Meaningful Marketplace Podcast

Avid gardener Traci Hildner loves the Pacific Northwest’s climate and soil because it allows affectionatos like her to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables, all filled with fabulous taste and nutrition. But Traci also was interested in keeping as much of the crop as possible and not wasting much, if any of her bounty. And so, she began researching the preservation of our great variety of foodstuffs and has become a leading expert on the subject. So much so she started her own business to teach and encourage others to share her passion for revering the food harvest and making sure it all was consumed. Her company, The Lucky Larder, LLC, takes a bit of explanation. The word lard may conjure up visions of clogged arteries, but the word larder actually translates to pantry; the storage of food for off season, hard times or even emergencies. Traci started her company in early 2015 after years of self-tutoring in the art and science of canning and preserving. That education came with the purchase of she and her husband’s first home, which led to the planting of her first garden. Excited after the harvest of her first year’s crop, Traci expanded her garden for the next harvest. That move led to an oversupply of fresh food and Traci was faced with the reality of throwing away the unconsumed portions. Then around 2013, she went through Oregon State University’s Master Food Preservation program and her certification became the foundation for the business. This same extension program reaches out to all families to assist in helping them stretch their food supplies. And they can be reached via phone or email by the general public. Part of the key to Traci’s success with The Lucky Larder is the business is built on teaching and that is a big part of her background. She taught high schoolers for 15 years and loved it. In fact, if she had not gotten dissatisfied with the “larger system” she would still be there. But it gave her a background in handling a class and measuring their progress. Her classes are mostly hands-on, as Traci feels that is the best way to reinforce learning and drive it to the visceral level. Her classes have been given in the university and college campuses around the state and she does private classes as well. Traci puts on special events and signing up can be done easily on her website. Her exciting news is hopefully she will be moving into a bricks and mortar space soon, which will allow her to offer more classes at a consistent location. Traci’s personal garden grows more fruit and vegetables than can be listed here but suffice it to say her variety and range make her imminently qualified to assist any gardener anywhere. Follow Traci’s two Instagram accounts: @luckylarderpdx and @kitchenculturepdx. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Our hosts are back from the Fancy Foods Show in New York, but with a casualty. Sarah Masoni has become a COVID statistic and while not able to interview with a sore throat on this show, promises us she’ll be back next week for a Fancy Foods Show rundown next week. So Sarah Marshall is interviewing today’s guest, Emily Greene, founder of Foodie Snitch. Emily is a food photographer/journalist and food stylist who currently resides in the Portland area. Emily loves to support Portland businesses and lifestyles through photography and video. She especially focuses on new restaurant openings and show them off through social media. The emphasis is to make things look fun and draw people into their establishment and of course, bring in more business. Emily feels she has so much to work with in the Portland area, that there is so much in terms of innovation and creativity in the food scene plus the added dimension of being in the middle of an agriculture cornucopia. Also, even with inflation, Portland is still one of the more affordable places in the country to explore restaurants. What makes it amusing for Emily is constantly asking herself the question, “What are my top five _______?” (fill in the blank; bars, restaurants, breakfast sandwiches and so forth). She explores that question through her video work but actually answering that question is impossible with all the restaurant choices and new ones popping up all the time. Emily isn’t limited only to the Portland area and pre-COVID travelled frequently outside of Portland. But even now, she finds when her reviews are within driving distance from Portland, her audience is quite willing to travel to her new finds. Emily grew up in Southern Oregon and attended the University of Oregon in Eugene before graduating and moving to Portland. Her degree gave her a graduates’ “dream job” covering restaurant openings with all the glamour and food and drink to make each assignment a party. And going to five or six new places a week got Emily familiar with all the city very quickly. The restaurant scene wasn’t the only assignments for Emily, as she also covered outdoor and community areas, which helped her round out her skill set and contribute to the stunning visuals she creates. But between the connections that food brings to people plus the lack of politics in the food community, Emily chose to focus on the food scene. She has grown to love the teamwork between owners, chefs, staff and patrons. There is also a love for interior design that makes every little detail of the restaurant from the walls to the napkin rings appeal to her. Emily also has a big perspective on her visual journalism profession. She has a handle on what forms of media are getting results, and short, effective videos are definitely leading the way. Emily also emphasizes that many of the videos getting results are done with hand-held mobile devices, which are often referred to as cell phones. To follow Emily, her Instagram and TikTok handles are the same: @foodiesnitch. Her website: https://www.foodiesnitch.com/. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Our show hosts are headed off to New York next week for the Fancy Food Show. Follow them on @masoniandmarshall . And now for a chocolate show, a fan favorite. Maureen Nikaido, is founder of Moku Chocolate a chocolate company with a great story. Since Maureen sponsored a Nicaraguan child and made a visit to the country, she has been dedicated to spotlighting cacao farmers around the world, Her chocolate handcrafts high-quality, bean-to-bar, single-origin chocolate from raw, direct trade cacao beans. Moku’s direct trade beans are sourced from farmers in Nicaragua, Peru, Dominican Republic, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Colombia. This ensures socially responsible compensation to the cacao farmers and fosters prosperity among the farming communities with a focus on integrity, quality, and environmental sustainability. However, it’s the stories she shares with her customers about the farmers, their country and their lives that creates a bond far beyond eating a chocolate bar. Maureen and our host Sarah Masoni originally met at the Portland, Oregon Good Food Mercantile, sponsored by the Good Food Foundation. Its mission is to celebrate, connect, empower and leverage the passionate and engaged, yet often overlooked, players in the food system who are driving towards tasty, authentic and responsible food in order to humanize and reform our American food culture. Maureen started selling Moku Chocolate in February 2021, but the idea had begun on that Central America tour in 2013. She went to a chocolate museum in Granada. The story of cacao bean, the source of chocolate, the fact that it grew on trees, the natural beauty of the region and the care and craftsmanship that went into creating chocolate was so richly told that Maureen was hooked. There was another side to the story, however. The cacao bean was essentially a second crop for the farmers, to bring in some extra income. But the share of the global market value they received as incredibly small, and most families were barely subsisting. After a few years, Maureen jumped into researching the chocolate craft community and in 2019 things got serious business-wise. Luckily, she found a legion of people who wanted to make chocolate treats, but also support fair trade and a better life for the farmers. Maureen then took some online classes to learn how to make chocolate and since then the notoriety has been excellent. Her first big award was International Chocolate Awards