Real Ingredients, Real Mission with Jason Schwartze of Moonglade Craft Soda - Naturally Network Shorts
Jason Schwartze, founder of Moonglade Craft Soda, shares the decades-long journey from a kitchen obsession with perfecting ginger beer to a freshly launched line of certified organic farmers market-inspired craft sodas. He talks about his background as a park ranger and agricultural inspector, how that shaped his passion for regenerative farming and ocean health, and why joining 1% for the Planet felt less like a business decision and more like an extension of who he already was. Jason digs into the innovations that made Moonglade possible, from solving the carbonation problem in organic beverages to discovering a mushroom fiber extract preservative that keeps his sodas shelf stable. He wraps up by inviting the community to seek out products that are real. And to trust that when something comes from a family and a farmers market, it probably is.
Takeaways
Moonglade Craft Soda is a family business out of Oceanside, California that got its start at farmers markets about ten years ago.
The brand just launched four certified organic RTD cans, farmers market inspired craft sodas, with roughly half the sugar of conventional soda.
Jason's background in agriculture, and as a park ranger, directly informs his commitment to supporting farmers and regenerative practices.
Moonglade is a 1% for the Planet member, with a focus on two causes: supporting organic and regenerative agriculture, and keeping plastics out of the ocean.
A key innovation for the brand was solving the carbonation loss problem that usually plagues natural sodas.
Moonglade uses a natural mushroom fiber extract as a preservative that keeps the product shelf stable without affecting flavor.
Jason credits Naturally Network with helping him solidify his growth strategy giving him the clarity and confidence he needed to move forward.
Conscious business is a personal ethos for Jason, not just a marketing strategy.
Sound Bites
"I basically became obsessed with trying to find a better ginger beer."
"It can't be forced, it can't be contrived. What I'm doing is not contrived. It is who I am."
"I probably would have given up if the iterative process wasn't a thing. Every time I do something, I have to keep going because it's so much better."
"Nobody wants a flat root beer."
"If it came from a family and a farmers market, it's probably pretty real."
"She just gave me some real clear goals and strategy that I felt like I'd never had before and just gave me a ton of confidence. Without Naturally Network, we wouldn't have had that."
