Growing Our Roots: A Year of Change at 41 Grains

This past year has been one of the biggest seasons of growth we’ve ever walked through at 41 Grains.

Bringing another company into our family has been both a challenge and a gift. Integrating something that already has its own story, its own customers, and its own heart behind it—it’s not something you rush. It’s something you learn through, step by step. And honestly, it’s a process I’ve truly enjoyed.

From the very beginning, we knew one thing for certain: we never wanted to erase Farver Farms from Lentil Crunchers.

The work, the care, and the heart that built those products matter. That story doesn’t disappear just because the company changed hands. It’s still part of what makes Lentil Crunchers what they are today—and always will be.

But this is also part of our story.

Farver Farms was actually one of our earliest inspirations. Back in 2019, their products were some of the very first we carried in our small boutique store. By 2020, that inspiration helped spark something in us—we decided we wanted to build a food company too.

I’ve always had a simple goal: make healthy, real food. Chickpeas made sense. They’re a true superfood, they’re versatile, and they fit my “no fuss” approach to food and life. From there, things just started to fall into place.

So when Shauna called and asked if we would be interested in continuing Farver Farms, it felt full circle. I was honored—and honestly, really excited—to carry forward something that had once inspired us to begin.

That first year, though, was a learning curve.

We were stepping into a different side of business—new products, new processes, new customers, and a different kind of production. There were a lot of unknowns, and we had to figure things out as we went.

After that first year, it became clear: if we were going to do this well, we needed to grow.

We needed better systems. Better production flow. Better packaging. And an overall look and feel that brought everything together so it truly felt like one cohesive food family.

So we started there.

We partnered with a company to help us define our vision—who we are, and how to clearly share that with our customers. Then we got to work on the ground: social media, trade shows, conversations, and relationships. A lot of listening. A lot of learning.

And through all of that, we kept coming back to one question:

Who are we, really?

We are a farm-to-table company that believes in honest food—for our community and for the people we serve.
We believe family comes first.
And we believe good food should be simple, nourishing, and accessible.

With that clarity, we also got more focused about where we’re going.

Serving Montana is our top priority.

From there, we want to showcase Montana agriculture—creating more opportunities for people to experience the food grown here in ways that are both creative and practical.

That’s why we’ve been putting a strong focus on food service.

Restaurants, schools, and hospitals are often where people try something new for the first time. If we can introduce pulses—like lentils and chickpeas—in those settings, we can help show that they’re not just healthy, but also delicious, easy, and affordable staples.

To support that, we attended the National Restaurant Show in Chicago last year and will be there again this year. We’re also attending the Montana School Convention to connect directly with schools across the state.

And one of our biggest steps forward this year:

We’ve onboarded with Sysco.

This helps make our products more accessible—especially for Montana schools, hospitals, and restaurants—so we can get them in front of as many Montanans as possible.

Looking ahead, our next big project is expanding our milling capacity.

We want to offer chickpea flour not just as a product, but as an ingredient for other food companies. This is another step toward building a stronger local food system—creating more consistent opportunities for Montana farmers to sell chickpeas locally at stable prices.

At the end of the day, that’s what this is all about.

We want to serve our community well.
We want to promote Montana agriculture.
And we want to help create more opportunities—for farmers, for food businesses, and for the communities we’re all part of.

None of this happens without you.

We’re incredibly grateful for your support, your patience, and your encouragement as we continue to grow and refine what we’re building.

This is just the beginning.