for her goat milk chocolate. And the awards have been stacking up ever since. Maureen’s packaging is extremely sophisticated and consistent, so take a look on her website when you have a chance. Her distribution is currently online and about two dozen grocery stores down the central valley of Oregon. Where to find out more about Maureen and Moku Chocolate: Website - Moku Chocolate – moku chocolate Instagram - Maureen Nikaido (@mokuchocolate) • Instagram photos and videos Twitter - Moku Chocolate (@MokuChocolate) / Twitter Good Food Mercantile - https://goodfoodfdn.org/event/good-food-mercantile-portland/ @masoniandmarshall on Instagram Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Oregon State University supports small farms and the people who run them. OSU’s small farms program offers workshops, online resources and site-specific gatherings that cover the entire state. Recognizing that farm soils, topography, weather and so forth vary greatly across Oregon, the program addresses the different regions and the different knowledge it takes to farm successfully. In-person individual farm tours are starting up again with the COVID lockdown behind us. Teagan Moran runs the south Willamette Valley program and got involved after her college education. Dissatisfied with what she felt was isolation brought on by the tight nuclear family, she searched for communities that were cohesive and working together for a common good. Her conclusion was that small farming communities, working together in the production of food for themselves and others were the communities where she wanted to spend her life. She marveled at finding people who nursed each other with both healthy food and healthy relationships. She spent the next years living and working in the communities that she loved, always tortured with the societal belief that farming was not a sustainable way of life, that economically it just didn’t work anymore. After traveling, learning and being part of these loving communities, Teagan came back to her native Oregon to do graduate work. She pursued community-based education, focusing on the adult population, the theory being communities had much of their destiny in their own hands and education was the best way to help guide good decision making. A side benefit of grad school, Teagan met her now-husband in the process, who also made farming his focus and passion. The two of them began working in the greater Portland, Oregon area, step by step debunking the myth that farming was not a viable path for people. After two years and much training, they went on to manage a farm, start a family and continue to solve the challenge of how to be a family in Oregon that wanted to farm with no access to land. They now have their farmland, but Teagan’s husband manages another farm while Teagan works for OSU’s small farm program, so the difficulty of sustainable small farm operation is reflected in their very lives. The Oregon Small Farm News is one of the program’s communication vehicles that pulls all the threads of the activities around the state, plus it contains the research findings of the program’s professors and keeps farmers up to date. In addition, it gives a voice to supporting organizations and individual farmers to keep the industry viable and relevant. There are three main areas of interest, small acreage stewardship, commercial small farms and community food systems. One of Teagan’s ongoing questions comes from the “newbies”; people who fell in love with the idea of farming, found acreage to buy, moved in and are asking the question, “Now what?” A good publication is “What can I do with my small farm?” to get started. It walks the reader through a series of questions that help them form a decision on the best way to manage their new venture. One of the toughest hurdles Teagan helps people get through is to understand that farming is more than the land and weather, it also depends upon the personality of the farmers and their family philosophy. Some of the great breakthroughs for the program have been laws that allow direct farm to consumer sales and assistance for farmers who want to create value-added foods. And the guidance from the program also includes navigating the complexities of Oregon law, especially in the area of water rights. Learn more by going to the website: smallfarms.oregonstate.edu. The online news publication can be found here. https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms/about/oregon-small-farm-news. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

It’s always great to be first, and Amana Gillies of House of Spain Olive Oil created the first. The first producer of Premium CBD infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. However, not JUST the first, but also the best. She uses only the highest quality, organically grown, Oregon hemp derived CBD. Their CBD contains zero heavy metal or heavy solvent residuals and completely non-detectable THC. And they use the purest CBD crystalline available worldwide. How did this all come about? The company name is a big clue. Amanda’s father is Spanish and immigrated to the US in his later 20s. No money, no English language but his background in furniture and indomitable spirit was the springboard to a real American success story. Amanda and her husband had spent their working lives in the service industry and had experience in hospitality and restaurants and then Amanda’s entrepreneurial father approached them with an idea. Since they had deep family connections living in Spain, would they be interested in importing the country’s premier olive oils? Her husband, Peter, and she had wanted to start their own business anyway, so the timing could not have been better. They received their first half-pallet of olive oil and before they had any business materials, even business cards, Amanda signed them up for the Northwest Food Service Show in 2018. Talk about fearlessness! There was one hitch; since they didn’t even have a legal entity, they had to sign up under Amanda’s father’s business name, House of Spain, in order to be in the show. The show was a huge success for them, and they had tons of names for follow up, but it was definitely too late to change the name of their business. So, it stuck. They did add on the phrase EVOO, which stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but essentially they have kept the father’s namesake. A quick look at their website will show how their product offering has evolved and expanded since those first days. However, the company name really does reflect the authenticity and sourcing of the company’s products. Combining her family heritage along with the millennial-long history of Spain is an amazing story behind the product in the package. Beyond the romance of the story, however, is the practical matter of sales and competition. Olive oil is a saturated market and even with their early success, Amanda and Peter knew they needed to ladder on more products to grow the business. The idea of infusing the olive oil with premium CBD came about because they were both using CBD and in a brainstorming session, it seemed very natural to create something that differentiated itself and was also making people’s lives better. Beyond olive oil, they also have infused CBD into gummies, teas, pet products, tinctures, salves and honey. House of Spain products are available in select stores and online, where they ship from their headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

