PODCAST – Developing Functional Wellness Drinks feat. Wild Remedies

About this episode: 

The industry of functional wellness drinks was valued at $ 110,148.9 million in 2020 and is estimated to reach $200,080.3 million by 2030. [1] But in 2015/16, Krysta Francouer started a journey of creating a functional beverage that perhaps set the course for the entire industry.

Wild Remedies, a brand that creates functional wellness drinks that elevate your daily rituals with luxurious potions, was born from unbelievable synchronicities and divine timing that to this day, Krysta recounts with a deep sense of reverence and awe.

In this episode, Krysta shares her journey of transforming her inner and outer world, and how to break into the uncharted waters of the functional wellness drinks industry to define a market that at the time, was relatively unknown.   

In this episode, she shares her experiences with research and development, testing, creating a brand, and getting into big-name retailers such as Whole Foods. If you aspire to create a functional wellness drinks product and are unsure where to start, this episode will introduce you to the world of product development told from the perspective of a womn who has quite literally been through it all. 

In this episode, we discuss…

• The health journey and the paradigm shift that started Krysta’s journey into functional wellness drinks (4:40) 
• Krysta’s experience with Mind Valley and Deepak Chopra (8:12)
• Krysta’s synchronistic discovery of Chaga mushrooms planted the seed for Wild Remedies (14:30)
• The process of differentiating the Wild Remedies brand from other functional beverages in the health and functional wellness drinks market (22:14)
• Using creativity and a love for the culinary world to create functional beverages that actually taste GOOD (25:16)
• The winding journey of conceptualizing the product, performing research and development, and getting the new product from concept to the shelves of big retailers (30:52)
• Why Krysta relied on mentors, spiritual guides, and intuitives to keep her going in her entrepreneurial journey (34:54)
• The intuitive download that led to the Magick Latte Collection (37:55)
• Why you should never pass an idea by, even if you’re focused on another concept (40:33)
• Krysta’s advice to generate peace by finding our purpose (46:50)

Meet the Host and Guest Expert 

Links and Resources

Connect with Krysta and the Wild Remedies brand:

• Instagram: @wild_remedies
• Facebook: Wild Remedies
• Website: https://wildremediesshop.com/ 

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Wild Remedies
• @wild_remedies on Instagram
• Forks Over Knives
• Hungry for Change 
• The Secret Documentary 
• Mind Valley
• Omvana
• A-Fest
• Chaga mushroom
• Center of the Universe
• Four Sigmatic
• Moon Juice 
• Big Magic Box
• Good to Grow
• Magick Latte Collection 

Article Sources

• [1] https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/functional-beverages-market-A13087#:~:text=The%20functional%20beverages%20market%20size,5.9%25%20from%202021%20to%202030.

Click here to listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts!

Want us to send you a free gift? Leave a rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts, and send a screenshot to podcast@wildwomnhaus.com. 

Looking for More Info on Brand Development? Check out these suggested blogs!

• How to Leverage Industry Gaps w/Kachaça Spirits Founder Adelaide Campbell
• How to Build a Spiritual Business w/Gaia® featured Speaker, Rohini Moradi
• Brand Strategy Development – Building Soulful 6-Figure Brand

Audio Transcript

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Hello, you have reached The Wild Womn Hotline, a place for visionary entrepreneurs like you to listen in on value, packed episodes for growing your brand in bold and strategic ways. Welcome back to another episode of the Wild Womn Hotline. I am so excited that you are here, and if you are interested in creating a product-based brand and carving out a unique space within a relatively saturated market, this episode is for you.

And if we have not met, hello, my name is Tristan. I am the CEO and founder and head brand strategist at Wild Womn Haus, which is a collaborative brand and marketing agency. And today we have with us, Krysta Francouer, who is the founder of Wild Remedies. And we are talking all about her journey to self-discovery, and spiritual awakening, but also realizing the potency and the benefits and the magic of flower essences, and mushroom essences, and putting these into a luxurious, ritual-based latte elixir in the form of functional wellness drinks that are now going to be featured in Whole Foods. Congratulations, Krysta! 

I cannot wait for you to learn from all of the experience that Krista has with product development, carving out a new niche, identifying a target audience, and ultimately creating something that is. So beautiful and so luxurious that women like me who love our beauty rituals are going to jump on board and consume like wildfire.

So with no further ado, let’s dive into this conversation with Krysta Francouer of Wild Remedies, a functional wellness drinks company.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau:

Krysta you magical goddess, thank you so much for coming on. I was sharing it before we started recording that I am obsessed with your Instagram. It has a whole vibe. So can you introduce your story to the Wild Womn fam and tell us about what got you into product development and specifically the health and functional wellness drinks space?

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much for having me super, super excited to be chatting with you today. Lots of alignment. And yeah, I mean, I have had quite the journey and I love that we’re chatting branding a little bit today. Um, that’s kind of my background. I am a designer. I’ve been a designer for, well, gosh, about 14 years now.

And I’ve worked in every industry from, you know, agency to government to, you know, having my own agency, designing everything from, you know, brands, to apps, to physical products. 

And I really got into, uh, creating my business based on my own needs. I feel like a lot of health food and functional wellness drinks entrepreneurs have a very similar story where they had a lot of health challenges and then ended up creating something that, you know, helped them or, you know, products that they wanted to help other people with.

