Megan Reamer’s inspiration in founding Jackson’s Honest was nothing short of heroic. Her inspiration was her son, Jackson, who had an extremely rare disease that went undiagnosed for 12 of his 16 years. Megan and her husband worked tirelessly to develop a low-inflammation ketogenic diet emphasizing good-for-you fats, including coconut oil. Their eating plan improved Jackson’s quality of life, helping control some of the neurodegenerative processes of what was ultimately diagnosed as Aicardi-Goutières syndrome.
One of the surprisingly delicious foods Megan created for Jackson was a potato chip slow-fried in coconut oil. The chips were not a hit just with Jackson; friends and family loved them too. The idea to build a business around coconut-oil based snack foods was born.
Jackson’s Honest is now a $10 million company with eight full-time employees, three facilities, and product placement in major retailers. Jackson, who passed away unexpectedly in 2017, is honored every day by the work of the Jackson’s Honest Charitable Foundation.
According to its website, the foundation’s goal is to “bring attention to the unique challenges of rare diseases and to address them with a broad set of philanthropic goals; funding primary research into the etiology of these diseases with the research community; conceptualize and fund the development of candidate treatments with pharmaceutical companies; and provide supporting programs, equipment, and compassionate care to the families that support the management of these diseases.”
Honestly? Megan Reamer inspires us all.