From her Norwalk, Connecticut headquarters Anne Grossman, founder of Rebel Daughter Cookies bakes up much more than cookies. She also bakes up, as her website says, “Women empowerment and giving yourself permission to indulge and savor every bite.” Here’s the story behind the cookie. Rebel Daughter was the nickname given to Anne by her Mother. Always pushing the boundaries, always doing what she was told she couldn’t do, Anne was really rebelling against any limitations put on her and always urging others to do the same. To not be pigeon-hold or stifled and to flourish as we were all born to do was her mission. She came from a rather conservative family who played by the rules and so asking questions and challenging the status quo made her stand out as rebellious, a trait that would carry through to her company. Started in November, 2019, Rebel Daughter Cookies was the perfect challenge for Anne. Mother of two with absolutely no official culinary background, this impossible, unachievable goal was the perfect ceiling for Anne to break through. And in addition to all those hurdles, COVID hit the company right away. Even though Anne had no formal culinary training, she did grow up in the kitchen cooking and baking with her Mother and Grandmother. It was her curiosity added to her determination that gave her a scientific approach to producing her amazing, indulgent and unique cookie product line. As she says, for some cookies she gets the recipe perfect in three tries, others take 20. Her chocolate chip walnut cookie, for example was born trying different ingredients, adding more of some, less of others and having her husband be the one-person taste panel. After testing cookies about every other day, he said, “This is it, you’ve got the recipe” and a new cookie was born. Naturally, her cookie recipes “rebel” against the status quo and if go to her website, you will see testimonial after testimonial saying her cookies are far and above the most famous brand names around. There are about 9 or so flavors currently and all sold online. The packaging also reflects the care, craftsmanship and quality of the cookies and is truly stunning. It wasn’t easy getting the packaging where it is now, either. Anne started with FedEx boxes, then wanted to improve the looks and searched around for a manufacturer. This was during COVID and of course, everyone had supply problems, delays, shutdowns and the whole story. But Anne persevered and found a west coast company that could produce the quality and quantity she needed in a reasonable timeframe. If you’re thinking of a unique gift, you should take a look at her site. The cookies are large and creatively decorated. And for new mothers, there are even three special lactation cookies formulated just for them. Whether or not you are a rebel daughter or have one in your family, order some up and indulge without guilt. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Our show’s hosts, Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall, are well connected as you know, and today’s guest is connected with Sarah Masoni as a fellow committee member and attendee at the last Fancy Foods show in Las Vegas. Laura Briscoe of Laura’s Gourmet Granola and Sarah are mutual advocates for promoting crafted, artisan, healthy and delicious new foods and provide incredible support to the industry. After graduating from college as a Poli-Sci major, Laura went to work in the tech industry in sales. The crunch of 2001 convinced her to get away from the hectic tech pace and find a new avenue. It was a movie, “Eat Drink Man Woman” that was the epiphany for Laura. She identified with the daughter in the movie and was inspired to check out the best culinary school in the area. Laura then enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu in Arizona. It was during school she realized that she did not want a business partner to open a restaurant, she wanted to do it all by herself and began her business plan then. The school allowed her to do her externship to create her business so upon graduation she hit the ground running. Of course, she found out the entrepreneurial path is bumpy. She once cooked for a wedding party of 240 and the only equipment was a grill. Yes, learning to improvise is a mandatory skill. Around 2002-3, Laura began playing with a recipe that eventually became the granola for which she is now famous. But while she let that percolate her private chef and fine dining business really took off. She gained a reputation quickly that not only included running a great business, but led to local news and talk show cooking segments that grew her brand name. But the granola recipe lingered in the back of her mind. She became addicted to granola in college and would stuff herself right out of the box even in the classroom. Then she saw a recipe in a magazine to make granola and decided to make her own with exceptions. Those exceptions were butter, sugar and other ingredients she just would not eat. But she experimented with the recipe substituting ingredients acceptable to her and then one day, her original vanilla crunch granola was born (It is still the flagship flavor of the line). When Laura baked, she baked a bunch and had so much she gave it away. Of course, the rest is a familiar story: Friends loved it, wanted more, gave it to their friends and suddenly Laura was beseeched with offers to pay her, trade her, any compensation to have some of her fabulous granola, and the light went on. A best friend said she should sell it so she started talking to stores but couldn’t get to the decision makers. Then, synchronicity and serendipity, as Laura likes to say, hit. She walked into a store to get some ingredients and noticed a bunch of men in suits holding court. When Laura asked the checker what was going on, she was told the store was going to be turned into a AJs Fine Foods store and pointed out the owner. As soon as the owner broke from the pack, Laura was there pitching him on her product and her plans. He told her he’d give the product a try and, true to his word, she got a call 10 days later saying they would stock the granola on their shelves. That was the start, as the store wanted more flavors and Laura began adding flavors and the line just kept growing from customer demand. Laura’s has grown tremendously and her granola in lots of stores – check out her website – sells online and has Laura’s Gourmet Granola on menus from Florida to Alaska in hotels, restaurants, corporate dining, professional and collegiate sports teams and healthcare food services. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

In this episode, we break tradition. Meaningful Marketplace interviews female food company founders and female entrepreneurs in the food marketplace. But Tory Campbell’s family business is truly worthy of a message that needs to be shared with the entire food world. Their company, Felton & Mary’s Artisan Foods, produces the magic behind that glorious, mouth-watering global pastime, Bar-B-Queuing. Along with the spectrum of sauces that cater to all tastes, Felton & Mary also offers spice rub for advanced meat preparation, and they have now branded their very own link sausages, a recipe of ground pork, ground beef and an ideal blend of their special seasonings. And now the story behind the company name and the family. Felton and Mary Campbell were Tory’s grandparents. If you knew them you would have known, as Tory says, “…two amazing people who really had a knack for hospitality…”. They always had big pots of food on the stove at their home and always welcomed friends, family and neighbors to come over and enjoy their food. To them, community was built through hospitality and food. Felton and Mary met in the Bay Area and retired up to Portland, Oregon in the mid-80’s. Their children and grandchildren, including Tory, followed them there and it was only natural to start a family business around the food and community they had enjoyed all their lives. Felton and Mary were particularly adept a Bar-B-Que and there’s a reason behind that. Bar-B-Queuing is an intensive love affair with the meal. It’s a commitment of time, labor, multiple ingredients and is a community project. There’s downtime in the process, time where people play board games, shoot the breeze and catch up on events. Plus, there’s tradition and showmanship; the cook has center stage. It also revolves around a big fire, so it’s somewhat primal as well. The recipes developed at home were the impetus to start a restaurant, which coincidently wound up being in their home. Felton, Mary, kids, grandkids and neighbors all pitched in, knocking down walls, painting and pulling up tree stumps (Want a tough job? Try that some time.) and the quaint home became Campbell’s Bar-B-Que restaurant. They were big believers in urban farming and utilized the collard greens, basil and other ingredients from their backyard garden. It ran continuously until a few years ago, with Tory’s aunt in charge. Then in 2014 after the closing, she turned the recipes over to Tory, telling him it was time for the third generation to take the ball and run with it. Tory’s mission is to spread his family’s recipes and traditions to the world in an effort to create communities everywhere. The labeling is homage to Felton and Mary for a couple of reasons. First, Tory feels people want to know the source and authenticity for a branded food. They want to know the reason someone was compelled to search for a recipe or a process that was different and worth sharing. But second for very practical reasons, there are lots of Bar-B-Que sauces out there and as Tory says, “You’ve got to stand out!”