And, you know, that is very much in, in alignment with my story. So, um, I have a lot of karma around health that has, that has kind of been my thing since day one, ever since I was little, I have struggled with all kinds of health issues. Um, it started with chronic throat infections. For years and years and years, um, cropped up into, you know, emotional imbalances.

I was getting, you know, severe clinical depression, and panic attacks at a fairly young age. Um, and then it morphed into other things, traveling, to my thyroid. I had, you know, issues with inflammation, my, my weight, I, you know, at one point I just, I, I couldn’t even get out of bed anymore. And you know, this is kind of pre my quote, unquote spiritual awakening. Right. So, um, I think a lot of folks kind of have that experience where before you kind of understand, um, that there’s kind of more to what we see, um, we kind of feel like our circumstances are things that we just cannot change. Right. 

And this is essentially what I was always told too, by, you know, my, my, my family of origin by my doctors, by Western medicine. It’s like, oh, well, you know, you just have a broken body. There are lots of things wrong with you. And you will just always be like that. And, you know, I think I was on eight prescriptions when I was like 23. Which is wild. Um, so yeah, I just, I kind of ended up having a paradigm shift in my mid-twenties. Um, I watched a documentary that, you know, was a food-based documentary.

I think it was like Forks Over Knives, or Hungry for Change. And that was a really big like aha moment for me. And around the same time. I also, I think I watched The Secret.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Honed combination.

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Right. So funny. I always say that Netflix just saved my life, you know? Cause I think I was hungover watching Netflix that day.

Like me, I did a lot of things. Self-medicating in my twenties. I had a lot of health issues, you know, and I was just making things worse. Um, but I didn’t know that at the time I knew nothing about food. I knew nothing about nutrition. Nothing about health and wellness and yeah, so I had my paradigm shift, you know, within a very short period.

I kind of went from like zero to a hundred where I was like, okay, like, so now that I know that there are these companies that are like really evil and they put stuff in their product, in their food to make us addicted and all of these things, you know, I went full bore into like veganism for a while and, you know, had had some definite changes in, in my health because I went from eating.

Garbage too, you know, like green juice all the time, wasn’t sustainable. I didn’t do that forever. Um, but that did kind of help me, you know, um, Helped me down my, my, my path and got me healthier. I got really interested in the spiritual, uh, side of things and jumped down a bit of a rabbit hole where I initially started studying the science aspect of it.

Um, which kind of, I don’t know, I feel like that’s just what it, my brain needed in the beginning. I had to be kind of convinced of the science part and then started to like, you know, have these experiences where it was like, oh, I can’t explain this and I don’t think I’m supposed to. Um, so I’m just gonna go with it.

And truly all of those things, you know, just that, that whole jumble, of alchemy and listening to these messages that I was getting, getting from the universe are what led me to, to, to create this company.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: What’s crazy, we are like Gemini twins in our experiences, like, oh, experienced branding and kind of journey into health.

And then I experienced health. My background in nutrition and dietetics. And then I became a business coach who then evolved to specialize in branding and marketing. We’re Gemini twins and where we started and where we are now. I love that so much 

Guest | Krysta Francouer: That’s very rad.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: So you also had a stint with Mind Valle, where did Mind Valley fit into your journey in starting wild remedies in terms of this spiritual awakening that happened this health revelation that happened this huge, like realization of needing to take care of yourself better. Mind, body and soul. 

Where in the journey, if you were to time map, it did all of these things line up, cuz you’ve worked with Mind Valley, Deepak Chopra and then Wild Remedies is in the mix and like paint us a timeline.

Guest | Krysta Francouer: yeah, yeah. Um, so actually it wasn’t that, um, That long from my sort of awakening. Right. When I watched Netflix it saved my life. Um, I think I was,

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: They should pay you by the way.

Guest | Krysta Francouer: yeah. Right. That’s like, literally like the opposite though. I mean, like, I feel like binging, Netflix is not the healthiest thing. Sometimes some, sometimes it is, I guess.

Yeah. Um, yeah, so actually it wasn’t long after I had that paradigm shift. So I, I really did like a big 180 around that, that point. So I went from rock bottom to the point where I was just like, I don’t know if I can keep going the way that I’m going. Like, I don’t want to live anymore. to being, you know, in a place where I felt confident and healthy enough to take a job in Malaysia. 

So during this period, um, you know, everything was kind of shuffled up for me. I was feeling a lot better. I was feeling more adventurous. I felt a lot more confident. I, you know, I, I wouldn’t have taken any sort of, you know, leaps like this to move to another country. In my prior state, I was so sick that, you know, I.

I could barely function. And so I went from there feeling confident enough to start applying for these jobs. So at this time I had my own ad agency, um, here in Canada and. To be honest, I have no idea how I, I, I ran it in the physical shape that I was in. Um, you know, I do, I do have a tendency to be quite Type A, so I just like to push through stuff.

Um, but I’ve always been very entrepreneurial. I think I started that agency when I was around 24. Um, and. Yeah. So I think it was maybe about half a year after having that paradigm shift, having some very, you know, um, positive steps moving forward with my, my health and my spirituality. And then I went through this little period where I was like, I don’t wanna do what I’m doing anymore.

Like not necessarily what I’m doing, but I don’t wanna be here anymore. I need to do something drastic. And, you know, I was just kind of thinking, like, I don’t know, like maybe I’ll move to Montreal and start like a non-profit where I design stuff for comp or like, you know, for like organizations and stuff that are in need.

