Meet JEFFREY VON STETTEN | Founder and Owner of Jeff’s Best! Makers of Jeff’s Best Hemp! and Jeff’s Best Blends!

We had the good fortune of connecting with JEFFREY VON STETTEN and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi JEFFREY, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I first started my company it was genuinely born out of just a disgust at the lack of innovation that I saw in a handful of the primary hemp offerings in the supplements sections, and simultaneously the absolute belief and knowledge that I could easily do better. I thought that it was a wonderful opportunity to help bundle together things that I felt very passionately about and cared very deeply about, and could provide myself, my clients, customers, with things that hopefully they would see were detailed and significantly purer, and more responsible company ethics that what were currently available. I just decided “I’ve had it. I can absolutely do better than this. I’m going for it” and that was it. I started saving my money, and working on our supplier relationships and saving up my money. About a year and a half or 2 years later, that was when I launched our first products, and in April landed my first account

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
To start with we’re a real company, with a real person and a real story behind what we do. We are not a large impersonal corporation, funded by shareholders or investment firms, we’re a true blue grassroots independent vegan company with a very personal story.

This brand is an embodiment of everything I hold dear. Being a vegan of over 30 years, a cancer survivor, a certified clinical nutritionist, the ocean, and someone with a deeply passionate background in nutritional and behavioral health, providing next level formulas that take carefully planned steps to always be 2-3 steps ahead of our competitors in quality and purity at every turn.

My company was originally launched out of $3000.00 of my savings 14 years ago, after being dissatisfied with the choices I found for myself and for clients, as a cancer survivor and vegan on the shelves at the time in health food stores for hemp seed protein, and hemp seed oil, and it has just continually grown from there.

I had worked with wonderful health food companies prior to this, and felt that really helped to take everything I learned working on the floor with customers, clients one on one, as a educator, demonstrator, and build from that knowledge and experience, as well as good store relationships to help us be well received.

We were welcomed into some of the top health foods stores here in Southern California, and are recognized now as a gold standard for the industrial hemp and vegan product shoppers nationwide.

We manufacture everything in house here in San Juan Capistrano, CA. We’ve been in business now 14+ years, and are completely independent. We’re a true blue grassroots hardcore vegan company that has built itself up 5 and 10 dollars at a time by providing products that people really want and welcome into their homes.

That’s not to say that we didn’t have our challenges. But, in that I’m so thankful for learning so many things.

One of the main things is that there is no level of great product that is going to change the disinterest of a burned out, dispassionate, or lazy or micromanaged buyer or staff member that just does not want to push things to the next level in health or the brands that they carry. If they don’t share our values, they’re just not going to care and I’m much more happy now being comfortable in knowing that it’s definitely not us, it’s them. But people can change, and that makes me hopeful even if someone is not in a good place when we connect initially.

We’ve definitely had our challenges and oddly enough the two things that come to mind when you ask about how did you over come the challenges have to do with the nature of the challenges. One thing I’ve learned is that there definitely is such a thing as being too nice. Narcissists and bullies in the natural products world (and outside of that) need to know that you’re not messing around, and that you’re serious about health, and that you will stand your ground, and learn the things you need to learn and have ready to go for leverage. But, the other thing that goes hand in hand with that is kindness, wisdom and patience. It’s like, yes, you have to be ready to scrap if someone is awful, but being wise enough to avoid it in the first place is better.

Along with that is the tremendous power of patience. When you own your own company, you can be patient as people get to know you, your brand, and maybe say like if someone is a worst case scenario of being really gross or meanspirited, the beauty of owning your own company is that you can outlast them. Maybe someone was really awful to you when you tried to present something a few years back and now, that same person is fired, and new person is just lovely and responds well to the strengths of your brand and mission. It’s very satisfying to be able to let out that laugh at the end of the day when that happens and say “Ha Ha, we’re still here and you’re not. I didn’t let you drag me down to your level, and I knew that it would take it’s course. I chose to be peaceful and you were awful, and now look. You’re gone and I’ve still got an awesome company that I love that kicks *ss every day. Take that, I win!”. Very satisfying indeed.

We are currently a direct distribution company, and we average a modest 6 figure earnings now and annually during normal, non pandemic years.