. A college friend of Tory’s used to go to the restaurant and went on to become a successful graphic designer. He was a natural to work on the labeling and one more shining example of the community that has been built around the Campbell family. Currently, the business is not yet large enough for Troy to be involved fulltime, so he has recruited family members to handle different parts of the business until it grows into a full-time occupation. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Chef at two trailblazing establishments, Renata Wood Fired Italian Restaurant and Nourish Mindful Meals, Sandra Arnerich is an amazing juggler of fine cuisines. Sandra’s journey started about as early as it can be done; she was, in her words, “…born a chef”. After a couple of years in a Texas school, she realized food was both her passion and her life’s dream and enrolled in culinary school in Canada. Her choice turned out to be a game changer. One day in class, the teacher gave everyone a library card to check out cookbooks. Not really knowing the restaurant scene of the world, Sandra picked up a cookbook from the world-famous The French Laundry in Nappa, California. She couldn’t put it down. Sandra went straight to her teacher and said she wanted an internship there, which was a huge ask considering it meant an international challenge. However, the school gave it a try and lo and behold, she landed it! As an intern Sandra became enthralled with the art of fresh ingredients and sourcing to create optimum dishes. The French Laundry has its own orchard and garden from which many of its dishes are created. As a real bonus, Sandra also met her husband there and the team worked successfully in restaurants around the Bay Area for some years. However, with two children now in the family, they decided to move to her husband’s home town, Portland, Oregon. Her husband’s family showed them the restaurant scene in Portland so the couple had a very clear idea of what they wanted to open. They felt Portland had great food but they wanted to integrate all that a great restaurant could be; a great wine list, cocktail list, impeccable service and great food. It was that detail-orientation the couple learned from The French Laundry that they wanted to bring to the area. And so the birth of Renata, wood fired Italian fare, including exceptional pizzas, pastas and meats. Their cocktail menu will drive you wild if you’re a cocktail lover like me. Currently, they’re only open Thursday through Saturday and if you look at their reservation list, they are booked. But don’t despair; if you love their pizza you can pick up their frozen pizzas at select grocery stores, including Market of Choice, one of this show’s sponsors. This endeavor has meant developing the strong partnerships with local farmers, partnerships that were tested during COVID and have stayed in tact. Sandra and her husband’s other venture, Nourish, started with, oddly enough, Sandra’s husband’s back surgery. While recovering and going through his rehabilitation, he found a trainer/coach who had a meal prep program that included a shopping list and recipes. However, the trainer’s big dream was to be able to deliver those nutritious and delicious meals to her clientele and more. So, one person’s dream meets those who can enable that dream and another great business idea was born. The challenge to put together both nutrition with caloric values plus great taste was exactly in Sandra’s wheelhouse and she went to work. Now her circle is complete and strong. She knows that food brings people together, forms fond memories and good, nutritious food is the most important thing people can do for their health. But to really, really spread that philosophy, Sandra and her team know they can’t depend on one restaurant location and meal delivery. That’s why they have increased their distribution into grocery stores, beginning with frozen pizzas, so that everyone can take their hand-crafted wares into their own home. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

When it’s dark, cloudy, rainy and depressing outside and you’re having trouble getting motivated, you need to RALLY yourself. That’s what Alan Maniscalco and Shan Wickham have done for, and to, each other since starting Rally Pizza in 2016 in Vancouver, Washington. And that’s how they feel about their customers, that they too should rally into their restaurant to celebrate, whether a birthday, an anniversary or just to get out of the house on a rainy Tuesday and shake the blues. The husband-wife duo has a great division of labor. Shan is Rally Pizza’s General Manager and Pastry Chef. She grew up baking with her mother and grandmother before attending California Culinary Academy, and now creates Rally Pizza’s incredible vanilla frozen custard sundaes, shakes and Midwest-style ‘concretes’ mixed with her house-baked goods. Alan serves as Executive Chef with more than 20 years' experience as a baker, cook and pizza maker. The two met while working at Restaurant Zibibbo in Palo Alto because Alan had hired Shan right out of culinary school. They went on to open Stone House Bread South in Michigan, consult for community supported bakery Avalon International Breads in Detroit, and redesign the Whole Foods Market artisan bread line - Shan managing the bakery and Alan running the bread program. From 2006-2016, Alan led the kitchen at Ken’s Artisan Pizza in Portland, when it was considered one of the city’s most respected restaurants and among America’s top pizzerias. When they struck out on their own, their mission was to provide an uplifting atmosphere along with authentic Sicilian dishes and local, fresh ingredients and that is clearly evident when you walk in. The dining room is open and bright, the location is easy to get to for the greater metro area residents and there is plenty of parking. The restaurant is family-friendly, specializing in ingredient-driven Neapolitan style pizzas, bountiful farm-fresh salads, handcrafted muffulettas, decadent frozen custard desserts, and tempting cocktails. And according to Shan, they hand make “darn near everything” including the custards and the hand-pulled mozzarella cheese, so it is truly a craft restaurant. The community has appreciated their effort and has been a terrific supporter. Known as one of the “Best Pizza Places in Vancouver” on TripAdvisor, Yelp and Slice Life, the community “rallied” around them with plenty of to-go orders during COVID restrictions. That allowed Shan and Alan to keep themselves in business and the local farmers and suppliers in business as well. The custards are knockout and the salads delicious, but pizza is the calling card here. Start with the dough; the experience at Ken’s Artisan Pizza is of course the main ingredient. Shan as the pastry expert uses the basics of flour, water, salt and yeast to begin the simple vegan dough they make every day. It’s left in the refrigerator up to a day-and-a-half to give it that tangy flavor. Then the sauce, vegan tomatoes, garlic, chili flakes and salt and as Shan says, “easy cheesy” cheese is next. Sourcing local meats, the couple makes their own lamb and beef meatballs. They offer many gluten-free dishes but sadly, there is no way to serve up a gluten-free pizza. And there are amazing drinks for the adults. Shan and Alan have concocted some incredible cocktails using their custards, handmade syrups and spirits. They make up some “boozy floats” like their Blackberry G & T Float, comprised of house blackberry sauce, frozen custard and a can of Freeland Spirits Gin & Rose Tonic. So rally on over when you’re in the area. