Story Behind True Earth Energy
If you had asked us 25 years ago what we would be doing today, all three of us most certainly
would “not” have said making an all-natural energy shot! For Lisa and Steve McAnulty, their
journey to this moment began as professors and researchers at Appalachian State University
located in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Lisa, a professor in Nutrition, and
Steve, a professor in Exercise Science, collaborated on numerous research projects examining
the effects of antioxidants from whole foods and supplements on markers of cellular damage in
sedentary, diseased, and physically active individuals. One of the main foods they utilized in
much of their research was blueberries.
While Lisa and Steve were busy teaching, conducting research, and mentoring students in
Boone, Claude Galipeau, an engineer by training who works for the City of Savannah Industrial
and Domestic Water Plant in Georgia, was spending much of his free time cultivating a new
interest- farming! By putting his engineering skills to use and learning more about sustainable
farming techniques, Claude developed a closed-loop aquaponics farming technique that utilizes
fish to make fertilizer that can grow quality produce. Once the fish reach a certain size, they can
be used for food. When his wife, Diane, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2014, Claude
was committed to healing her and making the food we eat healthier. Through working with
Johns Hopkins healthcare providers, incorporating foods grown from Claude’s new farming
methods, and maintaining a strong faith, Diane’s health was miraculously restored. Today,
Claude’s goal is to change the farming world one farm at a time with a mission of growing
healthy food that is easily accessible for everyone to enjoy!
So, how did a farmer from Savannah, Georgia team up with a couple of professors from Boone,
North Carolina? This is where Lisa’s brother, Tobi Stasco, a salesman for a Georgia-based
company that deals with field of instrumentation and process control equipment, enters the
story. As part of his job, Tobi routinely made visits to the water plant where Claude is
employed. Through several conversations with Tobi, Claude came to know of Lisa and Steve’s
research and decided to reach out to them to learn more about their backgrounds and the
possibility of collaborating on products for Claude’s fertilizer and natural products business-
True Earth.
Lisa and Steve had recently made the decision to move to Auburn, Alabama with their daughter,
Olivia, who was entering her senior year of high school. Of course, this move came during the
summer of the first year that COVID-19 spread through our nation. Within two weeks of arriving
in Auburn, Lisa and Steve received two similar calls- one from an entrepreneur in California and
one from Claude in Georgia. Both men expressed interest in forging a relationship with the
professors to develop several health products related to findings from their years of research.
Lisa and Steve ultimately decided that Claude was the right person. Something about Claude’s
passion for sustainable farming and dedication to healing his wife deeply resonated with them.
While work began on two products focused on improving blood pressure and immune function,
this project was put on the back burner when the team was challenged to create a shelf-stable
energy shot that could sit right alongside 5-Hour Energy. The one caveat was that this energy
shot had to be all natural with no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners. Well, this was a
challenge that the professors and the farmer could not refuse!
For over two years, Lisa, Steve, and Claude have worked countless hours to produce a high
quality energy shot. One of Claude’s farmers, Brandon Wade, owns Alma Nursery & Berry
Farms in Alma, Georgia and has been instrumental in supplying True Earth with the best
Georgia-grown 100% blueberry pomegranate juice. Brandon utilizes the fertilizer made by True
Earth. In turn, True Earth incorporates blueberries grown at Alma Nursery & Berry Farms, that
may have blemishes and can’t be sold in stores but otherwise still retain all the nutrition and
flavor, into its energy shot production. This sustainable approach results in greater crop yield
which translates to increased revenue for the blueberry farmers. It has been amazing working
with Brandon and highlighting his family's blueberries in our product. His facility was where our
inaugural bottling took place!
Product development has continued more recently in Griffin, Georgia at the University of
Georgia Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center (FoodPIC). Dr. James
Gratzek, Director of FoodPIC, has provided invaluable guidance to the True Earth team and has
been instrumental in seeing our product come to fruition.
We are excited to be sharing our high-quality energy-sustaining product with you, and we are
committed to proudly making our energy shot in the U.S.A.- free of artificial flavors, colors, or
sweeteners! True Earth Energy - “When it has to be real!”