All right – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brett Christoffel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation; we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Brett thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you manage your own social media?
When I was first getting ready to launch All Y’alls in 2018 I asked Renee the founder of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary if she knew anyone who handled social media. I was introduced to Courtney of Sprinkles Creative Agency, and they have worked with me over the years and have always shifted as required along the way. I found many talented and capable firms ready to take my business for double or quadruple what I pay now. They are a two person shop utilizing external talent to round out their deliverables. I know of people finding solid individuals who handle their social for a reasonable rate. I simply do not have the time or expertise to do it well and they do so I let them.
Brett, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Howdy y’all I’m Brett and I grew up in Dallas and grew up eating more than my fair share of meat in every form as every meal was meat centric. The first time I heard the term meatless Mondays I laughed out loud as I couldn’t even imagine a meatless snack. I took animals off my plate February 12th, 2016, and the following year I learned that beef was Texas second largest export and as I love a cow just like I love a dog I decided to change that. In May of 2018 I launched All Y’alls Foods with three flavors of It’s Jerky Y’all. Made from whole non-GMO soybeans with more protein, calcium, iron, and magnesium than beef.
All Y’alls is a mission driven brand with a portion from every sale going to Rowdy Girl Sanctuary here in Texas. The nation’s first cattle ranch turned vegan sanctuary Rowdy girl cares for over 100 different animals, and they have the largest herd of sanctuary cows in Texas. In addition to caring for all the animals they have a Ranchers Advocacy Program that is working towards shifting our system to support farmers and ranchers to transition to plant-based agriculture. All Y’alls Foods exists to delight and nourish consumers, take care of the animals, and go easier on the earth.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Read the question and chuckled since this is a regular occurrence. An example would be yesterday I learned one of my suppliers would no longer sell me a key ingredient as they had since I started. In an instant my mind began to grasp how this would impact my company as this ingredient is not replaceable in any way nor is there a second source. The next instant had me asking them if I could instead get a modified version of it that would work just fine, and I can. Shifting on a dime is key to continue to move forward. It’s OK to not love what happens or mistakes folks make but to dwell on them beyond grasping the lesson, if any, is not required. I have learned to ask God for direction, let it go, do the next right, thing and then trust the process.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
Great question and it has been indeed a process. So, with a couple of friends I opened a raw organic vegan juice and smoothy bar in small town Texas and I got good with making items in the dehydrator. While that adventure lasted only a year, I had learned how to use plants to make things like jerky.
I then started working on recipes in my kitchen and created seven jerky flavors that took months to refine. I then learned what I could online about CPG’s, packaging, marketing, etc.
I trusted myself and just sought to do the next right thing and it still serves me. One of the main things to realize before you begin scaling your recipe is this if there is an ingredient that is slightly off at making a couple dozen cookies it is going to be very far off when you make your first 100 or 1000 lbs. of dough so be prepared for that. Once you jump into producing 100’s or 1000’s of pounds that recipe is now a formula and do not measure anything by volume but always by weight so a solid digital scale is invaluable.
I worked almost a year on all my flavors, and one needs to be willing to accept feedback along the way and tweak formulas as required.
Starting and building All Y’alls Foods has never been easy but while I have never worked so hard at something I have never been happier at what I am up to in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.allyallsfoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyallsfoods/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allyallsfoods
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-christoffel-3889424/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aw-CgxVOqzUa9Y9ENhQaA