Brett Christoffel grew up on a meat-centric Texas diet and spent nearly a decade on antidepressants before a friend suggested nourishing his brain with fresh-ground flaxseed instead, and within four months he was off all medication.
That shift sent Christoffel down a research rabbit hole into nutrition, eventually meeting someone who'd reversed stage-four ovarian cancer through diet alone. The final push to go vegan came on a trip to the zoo, watching the elephants, when it hit him that "all animals are present, aware, and don't want to die." He went vegan on the spot.
Christoffel launched It's Jerky Y'all in May 2018 with a flavor representing each of Texas' seven regions, choosing to support Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, the Texas sanctuary with the most rescued cows he could find. All Y'all's Foods has since sold over 600,000 bags and donated more than $50,000 to the sanctuary. The brand placed 6th out of 830 entries, the only plant-based protein finalist, in H-E-B's Texas Best contest, landing it in roughly 80 H-E-B stores, and has since expanded into 10 European countries.
His advice to other plant-based CPG founders: find a co-manufacturer sized to your real volume, and lean on direct-to-consumer sales and consistent social media before chasing big retail shelf space.
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