Innovation

Root2Rise's innovation comes from the food they sell and how they make it. All of Root2Rise's food is completely organic and is collected from local farmers. They strongly believe in benefiting the local community so all of Root2Rise's food, napkins, plates, etc. are bought from local distributors.

One amazing innovation at Root2Rise involves their excess food. Instead of throwing away the scraps of food left after preparing a meal, they store it in a bucket to raise black fly larva. This black fly larva is then used to feed the free-range chickens throughout the community. They also use food scraps as compost to improve soil for gardens.

Root2Rise strongly focuses on maintaining a 100% recyclable mindset. All their utensils are biodegradable and made from recycled products, and their plates are made from local sugar cane. All glass or boxes are recycled in partnership with the community in exchange for free yoga classes. This encourages people to recycle and help the community thrive.

Inspiration

The original idea came about because of Leah and Shantelle’s passion for environmental sustainability and desire to help people “feel good.” Their environmental sustainability initiatives come largely from Leah’s daily environmental consciousness. Leah stated, “I use reusable bags when grocery shopping, I try not to buy containers, and I bring my own water bottle wherever I go. I would not be able to have this business if we were throwing away that much trash.” It only made sense that Root2Rise matched the sustainability goals of its founders. Root2Rise eliminates their waste through recycling boxes, using plates made from sugar cane, and using scraps from the kitchen to raise black fly larva to feed chickens.

Leah and Shantelle strive to make everyone who comes through their doors feel good, whether that is serving a customer an organic meal, trading work for yoga lessons, or simply asking about your day. When asked about this 'feel good' culture, Leah responded, “I want to feel good, [Shantelle] wants to feel good, and our employees want to feel good. We want everyone who comes in to feel good.” This 'feel good' attitude also reflects in their open line of communication with their employees. These range from biannual evaluations to allowing employee input in daily operations. Leah says that her previous work positions, and upbringing as a middle child, inspired her to adopt this communication style.

Overall impact

Root2Rise is picky about the types of food that they order, which means that they find fresh organic products to sell that are from the local area. If they order meat, it is always clean meat without any additives. The company chooses to save its foods scraps to reduce waste and Leah, one of the owners, gives her sister the scraps to help raise worms to feed her chickens, which are a source of local, organic chicken and eggs Root2Rise serves. This is one of the many small ways that Root2Rise reduces waste. Many companies have an unnecessary amount of waste, but Root2Rise minimizes their waste as much as possible. Their goal is to be an example and help the community take better care of the environment.

Root2Rise recycles everything they can because the company believes it is important to reduce waste. They only use compostable and recyclable packaging for their food products. This choice tends to be expensive, but Root2Rise believes you cannot put a price on saving the planet.

A short-term effect of Root2Rise’s innovation is a boom in business. The company is a juice and smoothie bar and a yoga studio, and they have hired more yoga instructors to keep up with demand for classes. The increase in yoga students leads to increased sales of juices and food items. The company’s long-term plan is to franchise to Thibodaux within the next 5 years.

Even though there is an increasing demand for organic food, Root2Rise doesn’t have much direct competition in the nearby area. This has caused them to be profitable since their establishment in 2015.

Business benefit

Root2Rise benefits in terms of satisfying business objectives, which include both financial and non-financial outcomes. The way Root2rise business benefits is by creating their own culture for employees and customers. It's the way they communicate to their customers: like they are family. The mission is to make everyone from employees to customers feel good when at Root2rise.

Social and environmental benefit

Root2rise buys local products that go into their food, and they aim to find food with no additives. Root2Rise is a certified "WellSpot" by the Well-Ahead Louisiana program run by the Louisiana Office of Public Health. They recycle plastic and cardboard, but Leah does glass personally. They aim to recycle everything possible. They minimize waste by taking older produce and cooking it into something healthy for the body. The left-over food scraps go to Leah's sister to grow bugs and worms to feed her chickens. They also have a public recycling program.

Interview

Leah Porche, Co-Owner