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Lee Hedgmon grew up in Portland, Oregon, there was a culture of craft so making sweet drinks came very naturally and there are plenty of bee keepers in the region and lots of honey. Making a great brew is one thing, selling it commercially is another. So Lee has partnered with other spirits producers, among them Freeland Spirits of Portland, for whom she also works as a distiller. Previously a distiller for McMenamin’s, a regional pub owner, Lee knew people in the business. She began asking around if people had barrels they were dumping anytime soon and when they did, they went to Lee! In exchange, the distillers got some bottles of Barreled Bee and go their names on the bottle tag for advertising and everybody was a winner! And since distillery barrels have more than one life, Lee also gives her barrels away after she uses them; it’s a great ecosystem and great community. Beyond the actual brewing regimen, Lee is an astute marketer. Her packaging is superb, with distinctive bottling and labeling. The label looks “sophisticated woodsy” and the lid is reminiscent of any fine liquor bottling. A master stroke: She has added the signature wax sealant on the top ala Maker’s Mark. And luckily during the lockdown, her production numbers were small enough she never experienced a shortage of bottles, so distribution was not disrupted. Growth plans are in the works and the challenges to overcome are basic. Lee needs space, the right kind of space. Barrels are large and when filled with honey, very heavy. And as mentioned, temperature and humidity control are crucial. If too cold, the honey can crystalize inside the barrel and it’s not a fun rescue, if rescue is even possible. Aging time is about four months, and the barrels are mixed and tested in between. Drinking the honey straight is probably for the very few, it’s best as part of a cocktail recipe. And here’s a good one (write it down): The Honey Drop. Geneva Gin (from Freeland, Lee makes it also), Barrel Aged Honey (of course), lemon juice, a bit of Cointreau and egg white. Yes, your mouth is watering, so go make one and enjoy. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

We love to interview food founders who also listen to our show, and Ashley Chase is one of them. Ashley has just changed her company name to Bird Food For Humans (originally Bird Seed Food Co); but why? It’s been a big journey for Ashley. Celebrating five years in business, becoming a solo Mom and barely hanging on to her business, Ashley did something both creative and brave. She sent out an email to a select group laying out her situation plainly and honestly that she was looking to either sell her business or find a strategic partner. Lo and behold, she was introduced to a woman named Tessa who had been out of the workforce for some time but was looking for a project and the stars began to align. Tessa not only had a food product background, her husband also happened to be the CEO of a large dairy company. Tessa brought connections and knowledge to the table, but it was still a few months of back and forth to put together the deal. Tessa and husband invested in Ashley’s company and are now the majority owners, but they also brought in more friends who have wound up being strategic partners. So one of the early projects was to end the confusion of “is it bird seed for birds or bird food for humans?” with the name change. That’s the glowing situation today, but the back story provides the real impetus for Ashley’s achievement. Back in 2013, she was a healthy, active person outdoors hiking and indoors leading Zumba classes. Feeling like the vision of health, Ashley was shocked to find out she was actually a rather sick person after running a full blood panel at her doctor’s office. Hearing that she had half the amount of blood as a normal person, Ashley was told not to raise her heartbeat to high levels as she could be prone to a heart attack. Time to open a new chapter and that’s exactly what Ashley did. First was a blood transfusion to get her stable and then tests for all sorts of possibilities. Luckily, she saw a naturopathic doctor who identified gluten as the sole culprit for her woes. Her extreme allergy meant her blood was not being replenished effectively hence the drop in supply. After the change in diet, Ashely was a new person. The allergy had her body performing at half capacity and now at full capacity she was twice the person as before. Bursting with this new lease on life she ran a marathon and many other robust activities. But she got to thinking about all the other people in a similar situation; what could she do to help them? Become a naturopath? She was now a voracious reader and came across a passage saying that having a product was a way to be a microphone for a story and that passage stuck. While managing a coffee shop, Ashley always had a mason jar full of her homemade granola, which a co-worker called bird seed. Everybody loved it and suggested it go on the menu, which it did. Then Ashley got the idea that some attractive packaging would be more appealing and the snowball effect was in gear. They called it the obvious – bird seed granola – and sales took off. A food blogger friend suggested hosting a breakfast and so Ashley built a website by herself, finished it the day before the breakfast and sold $800 from that one event. More shows, more social media and listening to podcasts kept the momentum going and led to initial grocery store shelf space. That grew to 75 locations up until COVID. 2020 Was a tough year and Ashley as for many food founders and she is digging her way out. But it’s working as her loyal customers have stayed alive and kept ordering. Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

The Specialty Food Association puts on a show, a really big show, It is the largest U.S. event focused exclusively on the specialty food industry and although COVID slowed down the show schedule, our very own hosts, Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall, attended the first 2022 show, February 6th through 8th in Las Vegas (yes, it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it). In this episode, they talk about the things they did, the people they saw and the great foods they ate. The Association is comprised of specialty food manufacturers. Specialty foods are hand-crafted, of extremely high quality and this association helps protect their standards, build a community and keep promoting good eating of nutritious foods which are generally found in specialty food stores, certain sections of a grocery store or shops such as your favorite cheese shop. Twice each year, the association puts on their Fancy Food Show, essentially a trade show for their members to reconnect, share, grow their knowledge base and help promote each other’s wares, and to connect with Buyers! Our hosts had a little time to enjoy the big art exhibit on tour and catch a few venues recommended by friends. Of particular interest was the art exhibit. To enter, you go through a door that feels like a minimart with real and not-real products. As you explore, you can go through a refrigerator door, look behind a meat case, open a file cabinet drawer and it opens a secret door – very Alice In Wonderland. Outside in the city, our hosts found a very clean, not crowded Las Vegas. And the food in the restaurants was wonderful; this episode contains a great list if you're interested. But back to the food show. Part of the value of a show is new connections for young company food entrepreneurs and Sarah Marshall gives us a case study in this episode. Tonia Farman, whose company is Queen of Hearts Hemp (episode #82), was personally introduced around by Sarah. Tonia met new food buyers and grocery buyers. These are buyers who would normally take weeks, months and years of door knocking to get an audience and even then might be impossible to see. But a person-to-person setting with a qualified introduction by a known quantity can make a huge difference in the growth trajectory of a budding food company. Queen of Hearts Hemp is one of a long list of Oregon food founders who got to meet and greet important people in the industry by our hosts. It’s great to see business is getting brighter and brighter. And stay tuned to more episodes! Our two hosts are working on a secret “new idea” which will probably be revealed over time…" "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Chef, garden advisor, recipe writer and more! That’s the introduction to Shannon Feltus, owner of Urban Farm Foods, a real information center and shopping place for those who love fresh and inventive meals. Her career began learning from “Gram”, who taught her hearty and wholesome recipes from her secret stash. That evolved into canning foods as a hobby and her generosity evolved into sharing her canned treats with others. An unabashed