Like, I’ve always been very sort of philanthropic-minded. I’ve always wanted to like, you know, help people or help the planet. Um, And so that was always kind of in the back of my mind, then I was like, well, you know, designers in Silicon Valley are a really big thing right now. Maybe I’ll look at some tech companies and maybe move to the states.

And so I just, I thought I was like, okay, well, I’m just gonna look at my app or at my phone and see which apps that I really like using. And I was using Omvana. At that time, it was an app by mind valley. And I was like, oh, okay, let me check out this. This company went to their website and it’s, I mean like their marketing and design is bang on, right?

Like that’s, that’s what they do. They’re they’re marketing company. Um, I was like, what is this? Like, this looks so cool. And did a little bit of research, aplied for a senior designer position. And then in a matter of three months, I was, I literally sold all my stuff and was on a. I’m moving over to Malaysia.

I didn’t even know where it was. I was like, I think it’s by Thailand. 

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: You and me both. I am like geographically. I know where nothing is and it’s really bad. Like sometimes I’m like, how do I navigate the world? But then I’m like, I have Google maps and my fiance. And that’s how I navigated the world.

Guest | Krysta Francouer: It’s crazy. I dunno why I do this, but like, you know, I’ve traveled a lot in my life and rarely do I research a place before I go. I’m just like, oh yeah, this looks cool. But like, I don’t, you know, I don’t try to understand the currency. I don’t try, like I just show up and I’m like, which is weird because that’s not really like me, like, like, like I’m quite a planner.

So I don’t know why I do that with traveling. And I literally did it with like, moving to the other side of the planet, but whatever it turned out, it was, it, it was cool. It was a really, really good experience. And that opened up, you know, just a lot of doors for me in terms of being immersed in a culture where everybody was into personal growth.

Right and we had a lot of, you know, the cool authors and stuff that mine valley works with coming through the office and, you know, we had A-Fest, which was really cool. Um, so that was a really, really interesting, um, Time for me. And I also actually ended up co-founding another health startup while I was working at Mind Valley love was in Kuala Lumpur with a group of friends and really loved that. I kind of went through this little period. I, my mind, went through a phase where like, Vishan. Was just super obsessed with the Silicon valley sort of mentality. And it was all about like, must be an A player must grind work 24/7.

Like the whole company was really into that for a bit. I think they’ve kind of switched gears now and now they’re all about like, no, like it’s important to like rest and rejuvenate and self-care, but at the time that I was there, it was not that. And so it was all about like, you know, hustle like it was a very, very hustle mentality.

And I was really into that at, at, at that point. So I had this other startup and, um, you know, it was great. It was such a wonderful experience. We wore so many different hats. We tried so many different things. And then ultimately, I decided that, you know, I kind of wanted to just like, make something for myself.

And for some reason, like a physical product, like a physical health and wellness drinks product of some sort was starting to pop up in my mind. Um, and, uh, it was about a year or so into being or working at Mind Valley. I came home to Canada, um, for a month or so. Mm-hmm um, during the summertime and was oddly connected. Um, my, my, my ex business partner reached out and she was like, Hey Krista, um, I, I have this client.

Uh, he has, you know, this really interesting product he needs, he needs design help. You know, you should meet with him while you’re here. And I was like, okay, sure. So I met with this guy and he was telling me about this Chaga mushroom tea that he was brewing and selling at festivals. And I had never heard of Chaga like functional wellness drinks and medicinal mushrooms were not trending at that point.

And so he started telling me about all of the health benefits and I was like, Whoa like this, this is really cool. Like at that point, you know, I thought I was, you know, into all of the wellness things. Like I was, you know, getting fresh spirulina from Bali and like, you know, like all my nutritional yeast and just, you know.

It was kind of before all of that stuff was popular. And, um, so I was fascinated and I was like, I need to, I need to look into this. A couple of days later, I go to a friend’s house and, you know, we were just partying, doing mushrooms of a different nature that evening and, um, She starts talking about Chaga again, and she’s like, oh yeah, like it’s really amazing.

The first nations have been using it for a really long time. All these health benefits. And I’m like, this is so odd. Like somebody just talked to me about this the other day. This is so strange as this is coming up again. Then about another few days later, this all happened within a week. I decided to go visit this location.

So there’s this place. It’s about 45 minutes from my hometown. It’s called the Center of the Universe. The story is that back in the seventies and apprentice, a monk drove up from San Francisco. and went to this location, like a remote location in Canada, did a bunch of energetic tests, and declared at the center of the universe.

And since then it’s become sort of like this auspicious place. People come from all over the world to do, you know, like spiritual treats and things there. And I had just discovered it before I had moved overseas and I made a note that I wanted to go and visit this place when I came back. So I went up there with my parents and we were greeted by the, uh, gentleman that owns the property.

He took us on like a little bit of a tour and we were like, you know, doing some meditations and grounding and. All the things. And then at one point he, you know, started showing us things that, you know, you can eat in the forest and he kind of stops and he looks at me and he is like, have you ever heard of Chaga?

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: And you’re like, okay, three times a charm. I get it. I got it. Three times. If I hear something synchronistically three times, I’m like, What’s up

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Seriously. Well, in, in the center of the universe, like, come on right, right. So I’m like, okay, I got the message. And yeah, so that’s when I went back to Malaysia, I started, you know, researching medicinal mushrooms.

