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THEGOODLAND
Co-founder Philip Richardson and South American farmers with whom they work
by Chantal Peterson Chantal Peterson is a writer, travel enthusiast and a fine artist. She runs a content marketing business for wellness brands, and is an occasional contributor to various local and national publications. Contact Chantal at mypenlives@gmail.com or @moivelle on Instagram.
THE ROOT OF IMLAK’ESH ORGANICS
The Imlak’esh Team
Co-founders Tucker Garrison, Philip Richardson, and one other team member with Thai farmers
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eeting the Imlak’esh Organics’ core team reminded me that now is the time to start the thing you know you must do but aren’t sure if you are totally ready to do. Because you’ll likely never be 100% ready. That is the mentality that Philip Richardson and Tucker Garrison, founders of the thriving local superfood company Imlak’esh Organics, took when they started Imlak’esh more than three years ago out of a shared commercial kitchen space in Goleta. “Phil” and “Tuck” are the kind of guys who simply radiate good vibes, good health, and who could probably do anything they put their minds to. The company name itself speaks to this: derived from K’iche’, an ancient Mayan language originating in Guatemala, the word imlak’esh means “We are all reflections of one another” (kind of like Namaste). The business began from the ground up, with just Tucker, Philip, and a few other core team members running the show out of a kitchen space called Food For My Soul, well-known as a key resource for many local food startups. From this, the seedling company quickly grew into the warehouse space in Goleta that they currently use, now populated with a team of nearly 20 employees, most of whom are UCSB alums or current students. Their first retailer was our very own Isla Vista Co-op, and shortly after, the Santa Barbara Whole Foods approached them and gave them their initial big opportunity to scale up. Their products can now be found in many Whole Foods and independent health food stores across the state, from San Diego up to Northern California. (P.S. Generally
In-house packaging
speaking, superfoods are defined as nutrient-rich foods considered to be especially beneficial for health and wellbeing. Some of the products Imlak’esh sells include Cacao, Sacha-Inchi seeds, maca, gogi berries, and spirulina.) The story begins about four years ago when Tucker bought a one-way ticket to Peru with the intention of embarking on a southward, soul-seeking journey, as many Millennials do. Throughout his travels, Tucker spent living and working on the land of small-scale farmers who grew things such as coffee and cacao beans. Working on these farms taught him that many of the farmers and their families were at the mercy of multinational export companies who couldn’t care less about their quality of life. It was while immersed in these small farming communities that Tuck made the decision to do whatever he could to help improve the situation. He started by simply buying a few hundred pounds of some of the products he thought might do well, and committed to figuring out how to sell them to a Californian market. This undertaking led to the
Co-founder of Imlak’esh Organics Tucker Garrison and a maca root
phone call that Philip Richardson received one day while still in college and working at UCSB. After hearing the vision, he agreed to help Tucker start a superfood business. “I wasn’t really ready to commit to that… but I did.” Philip recounts. Their big growth has not, however, changed the business ethos that the company was founded upon. These are the breed of earth-loving healthconscious Millennials who are actually doing something to make the change they wish to see. In their own words: “We strive to build a synergy between local agricultural economies and the global marketplace; providing living wages and socio-economic opportunities for international and U.S. farmers alike.” Tucker and Philip have actually gone to the places where the products they sell are grown, and met the farmers themselves. In some cases, Imlak’esh has even helped set up infrastructure to make the sourcing operation work.
While there is a healthy ongoing debate about the socioeconomic impact of the superfood market on farmers in poorer nations, this is one company whose founders can say that they have personally seen an increase in the economic stability of the farmers they work with. Most of the superfoods they sell grow in their source regions naturally, such as the golden-berry variety they carry, which is native to a community in Peru in which it used to grow wild. This is an aspect of the business that the founders are strongly committed to. They believe that the integrity of the land and the seeds used to grow these crops is integral to the experience the customer has when consuming them. “There is a visceral experience when someone eats a food that their body wants” says Philip. Good for you, good for the planet, and good for the people. If you want to meet some of the team and try their superfood products, the Imlak’esh food truck will be at the Summer Solstice Event all day on June 25 at Alameda Park. You can sample products or try them in yummy recipes such as smoothies and warm quinoa bowls. Locally, you can buy their products at the IV Food Co-op, Whole Foods, Lassens, and Lazy Acres.
Imlak’esh Organics 6336 Lindmar Drive, Goleta (805) 689-2269 connect@imlakeshorganics.com imlakeshorganics.com