Today we’d like to introduce you to JUSTIN FRANK POLGAR.
Hi JUSTIN FRANK, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Sometimes the journey begins before we are aware it has, and only in hindsight do we see how everything has been meticulously organized for an “aha” moment. Funny enough, often our resistance requires it to be so clear and so simple, that the genius is revealed in the obvious.
I watched Karate Kid when I was 5 years old and I knew I wanted to be a martial artist. That started a 10 year journey that shaped my discipline, my resilience, and my desire to be physically fit. When I was 12 years old I was training for my 2nd degree black belt and a teammate offered me a ginseng tincture. I didn’t know anything about ginseng, and it tasted bitter, but I felt like some magical high-octane fuel had entered my body. I was high. I was flying. I was hooked. I knew that there just had to be other natural foods and herbs that changed the way I felt. This was before Red Bull hit the US, and I knew coffee and wine had their effects, but I was looking for different types of energy that didn’t cost me a crash afterwards.
I became aware of old medicinal pharmacopoeias like Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ancient Persian Remedies, and Amazonian treasures. I became the kid who was sharing new superfoods and strange foreign functional herbs, but they tasted gross to most.
For as long as I can remember I have loved chocolate, and on a pleasure-centric sidequest in my 20’s I learned how to make chocolate from scratch. I learned about the history of the cacao bean and its many nutritional benefits, including the thousands of years of use as a medicinal plant. At that time I was working at a Traditional Chinese Medicine School. One of the most common challenges I heard from the doctors was in getting people to take the prescribed herbs; one day I simply asked, “Why don’t you just put the herbs in chocolate? People will eat anything if it’s in chocolate.” That was the beginning of YES Cacao.
16 years later, we still make chocolate everyday in our Watsonville factory, exclusively with wild harvested cacao, low-glycemic sundried cane sugar, and functional herbs that now taste mouth-watering delicious.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
What a great metaphor! The chocolate making process is all about making a smooth mouthfeel, but it takes friction and pressure to arrive at that familiar velvety finish. I have undergone a similar process in my efforts as an entrepreneur. The struggles and problems are always invitations to level up. That’s what inspired the Doctrine of YES, so I have tenets and guiding principles to lean into. I am a silver-lining miner; I practice reframing problems into opportunities.
Some challenges along the way: plenty of agencies that over-promised and under-delivered. 2 years ago moved the chocolate factory into a new warehouse, only to find out it was red tagged just 10 mins before signing the lease. 1.5 years ago, cacao prices increased by 5x over 3 weeks. A couple of times cacao imports were held at customs for weeks with no responses. What was supposed to take 3-5 days took over 6 weeks. The introduction of tariffs last year clogged up the shipping and inspection process, along with the removal of the exemption for under $800 shipments. Before having my chocolate factory, I had challenges with contract manufacturers adding incorrect formulas that cost me over $25k and hundreds of hours in “fix-it” labor for my wife and me. All kinds of challenges with packaging. And taking on debt to cover these struggles. At first every one of these experiences was an insurmountable wall, that transformed into a speed bump in hindsight, and strengthens my trust and confidence on this mission: to anchor a new category of chocolate as a delivery system for functional wellness.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
For the last 15 years I’ve been taking healing foods and herbs that don’t appeal to most palates, and making them delicious in chocolate. We’ve sourced the most rare cacao in the world, and a pre-industrially processed cane sugar, to pair with multidisciplinary pharmacopoeias across time and space. The result is something that tastes good and feels good. My goal is to make being healthy a pleasurable experience. Our chocolate factory has become an industry leader for companies that want to infuse nootropics, adaptogens, and healing foods into high quality chocolate. We are obsessed with the best of the best.
I’m most proud of our BRAIN POWER formula, which is over 36% botanical ingredients. It’s function as an anti-inflammatory is to increase the blood and oxygen to the brain, regenerating dendrites and strengthening nerve synapse to enhance short-term memory and overall brain health. The flavor is a graham cracker gingersnap, with notes of carrot cake and pumpkin pie.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
God matters most. When we find the best way to be of service to humanity and the planet, I think we are obligated to walk that path. If you have a dream or an “aha” moment that reveals your mission – do it! I woke up for 100 consecutive days with the first words out of my mouth, “I only do what I love.” That alchemical process stripped away so much in my life, things that I liked, but didn’t love… the extras that were pulling my focus away from what really mattered. It was in that 100 day exercise that I had the idea for using chocolate as a “pill-pocket”, as a delivery system for health. The core of this mission is an unwavering commitment to clean ingredients and making healthy habits as easy as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.YESCacao.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yescacao
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yescacao
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinfrankpolgar/
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/yescacao
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Yesology