Um, you know, figuring out the best way to consume them is where the post, most potent extracts and stuff come from. And I just handmade my own tea, my first tea product in my kitchen while I was living in Malaysia. And, uh, so Wild Remedies started as you know, one little tea product, I remember I, launched the brand at the Bali Spirit Festival, um, and Bali’s very close to, to Malaysia.

So we would just go there for weekends and stuff. So I went to this festival, and my sister lent me some cash. I was like broke at the time. And, uh, with that money I made the first little batch tea, went, got a table at the Bali Spirit Festival and realized while I was on the plane, that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to put like 200 tins of mushroom powder in my bag.

And go to Indonesia to sell it. Like, I, I literally like, like didn’t even cross my mind until I was on the plane and I was like, oh shit, wait, maybe this is a bad idea. And I land and I’m trying to get through security. And of course my bag’s going off. Cause it’s filled with metal. And so they pulled me to the side, this guard guy, he’s like, he’s looking at me.

He’s not happy. And he starts going through my bag and he takes one of the tins and he opens it and all this brown powder comes flying out. And I was like, it’s just tea, it’s just tea. And then he is like, are you here? Are you gonna sell this? And I’m like, Um, no, no, no. I’m not selling it. It’s for charity.

It’s for the ball. It’s for the Bali spirit festival, charity, not selling it. And he kind of like, he sat there and he looked at me like, oh, wow. And then he kind of gave me the nod, like to get outta here. And I was like, oh my God, my God don’t take my mushroom. Oh. But, or throw me in jail. Like, I was like, oh my God, what if they are heroin or something?

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Right. You said brown powder. I’m like, it’s not heroin.

Guest | Krysta Francouer: 

Yeah. And then I sat in a million-degree heat for five days, trying to sell hot tea next to an ice cream vendor at this festival. Like it was just, it was a total bust, but yeah, that’s that, that, that’s how we got started. 

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: That’s such an amazing story. And I, I need to know is the brand that approached you initially with Chaga? It wasn’t Four Sigmatic, was it?

Guest | Krysta Francouer: No, no, no. Oh gosh. This was just like, This was just some dude who was brewing, you know, Chaga in his kitchen. Like, yeah, no. Okay. No four Sigmatic at the time. Like they, they, they were the only brand doing any sort of mushroom stuff. And I think they only had 2,500 followers on Instagram at, at, at that time.

Cause I was looking, I was like, is anybody else doing anything with these products? Or wi with these mushrooms and yeah, I did find them, but they were very small. So it’s been so cool to watch them grow and. I got, I actually, um, got a chance to meet, uh, Taro at an event that I was at. We paired as like, kind of like buddies or whatever.

Cause I was just like, you know, a newbie in the industry. And so yeah, I got to meet him, which was really cool. 

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: And I would love to kind of pull that example into how you’ve differentiated Wild Remedies. But before we even dive into that, I just wanna speak into the power of functional wellness drinks, especially those with chaga.

Granted four sigmatic was the only one in the market. So that’s the one that I used, but like I said, our health journeys, I don’t know if I’ve said this. Our health journeys also align a lot. The experiences that we’ve had, adrenal fatigue. Um, I had a lot of digestive issues, had a lot of hormonal issues, had a lot of thyroid issues in the past and to get my adrenals back into a state of regulation, I had to really watch my caffeine consumption.

And so stopping coffee, cold turkey was like not an option cuz I still needed to function through the day mm-hmm and that chaga, um, coffee mix/functional wellness drinks that they make where it has like 10 milligrams of caffeine. And then the rest is chaga. That’s what bridged me into now just being like a solo decaf coffee drinker.

And so I also like the medicinal benefits of chaga. Both on the physiology, but also on the subtle body, like we can talk about the energetics of the subtle body too, when it comes to flower essences, when it comes to mushroom essences, we can dive full force into that. 

But I just wanted to share that story with you because like I’m a firm believer in adaptogens, in herbs, in using tinctures and flower essences to really work on your health in a very, very, very gentle way.

Mm-hmm . And so before we kind of dive down that rabbit hole, I think everybody listening will have a better understanding of how Four Sigmatic paved a path into the, um, health and functional wellness drinks space. And then when you think about Wild Remedies, what are the things that really, I mean, I, I know cause like I can see the differences, but I’d love to hear you explain what are the things that you see that really differentiate wild harmonies from maybe other brands that are on the market.

And were there any challenges in you kind of finding that white space and claiming it for Wild Remedies? Mm-hmm .

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Yeah. So I think for me, so I, I, I became very enamored with those types of brands. Right. I was like, this is really cool. I love what they’re doing. Um, I spent a bit of time in LA and I was super excited to go to Moon Juice.

And try all of their adaptogenic powders and stuff. Yeah. And love, love, love what they do. Like amazing. But I remember, you know, getting back to the place that I was staying at, ripping open, you know, one of their little sachets and going to try one of the products. And I was like, Oh, this does not taste good.

oh, no. You know, like it was, it tasted very healthy right there. Wasn’t a lot like, yeah, there, there, it was just the basic herbs and we know that herbs can, you know, sometimes not taste so great. So

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Very pungent. Very chalky in the back of the throat. 

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Yes, they can be. They can be, um, I’m a food lover.

I have a lot of Venus in my chart. Like as a designer, I just love beauty. I love it. You know, I’m very connected to the plant kingdom. I’m not like, you know, I, I loved studying biology when I was younger. I didn’t go full on. I ended up taking, you know, the, the art at the artistic side, the, that route.