The primary charities I work with are Kids Alive, and Goodwill in conjunction with my church, helping to fund and work directly with kids and families recovering from all forms of abuse, resource scarcity, kidnapping, and s*x trafficking.

If there was something that I wanted the world to know about my company is that this isn’t just a company with widgets that are schlepped about, that aren’t things we care about. This is my baby, and it embodies so much of what I care about and I’m passionate about and things that really really matter to me. It’s extremely intensely powerfully personal all the time all day every day. I love being vegan, and I love animals, and I’m obsessed with always trying to find a way to push things next level, and be fresher, cleaner, and to avoid horrible things like pesticides, and BPA, and animal cruelty.

With my company we are hardcore to the core all day every day, and I would want people and their friends and families to know that at the end of the day if you see our brand and logo, that you just automatically can relax and know that it’s safe and clean, and good for your family because there’s someone intensely focused as the captain of the ship behind it, and that you can trust us. There’s a real person, with a real heart and a real story, that really cares calling the shots behind it, and that everything we make is in mint conditions and aimed at the best user experience possible. We do all the heavy lifting and scrutiny so at the end of the day you can just chill and know we’ve got your back. That’s what I want people to know.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I think if I had someone staying with me for a week I’d want to take them to all my favorite spots.

I’d take them to a small handful of my favorite health food stores to stock up of rarities and high quality vegan food and snacks.

I think that there’s some incredible beach and body surfing and surf spots in Dana Point, Laguna Beach, and San Clemente that I’d take them to. There’s also some wonderful places that are my favorite in the world in Leucadia, and Solana Beach, and Encinitas.

I’d probably take them for drinks at Barrel Republic in Carlsbad because you can try little sips of things an ounce at a time which is really fantastic.

There’s some wonderful hikes and sights like Top of the World, and sawdust festival, and some trails that weave throughout the coast that are fun to walk on.

I would definitely take them to a couple of my favorite spots for veggie burgers and Thai food in San Diego, like Plant Power Fast Food in Encinitas and Bangkok Bay in Solana.

And depending on the time frame, if we got to go to Santa Barbara I’d take them to Chocolate Maya for fresh stone ground organic chocolate treats, and Santa Barbara Roasting company, and Backyard bowls for breakfast.

Apart from that I’d probably love to show them the architecture both in SD and SB that is so incredible to walk around. There’s such wonderful like, REAL homes that have been around a little while and are just immaculate and so therapeutic and contained and beautifully done, with this incredible level of privacy, and, balanced with incredible proximity to nature and amazing views.

To me that would be an amazing trip. It’s a given that we’d go to tens of different beach outlets just to show how different each can be and how the water feels and rolls in different places. It’s absolutely magic.

That’s what I would do because I’m an amazing friend and I’d go next level on that too. 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
On the industry side, I think the logical choice would be to give Mo Payette both as a person, and in her capacity at the time I introduced my product line as the supplements buyer for Mother’s Market and Kitchen a huge shout out.

It’s really hard to say how great it is when someone just “gets it” and walks the walk, and talks the talk, as someone genuine in the pursuit of integrity in ingredients and concept innovation, I think especially when you’re new and trying to make a difference, and really vulnerable, those people who show you respect and give you a chance, and are mutually tenacious and reciprocative about your obsession with really pushing it to the next level with a product, or product line, are just very special people that are very close to your heart and very much to be greatly respected and appreciated. To this day she is a wonderful friend, and a deeply cherished industry peer that I hold in high esteem.

Part and Parcel on the family side, I think I would absolutely have to say my Dad and my Uncle Chuck. My Dad very much for his love and support, and encouragement at all levels, and my Uncle Chuck also for his encouragement, and collectively their timely advice on separate occasions when I’d felt very anguished about some industry changes that affected us adversely through no fault of our own. They have both unfortunately passed away, (I lost my Dad to cancer, and my Uncle Chuck to parkinsons), but they’d both offered some really heartfelt encouragement, and very impactful insights at different times that helped talk me back from the ledge and take a breath, and each of their inputs were very timely indeed. That helped me tremendously and I’ll be forever thankful for their kindness and wisdom and input.

Website: Jeffsbest.net

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