food nerd, Shannon was herded into the cheffing profession by friends and family who worshipped her cooking. They asked her over and over again to cook for them professionally (meaning Shannon got paid) for dinner parties and special events. This made Shannon feel confident she could enter the chef’s world and that was the beginning of her entry into the commercial world. Around 2012, after gaining notoriety both on local television shows and nationally on the Food Network, she started working seriously on creating her own brand, which is basically her knowledge, passion and energy. Besides being a chef on TV and catering pop up dinners, Shannon puts on classes to teach others. She instructs on proper gardening so people can grow their own nutritious food, invents and shares custom recipes and points to books for background reading. She is so inventive; she is currently developing new seeds for a local seed company, going above and beyond the normal food preparer or even food grower. Shannon loves how she is involved in creating new plant varieties, test-tasing them, and creating even more new recipes to share. An admitted vegetable pusher, Shannon appreciates how her seed producer is creating seeds for plants that will continue to produce year after year, rather than the “one and done” seed production from most companies. And of course, COVID has changed her business model. Not feeling comfortable going into people’s houses to cook for special events as in the past, Shannon channeled her time and energy into more recipes and sharing them along with Urban Farm Foods merchandise to spice up the special meals you can serve. That’s where you’ll find procured book titles as well, and the superb food photography will really put you in the mood to cook. You would do well to check out urbanfarmfoods.co – NOT .com (somebody grabbed that one). You should also note Shannon’s high standards for more than food and seeds. She has eschewed becoming an influencer even though she has had multiple offers. Shannon doesn’t feel right pushing products, she prefers the path of being an honorable businessperson. Her business success is no surprise based on her moral success. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Lots of food entrepreneurs start in their kitchen and then go commercial. But Stefania (please note the spelling) got her start in her mother’s kitchen. A stay at home Mom in Perugia, Italy, Stefania’s Mom along with Stefania’s aunts cooked homemade pasta. Stefania’s Dad worked with farmers and would bring home fresh produce and the family had absolutely delectable dinners. They sat around the table and talked and laughed. Of course, friends and other family members would join in the feasts and at the tender age of four, Stefania was hooked on cooking fresh and authentic. Stefanie, her husband and two boys moved to Portland, Oregon around 2008 and Stefanie was rather shocked to discover grocery shopping in the US. She would go to the store and see people filling their grocery carts with processed foods! Stefanie had learned the Italian way: You go to the baker for bread, the butcher for meat and so forth. You only buy fresh ingredients, take them home and spend a good portion of the day creating masterpieces that go far beyond simply “fueling” the body, you also fuel the soul. And as we have seen before, Stefanie decided to offer her talent to the public. She started a small operation in southeast Portland offering take out dishes including soups and frozen meals. She also sold her foods at a farmers’ market as more or less an experiment, but decided that venue was not the best way to showcase and sell. And now she operates Stefanie’s Kitchen, which is a fascinating case study in dealing with the COVID situation. Stefanie hangs her hat on homemade, fresh ingredients, authentic Italian meals, sauces and pastas. The pasta meals are made with fresh pasta and are available to either pick up or be delivered next day. So, no restaurant with employees and worries about being closed unilaterally, just cook and have meals ready. The magic of her business is her website. Check it out. It is easy to navigate, absolutely sizzles with mouth watering images, and makes it easy to choose and buy. And she has really merchandised well. She offers not only her own cooking, but also direct import Italian products for your pantry (she only offers the best; I have been to the Gentile pasta factory in Italy and it’s world famous). Plus, you can buy her custom napkins, utensils and other accessories. And don’t wait; every day Stefanie loads up the quantities of the different fresh dishes on the website. You will often see “sold out” on the popular dishes that day if you dally too long. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

There are a few hot and spicy flavor companies out there certainly. But Althea Potter’s company combines crunchy, hot, spicy and tasty like no one else. Her love for spicy flavors began early. As a mere baby, her parents gave her pepperoncini peppers as snacks and Althea never lost her craving. Whether you call the taste chili oil or chili crisp, it’s all those things and more with a crunch. Taking from the world’s table from China, Mexico, Central America, Japan and Thailand, Althea has created a flavor base to go in just about any dish to make it more special. Or, as many of her customers write on her website, eat it from the jar! During her career as a chef in Portland, Oregon she received accolades from Portland Monthly, Eater Portland, the Portland Mercury, Willamette Weekly, Imbibe, Time Out London, USA. That 10-year stint was cut short by the COVID lockdown, as the restaurant went the way of so many during that period. And entrepreneurs are borne of that necessity/desperation; Althea decided to pursue her passion in a way to make her own living via a food brand of her own. Like many of our guests, a huge help in getting launched was reaching out to the Food Innovation Center, headed by our host, Sarah Masoni. At the time, the class was offered by teleconference and the lessons learned by Althea saved her much time, heartache and money in getting launched. The instructors were awesome and inspired Althea with confidence. In 2018, with her local press as credentials, she was contacted by The Food Network to apply for Guy's Grocery Games while working in the restaurant. Althea applied, got on the show, filmed it in California and won! That prize money bootstrapped her new venture, The Flavor Society. She is doing it right; packaging is in jars with art-deco like labels that are supremely designed. The jars are clear, so you see the ingredients that are hand crafted in Portland. The Flavor Society website sells Bagel Crunchy Sauce and Pizza Crunchy Sauce jars in combinations online. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

And why would anyone named Robin call her business Vivienne? Vivienne is the French spelling of the name and represents the idea of a Grandmother – Robin’s Wheelright’s best version of a Grandmother – to give people that comforting, genuine feeling when they walk into her Vivienne Kitchen and Pantry, Portlands newest Culinary Bookstore! And to make the feeling even more real, there’s a portrait of dear Vivienne in the store. It’s similar to the Betty Crocker mystique as pointed out by our own Sarah Masoni. Vivienne Kitchen & Pantry is a relaunch, a very ambitious relaunch, of Robin’s former restaurant. The old model before lockdown just didn’t work going forward, so Robin completely changed the layout and offering of her store to be more community-based. Instead of a traditional menu, Vivienne has culinary books to cover the spectrum of recipes and food related stories. And Robin has continued the afternoon bake shop from her earlier restaurant plus she serves a variety of sandwiches. She also has kept many of the take-and-bake items from her original restaurant offerings during the lockdown. In addition, there is a European-style bar, featuring foods and selected natural wines not available anywhere else in the neighborhood. She also offers cookbook workshops for those who wish to further their expertise in the art of food. Patrons are taught from a particular cookbook recipe, learn the techniques for the dish they are preparing, and leave with the cookbook to continue their exploration in their own kitchen. And for those who cook at home, there is a shop full of vintage and new cookware. Vivienne is a two-woman run business, so everything is handled, molded and cooked by Robin. Also, Robin’s background and education is in minimal waste and she is most pleased to call Vivienne a zero-waste business. The café and pantry is a work in progress, however. To launch, Robin started a crowd funding campaign, and is in fact in the middle of another one. Ordering books and cookware, let alone baking supplies, takes capital and Robin wants to raise it from the community she desires to serve. Her café is a “connecting point”, a place of food and comfort blended with a library devoted to food and food’s important place in our lives. Vivienne is located in a great community also, in the heart of Portland, Oregon’s Hollywood district which is a mix of traditional and gentrified living. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