Um, I am studying more, um, herbalism-type stuff now, but for me, I, I just love things that taste good that are beautiful. And. I saw an opportunity to create something that was very unique that had, you know, some similarities. I, I saw that there was potential, um, as a category there mm-hmm, functional wellness drinks and beverages are still, you know, a fairly emerging category.

It’s very saturated when you consider things like kombucha. But there’s really cool new drinks and stuff that are popping up. You know, they’re adding adaptogens to like different types of teas and things, which is super cool. 

Um, but the powder beverage thing is still fairly, fairly emerging. Um, so the guys at Four Sigmatic did a fabulous job of, you know, kind of starting that trend and, and, and paving the way and doing the education.

The education aspect is very, very difficult. It’s really cool to see how, you know, even when I first started out and I’m telling people about Chaga, most people were. What the hell is that? And you know, my, my, my draw was always like, Hey, do you wanna come try some mushroom tea? And people would be like, Ew, no, like I hate mushrooms.

I don’t wanna drink mushrooms. Like I got that all the time. And I’m like, no, no, no. Like it actually tastes good. Right. Cause I would mix it with things to make it taste good. Mm-hmm . And so for me, it was a really fun, creative thing to, you know, come up with all these interesting flavors that I wanted to formulate.

So it wasn’t just, um, I mean, obviously. The health benefits of my functional wellness drinks were extremely important, but I also wanted them to be luxurious and sumptuous and to be really, really unique, you know? So our first flavors are really cool. 

Like we have strawberry rose, which is our Beauty Potion. Um, it has a nutraceutical that I source from France, which is clinically proven to plump your skin. 95%, of your daily vitamin C. And it has real strawberry and rose extract in it. So it’s kind of like strawberry milk for adults. 

Um, so it’s very, very different. There’s not much like that on the market. 

Um, our sleepy time potion Almond Lavender Dream has, you know, all of the botanicals that you would want to relax, your passion flower, your chamomile, your lavender. Um, but then I’ve added stuff like amaretto extract and vanilla extract. Like it is, it smells absolutely amazing. 

And then our, our Chaga product right. Is now our Spiced Chocolate. So it’s the same amazing Chaga extract that I used in our tea. But what I did was, you know, created a cocoa with it, essentially.

Right. So we have organic cacao. It’s a little bit spicy. I wanted to have something that was more of like Mexican hot chocolate. I initially formulated it with cayenne, which is traditionally what you’re supposed to have, but we had to deal with health Canada, and we ended up having to switch it for black pepper. Um, but it’s still awesome, but it gives it that little spicy kick.

Um, and so it’s just, yeah, like what, what. When people try the products for the first time, like, they’re always, they’re just kind of shocked. They’re like, oh, this actually tastes really good. Like I would drink this every day and I’m like, perfect.

That is exactly what we were trying to achieve. Right. Cause we don’t wanna have to, you know, convince people to choke something down because it’s good for you. We want it to be, you know, a better, a better for you alternative that you actually want. To, to, to drink every day, like, like a sumptuous treat in elevating your daily ritual.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: You need to connect with Allison Wu. And you need to connect with Earthy Andy. Those are two huge influencers in the functional wellness drinks space that would do your brand, because what it has the vibe of is like, from my perception, it’s goddess luxury. It’s like a luxury ritual. Yeah. And it’s something that is, I mean, you really, you really understand the palette, like you really understand flavor combinations and how to mask certain things and how to make it truly, I mean, luxurious and like full palette experience. 

And I come from a food background. So like, I understand how difficult it can be to balance really pungent flavors and kind of more of those like super earthy ground flavors that mushrooms have on their own. And the fact that you’ve done that so well with wild Females like Bravo, I’m ordering a three pack.

Do you sell three? I’m ordering a three-pack, 

Guest | Krysta Francouer: A Big Magic Box. 

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Yes. I’m gonna order a three-pack. I wanna try them so bad because like hearing you talk about the way that you formulated them and how much time you put into the flavor profile of them, but then the way that you position it. You get the feel of a luxurious ritual from it.

Mm-hmm , it’s like total goddess energy from it. And I just, I love that so much. So look up earthy, Andy, and look up Allison. Woo. Cuz they’re like the perfect influencers. If you need some user generated content

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Thank you for that tip. 

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. So, what are your goals moving forward with wild remedies?

Like, are you hoping to be in whole foods? Are you hoping to stay in more of the he one or are you trying to only be an independent seller and never go into bigger retailers? 

Guest | Krysta Francouer: We are doing all the things. I wanna see these babies on the shelves everywhere. Mm-hmm Whole Foods has been, you know, kind of well was my initial, holy GRA.

I have a few holy Grailss. There’s whole foods. Mm-hmm there’s Anthropology. Mm. And. and error one would be great. Um, so the products are interesting because they align with a lot of different retail categories. Right. 

So right now we’re focused on groceries. Um, we did just pick up a distributor. Who’s gonna be focusing more on lifestyle. um, so, you know, you can see we’re in Canada. So I think of like, you know, the Indigo bookstores where there’s a lot of like really beautiful mm-hmm, you know, um, there’s home decor stuff, but there’s also really cool cocktail making things and, you know, you can get those, um, botanical non-alcoholic spirits.

Like it’s just beautiful sumptuous stuff. Like we fit very well into that category. Mm-hmm um, beauty as well. Um, beauty from within is, you know, very, very trending now. We are in the process of getting onto shelves. We did just refer or get confirmation a couple of weeks ago that we are getting into whole foods.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau:

Yeah, girl! 

