Just add us.
We’re the ingredients.

We opened our doors over twenty years ago because we wanted to work with brands worth rooting for. Brands making a mark on health, on culture, on how people live. Often, they just needed the right ingredients to get there. That’s us. 

Since then, we’ve helped over two hundred food, lifestyle, and technology brands become the ones people keep coming back to.

  • Data nerds
  • Zeitgeist chasers
  • Color perfectionists
  • TikTok masters
  • Brand obsessives
  • AI explorers
  • Food marketing junkies
  • Data nerds
  • Zeitgeist chasers
  • Color perfectionists
  • TikTok masters
  • Brand obsessives
  • AI explorers
  • Food marketing junkies

Why Active Ingredients

01

Always the A-team

Every team is built around senior people who never stop paying attention. We stay close to the trends, platforms, and cultural shifts your audience cares about.

02

Focus + friends

Agencies that try to do everything often have gaps. We build teams differently: our amazing crew, plus long time partners who are seriously good at what they do. Experts at every position, no one stretched thin, and deep shared experience to deliver the goods.

03

Big shop talent, small shop scrappiness

We’ve got people who’ve built brands at elite agencies and created content that’s reached millions at places like Tasty (Buzzfeed) and Williams Sonoma. Think top-level creative firepower, without the bloat.

04

Quick to fluent

Twenty years across food, wellness, lifestyle, and technology means we probably already speak your language. Different industry? We’ve made careers of mastering complex ones quickly.

05

Creativity ♥’s data

Great work takes both sides: creative instinct and hard data, working hand in hand. We love the tension between the two. That push and pull is where the good stuff happens.

Built by people who give a damn

We’re based in Marin County, with team members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, in both Portlands, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Cincinnati. We live the lifestyle our clients’ brands sell. You’ll work with people who love what they do and give a damn about getting it right.

Brian West

Partner, Creative Strategy & Technology

Mary Ames

Partner, General Manager

Eric Eisenberg

Partner, Brand Strategy & Content

Sara Behrendt

Executive Creative Director

Betsy C.

Social & Influencer Strategy

Clare L.

Content Creation

Misty A.

Design & Animation

Christine M.

Web/UI Design

John D.

Design

Tom W.

Technology & Development

Nick K.

Technology & Development

Pascale G.

Account Management

Ei-Lun Y.

Account Management

Richard R.

Search Marketing

Andrew H.

Paid Media

Caitlin B.

Photo & Video

“Half our team’s been here over 10 years. You don’t get that at an agency without people who genuinely love the work they’re doing and care about each other. No egos, no drama. Just great people doing great work.”

Mary Ames, Partner

Our Core Values

  • Bring joy.

  • Learn, unlearn, relearn.

  • Be bold, be humble.

  • Give a damn.