Meet Jonathan Patarkatsi | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan Patarkatsi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always been fueled by passion. Throughout my childhood, I was always passionate about health and wellness, and was specifically drawn to re-creating my favorite foods and beverages in a healthy way. I used to make superfood iced teas for myself everyday, as well as for my family, friends, and colleagues. After graduating NYU, I knew in my gut that I wanted to build my beverage and wellness lifestyle brand, Down To Earth. I believe so strongly in our mission and our products, and am inspired by our brand ethos of making health and wellness as easily accessible to as many people as possible. We are a purpose-driven brand, and that is what motivates me everyday.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the founder of two businesses, Down To Earth and Loyal. Down To Earth is a superfood iced tea brand that is on a mission to reconnect consumers with the nourishing and hydrating properties of the Earth in its most natural state. Our product line includes 5 bottled iced tea beverages that are made from the highest quality organic superfoods, super-herbs, and adaptogens. Our beverages contain no sugar, no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives, no added colorings, and range from 0-10 calories per bottle. Our beverages are purely natural, and only consist of the most wholesome ingredients. Most bottled beverage products contain a lot of chemicals and artificial ingredients in them, in addition to high amounts of sugar. Our products can be described as nature in a bottle. In addition to our beverage line, we also own the Down To Earth clothing brand, where we sell a range of casual and comfortable apparel items. We also own and operate Down To Earth Media, which includes the Down To Earth podcast, a health and wellness focused podcast that my sister and I host. My second brand, Loyal, is a sugar-free sweetener and 1:1 sugar replacement brand. Our sweetener tastes exactly like sugar, yet it contains no sugar content, no calories, no net carbs, and has a zero glycemic index, making it the healthiest sweetener on the market. Our sweetener consists of monk fruit, and we are the only certified Organic monk fruit sweetener. With Loyal, consumers can enjoy their favorite food and beverage products without any of the negative health implications of sugar.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many great places that I enjoy visiting and taking my friends to as well. I would definitely start the day off with an early morning hike at Camelback Mountain. After our hike, I would stop by AJ’s Fine Foods grocery store, one of my favorite places to shop and go for breakfast and a latte. I would then go to Optimyze, an incredible wellness center which offers incredible tools for recovery and longevity. I always start with an infrared sauna session, some red light therapy, and of course an ice bath to soothe our muscles after our hike. I would then go for brunch at either The Henry or True Food Kitchen. Spend a few hours laying by the pool after that, perhaps play some tennis, and then have dinner at Buck & Rider.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents and my sister deserve the biggest shoutout for always being supportive of my dreams and goals in life. The lifestyle of an entrepreneur is not easy and can be lonely at times, so having their support system means everything to me.

Website: www.drinkdowntoearth.com ; www.loyalsweets.com

Instagram: @drinkdte ; @eatloyalsweets ; @jpatarkatsi

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-patarkatsi-5b50a1164