Guest | Krysta Francouer:

Yeah, that was a very, very long process. We started talking with them just when we launched, actually in September, we did a trade show and the buyers there are really, really loved. The products and we thought we were gonna be on the shelves in January, like fast-tracked, which is like the dream mm-hmm

Um, but that didn’t happen. So we will officially be on shelves in October, November mm-hmm . So it takes like an entire year to get on the shelves at some of these places. It’s wild. So it’s been much slower starting more than I anticipated. And then, then I wanted, of course, um, but I mean, we’re also in the middle of a pandemic and you know, the economy is a complete shit show right now.

And so I just have, you know, the faith, I, I have, um, you know, a roster of intuitives that I have on my team, which have really actually helped, you know, keep me going through, through everything. You know, they’ve told me. This is gonna be successful. You’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, you know, and deep down, I know that.

So, you know, there, there, there are a lot of tough times, um, being an entrepreneur is hard. It can be very lonely. You know, I, I, I have. A small team now. Um, but it’s really been me driving this thing. It’s it’s, it’s taken me six years to get to this point. Like when I first had that, that conversation with that guy about his, his chaga tea that was six years ago.

And when I had the idea for the magic latte collection, It took about three years. I sat on that idea for a year, met the people that, you know, helped push me forward with that. But it took two years to build the business plan and to get the startup funding and manufacture through COVID and stuff like it was a lot.

Yeah, it’s a lot. So, yeah, but I mean, everything’s unfolding the way that it’s supposed to mm-hmm and yeah, I’m very grateful for it.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: I mean looking at it from a brand strategy perspective, which is like my life, my, my oxygen everything’s there. 

Everything is there, the social content’s amazing. The website has such a strong story behind it. There’s so much passion behind it. You embody everything that the brand stands for. And so as the founder, It, when you share your voice and when you show up on camera, I was watching some of your tutorials on your Instagram and I’m like, damn, this, she is good. 

Like, I am, I am hooked. Like, I wanna watch everything that you do with your hands when you’re making a potion, because I could not look away.

So all the pieces are there and I, I wanna blame it on the pandemic more than anything. But can you tell us a little bit about it how you have remained so committed to the vision, given that it’s been a six-year journey and I I’ve had a really long entrepreneurial journey too, so I can assume what it took, but can you tell the listeners the story, especially for those that are interested in product based businesses.

So you spend a lot of time in research and development. You spend a lot of time figuring out marketing and position. Can you tell us a little bit about what that journey took from you and how you keep. . 

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Yeah, well, I think in the beginning, I was very naive. I was like, well, I’m just gonna raise a little bit of money.

Like literally four grand for my sister. I’m gonna make this product. And then in a year I’m going to be a bazillionaire because obviously this idea is just phenomenal and you know, I, yeah, it, it, I had, I started at a period. Or at a period in my life where I felt very untouchable and I had a lot of inspiration and excitement and stuff for things at that period of time.

And that was great. Right. I also had the skills that allowed me to create my own website, create my own packaging. All of those, you know, I was able to do a lot of the things without having those startup costs, which I know can be, you know, re really difficult, um, in the beginning, So it kind of allowed me to create this little MVP to put out into the world and I just received so much encouragement from people.

Um, I think that was really the biggest thing. I was so passionate about it and because of all of these universal, you know, nudges, well, like shoves for me, really, I really did feel like I had done the inner work to align me with. What I was supposed to do in this lifetime. Like I just knew that and because I’m such a spiritual seeker, you know, I sought out, you know, um, energy workers and psychics and things along the way who kind of confirmed those things for me and kept me sort of going.

Um, so even though, you know, there were little setbacks or, you know, I, I mean, ha having this first tea product. I really had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have a business plan. I didn’t have a product line. I had one product. Right. Like, and I was just like, yep, no, I’m just gonna magically show up.

We, we actually did. I got that product on the shelf at Eerewon, like the buyer there, Vicky was like, oh my God, I absolutely love this product. It’s great. And they put it on there, but I mean, like, We didn’t, I didn’t have the team, we didn’t do demo-ing. Like I had no idea what I was doing. So I just sat there.

Like, I don’t even know if anybody ever bought that product, but we did. I got it on the shelves there. Um, but yeah, I, what, what really, really, really helped me was getting mentorship. Mmm. That was something that I’d never ever had in my life. I’d always done everything all by myself, you know, just naively thinking that you just put something out into the world and then it just, you know, becomes a thing.

Um, but having mentorship was huge for me. And when I finally moved back to Canada, I ended up getting connected with a, uh, consulting company called “Good to Grow”. I got a grant in order to work with them and I kind of showed up with my, you know, my tea product and I. Here help me. And, uh, cause I was getting to the point where I was like, I don’t know if this is gonna work.

Like I know this is the thing that I’m supposed to be doing, but I’ve been trying real hard for, you know, a while now and I don’t know what to do anymore. And it was interesting because. The intuitive lady, that one, one of the women that I work with, who I’ve been seeing for about five years now, she, she kind of gives me these, um, these timelines.

She tells me that I have these cycles that go from July to July every year. And she kind of gives me a theme. She’s been right about everything this, this whole time. But she had told me that I had this cycle coming up. That was gonna be a lot of product development. and, you know, in my mind, in the beginning I was like, oh, well, it’s obvious, because you know, this product totally takes off.

