We recently connected with Sachi Singh and have shared our conversation below.

Sachi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

If you had told me twelve years ago that I was going to quit my career in climate policy to become a seaweed evangelist, I would not have believed you.

After spending a decade of my professional life working on international climate change issues across think tanks, philanthropy and academia, seaweed was the first thing that gave me hope! Seaweed is one of the most nutrient dense and diverse foods on the planet, and actively regenerates the environment in which its grown – making oceans healthier for marine biodiversity to thrive and providing access to reliable livelihood for coastal communities that have been ravaged by climate change and the warming seas. A recent study estimates that kelp forests provide $500 billion in benefits annually!! It is also a zero-input food crop, which requires no freshwater, fertilizer, or even land to grow and thrive.

So I started Rootless to get more people to eat and grow sustainably sourced seaweed. We launched in January 2022 with our hero product, the Daily Bite: a date-almond-seaweed-and seed nutrition bite that is an easy, no-fuss, delicious way to get in your daily dose of seaweed. The Daily Bites provide over 40 macro and micronutrients including essential vitamins, minerals, prebiotic fiber and unique bioactives. Most notably, this single, small bite provides over half of your daily Iodine needs.

I am excited about the Daily Bites for a few reasons:
Number #1: Iodine! Iodine is a critically important mineral that supports thyroid health, metabolism, and cellular energy utilization.

How many of you reading this use table salt? I would recommend going to your kitchen and checking the kind of salt you use. A large portion of the US population is not eating table salt, which used to be a major source of dietary Iodine. Unless you’re eating seafood or seaweed regularly, there is a chance you might not be getting enough Iodine from your diet. Without dietary Iodine, your body cannot properly produce the T3 and T4 hormones that form the building blocks of your thyroid. An underactive thyroid can leave you feeling fatigued, lethargic, listless because it slows down your metabolism and disrupts the way your body utilizes energy at the cellular level. Seaweed is the most potent natural source of Iodine. We’ve dosed the amount of seaweed in our Daily Bites to help you meet your daily Iodine requirements, and keep your metabolism and thyroid humming. Take care of your thyroid, friends! It is the battery of your body, and needs to be charged with enough Iodine.

Number #2: whole food nutrition. Compared to pills and powders, whole, minimally-processed foods contain a complexity of nutrients and co-enzymes that help your body utilize their nutrition more productively. Studies show that whole foods (compared to pills and powders) are more effective at preventing chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes.

We believe in the healing power of whole food nutrition, and do not use extracts or chemical ingredients in our bites! More importantly, Rootless consumers are feeling the impact of these bites on their health, from increased energy levels to improved digestion and skin and hair health.

In the two years that building Rootless, I’m proud to say that I’ve made an impact – both on the sustainably sourced seaweed supply chain, and on peoples’ health. And this is just the beginning.

With my incredible, inspiring team, I want to continue to build the Seaweed x Health story. I want to help more people – especially women – incorporate seaweed into their daily lives. I want to use this consumer demand to help grow this small and mighty sustainably sourced seaweed industry.

I truly believe that sustainably sourced seaweed could be the future of food and the future of farming, if done right. I want to contribute to doing it right. That is my legacy!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in Bangalore. India, and moved to the US to go to college in 2008. Early in my career, I stumbled into the climate and oceans space, and have spent a decade of my life working on international climate solutions across philanthropy, nonprofits, think tanks, and academia. I got my Masters in Environmental Management from Yale University, and while there stumbled upon seaweed! I actually saw my first seaweed farm in Kiribati, while I was doing research on climate adaptation in the South Pacific! After a decade of working in the “doom and gloom” that is climate change, seaweed was the first thing that gave me hope. Since then, I’ve committed my life, time, energy, and inspiration to getting more people to eat and grow sustainably sourced seaweed.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

As a digitally native business, we have an opportunity to be close to our customer. An early piece advice I received from my friend Ann, who used to run her own food business, was: “spend time with your customer. Get to know them, learn from them, and build a relationship with them. This is your #1 priority at this stage.”

Seven months into launch, I spent 30-40 mins doing 1 on 1 Zoom interviews with our several of subscribers to try to understand why they bought our Daily Bites, and what kept them coming back. In addition to gathering valuable, actionable data, I was also able to build connection and community with our early adopters.

On a personal note, it was a special and validating experience for me and our team to engage with the women who are eating the bites regularly and feeling a perceptible difference in their health.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think every day of being a founder or business owner is a test of your emotional resilience and stamina. These challenges are exacerbated when you’re innovating with a food or physical product. For example, as we were commercializing our product in 2021, we stumbled into all kinds of unforeseen issues – from the 2021 supply chain and shipping crises to issues with the seaweed to challenges with operations and production. Now, 1.3 years in, we’re experiencing new challenges that come with growth, and we need to continue to break things as we build them.

Each step has challenged me in a unique way – some more existentially than others – but I have deep conviction that we can build a better, healthier, more sustainable food system. During times of doubt, I try to hold on to that unwavering anchor, put my head down, and continue to build.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.getrootless.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/get.rootless/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gorootless
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachi-singh-b3b2249/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@get.rootless