56. Heirloom Rice, Climate & CPG Leadership With Caryl Levine, Lotus Foods, OSC2, and The Climate Collaborative

56. If you think rice is just a commodity, you're missing one of the biggest opportunities in sustainable CPG. How rice is grown impacts water use, methane emissions, farmer income—and your brand story.  In this episode, I sit down with Caryl Levine of Lotus Foods to unpack how a vision quest to China led to building a B Corp brand rooted in heirloom rice, direct and fair trade partnerships, and a revolutionary farming model called "More Crop Per Drop." We discuss black and red rice nutrition, preserving biodiversity, reducing methane through System of Rice Intensification (SRI), and why sustainable supply chains create measurable economic and environmental impact. We also explore how brands must educate beyond the package—leveraging social media, retailer partnerships, and unified messaging to translate purpose into premium value. If you want to elevate a commodity into a category leader, this episode is your roadmap. Download the free guide Simple Solutions to Maximize Broker-Distributor Effectiveness and learn how to align your sales story across every partner. Then listen to more episodes to deepen your retail and category leadership strategy. Get instant access on the show webpage: RetailSolved.com/session56