It will be hard to find Tracy Oseran’s company, Tracy’s Small-Batch Granola on social media. That’s because she focuses her media outreach through her non-profit organization, Urban Gleaners. That’s right, this double-barreled startup founder lives by the philosophy emblazed on her website: “There’s something special about baking by hand and using organic, wholesome ingredients. There’s something even more special about making a product that gives back to the community something special.” Tracy loved to cook growing up and her cooking experiences were with her father. As she says, it would have been hard to survive on their cooking, but she and Dad had a lot of fun! She then had a catering business in Los Angeles where her popular dish was enchiladas. So popular in fact that she sold them to a grocery store chain that in turn sold them as frozen; her first venture into the food industry. Her big foray into the world of food products was rather typical for food entrepreneurs. It began in 2004 when she couldn’t find good granola in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. So, she started making her own, in small batches. And as the old story goes, family and friends couldn’t get enough of it and soon Tracy was convinced she had a commercial product. Also in 2004, Tracy met our own Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center and that began her catapult from kitchen to sales. She took the leap in 2006 and approached City Market in Portland. She simply asked if they’d like to sell her granola, they said, “yes”, and her first sale was made. During this same year, Tracy was driving one day listening to an NPR show about a woman saw so much good food in her community being thrown away while there were so many people going hungry. The woman began picking up the excess food and getting it to hungry people. Tracy was touched by the story and also troubled that she and her friends had plenty of good, nutritious food while so many in Portland, including children, were hungry. To make it worse, she knew of the perfectly good and delicious food that went into the garbage as waste everyday, simply because no one would make the effort to get it to the ones who needed it. She decided that she could accomplish the same thing as the woman on the radio show. And that was the beginning of Urban Gleaners, the organization that gathers, packages and distributes the useable food to those in need rather than throwing it away. COVID has been challenging because the schools have been shut down and many of the children and their families go to the schools to pick up the food. But moving some of the distribution to the parks has helped get back on track plus more schools have opened back up again. All profits from Tracy’s Small-Batch Granola go to support Urban Gleaners, and the organization runs on volunteers and donations above that. "Maybe we should just eat it." "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

All entrepreneurs are on a mission of some kind. Something in their lives gave them a strong sense of duty and steeled them to jump out into the uncharted waters of business life. And Essential Convection’s Linda Naylor says it well in her website, “We model and live the soft skills of hospitality – relationally.” It stems from the Supreme Candy Goddess, an imaginary friend created years ago. The genesis is Linda’s family’s incredible cream candy. It’s a pulled candy similar to taffy, except the candy sets overnight and the next day has this amazing creamy taste of vanilla or maple or whatever flavor was put in from the beginning; almost indescribable. The fascinating thing was, there was no recipe, it was a skill. And Linda had a lot of challenges to master the making of it, but it was the beginning of becoming a confectionary master, if not goddess herself! That passion to be skilled and be a perfectionist also comes through in her writing. She is the author of everything on her website and in particular her blog, “Our Pleasureful Pastry”. The word “pleasureful” is a touchstone for Linda she says, and exemplifies how she feels about confections and how she wants those who taste her confections to feel as well. It’s an uncommon ability to be an artist with words as well as confections. That drive for perfection obviously includes high standards for ingredients and to Linda, it also means finding local ingredients that meet her standards to support other local food entrepreneurs. Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Linda had an early interest in baking. The baking industry was rather unimaginative in that era, but Linda had the fortune to visit Italy as a teen. It opened her eyes to a world of food and culture that she treasured and never looked back. It spurred her on to the Culinary Institute of America in New York in the mid-80s and later at the Midwest Culinary Institute in Cincinnati. There was a side venture, however, as Linda spent many years selling residential and commercial real estate in Cincinnati. She kept baking all that time however, and her special cookies and candies were big hits with her clients. Even in real estate, she was reaching others at that most visceral level. But after 25 years, she took stock and felt it was time to live her dream. She moved to Portland, Oregon and enrolled in yet another culinary school, this time the Oregon Culinary Institute, earning a degree in Pastry Management. After a couple of great internships, she became pastry chef at a restaurant. Simultaneously, she enrolled in a course called, “Getting your recipe to market”, a collaborative effort with Food Innovation Center and the CLIMB Center of Portland Community College . New Seasons stores picked up her recipe in 2015, launching her reputation. After the restaurant career ended abruptly in 2020, she put more time into fine-tuning her formulae and started her company, Essential Confection. Flexibility is key for the entrepreneur Linda says because pivoting is a regular part of the journey. And also a sense of mission plus a feeling of accomplishment when you have served others an uplifting experience and made their day a little brighter with good food. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Our One Hundredth show guest! Kim Wilson of Seattle-based Good King Cacao joins our hosts to explain snacking cacao. It’s a whole, crunchy caramelized cacao bean, exactly like chocolate except it’s processed so it doesn’t melt in a tropical warm climate. The impetus to making a snack that doesn’t melt is Kim Wilson’s story. Having attended two great business schools and worked with the world’s largest winery, you would think Kim was set to climb the corporate ladder. But her heart spoke loud to her about social causes, in particular extensive bonded labor, child trafficking and unfair wages in the chocolate industry. And since she was a life-long chocolate lover, she began to think and pray about how to solve those human problems by augmenting the chocolate market and not competing with it by driving the chocolate makers away. In addition, the solution had to work with the primitive resources available to the poor farmers, such as unreliable electricity and lack of running water. And then it came to her, make a snack out of the cacao bean instead of a chocolate candy treat, providing the farmers with an additional income stream and the public with a healthy, delicious snack – that doesn’t melt! In 2014, Kim connected with show co-host Sarah Masoni at the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center