Episode
Meet Francine, The Farm Mom Building an App To Challenge Big Food - Francine | #117
- Podcast
- The Regenaissance Podcast
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3550
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/cf70629f
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Summary
Francine is a farmer, mom of four, and co-founder of the Mulberry Tree App - a farm-to-fork platform that lets consumers buy ingredients directly from local farms, with no listing fees, no middleman, and no data selling. She and her husband built it from scratch, self-funded, while navigating mold illness, alpha-gal syndrome in their family, and a bunch of scammers! They launched the app in January 2025. We talk through how the app works, why convenience is the real barrier between consumers and local farms, and what it actually takes to build something like this without outside funding or corporate backing. Enjoy :) What we talk about: - How the Mulberry Tree App works - farm-to-fork recipes, local farmer discovery, 24/7 farmers market - Why they don't charge farmers listing or marketing fees - Facebook censorship of farm products during COVID and why it pushed them to build their own platform - The grassroots marketing approach: vendor events, merchandise, one-on-one outreach - Alpha-gal syndrome - what it is, how misinformation is hurting people, and why the app has 300+ alpha-gal-safe recipes - Mold illness, raising four kids on a farm, and the tribulations behind building the business - The case for food sovereignty and why 77 farms closing per day is a national problem Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro 1:10 — What is the Mulberry Tree App? 6:45 — How it handles the convenience problem for consumers 12:00 — The origin story - a dream, a husband, and no coding experience 18:30 — Facebook censorship and why decentralization matters 26:00 — Grassroots marketing: vendor events, shirts, 400 downloads in two weeks 32:00 — Consumer patterns and what makes the app experience different 39:00 — The town square, courses, live animal listings, and cottage industry sellers 47:00 — Grow…