RegenMarket, a membership-based online marketplace for Montana-grown regenerative food shipped directly to consumers, emerged from cofounder Ryan Kulesza’s search for where he could make an impact in the food system.
Early on, he assumed the answer lay in getting more producers to adopt better practices. But as he spent more time learning about agriculture, a different challenge came into focus: many of those producers were already doing the right things—they just didn’t have a way to bring their products to market.
Individual ranchers and farmers, he realized, were each trying to build their own sales platforms from scratch, often without the time, resources or expertise to do so. RegenMarket is a solution to that gap: a collective marketplace designed to handle the marketing and sales side, allowing producers to focus on what they do best.
That mission is rooted in a broader shift toward regenerative agriculture, which Kulesza sees as less of a trend and more of a return to fundamentals. Over the past several decades, he says the food system has drifted away from one of its most important measures: nutritional quality.
Instead, regenerative agriculture centers on producing nutrient-dense food by prioritizing soil health and natural systems. When animals are raised on healthy land and fed nutrient-rich forage, Kulesza explains, the quality of the final product reflects that. In his view, if the core problem in today’s food system is a lack of nutritional density, regenerative practices are designed to solve it.
BY Taylor owens
RegenMarket didn’t begin with a business idea, it began with a question.
RegenMarket’s role is to make those products easier to find and trust.
The company works directly with ranchers and farmers, visiting operations in person and building relationships with each producer. That hands-on approach allows them to vet products on behalf of consumers, ensuring that the people behind the food are aligned with the principles they promote.
“We do the vetting for the consumer to some extent,” Kulesza said. “We go out and interview and put boots on the ground with every one of these producers and have a relationship with them.”
Unlike many online food platforms that specialize in a single category, RegenMarket brings together a wide range of products, from beef to poultry and beyond, into one place. The goal is to create a more complete, one-stop marketplace for regeneratively raised food, something Kulesza notes is still relatively rare.
The producers themselves don’t all follow a single formula, but they do share a common direction. RegenMarket looks for partners who are moving away from conventional, input-heavy systems and toward practices that rely less on synthetic additives like hormones or implants. There’s no expectation of perfection, only a commitment to improvement.
Rather than highlighting one standout ranch or farm, Kulesza sees the strength of RegenMarket in its collective.
Each producer brings a slightly different philosophy or method, but all are working toward the same goal: improving the relationship between land, animals and the people who ultimately consume the food. That diversity, he suggests, is part of what makes the model resilient.
The company works directly with ranchers and farmers, visiting operations in person and building relationships with each producer. That hands-on approach allows them to vet products on behalf of consumers, ensuring that the people behind the food are aligned with the principles they promote.
“We do the vetting for the consumer to some extent,” Kulesza said. “We go out and interview and put boots on the ground with every one of these producers and have a relationship with them.”
Unlike many online food platforms that specialize in a single category, RegenMarket brings together a wide range of products, from beef to poultry and beyond, into one place. The goal is to create a more complete, one-stop marketplace for regeneratively raised food, something Kulesza notes is still relatively rare.
The producers themselves don’t all follow a single formula, but they do share a common direction. RegenMarket looks for partners who are moving away from conventional, input-heavy systems and toward practices that rely less on synthetic additives like hormones or implants. There’s no expectation of perfection, only a commitment to improvement.
Rather than highlighting one standout ranch or farm, Kulesza sees the strength of RegenMarket in its collective.
Each producer brings a slightly different philosophy or method, but all are working toward the same goal: improving the relationship between land, animals and the people who ultimately consume the food. That diversity, he suggests, is part of what makes the model resilient.
Consumers play a critical role in that system as well.
“At the end of the day… these consumers vote with their dollars,” Kulesza said. “If they want cheap food, that’s what they’re going to get and if they want products that are raised with integrity, it’s a chance to show these producers their support.”
That support has ripple effects—not just economically, but culturally—helping to sustain a network of producers who often work under challenging conditions. As Kulesza points out, the realities of raising livestock are far removed from most people’s daily lives.
“At the end of the day… these consumers vote with their dollars,” Kulesza said. “If they want cheap food, that’s what they’re going to get and if they want products that are raised with integrity, it’s a chance to show these producers their support.”
That support has ripple effects—not just economically, but culturally—helping to sustain a network of producers who often work under challenging conditions. As Kulesza points out, the realities of raising livestock are far removed from most people’s daily lives.
“I think the general public has no idea what it takes to raise animals,” he said.
From extreme weather to the constant demands of animal care, the work requires a level of dedication that largely goes unseen. “When it’s 20 below zero and the wind’s blowing sideways… they are outside making sure these animals are okay,” he said. “It’s a hell of a lot of work.”
That effort, and the quality of the food it produces, is beginning to gain recognition beyond the agricultural world. RegenMarket recently reached a milestone that underscores the growing connection between food and health: certain products can now be purchased using Health Savings Account (HSA) dollars.
For Kulesza, that shift signals something larger.
“The fact that you can now purchase this food using HSA dollars is an acknowledgement from the healthcare industry of how good this food is,” he said, noting that it places nutrient-dense food in the same broader conversation as medicine.
From extreme weather to the constant demands of animal care, the work requires a level of dedication that largely goes unseen. “When it’s 20 below zero and the wind’s blowing sideways… they are outside making sure these animals are okay,” he said. “It’s a hell of a lot of work.”
That effort, and the quality of the food it produces, is beginning to gain recognition beyond the agricultural world. RegenMarket recently reached a milestone that underscores the growing connection between food and health: certain products can now be purchased using Health Savings Account (HSA) dollars.
For Kulesza, that shift signals something larger.
“The fact that you can now purchase this food using HSA dollars is an acknowledgement from the healthcare industry of how good this food is,” he said, noting that it places nutrient-dense food in the same broader conversation as medicine.
Even with that momentum, he emphasizes that the success of RegenMarket ultimately comes back to the people who choose to support it, and the producers who make it possible.
“The absence of nutritionally dense food is the problem in our food system,” Kulesza said. “That’s what regenerative agriculture is focused on delivering.”
As the regenerative food movement continues to grow, RegenMarket is positioning itself as a bridge connecting consumers not just to better products, but to the people and practices behind them.
“The absence of nutritionally dense food is the problem in our food system,” Kulesza said. “That’s what regenerative agriculture is focused on delivering.”
As the regenerative food movement continues to grow, RegenMarket is positioning itself as a bridge connecting consumers not just to better products, but to the people and practices behind them.
