Fair Trade, Big Retail, and Wild Elephants | Marise May

We welcome Marise May, co-founder and Co-CEO of Cha's Organics, maker of Canada's top-selling organic coconut milk, and the driving force behind the brand's elephant conservation work in Sri Lanka. With a deep focus on ethical sourcing, regenerative agriculture, and building purpose into profit, she helps founders and mission-driven brands break past buzzwords, stay financially disciplined, and build something that actually lasts. In this deep-dive conversation, Marise reveals what it really takes to keep a purpose-driven brand alive, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from twenty years building Cha's Organics into a fixture on shelves at Costco, Whole Foods, and Erewhon. She shares actionable strategies, from surviving a shipping crisis that sent container costs from $4,000 to $18,000, to the factoring deal that gets her paid by Costco in days instead of months, and explains why she believes profit isn't the enemy of purpose, it's what makes purpose possible. Topics Discussed Purpose vs. Profit. Spotting Impact Washing: How to tell when a brand's values are real.  The $18K Container: Staying profitable and keeping every fair trade promise. The Costco Factoring Trick: How import brands get paid in days instead of waiting on 90-day retail terms. Monkey Labor-Free Sourcing: The hidden coconut industry practice most shoppers have never heard of. Restoring an Ancient Elephant Habitat: Rebuilding a Sri Lankan reservoir to stop the human-elephant conflict at its root. Relationships Over Pitch Decks: Why knowing your buyer, your store manager, and your consumer matters more than the product itself. Trust Your Gut, Not the Trend: Reading past social engineering and corporate-funded science to make calls that actually hold up. Connect with Marise on LinkedIn Connect with Cha's Organics on Instagram Connect with Sebastian on Instagram SebastianNaum.com