Carolyn Gahn @ Applegate

Applegate Bets Big On Regenerative Beef

On this episode, Anthony and Kyle are joined by Carolyn Gahn, the Senior Director of Mission and Advocacy at Applegate. Applegate recently announced they have achieved their ambitious goal to source 100% of the beef in their beef hot dogs from certified regenerative grasslands. By implementing this change, Applegate is supporting 10.8 million acres of grasslands to become certified regenerative. Applegate specializes in natural, organic meat products from hot dogs, to chicken nuggets, to deli meats and breakfast items. Their products can be found online and at thousands of retail stores across the United States.

The Next Level of “Changing The Meat We Eat” = Regenerative

Applegate was founded with a mission to “change the meat we eat,” starting with a focus on simple, clean ingredients: no antibiotics, no hormones, and no fillers. Applegate began exploring regenerative sourcing in 2020, not because of consumer demand, but because it aligned with their long-standing mission to improve food systems from the ground up. They became one of the founding members of the Land to Market initiative, working closely with early partners like Hickory Nut Gap to begin to understand what the transition would look like and how to support regenerative agriculture in a way that worked for their long-standing partner farms. 

The Do Good Dog Experiment

Applegate formalized their regenerative transition with their first pilot: the Do Good Dog. The purpose was to test supply chain feasibility and understand consumer response to a regenerative-specific SKU. They launched the new hot dog at Whole Foods, Kroger and HEB and gained valuable consumer insights. Primarily, they learned that consumers were not aware of regenerative agriculture, they did not understand what it meant, and it was not a primary purchase driver. Ironically, the lack of consumer awareness supported Applegate’s decision to go all-in and transition their entire line of hot dogs to regenerative beef. They didn’t want consumers to have to choose. They knew regenerative beef was better, so they were going to deliver it.

“We're making this call regardless of what the consumer demand is. It's less important that we put something on pack and it's more important to be as efficient as possible to drive the largest impact.” – Carolyn

Logistically, it was also going to be much easier to transition their whole line rather than having a separate SKU. Going all-in allowed them to streamline operations, drive meaningful volume, and make the transition worthwhile for farmers—both economically and operationally. This move also created ripple effects throughout the supply chain, supporting carcass balance and enabling other brands like Kettle & Fire to access regenerative beef ingredients. 

Building a Certified Regenerative Supply Chain

Applegate’s regenerative strategy is grounded in collaboration, flexibility, and a deep respect for the farmers at the heart of their supply chain. Recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work, Applegate chose to pursue regenerative certification across both their organic and non-organic hot dog lines—using different third-party standards tailored to the unique needs of their supplier networks. For their organic beef suppliers, the Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC) standard was a natural fit; these farmers were already familiar with the paperwork and compliance requirements, and they appreciated ROC’s inclusion of social fairness principles that supported both land and people. On the non-organic side, a group of about 100 farmers developed their own context-specific regenerative standard—a tiered model that supports gradual progress and continuous improvement—audited by a third-party to ensure integrity and transparency. This dual-certification strategy has enabled Applegate to work with existing, long-standing suppliers and help transition their farming partners to regenerative systems, 

“Each farmer group is in a different place in the world, and they have very specific needs… and we have to be in tune with where it’s all coming from so we can best design the system that works for those farmers.” – Carolyn

Ensuring farmers receive premiums that reflect the true cost and value of their work has also been a crucial step. Since Applegate is only buying trim for hot dogs, they have had to coordinate with other industries—like fashion and pet food—to purchase the rest of the carcass at a premium. Building out a regenerative supply chain is complex. Every step, from compliance to transport, freezer storage, and blending formulas, requires segregation and certification, with no room for supply chain redundancy. 

Beyond Nutrient Density to Human Health Impact

Applegate is investing in nutrient density research as a critical next step in validating the benefits of regenerative agriculture for human health. While many in the food and farming world have long believed that healthier land leads to more nutritious food, concrete data has been limited. To help fill that gap, Applegate launched a human health study with the Hormel Institute, measuring biomarkers in prediabetic participants who consumed diets of grass-fed regenerative beef versus conventional beef. This study aims to go beyond testing the nutrients in the meat to explore the actual health impacts on the people eating the food. As data is currently being analyzed, Applegate hopes to not only reveal meaningful insights but also identify areas for further research. They emphasize that advancing this kind of science will require brands to collaborate and co-invest, as this work is expensive but essential for building consumer trust.

The Path Forward: Consumer Clarity & Collaboration for Systems Change

In alignment with their core values, Applegate is also keeping it simple when it comes to regenerative messaging. Rather than overloading shoppers with complex science, they focus on intuitive storytelling, like the “Do Good Dog” name, which signals both deliciousness and doing good. Their goal isn’t to make consumers experts in soil health, but to help them feel confident they’re making a positive choice. Consumer research confirmed that regenerative remains a confusing and unfamiliar concept, especially as it appears across many different product types. To address this, Applegate emphasizes relatable cues—like grass-fed beef and supporting wildlife—that consumers already understand and care about. Instead of relying solely on certification logos, they aim to use clear, values-driven language that makes regenerative more accessible and meaningful to everyday shoppers.

Looking ahead, Applegate is turning its attention to pork and poultry, where the path to regenerative is far more complex due to the need for external feed inputs. Unlike grass-fed beef, these monogastric animal systems depend heavily on the land used to grow feed, making the regenerative conversation more about solving systemic agricultural challenges than simply securing certifications. Applegate isn’t rushing to put a regenerative seal on all of their products. Instead, they’re asking deeper questions like: What are the biggest environmental or economic issues tied to feed in each region? Do we need to support market access for alternative crops to enable crop rotation? Carolyn points out that with feed crop cycles spanning multiple years, buying one harvest isn’t enough—there has to be a broader, collaborative solution to support farmers through the entire rotation. Applegate’s next chapter will focus on working with local experts, understanding regional context, and co-creating solutions that address root food system problems.

“We don’t want to be designing the system—we want to be leaning on experts and actual farmers to design the system, and we want to make sure they know we are a buyer of what comes off of that.”  – Carolyn

50% Market Share For Regen

Carolyn believes that achieving 50% market share for regenerative brands starts with keeping farmers at the center of the movement. Scale will only come by doing what works best for farms—supporting their success and aligning incentives with long-term land health. She emphasizes that it’s often small, mission-driven brands shouldering the burden of solving big food system problems, even though it’s currently cheaper to ignore or create those problems. For real progress, she advocates for true cost accounting that reflects the real environmental and social impacts of how food is produced.

“Let’s do what works best for farms—and normalize that in the supply chain. It shouldn’t be cheaper to ignore problems or create them.” – Carolyn

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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