essential in shifting more acres and more supply chains toward regeneration.

Their work with the National Young Farmers Coalition and initiatives like The Almond Project show what’s possible when brands prioritize systems change over only what is happening within their supply chain.

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

You can check out the full episode with Berklee Welsh & Christina Skonberg @ Simple Mills HERE

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