Brady Barnstable @ Seven Sundays

Regenerating Cereal Supply Chains Without Marketing Claims

On this episode, Anthony speaks with Brady Barnstable, Co-Founder and COO of Seven Sundays. Focused on transforming the cereal aisle to be better for human and planetary health, Seven Sundays sources regeneratively produced and upcycled ingredients for its granola and cereal. Their products can be found on their website, Amazon, Thrive Market and at major retailers across the United States.

Their Muesli-Inspired Mission

Brady and Hannah Barnstable launched Seven Sundays after a honeymoon in New Zealand. Both had fast-paced careers in New York—Brady in environmental consulting, Hannah in finance—and were feeling the weight of work that didn’t align with their values. A few slow weeks in New Zealand changed everything. They reconnected with nature, experienced a food system that felt real and nourishing, and fell in love with muesli: a minimally processed, low-sugar alternative to granola. They came home, left their jobs, and started a breakfast brand rooted in simplicity, transparency, and better food for people and the planet. While they built a loyal following with muesli, they soon realized they couldn’t reshape the cereal aisle with one product. They decided to meet consumers where they already were, developing cleaner, lower-sugar alternatives to traditional cereals.

The Pain And Promise Of Direct Trade, Identity Preservation, & Regeneration

Seven Sundays is building regenerative supply chains by creating demand for diverse, soil-friendly crops. Their products are made from buckwheat, sorghum, oats, and sunflowers —all of which offer significant benefits to soil health and crop rotations in the Upper Midwest region. They also use upcycled ingredients like sunflower and oat protein that utilize byproducts that would typically go to waste or animal feed.

Seven Sundays’ first supply partner was a small organic grain miller who processed oats, rye, and barley directly on his farm. That setup allowed them to operate a direct trade model right out of the gate. As the brand has grown, scaling the model has become more challenging. That’s because doing things differently, whether it's sourcing regeneratively grown grains or upcycled ingredients, often means you have to build the entire supply chain yourself. Brady explains how their ingredients almost always require intermediary processing steps like cleaning, de-hulling, or milling before they can be used. For this reason, their strategy revolves around long-term partnerships with processors and building out farmer-suppliers from there. For example, with sunflowers, they have now created a robust, localized supply chain sourcing from over 2,000 acres. With a new oat mill coming online in southern Minnesota, Seven Sundays hopes to turn oats into a regional regenerative success story, too.

Another challenge in their supply chain is compliance. Most regenerative and upcycled ingredients come from small or emerging suppliers that don’t yet have the in-house resources to meet rigorous food safety requirements. Seven Sundays brings in third-party food safety consultants to help partners meet the documentation and quality assurance needs of their manufacturing partners. 

“Anywhere you have a unique ingredient where you're trying to do things differently outside of the efficient model that big food and ag have built…you basically have to build it yourself, which is really hard, time-consuming, expensive, and challenging. But it’s also what consumers want. It’s what moves our mission forward.” – Brady

One unlock for their sourcing model was entry into the club channel. Working with Costco gave Seven Sundays the volume needed to hit truckload quantities, which is key for locking in processor partnerships and securing consistent ingredient supply. That volume also drives down costs and supports profitability, making it possible to continue investing in their supply chain.

No SKU-Specific Claims For Regen Gains

Seven Sundays is deeply invested in regenerative agriculture, but they’ve made a deliberate choice not to pursue on-pack certification or SKU-specific claims. With 85 ingredients across their product line—and even their simplest SKUs containing six or seven components—it would be incredibly complex and costly to certify each one. But more importantly, they don’t believe their consumers are looking for certification. Brady also has a wider view of regeneration that goes beyond certifying farming practices and outcomes. He sees Seven Sundays’ role as changing the cereal aisle from the inside out, including not just sourcing, but also processing and packaging. They want to bring consumers on this broad journey in a way that is intuitive and not overwhelming.

“I think there's so much to tackle in the broader cereal aisle and in the broader food system in terms of how we grow, how we process, and how we use our resources, all the way to how we package our cereal. I consider that all part of how we define regeneration because it's a system wide thing. So that’s how we try to approach it.” – Brady

Seven Sundays is working with a certifying body—Soil & Climate Initiative (SCI)—but focusing on farmer support rather than certification. They partner with SCI for farm-level technical assistance and tracking of regenerative acreage in their supply chain, giving them a clear, credible roadmap for supporting regenerative agriculture.

A Future AFIELD = Always Farm, Innovate, Educate, and Lead Differently

Looking ahead, Seven Sundays is shifting its focus toward deeper consumer education and storytelling through its new "AFIELD" initiative. Short for Always Farm, Innovate, Educate, and Lead Differently, AFIELD is both an internal compass and an external rallying cry. It reflects their belief that consumers must ultimately drive the regenerative movement—but only if brands communicate in ways that are engaging, hopeful, and grounded in real stories. With campaigns like “Come Afield With Us,” they aim to bring people closer to the farmers and practices behind their food, spotlighting how things are being done differently across their supply chain. 

50% Market Share For Regen

When asked how regenerative brands can reach 50% market share, Brady emphasizes that it's possible, but only through systems-level change and collective effort. He points to infrastructure as a critical starting point, especially building regional supply chains around processors who can anchor networks of regenerative growers. He also sees the need for more peer-to-peer learning among farmers, likening it to a hub-and-spoke model where growers support each other in adopting better practices. 

On the consumer side, he believes education has to be more engaging and accessible, shining a light on the people and stories behind the food, not overwhelming them with claims. Ultimately, Brady sees a real opportunity for landscape-level change, but stresses that no brand can get there alone. It will take collaboration across the industry to shift both supply chains and consumer behavior at scale.

“There is change being made and that's what keeps me going.  Now I can see a path towards 2,000 acres and 4,000 acres, and then joining a consortium of brands that are all in this together doing the same thing…then you can actually see the change in the landscape.” – Brady

This ReGen Recap was written by Katey Finnegan

You can check out the full episode with Will & Jenni Harris at White Oak Pastures HERE

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