The Glorification of Entrepreneurship: Brooke Rewa of Goodmylk

Here at the fullest, we’re all about taking the alternative route — whether that falls under the umbrella of medical freedom, revolutionizing wellness, or seeking happiness on your own terms. Naturally, business and work fall into this independent lifestyle and entrepreneurship is indeed an alternative route we aim to explore.Challenging? Yes.Uncertain? Yes.Fulfilling? Most definitely. Today we sit down with the founder and CEO of Goodmylk, Brooke Rewa. She explains how she sought out her own path by pursuing her passions and created a sustainable and minimal-ingredient mylk company, Goodmylk. As a female CEO with roots in the wellness industry, Rewa spills her path to entrepreneurship, how she rose capital, and how she navigates the online retail realm (get excited for some product launches in the pipeline)! 

Tell us about Goodmylk -- how you got started and why?

Goodmylk was inspired by my own wellness journey. I found myself sick with nowhere to turn for answers -- until I realized it was the food I was eating that what was making me sick! Food that was marketed as healthy -- including the almond milk I was consuming daily which was highly processed and filled with binders, gums, and fillers with very few actual real food ingredients. I started making homemade plant-based mylks for myself at home and there was no turning back. Beyond the cleaner ingredients the taste was unbelievable. Realizing maybe there were others in my community looking for a product like this I started selling at the local farmer’s market and it grew from there!  

What was the funding process like and how did you raise capital?

I bootstrapped Goodmylk until I had proof of concept and knew I could scale the business. When I started we were serving a fresh product with a five-day shelf life -- which you can imagine is not scalable at all. Once I realized there was a larger demand for the products we were making I went to work to figure out how to scale without compromising the integrity of the products and that’s when our frozen and powdered formats were born. Frozen came first and once I had tested it with friends we did our first round of fundraising.  

What do you think is the future of online retail? And how do you see that landscape changing during this time?

As someone who hates running errands, I’ve personally always thought online was the way to go. I was definitely an early adopter of Instacart and all the Postmate type apps. We’ve seen our online sales grow quickly due to the current situation. Customers who were having Goodmylk at their local cafes realized they could still have a similar experience at home by ordering our products online and having them shipped to their door. 

I think subscription models and sales will go up a lot in the near future as people’s habits vary much less. I’m putting everything I can on subscription and trying to completely eliminate my errand running forever! 

What has been your biggest business challenge during the pandemic and how have you grappled with the struggle at hand?

The challenges are intense and change daily. I think the hardest part has been realizing how little control we have during this time and making peace with that. It’s still a work in progress. We are taking it a week at a time, making plans to the best of our ability and making sure we are communicating clearly and analyzing data so we can adjust and pivot as needed -- which is sometimes daily.  

Do you have any advice for like-minded entrepreneurs?

Be relentless in the pursuit of what you love but make sure you really love it because it’s going to get wild. 

What’s in store for Goodmylk?

We’re grateful to have this time to build our brand and online community. We’re also really excited about the product innovation we have in the pipeline. Stay tuned for a really exciting product launch in August!  For 15% off any Goodmylk item(s) on their website, use code: THEFULLEST.