America’s bean king is thriving amid the protein craze

One of the hottest clubs in America today doesn’t serve cocktails or require a dress code, though it does charge a cover and has a pretty long line of people trying to get in.

The club in question: The Rancho Gordo Bean Club, a private subscription-based group with 30k members — and a waitlist of 29k people stewing for entry, per The Wall Street Journal — who pay $200 a year for quarterly deliveries of one trendy yet humble commodity… beans.

But these aren’t just any beans… 

They’re high-quality heirloom beans from Steve Sando, the so-called bean king, whose 40+ dry varieties, including unique ones like Christmas lima beans, cost ~$7.50 a pound. 

Unlike cheaper commodity beans found at supermarkets, these ones are fresher, meaning they cook faster and, most importantly, taste better.  

He founded bean company Rancho Gordo in 2001, back when legumes were considered cool to few beyond Sando himself, but his obsession is finally paying off. 

• Since 2019, Rancho Gordo’s sales have tripled, per WSJ. 
• Today, the company sells 2.5m pounds of beans annually across 40+ heirloom varieties. 

The big bean economy

While beans have long had a bad rap, associated with poverty and flatulence, particularly in the US, the magical fruit that makes you toot is high in protein and fiber, low in calories, and cheap. Which is why they’ve become so popular among health- and budget-conscious Americans in recent years. 

• US bean sales (which first boomed circa 2020, when bean producer Goya reported a 400% increase in bean sales) are up as grocery prices continue to rise.  
• Demand for protein is exploding, with nearly every food and beverage brand capitalizing on the trend with their own protein-rich offerings. 
• As is demand for fiber, with trends like fibermaxxing blowing up on TikTok, where #BeanTok videos have generated millions of views. 
• They’re also good for heart health and more efficient to produce, economically and environmentally, compared to animal protein. 

But that’s not why Sando is obsessed with them…

… and he’s not interested in capitalizing off the current protein and fiber craze either. 

Instead, his goal is to transform the American diet by making beans core to it and repairing its reputation once and for all. 

“When people say, ‘I hate beans,’ I think, Well, you’ve only had kidneys at the salad bar,” he told The New York Times in a 2009 interview. “I’d hate beans, too, if that’s my point of reference.”