If you ask Meghan (Capozzi) Rowe ’99 where her story begins, she’ll tell you it started long before her company, White Leaf Provisions, ever had a name. It began in Greenfield Hill, Fairfield, in a home where food and entrepreneurship were a way of life.
Meghan grew up with parents whose careers blended business, creativity, and food. Her father, John Capozzi, was a multi-talented entrepreneur and accomplished marketer—“long before that was the trendy title it is today,” she says. Her mother, LaDonna Capozzi, was equally pioneering: one of American Airlines’ first international flight attendants, later leading the airline’s stewardess college, and eventually becoming head of menu planning for SkyChefs.
In the 1990s, the Capozzis launched a snack foods company out of their home. LaDonna developed recipes on the kitchen counter, and Meghan was the chief taste tester. The company was eventually acquired by Campbell’s under the Pepperidge Farm label. “You could say I never really had a choice not to be in this world,” says Meghan, “Food and entrepreneurship were simply the energy of our household.”
Meghan’s GFA story began in the 1980s, when she started Kindergarten with Mrs. Fogarty. She fondly remembers teachers who shaped her earliest experiences: Mr. Buckley, Mrs. Ford, Mrs. Hiller, Mrs. Martinez, and Mr. Santella among them. After seventh grade, Meghan spent two years at boarding school as she navigated her ADHD, then returned to GFA in 10th grade to finish high school alongside her brother Peter ’97. Her time at GFA shaped her in ways that would carry into her entrepreneurial journey. The rigorous academics taught her discipline and persistence, and built her sense of dedication. Meanwhile, participating in sports showed her that showing up matters just as much as standing out. Teachers like Mr. Santella, Mr. Buckley, Mr. Benx, and Mr. Dietrich made learning fun and approachable, and helped her embrace both her strengths and weaknesses as keys to success.
After graduation, Meghan began her freshman year at SMU in Dallas, but quickly realized it wasn’t the right fit: “That experience taught me one of my earliest adult lessons: jump early, pivot quickly, and don’t waste time in environments that don’t align with who you are becoming.” She transferred to the University of Vermont and majored in Fine Arts, a choice she describes as “what my soul craved at the time”. In retrospect, it was the perfect fit: “I didn’t need a college degree to understand business,” she says, “ I was already learning far more at home than any textbook could teach me. So instead, I chose to study what inspired me.”
Travel deepened her perspective, and at eighteen, a summer in Italy opened her eyes to Europe’s approach to food, farming, and quality standards. “The quality of everyday ingredients was on an entirely different level,” she recalls. Struck by Europe’s strict regulations on chemicals, additives, and preservatives, she spent subsequent summers abroad, eventually earning a master’s degree in Paris. Later, Meghan settled in Key West, where she met her husband, Keith Rowe. She looks back on this move fondly, saying, “Key West taught me to follow opportunities rather than force them, and that sometimes the most meaningful chapters begin in places you never planned to go.” Today, she and Keith live in Charleston with their sons, Keegan and Cameron.
After her first son was born, Meghan experienced postpartum depression and anxiety, and became highly aware of the products she was using around her baby. She was startled by the lack of clean, transparent, organic baby food and formula options in the U.S., and wanted to give her son a better start—‘good enough’ was not going to work. In 2014, Meghan and Keith co-founded White Leaf Provisions, a family-run food company offering biodynamic, regeneratively farmed, certified organic, non-GMO baby and toddler foods. Meghan’s commitment to regenerative farming is central to White Leaf’s mission. She emphasizes that it is not a trend but a revival of traditional, sustainable practices that restore soil health, nurture ecosystems, and produce more nutrient-dense food. Biodynamic farming guides every decision the company makes—from sourcing ingredients to building relationships with farmers.
The company’s early years were defined by challenges. U.S. baby food manufacturers required minimum orders of 300,000 pouches per flavor—an impossible starting point for a new brand—so they looked to Europe. After nearly three years of searching, they found a manufacturer in the Italian Dolomites who offered 10,000 unit minimum runs, allowing them to start small and scale responsibly, officially launching in 2018. Today, the brand is now in roughly 4,000 stores nationwide, and has grown from two products to thirteen, with three more set to launch in 2026. The brand has expanded from small independent and natural food stores to national chains like Whole Foods, and is now entering conventional grocery stores like Publix and Meijer. Meghan sees this trajectory as proof that regenerative, biodynamic food isn’t just a niche interest, but something that’s becoming the choice more families are making for their children. “Go all in. Listen to your instincts because they’re rarely wrong.”
When asked what guidance she’d offer GFA students hoping to build something of their own, Meghan didn’t hesitate. “Go all in,” she says. “Listen to your instincts because they’re rarely wrong.” Her own journey has taught her that meaningful work takes time, and that the “three Ps” she lives by—patience, passion, and persistence—matter far more than the myth of overnight success. She encourages young founders to seek out people who’ve truly walked the path, to stay curious, and to keep saying yes to opportunities that help them grow.
For Meghan, these principles aren’t abstract; they’re the thread running through every chapter of her life. Each pivot, setback, and leap of faith helped shape the company she and Keith eventually built. And as she reflects on that path, what stands out isn’t the scale of the business, but the intention behind it: doing work that matters and staying committed to the people it serves. It’s the message she hopes students carry forward: when you trust the pull of what feels right and pair it with steady effort, you give yourself room to build something real and full of purpose.