Meet Neil Thenier: Founder

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

Hi Neil, what do you attribute your success to?
At the end of the day, it’s not the products, logos, or images that make up a brand. It’s the people working fiercely behind it. My vision for Wild Kingdom was to make it a genuine reflection of our team and our team’s values. Everyone at Wild Kingdom loves nature and craves to establish a deeper connection with it. That’s why the products we make literally come from the places we love, made with all things found in nature. Every wild mushroom and herb used in our extracts were literally hand picked from the natural world.

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?
It is our dedication to creating authentic natural products that sets us apart from other brands. Instead of sourcing mushroom and herbs from overseas, we wild forage them from the places we love and places we are connected to. Not only do we use wild ingredients, but every extract is made with organic alcohol and wild spring water. We do this not to generate profits, but to protect and give back to the natural world. With every sale, we generate a portion to OneTreePlanted, an organization dedicated to reforestation worldwide. At the end of the day, I’m super proud to create a brand with an ecological focus that also creates products with therapeutic benefits. There were certainly challenges in getting all these dreams into motion but when you are creating something that genuinely reflects your thoughts, feelings, and life way, there is also a noticeable amount of ease and joy emanating from every step of the process.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would start the day of with a quick breakfast at Culver City’s Lodge Bread Co. They have the most amazing breakfast sandwiches and are one of my favorite local businesses. Next would be a trip up into the mountains and hike Sturtevant Falls. It’s such a hidden gem of Los Angeles and is filled with waterfalls, plant life, fungi, and incredible views. Afterwards, I would head back down to Venice Beach for some fresh ocean air and gradually make our way over to MTN on Abbot Kinney Blvd for an amazing dinner. Lastly, I would wind down the night with a refreshing cocktail from Bodega Wine Bar in Santa Monica. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shout out Welcome To The Mushroom Hour Podcast! I had the privilege of being a guest on their show and soon after fell in love with every episode in their feed. Darren, the host, has achieved creating a platform where people can learn about mycology and the natural world that features amazing humans, companies, mycologists, and researches that all share a common goal of sharing the mushroom love!

Website: https://wildkingdomextracts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildkingdomextracts