Meet Daniela Kratz | Founder & Owner of Farmhouse Lab

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniela Kratz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniela, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I launched Farmhouse Lab in 2016, shifting from a sustainability leadership role with a large global corporation to focus on what inspires me most — building a sustainability-driven company that is directly helping individuals make healthier, more locally-driven and sustainable food choices.

Starting a sales career after college, I faced a near burn out at 28 and regained a healthy balance
through an Ayurvedic lifestyle approach. Fascinated by this 5000 year old, holistic science, I signed up for
a program to obtain a diploma in Ayurvedic Sciences which I attended on weekends, and
graduated in 2008, just before our son was born.

In August of 2016, two months after my husband had to undergo a major heart surgery I
launched Farmhouse Lab, my own, mission driven and value based company that brings ease
and joy to a plant-forward nutrition. It combines my professional background with my passion for delicious, health-promoting food.

Farmhouse Lab is built on the desire to have delicious, clean and pure dressings at hand for the health-conscious foodie. The secret of our dressings are the varieties of high quality oils which we playfully blend with unique artisanal ingredients to curate outstanding taste. Our dressings are for multi-use and supposed to elevate the value of your food. Farmhouse Lab is a brand for joyful, sustainable eating that encourages to make food more often at home again and to share it in community.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets us apart from others is that we set the sustainability and quality of our products as well as of our processes at the forefront of all decisions. We only work with partners who share our commitment and we value strong and long-lasting relationships that support each other. Ease and joy is another core element of our companies’ philosophy: we want to help people to really enjoy making food at home because we know that this will help the individual but also the greater collective.

I crafted our Real Food Dressings to make healthy eating tasteful, playful, and beautiful. I believe that with all our senses awakened, our food truly becomes nourishing.
Our certified organic, 100% vegan Real Food Dressings are are gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free and made with no garlic.

Building and running a profitable business is never easy and constantly changing. We kept our flexibility by boot-strapping and keeping lean organisational structures which helped us survive crises like the pandemic and the most recent economic downturn.

I learned along the way that you can’t survive the extreme ups and downs of running a business without a robust support system and that you have to actively reach out and ask for help when you need it.

At Farmhouse Lab we work very hard to do the right thing for the health of people and for the planet with every decision we make. If we all rely less on processed, packaged and delivered food and if we are in the kitchen and at tables together to prepare and cook and share our meals, we all can all have an impact on our overall health. Farmhouse Lab wants to help every customer achieving that goal with ease and joy by offering a variety of products and inspiration.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I grew up in Germany I was not close to water, so my favorite spots in the city are Ocean Beach and Crissy Field for recreation. Grab a coffee at Java Hut and walk Ocean Beach up and down (it is stunning even in the fog or rain – just bring the right clothes. Walk Crissy Field on a sunny day and lounge and explore the tunnel tops.
I always recommend the farmers market at the Ferry Building.
The Mission is still one of my favorite places with Four Barrel Coffee, Gracias Madre for their outstanding organic and vegan Mexican cuisine and Foreign Cinema for an experience.
Hayes Valley for strolling and shopping.
And when in the Marina, try Camino Alto for brunch or dinner. I know the owner and he pours his heart into this place and food!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There were numerous supporters who helped me to move from concept to launch: I want to thank my friend Ashley Berman, who encouraged and motivated me to follow my dream/calling and is an inspiring entrepreneur herself.
My SBDC advisor Anni Minuzzo, whose help was invaluable, especially to officially launch a food business.
Ladies Who Launch. a global community offering launch grants, mentor meetups, and free webinars for women and non-binary business owners.
The Hivery Circle, an online community with face to face meeting options and endless amounts of exciting content, live monthly and weekly classes with incredible mentors, and a vibrant, caring, and supportive community.
And all the people who work with me and love our products.

Website: www.farmhouselab.com

Instagram: @farmhouse_lab

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/farmhouse-lab

Twitter: @farmhouselab

Facebook: @farmhouse_lab

Image Credits
Sophia Mavrides