How Quick Organics is Working to Transform the Organic Certification Process

In 2013, seasoned entrepreneur and Quick Organics co-founder, Greg Schreiner, purchased a set of certified organic farms located in Wellington, Colorado, pursuing his lifelong dream of becoming a farmer. That dream unexpectedly became a new journey not just for Greg, but his entire family, to engage in a much larger opportunity that impacts all of us.

Greg was six years into his journey as a farmer when he had a candid conversation with his son, Frankie Grundler, about his struggles maintaining organic certification. The process felt inefficient, costly, cumbersome, and the paperwork was overwhelming despite Greg’s strong business background. This was not the part of farming Greg expected to take up so much time and energy, but he was motivated to maintain organic status. Having a differentiated product allowed Greg to command a price premium, which is invaluable in an industry with such tight profit margins. He also learned how organic farming practices are better for the soil, water, biodiversity, and produce healthier food, all factors that mattered deeply to Greg and his family.

As lifelong entrepreneurs, Frankie and Greg worked to understand the scope of the problem – including the impact on our food system and the farming community – and sprung into action. Just two years later, in January 2021, they officially launched Quick Organics, a software and data solution that digitizes and simplifies the organic certification process. The platform aims to help alleviate pain points, increase bottom lines, and improve quality of life for organic farmers.

Launching Quick Organics

The idea for Quick Organics started brewing during that initial conversation in 2019. Frankie and Greg discussed how helpful it would be to have a software solution that streamlines the certification process. After extensive research and conversations with others in the industry, they found that nothing like this existed. It also became clear that Greg’s challenges were part of a universal problem that was limiting the growth of the organic sector. In fact, a survey from Oregon Tilth revealed 51% of farmers say record-keeping is a major burden to pursuing organic certification. This burden is particularly high for first-time and BIPOC farmers who are already facing major systemic barriers to accessing land and capital. Additionally, with the current, manually-intensive process, organic certifiers are unable to keep up with the growing demand from farmers.

“Certified organic practices reduces inputs, increases the resiliency of the land, and is generally more profitable. We saw a real opportunity to help revamp the certification process, in turn making the land produce better while improving livelihoods for farmers and their families” says Frankie Grundler, the co-founder and CEO of Quick Organics.

The Quick Organics platform focuses on maintaining the high integrity of organics, while easing the administrative burden, so farmers can prioritize farming. A critical part of building the platform was recognizing the role of the broader ecosystem within organic agriculture. From the beginning, the company has partnered with organic farmers, inspectors, certification agencies, and the USDA to better understand their specific challenges and ensure the solution would meet their needs. The goal was to build a technology that was easy-to-use, took on the heavy lifting, and saved time and money for all stakeholders.

Scaling for the Future of Organic Farming

The Builders Initiative Investment Team (BIIT) invested in Quick Organics in July 2023. The investment is part of BIIT’s goal to ensure healthy food is affordable and accessible for all, and to help build a wave of farmers and food producers using methods that reduce environmental harm. Both teams understand the complexities of organic farming and have the patience and expertise required for success. In addition to their investment, BIIT is helping connect Quick Organics with other resources and relationships to support their continued growth.

Today, Quick Organics is making a steady entrance to the space. They are trialing the tool within the organic farming and certification community, with a larger roll out planned in 2024. As the company scales, they plan to offer products and data insights for all organic stakeholders to benefit from, and over time create a marketplace between organic farmers, certifiers, and end users.

The Quick Organics team has an unwavering commitment to help enable the success of the organic certification system. Ultimately the end goal is simple: if we streamline the certification process, the number of organic farms and diversity of organic farmers across the country will increase, leading to more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems and a more humane and healthy planet.