And I get to create the product line of my dreams and da, da, da, and here I am getting close to that next cycle being like, you know, this, this isn’t going, like how I thought it was going. I don’t know how I’m, you know, how is more product development gonna happen? So at this point I had had the idea for this, what now, what we call the, the Magic Latte Collection.

Um, and I had it prototyped, right. So I had had like this download on a solo road trip down to Utah, um, about a. Eight months prior. And I furiously designed, you know, just in Photoshop, I was like, this is what the packaging’s gonna look like. And here’s what the flavors are gonna be. And I just kind of put all that on paper.

So to say, mm-hmm I, so I had that. And you know, as I’m presenting this, this product to these, you know, new mentors, they’re going well, you know, this is nice, but. It’s just the pro like, you need a product line. Like we can’t, we can’t do anything with this. Or like, do you have anything else? And I was like, well, I have an idea.

And I showed it to them and my mentor, Jeff, at the time, he was like, Hmm, he’s looking at this. And he is looking, he pulls the laptop a little bit closer and he’s really quiet. He’s like, I think you have a bit of a problem here. And I was like, well, what do you mean? And he is. This will work. He’s like, this is phenomenal.

What you did here is amazing. He’s like whole foods will buy this in a second. Like you have to figure out a way to make it. And I was just like full body chills. Like what really? Like, I didn’t expect that. Wow. And I just made it happen. I, you know, took the remaining product that I had. I sold it all at physical markets.

Um, I was kind of doing a lot of online stuff at the time, but I just sold it all and ended up moving to a town where like, you know, all like markets were a really big thing. So I sold all the, all that product and I used it to do the R and D for, for the new, for the new line. And, and so there we go. We like, we had a full year of product development just as you know, my, yeah, my intuitive, uh, friend.

Was gonna happen and yeah, just never, it never happens the way that I think it’s gonna. Right. But yeah. What if it happens? ,

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: You know, what’s so cool about that. Part of your story is that I think when we get latched onto an idea that we’re convinced is gonna be the thing that works, but then we get that wave of inspiration, it’s so easy to say, okay, that’s a distraction. But in this case, that was the winning ticket for you. Like that was the product that you are now getting into whole foods. That was the product that is going to scale your business. Massively upon time, I’m gonna buy a three pack of like, that was the idea that some people would’ve maybe been frustrated or intimidated by that wave of creativity and you harnessed it.

And here you are, that’s such a cool story to never like. Never let yourself pass an idea by, without at least getting your feet into it a little bit. And like at least getting your hands dirty just a little bit and playing with it and seeing with it and like never throwing an idea out just because you’re focused on something else.

Mm-hmm, , that’s something that I’ve also worked with intuitive coaches on, and that’s something that I’ve had a lot of challenges around is, you know, my creative waves, I don’t call them waves. They’re like, Hurricanes like tidal waves. Like when they come in, I get like a thousand ideas at once and then there’s a drought and then I get a thousand ideas at once and then there’s a drought mm-hmm and it’s really, my challenge is.

Sitting with all of those ideas and kind of sorting through which one I wanna take action on. And so can you talk a little bit about the creative process? And I think that would just be a great place to end on in terms of like, what does the creative process look like for you? How have you cultivated self-trust to be able to receive a concept and then decide, is this something I wanna take action on? Or is this just a cool idea that I had?

Guest | Krysta Francouer: mm-hmm yeah, so. I think for me when I get, you know, this, this burst of inspiration that, you know, Gives me enough energy to furiously, you know, you know, put, put all of my energy into formulating something or designing or prototyping something. It’s because it’s like a full-body thing that is like shoving me in that direction.

Like, like it’s, it’s almost. Like a possession, right. Because you know, there, there can be little ideas and stuff that, um, pop up, but I’m not one of those. Yeah. I’m not the type of creative where, you know, I’m constantly inspired about all of these different things and, you know, kind of like wasting time, flushing, little things out, and getting off track.

Um, I do get a little bit overwhelmed sometimes when I do get, you know, things that come through where it’s like, oh, you know, this flavor profile would be really cool and oh, I should really like incorporate more wildcrafting and I’m really getting into all these like new herbs and da, da, da, and there’s all of this stuff that’s kind of floating around.

Right. Um, and so I feel like it’s kind of my job to collect those things, put ’em down, you know, in a list on paper, something. And then revisit them when that next wave, when that next big push comes. Right? So that first big push was all of the crazy serendipitous stuff that happened right after I had kind of decided that I wanted to create a product of some sort.

Um, when I had the download for the, um, magic latte. I had actually just gone through a really, really traumatic breakup and I was a complete disaster and I’m going on a solo road trip, running away from my problems. And it was just like a big thing. Like it just, just kind of hit me while I was on a drive.

My Airbnb that evening was like a glamping teepee on the side of the road, somewhere in Idaho. And I couldn’t wait to get there too. Jump into, you know, the bed, the four poster bed and this glamping teepee and just like, you know, furiously design this, this concept, or put this concept on, on paper . And so when it’s, when it’s that exciting and when it gives me that much energy and that much drive, then I know that that’s the thing that, that, that I need to.

Be focusing on. Um, and then I go through these lulls where it’s like, oh, I don’t really feel inspired by anything right now. And you know, like, like, like it’s kind of, I don’t know, to me it’s very cyclical or almost like a wave when it needs to happen. It just comes in and it’ll, and it’ll push me.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau:

Mm-hmm are you a Manifestor? 

