Innovation

Basics is a Portland market, classroom and gathering place designed to help more people cook healthy meals at home. It finds the freshest, most flavorful ingredients, pairs them with simple recipes, and shares kitchen skills and nutrition know-how so everyone can cook healthy meals at home. It supports regional farmers, growers and manufacturers by sourcing products from farms that prioritize soil health, animal welfare, regenerative practices and seasonal rhythms. Recipes are developed by an in-house chef and evaluated for optimal health by the Basics’ nutritionist.

“We think one of the best things for your health is to cook your own food, and that the most nourishing ingredients you can use are in season, grown locally,” says founder Chuck Eggert. “One of the ways we saw to help people get the best nutrition was to make what we grow and raise here in Oregon more accessible, and we’re working with others to do the same.”

Basics believes in healthier diets with less waste and more flavor; that cooking connects us to the people who grow our food and brings us back to the soil; that cooking connects us to each other.

Basics seeks to create sustainable “closed loops” across all facets of their business – from farming to manufacturing to energy production and consumption (their goal is for the business to be off-the-grid, generating their own energy).

Inspiration

Chuck Eggert, founder of Basics and several other companies, is a true innovator with an insatiable curiosity and a generous heart. He is an organic farmer, regenerative ag practitioner, and natural foods pioneer. Mr. Eggert is committed to increasing access to locally grown, nourishing foods; partnering with health professionals to strengthen the role of food as medicine; promoting the role of fresh food and cooking in nurturing health and wellness; and helping nurture rural communities by investing in new agricultural-rooted enterprises.

Mr. Eggert and his wife have long been philanthropists – focused on making a difference and doing their best more than on profits and shareholder returns. They are inspired by doing the right thing and exploring their passions. Mr. Eggert studied old books on home economics to learn more about the basic curriculum in cooking that is missing in today’s society.

The concept for Basics Market stems in part from a partnership that Mr. Eggert has with a unique Portland Public School model, which placed an elementary school on a college campus as a learning environment. The school is located in a low-income area of Portland. Many of the children are homeless and 60% of the children do the cooking at home. Mr. Eggert supplies food for school meals and meals for them to take home.

He is inspired by the book “The Hungry Spirit” by Charles Handy. Mr. Handy says, “A company ought to be a community, a community that you belong to, like a village.” Basics embodies this philosophy.

Overall impact

Mr. Eggert has a history of success. Pacific Foods, one of Mr. Eggert’s many companies, was recently sold to Campbell Soup Co for $700 million. After 30+ years as a business owner, he has developed a deep inner sense of how to define what success looks like.

“The team at Basics has asked me how I define success and I say that we’ll just know. They ask what will happen if we don’t meet expectations and I leave it open,” he says. If people are eating healthier food, if community members learn how to cook, if employees are inspired and joyful, if innovative manufacturing processes are created, if new sustainable production pipelines are developed, if Basics can be off-the-grid – these are the building blocks of success and for Mr. Eggert, they don’t require spreadsheets and dashboards.

His approach to his work with the public schools also serves as a model of measuring impact. “No metrics are needed when you are feeding hungry children,” he says.

Mr. Eggert seeks to create communities of workers for a greater sense of connection and team accountability to the overall mission. All of his companies employ around 20 people or less. This creates a natural sense of shared purpose. He is modeling new ways of innovating in the way he runs Basics. The leadership team has a “Nice Dreams” meeting every other week to discuss what’s on their minds, what they are learning, ideas that may be worth exploring. No agendas or spreadsheets are necessary.

Business benefit

While Basics had yet to formally open their doors at the time of this interview, the impact among their staff, suppliers, and across the farming and production industries can already be felt. This is a new model that has created a web of support and suppliers.

When Mr. Eggert has an idea, he likes to sponsor a contest to bring the best thinking and experiences into the discussion – whether tasting pickles to learn about the best canning methods or how to dry cow manure with a particular technology. This approach brings innovative ideas to Mr. Eggert and team, and also inspires entrepreneurialism among like-minded farmers and food producers. Communities are formed and ideas are freely shared – creating an edge in the market rather than nervousness that a competitor will come along and steal trade secrets. This open and collaborative model serves as an inspiration for those who are connected to it and inspires employees to do their best. Mr. Eggert creates a sense of explicit and implicit trust with all he works with. The result is commitment, passion and creativity that will set Basics apart.

Social and environmental benefit

A third of the space at Basics is dedicated to nutrition and culinary education, with a full calendar of diverse classes daily. An in-store nutritionist will be on hand to guide shoppers interested in improving their health. Upstairs neighbor The Portland Clinic is expected to take full advantage of the store to help patients avoid and improve health conditions, from diabetes to heart health.

All of the products in the store have been selected to minimize the overall environmental footprint and to bring high quality food to the community. Mr. Eggert’s business philosophy is to have his fingers in all elements of the supply chain – supplying meat, poultry and eggs from his own farms. Products from the Eggert’s family-run dairies will be featured in the store. Mr. Eggert is also working to nurture new agricultural ventures and manufacturing throughout Oregon.

This diversification is a learning opportunity and an “insurance policy” to keep the elements of the entire food cycle close at hand, rather than relying in distant vendors.

Mr. Eggert naturally creates community and believes in the philosophy of always acting in a way that benefits another, without needing recognition. This approach creates a virtuous cycle that brings creativity, joy and opportunity to Mr. Eggert and those he works with. And it turns out that this approach to business is also very good for the bottomline.

Interview

Chuck Eggert, Founder