Soli Organic grows approximately 120,000,000 units of fresh herbs and greens every year, making it the number one grower of fresh, organic, culinary herbs in the U.S. That’s an impressive agriculture story on its own, but Soli has an even more amazing twist – they grow it all indoors! Led by CEO Matt Ryan, former head of brand management at Disney and chief marketing officer at Starbucks, the company is taking the indoor agriculture sector by storm (or rather, soil) with its commercial-grade organic growing systems and sustainable soil-based technology. Founded over 30 years ago as Shenandoah Growers, the Virginia-based company has grown under Matt’s leadership to serve over 20,000 retail locations across the country while developing an integrated platform of farms, production, and logistics facilities. As the only controlled-environment producer to use soil-based technology, Soli is still growing rapidly, even launching a 140,000-square-foot soil-based vertical farm in Texas earlier this year. Hear Matt Ryan share his business wisdom from game-changers like Disney and Starbucks, the revolutionary potential of precision fertilizers for indoor, soil-based growing, and how Soli is working to make flavorful, nutritious, and affordable organic produce available to all. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Matt Ryan on indoor organic technology 00:46 Conor Gaughan introduces Matt and Soli Organic05:30 Harvard studies, history, and passion for business09:47 Working at Disney and marketing at Starbucks13:57 Joining Soli’s board, becoming CEO, and its origin 17:30 The elevator pitch, soil tech, and precision organic fertilizer 24:10 Defining organic, sustainability in farming, and climate tech29:57 Raising capital, critical storytelling, and the triple bottom line36:03 Community engagement and leaving a legacy38:20 Where to learn more39:23 Conclusion and end credits If you liked this episode, listen next to Nicolas Pinkowski of Nitricity on Lightning-Powered Fertilizer and the Decarbonized Future Of Food More on Soli Organic and Matt Ryan: soliorganic.com linkedin.com/company/soliorganic linkedin.com/in/mattryanceo Connect with Conor Gaughan on linkedin.com/in/ckgone and threads.net/@ckgone  Have questions, or a great idea for a potential guest? Email us at [email protected] If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify – it really makes a difference!  Consensus in Conversation is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media produced in association with Reasonable Volume.