Foodpreneur

Foodpreneur:

Andy LaPointe

About the Foodpreneur: 

We started our business with the goal of offering a complete line of fruit products and offering health and life enriching products.  I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in business. 

About the Traverse Bay Farms Biz:

We only specialize in fruit-based products and offer a complete line of super fruit products for every meal of the day. Our pineapple salsa was voted #1 and #3 red raspberry salsa was voted #3 fruit salsa in America. Our Black bean salsa was voted #1 black bean salsa in America and our corn salsa was voted #2 salsa in America in the general salsa category in the 2007 America's Best National Food Competition. We also offer dried fruit, cherry juice concentrate, tart cherry capsules and super fruit supplements.

Number of Employees:

5

Clients: 

Main grocery stores, i.e. Meijer Stores, Piggly Wiggly, etc. and Resorts and Spas 

Marketing Strategies:

To offer a complete and complimentary line of great tasting, healthy products for every meal of the day.

Fun Food Story: 

We were invited to Hollywood for the 2007 Academy Awards. Great photos and great stories.

Andy knew Traverse Bay Farms was a hit when: 

When we started our business...

 In the News:

Training and Conditioning, Self, Los Angeles Time, Red Book, Let's Live, In Touch, Entrepreneur, Splash, Spa Review Magazine, Entrepreneur, Dolce 

Why is Andy in the Food Business?

To deliver products to enhance our customer's enjoyment of life.

Words to the Wise: 

Create your own brand and don't copy the competition. The food business has a lot of companies that can't market, so they copy the competitors marketing strategies and themes.

 Contacting Traverse Bay Farms:

Traverse Bay Farms
7053 M-88 South
P. O. Box 1229
Bellaire, MI  49615
 (231) 533-8788
Website:  Traverse Bay Farms
Blog:  Traverse Bay Farms 

Foodpreneur:

Mary Fabiano

About the Foodpreneur: 

Summer Kitchen Fine Foods Inc. (“Summer Kitchen”) is an award winning local Canadian gourmet food manufacturer and distributor that specializes in creating unique food products that appeal to consumers who appreciate quality, and taste with a little flair.  Chef-owner Mary Fabiano started the Company in its present form in 1996.  Training at Le Cordon Bleu London Culinary Arts Institute, she enhanced her experience by working with some of the most innovative chefs in both Italy and Toronto. Mary established Summer Kitchen to respond to market interest in unique food products that are made from pure, natural ingredients, and address the cultural diversity of the global market.  Summer Kitchen’s products are predominately carried by higher end food shops, but are increasingly finding their way into specialty shops as well.  You are invited to view Summer Kitchen’s portfolio of products, and additional information about the company by visiting www.summer-kitchen.com. As a matter of interest, Summer Kitchen’s web site is currently being upgraded to reflect the increased demand for its offerings.

About the Summer Kitchen Fine Foods Biz: 

Mary Fabiano is the chef behind this sexy food company known as Summer Kitchen Fine Foods Inc.  Summer Kitchen has come to be known among “the dare to be different” crowd, and was the brainchild of two visionary sisters in Paris, Ontario up until 1996 when Mary spearheaded the company into a new age.

 Her training at the Cordon Bleu and her work with some of the most innovative caterers of Toronto and Italy has instilled in her an infinite appreciation for quality.  Combine this with her passion, creativity and endless curiosity and you have an award winning formula for a successful food company such as Summer Kitchen.

 Summer Kitchen, under the direction of Mary Fabiano, has received many accolades.  In 1996, at the International Summer Fancy Food and Confectionery Show, Summer Kitchen introduced its unusual Amorizia Horseradish Spread.  It was selected 1st runner-up in the Savoury Condiment, Cooking Enhancement or Spice category.  That same year, Summer Kitchen’s Banana Patch Jam was awarded 1st runner-up in the Sweet Condiment and Enhancer category for the “People’s Pick” at the Toronto’s Good Food Festival and Market.  Also, in that same year, this young food company was honoured with Best Specialty Food Design at the Second Ontario Creative Art Show, which is part of the Toronto Gift Show.  In February of 2006, Mary successfully competed and won the “Best in Show” for a Pear Walnut and Marsala Wine Desert Sauce developed for the California Walnut Growers. She received honours and a grand prize of $10, 000 at the Canadian International Food and Beverage Show. 

 If the word “refined” has a taste, it is sure to be any food prepared by Mary Fabiano.  Summer Kitchen and Mary Fabiano are devoted to bringing you the biggest flavours with minimal effort.  They provide natural tastes that guarantee to please even the stiffest palate.