Guest | Krysta Francouer:

Manifesting generator. 

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Okay. Okay. Cause you’re talking about the waves of inspiration. I’m like, that sounds like a Manifestor if, I mean correctly I love that. And I think, you know, learning your creative waves and learning how to work with them and everybody listening, like creativity does not necessarily mean illustration or design.

Like creativity is literally just creative energy. So even if you are in the heaviest of, you know, the science industry is, and you deal with data all day long. Like you are still a creative being because you’re making something like everybody is creative, cuz we make something and learning how to work with your creativity is something I can tell from your story that you have really honed in on.

And that’s what has allowed you to make so many pivots, but also create so much success in all of your different avenues that you’ve gone down mm-hmm so it has just been. So freaking cool to talk to you. I , we have a lot in common, like I said, we’re, we’re Gemini like mirrors for each other in terms of our life path and our health experiences.

So that’s really cool. It was just such an honor to meet you and please let me know how I can buy it. I’m gonna order it on your website. I’m looking right now. I’m gonna buy a three-pack and I cannot wait like that. Lavender, nighttime latte elixir is like calling my name. I need that in my life.

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Now everybody needs it in their life. It’s so good. 

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: So if you had to leave the Wild Womn fam with any message about creativity, entrepreneurship, health, uh, spirituality, like you choose what you’re feeling called to, but what would you like to leave everybody with?

Guest | Krysta Francouer: mm-hmm.Um, well, what I think is really important, you know, for. For, for, for just being fulfilled in this lifetime is to, you know, generate peace by finding your purpose.

Right. Mm-hmm and you know, our purpose, which is like our Dharma, what we’re meant here to be. I feel like we kind of walk this planet feeling very unfulfilled until we figure out what that is. And. It’s attainable for all of us. I mean, it still can be a very difficult journey. Like I feel like I’m doing my Dharma, but there’s, you know, it’s life.

This is like a very long journey. There’s gonna be periods where. Stuff is really hard. I was just saying before, you know, we got on this call, like eclipse season has been kicking my ass and, um, I’ve been, I’m doing a lot of healing work recently bringing up a lot of emotional stuff. I still get, you know, waves from just like, what am I doing with my life?

Things aren’t working out exactly the way that I thought they were going to mm-hmm um, But yeah, I, I just, I, I feel like it’s so important to have more people wake up to what they’re meant to do in this lifetime. I feel like we all are here to play a specific role. Mm-hmm um, and there’s so much support out there when.

We look for it. When we ask for mentorship, you know, if you don’t have mentorship yet, get some, you know, feel free to, to reach out to me. You know, my email is on our website. Wild do shop.com. Um, happy to share, you know, any resources or anything. What I love about, you know, the female entrepreneurship community is just how collaborative.

We are, you know, I love doing business with other women. Like everyone, there’s just, and even the health food industry, there’s no, like it’s not cut through competition. It really is like a community where everybody is just trying to help each other. Mm-hmm , which is so wonderful. And that is really the direction that we need to go.

Um, just in, on a collective level, in order to. Survive as a species. So the work that we’re doing, especially, you know, as, as women is extremely important, because we are the ones that are generating a lot of the, the change that needs to happen in, in the world right now,

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: I’m gonna give that a big, huge Amen. Hell yes, I, we are very aligned in that respect and it’s just so wonderful to hear you speak into that. And I can tell how heart centered it is, and that’s really, really beautiful. And I know that that touched a lot of people listening. So thank you for sharing that with us. Thank you Krista.

Thank you so much for coming on. I am obsessed with wild remedies. I, like I said, for the fifth time in ordering a three pack, once I, once we get off this recording and I am going to definitely do everything I can to support you with getting your brand to where it needs to be. Cause I believe in the mission.

It’s so beautiful. Something truly unique. And I can tell that it’s an artistry and a craft for you, and I really respect that.

Guest | Krysta Francouer: Thank you. I appreciate that so much. Thank you so much for having. All right.

Host | Tristan Thibodeau: Gorgeous. That is a wrap. Thank you so much for tuning into today’s episode of The Wild Womn Hotline with Krysta Francouer.

I hope you enjoyed learning from Krista’s experience. The six year journey of launching this brand to then arrive at the pinnacle of Gideon to whole foods only to below up from there. Keep your eyes peeled on wild remedies. And if you like me are curious and are so into potions elixirs remedies. I 10 outta 10, suggest that you check out Krista’s Instagram at wild underscore remedies and hit on over to her website.

Wild remedies.com. I am getting my hands on that three pack. I said it a gazillion times and I am going to consume every. Drop of those beautiful, beautiful, beautiful elixirs. And I hope if you are interested that you do the same and if you love today’s show and you wanna show us some love and help promote this episode with Krysta, the best way to do that is to leave a review on apple podcast.

And or a rating because when you do so you’re telling Apple that the Wild Womn Hotline is a kick ass show that more people need to know about. And I, of course, would be so appreciative if you showed your support by leaving us a rating and review. So appreciative that if you do so, and you take a screenshot, email it to us at podcast@wildwomnhaus.com.

And I’m gonna send you a free gift in the mail because I am so grateful for you taking the time to show this show. Some love all right. That’s all I have for you today Wild Womn fam. Thank you so much for tuning in now. Go pursue that dream, chase that big vision and bring that impact and income that you want to life.