Dean Brennan says a diet of beer, pizza and fast food contributed to his ulcerative colitis. His doctor diagnosed him with the disease years ago, when he was in his 20s, and told him he would need medication for the rest of his life. But Brennan made a different decision.
“I didn’t want to take drugs for the rest of my life,” he told me. “That sparked my passion for health and wanting to help others.”
Fast forward to 2024, and Brennan is the CEO of Heart & Soil, a nutritional supplement company with $50 million in annual revenue.
In a recent conversation, he talked about his journey to Heart & Soil, key supplement ingredients, supply chain challenges, and more. The entire audio is embedded below. The transcript has been edited for clarity and length.
Eric Bandholz: Please give us an overview of your activities.
Dean Brennan: I am the CEO of Heart and Soil Co., Ltd. nutritional supplements company. I come from a film production background and joined e-commerce in 2020 with no experience.
I got involved with this company because of my personal health journey. When I was in my 20s, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and my doctor told me I would need medication for the rest of my life. I grew up eating home-cooked whole foods, but in college I consumed a lot of beer, pizza, and fast food.
I didn’t want to take medicine for the rest of my life. It sparked my passion for health and made me want to be healthy. help others People suffering from conditions such as psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and eczema.
Heart & Soil offers supplements containing naturally derived multivitamins made from cow organs sourced from regenerative farms, initially from New Zealand and now also sourced from the United States.
Bandholz: How did you connect with Heart & Soil?
Brennan: I knew about the founder, Paul Saladino, but I didn’t know about the company. He is a board-certified physician and nutrition expert. I followed him on social media as I tried out the carnivore diet. I admired his ability to simplify complex health concepts and share them in an engaging way.
In 2020, I happened to meet Paul and two other employees who are now our Chief Research Officer and Operations Director. At that time, the company had not yet started up, so I was able to provide feedback on the prototype. Initially, I wasn’t looking for a position in the company, but I was passionate about the company’s mission.
Later that year, after my persistence, Paul brought me on board on the company’s founding day. I printed the shipping label and prepared the order. Within three months, I was given a bigger role.
The team at that time was small: Paul, myself, and three other people. We worked out of a rented house in West Austin and packed and shipped the supplements ourselves. we grew rapidly. Paul has his own expertise. podcasting This is research, not operation. He assigned those responsibilities to me by January 2021.
Bandholz: How did he gain Paul’s trust so quickly?
Brennan: It was a gradual transition. Paul set out on a trip to Africa. Then a massive ice storm occurs in Austin and he is unable to return. Eventually, he decided to go to Costa Rica, stay there and let me run the business. I think he trusted me because I showed up every day, worked hard and never asked for anything.
The transition was easy. I was nervous about how the team would react, but everyone cooperated. Since then, we have been working well together.
Bandholz: How can we spread awareness beyond Paul’s podcast audience?
Brennan: Only about 30% of Paul’s customers come from his audience, and the same percentage comes from word of mouth. Our products work and we’ve received hundreds of customer success stories. One of our strengths is our personalized customer service. Our team of health guides provides one-on-one support, which leads to word-of-mouth referrals. Even if people don’t buy our products themselves, they often tell others about us.
I’ve also started another podcast called radical health radioand we are producing films such as; YouTube. Our documentary on seed oils will be released next month.
Bandholz: What does your supply chain look like?
Brennan: Our long-term goal is to build a US-based supply chain to produce all the organs needed for our supplements. In 2020, nothing like this existed in the United States, so we sourced it from New Zealand, where regenerative agriculture is popular. But we’ve worked hard over the past four years to develop our U.S. suppliers and support U.S. farmers.
There are large educational disparities in organ intake in the United States. Organs are consumed regularly in most cultures around the world. We hope that by educating consumers, we can drive demand for better products and ingredients.
As consumers demand healthier alternatives, big companies will have to respond. This movement is not just about our products, it’s about supporting sustainable agricultural practices and improving public health.
Bandholz: Where can people buy your supplements and follow you?
Brennan: Our EC site is heart and soil.co. you can follow me × and linkedin.