 Mary’s “you be the judge” attitude has granted her credibility in developing tastes that she is proud of.  Mary’s apparition for her food remains “if you don’t love our food, what’s the point?”

 Founded:

 1996

Number of Employees: 

4

Clients: 

Longo's, Pusateri, Holt Renfrew, Ashleys 

Marketing Strategies:

Distributor

Fun Food Story: 

Selling products to Oscar Peterson and engaging in conversation without knowing who he was, I kept on asking him if he was an artist of some sort but he denied it until the last moment at which point he handed me his card with a big grin on his face.  He said he wished he could have had our conversation taped.

 Mary knew Summer Kitchen Fine Foods was a hit when:

Three months into it we were nominated for a prestigious award at NASFT.

 In the News:

Product is in Stepford Wives movie, Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, Hamilton Spectator, Style Home Magazine, Canadian Living Magazine, Elle Magazine, Breakfast Television

Why is Mary in the Food Business? 

 My passion!

Words from the Wise:

Allow food to break down any racial barriers...

Contacting Summer Kitchen Fine Foods: 

Summer Kitchen Fine Foods Inc.
1444 Dupont Street, Unit 4
Toronto, ON    M6P 4H3
Canada
(416) 621-8641
Website:  Summer Kitchen Fine Foods Inc.

Foodpreneur:

Julia Conway

About the Foodpreneur:

The newest member of the Stella Cadente family is Mendocino County chef Julia Kendrick Conway. A devoted fan of Stella Cadente’s oils from her tenure as a manager at a local specialty food store, Julia was a natural choice to take the company to the next level. With culinary training from the Napa valley’s Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, and at a farm school in Tuscany, Julia brings a cook’s perspective and palate to product development and marketing. As a local leader for Slow Food, she believes that Stella Cadente’s local wine-country roots are an essential part of product’s identity. “As technology continues to separate people from each other and from their culinary roots, it is important to remember where our food comes from…” This is why the company’s expansion will always be tied to the sense of place established by the farmers themselves.

About the Stella Cadente Olive Oil Biz:

The name Stella Cadente sounds romantic, even if one doesn’t know that it means “shooting star” in Italian. Away from city lights in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County the nights are very dark, and the summer months bring a spectacular display of shooting stars. This was founders Sue Ellery and Tom Hunter’s inspiration for the names Shooting Star Ranch and Stella Cadente Olive Oil. Some compare this part of Northern California to Tuscany, and the extravagant vistas range from redwood forests to golden hillsides dotted with oak. The morning fog slides into the valley from the Pacific, taking the edge off the summer heat and providing an almost perfect climate for growing grapes and olives.

Founded in 1999, when the first three acres of olives were planted at the ranch, Stella Cadente went on to produce their first extra virgin oil in 2000 and won recognition from the International Olive Oil Council in Perugia, Italy, for being “…equal to or better than the best of the Italian oils.” From these proud roots, Stella Cadente has slowly grown to become the premier source for oils produced from Mendocino County’s unmatched Tuscan-style olives. Today, many of the olives used are sourced from small family farms and vineyards in the hills and valleys of the county, produced sustainably and independently, as are many of the regions well-known wines. Once sold only at local farmers’ markets, Stella Cadente is now found at select retailers across the country.

Number of Employees:

2-3

Clients:

A wide variety of retail and wholesale, consummate foodies

Marketing Strategies:

Stick to what we are, a small artisanal company that produces a sustainable, high quality product.

Fun Food Story:

In 2007, our olive harvest was very late due to a foggy summer. We picked on a cold, windy early December day, and it was late in the afternoon before we loaded up the 4 tones of olives and headed for the mill, an hour's drive over the mountains. When I had studied in Tuscany, we had enjoyed a traditional Zuppa della Frantoia (Olive Press Soup) with the newly pressed oil. Before leaving for the ranch, I had packed up a batch of this hearty, bean-based winter vegetable soup and a loaf of crusti ciabatta, with a small butane burner and a soup pot. By the time we started pressing, it was already dark and cold, and I fired up the soup in a back corner of the mill room. The owner of the press, myself and the two Italian apprentices enjoyed a steaming hot bowl of the soup, served over a slice of the bread and drizzled with a stream of the newly stone-pressed oil, just as it is done in mills all over Italy. It warmed the heart and the soul, and energized us to finish the pressing, the last batch of olives of the day.

Julia knew Stella Cadente Olive Oil was a hit when:

One of the four bingo card leads from the Chicago Spring Fancy Food Show, where our product was displayed as a Sofi Silver Finalist but we were not actually exhibiting, was a famous Food Network chef.

In the News:

National Geographic Traveler, The Street.com, Times of the Islands, Estylo!, The Nibble.com, Pottery Barn catalog (photo placement, not product sales), photo placement in a feature film (still in editing phase)

Why is Julia in the Food Business?

I love producing and selling a product that makes people happy. I spent 20+ years in the high-tech industry, and wanted to work in a business where people actually enjoyed the business and the products.

Words from the Wise (what you don't like about the biz):

Unlike Europe, American customers do not really recognize the value of quality, artisan products. We are spoiled by the availability of cheap, mass-produced and distributed foods, and do not really support our small farmers and producers as a viable part of our economies and communities. This is also why I am very active in Slow Food.

A Final Thought from Julia:

After giving up a fast-paced, highly paid urban lifestyle for a rural one, I would never go back!

Contacting Stella Cadente Olive Oil: 

 Stella Cadente Olive Oil
17451 Jade Court
Fort Bragg, CA  95437
(800) 305-1288
Website:  Stella Cadente Olive Oil

Foodpreneur:

Jason Tenenbaum

About the Foodpreneur: 

My initial background was in the pharmaceutical industry.  I received my Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine and was working  for a contract research organization for a time before openiing Solomon's Gourmet Cookies.  After my worksite was closed, I decided to open a family business.  I work with my mother, and we make and sell cookies developed by her mom, my grandmother.

About the Solomon's Gourmet Cookies Biz:

Solomon's Gourmet Cookies specializes in delicious cookies, brownies, and bars.  Our recipes were handed down to us by my grandmother, Frieda Solomon.  We ship our products in gift boxes all across the country.  Each of our tasty cookies, brownies, and bars are all natural and made with fresh ingredients.  We don't use any preservatives or additives.

 Founded:

2003

Number of Employees: 

10

Clients: 

Law firms, theaters, grocery stores

Fun Food Story: 

Filming the Food Network show, Road Tasted, was a blast.  They called us two days before they wanted to film to let us know that we'd been selected and were going to be on the show.  Our cafe hadn't opened yet, and I had just gotten married that weekend!  It was a good thing I wasn't going on a honeymoon right away.  Everything went off super well, and the Deen brothers and all of their staff were as nice as you could possibly imagine.  We really enjoyed spending time with them  and sharing the experience of owning family businesses.

In the News: 

Food Network, Rachel Ray Show, Today Show, Chicago Tribune, WGN, ABC 

Why is Jason in the Food Biz?

It's much nice being in a business where the things you're around everyday won't kill you if you're not careful!

Contacting Solomon's Gourmet Cookies: 

Solomon's Gourmet Cookies
2222 N Elston Avenue
Chicago, IL  60614
(888) 384-8575
Website:  Solomon's Gourmet Cookies
Blog:  Solomon's Gourmet Cookies  

Foodpreneur:

Gary Shinner

About the Foodpreneur: 

Grew up in Chicago, went to Manchester College, worked in investment banking before co-founding Mighty Leaf Tea with my wife Jill Portman.  We sold our tea products in a store before beginning our wholesale distribution business.

I'm into fitness, lifestyle, film, books, and of course my family.

About the Mighty Leaf Tea Biz: 

Mighty Leaf Tea creates and sells tea products to stores and other companies. Our hallmark is our redefinition of the tea experience  as being a sensory excursion at every touch point...a lifestyle experience.  Mighty Leaf Tea is sold at upscale restaurants, hotels and available at quality grocery stores.

Founded: 

 March 1996

Number of Employees: 

60

Clients: 

Whole Foods, Nordstroms, Cost Plus, Ritz Carlton 

Marketing Strategies: 

Sampling and events

Fun Food Story: 

A publication referred to the Mighty Leaf silken tea pouch experience "Like sleeping in the nude."

Gary knew Mighty Leaf Tea was a hit when: 

NY Times article quoted a senior Lipton tea executive saying "although an improvement, Lipton's new entry level premium tea line is still a far cry from the quality of Mighty Leaf Tea".

In the News: 

NY Times, CNBC, CNN, Cooks Illustrated, Inc., NY Magazine, US News, Food and Wine and others...

Why is Gary in the Food Business? 

I'm a sensory guy that's infused with passion.

Words from the Wise (what you don't like about the biz):

Can't think of anything at the moment...I'll ponder over a cup of Mighty Leaf Tea

A Final Thought from Gary: 

Cheers!

Contacting Mighty Leaf Tea: 

Mighty Leaf Tea
136 Mitchell Blvd
San Rafael, CA  94903
(415) 491-2650
Website:  Mighty Leaf Tea