in Portland, Oregon. As she has done for an incalculable number of food entrepreneurs, Sarah saw a multitude of challenges that needed to be addressed for the final product to be shelf ready. But the two of them dug in and solved the problems along the way and Kim had a plan for success. The beans currently come from Indonesia and Honduras and from coops that are providing women with the opportunity to earn a good wage. Women historically have been left out of the chocolate industry employment scheme. The beans are peeled and processed and the snack is a nutrient-dense, allergy-friendly, stable superfood. They are naturally bite-sized so perfect for a snack around the house or for taking on a hike. And they complement, rather than compete with chocolate. Beans are single sourced, which means they come from one growing region only and are not mixed with other regions. That way, the consumer gets a unique flavor and not a commoditized product. Plus, the growers are paid more for raising a premium product. Kim works directly with the coops as well, ensuring quality control and consistency. Good King Cacao beans come in different flavors, some quite spicy. People who prefer black coffee, bold wines and whiskey neat tend to love snacking cacao beans. For those who need a milder snack, Good King Cacao beans also are packaged with more traditional nuts for a mixed snack pack. It looks like Kim’s prayers are being answered, and there are many communities enjoying a higher standard of life because of her big heart, smart business sense and hard work. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

The pandemic lockdown changed career paths for many people when the industries in which they were employed simply stopped. Besides restaurants, movie theaters and sports, conventions and meetings were closed down. And with it, the jobs that entailed putting on those events. And so it was with Jaime Landsverk whose event management career suddenly disappeared. Not to despair, however. Originally from Minnesota, Jaime loved all the Midwest cheese but her lactose intolerance made it difficult to enjoy dairy based dips and sauces. She needed to solve that problem of enjoying that taste but without the dairy. Her nutritional education in grad school at the University of Natural Medicine, Portland, Oregon helped solve that problem and gave her the inspiration to go more culinary than clinical with her degree. During school, she interned at a small food company and got to learn some of the basics about the food business. Jaime had considered being a consulting chef while she continued to work her event manager job through school when the COVID lockdown laid her off. She had always spent time in the kitchen making her proprietary snacks, but now she had more time and began to leverage her treasures trading with friends to cope with the layoff. One of the trades was with a friend who was sewing hard-to-get facemasks. The friend encouraged Jaime to sell her snacks as they were both novel and delicious, not to mention healthy. Then next steps were very familiar to other food entrepreneurs. Jaime sold some to friends who told other friends and her snacks became known. Then she offered her snack to sell for some fund raising activities and she became known by those in the food business circle. Soon they were telling her how to take her snacks from her kitchen table to the store and helping her take those many small steps. Farmers’ markets have helped boost the awareness for her company, Sidekick Provisions. The big selling point of Jaime’s snack foods is the ingredient selection, fueled by her nutrition degree. If you look at her website, you will see that all ingredients are organic and selected because of their medicinal qualities. They help balance cholesterol levels, detox the kidneys, liver and brain, aid in the absorption of iron and many more ways to make bodies healthier. Sold online and in select stores, Jaime also uses her event experience to showcase her dips and sauces at select events throughout the Pacific Northwest. Jaime also takes time to remind herself to appreciate the success of the small steps it takes to get a project off the ground. That helps her through the rough spots, which every entrepreneur experiences. Healthy body, healthy mind. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

The year was 1924. Gary Moore’s grandfather, Melissa Collman’s great grandfather, bought acreage in Boring, Oregon to start his dairy farm. But there’s a backstory. The grandfather left Switzerland for the U.S. at age 15. He then travelled to Wisconsin to milk cows by hand, and finally trekked across the US to Oregon to found what is now Cloud Cap Farms. He was a colorful character and even had a reindeer herd he would put in the local parade at Christmas time. He also was a traditionalist, using horses to plow the fields and milking the cows by hand as he had learned. When the farming age changed, he grudgingly accepted tractors and milking machines, although he never trusted them. Then in the late 70s, grandson Gary came back to be part of the company and began getting the farm in tune with the times, including implementing artificial insemination to strengthen the heard. In the 80s, things got tough and the family had to try new and revolutionary methods to keep the farm alive. In 1999, a visit from George Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley Coop changed everything. George came through the area looking to increase the organic milk run into the Pacific Northwest. George had been told to visit specific farms, luckily including Cloud Cap, to join the Coop. Gary was thrilled but Grandpa was terrified that the cows would get sick from converting to the organic model and that the whole farm would go bankrupt. Gary deferred to his Grampa for the time, but after Grampa’s passing, Gary got hold of Organic Valley and joined in 2004. Being part of the Organic Valley has been great because their model and mission is to protect the family dairies. It’s also been great for Melissa as she actually worked for the coop for some years and still helps occasionally. Organic Valley also makes their farmers part of their marketing team and gives them all a chance to get to know each other and to learn from each other. The coop is now 1,700 farms with over 80% of the dairies with herds less than 100 cows. Currently Clud Cap's milk is processed in Portland, Oregon. So has it been worth it to be part of the coop? Absolutely. According to Melissa, Cloud Cap Farms probably wouldn’t be around today without the coop. As proof, she points out that there is no dairy within 45 minutes of Cloud Cap, when there used to be 20 on their road alone. Her county alone has seen a 50% drop in dairies in two years, so there is no doubt Cloud Cap is a survivior and Melissa credits the coop. Dairy farmers are in the industry for the passion, for the cows and they rarely get rich. So when the market eventually swings down, those farms without some financial padding get wiped out. But being part of Oraganic Valley has added stability to the financial side of the business by taking out the high and low swings of the market. This has created a much more solid future for the family and now the fifth generation is fully and happily engaged. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Everyone loves ice cream and Katelyn Williams certainly had her share growing up. Her mother always had it in the house and would routinely send Katelyn to the grocery store to pick up a gallon of the family’s favorite. And Katelyn was always instructed to buy on sale. Katelyn’s craving continued even through college and ice cream was often a complete meal for her. It was a lifetime love affair. Katelyn realy just "fell" into being a food entrepreneur. Fresh out of college, she and her husband moved from Louisiana to Boston where Katelyn started making ice cream just for fun. She’d go around Cambridge and review the ice cream shops, started a blog and because she was so meticulous about the ingredients and taste of ice cream, her reputation as an expert started to flourish. At the same time, Katelyn became more conscious of her own health and began to research being gluten-free and dairy-free. Realizing how much milk went into her beloved ice cream, she took a big step back. Then on a visit home, she told the family she was making ice cream as her gift to everyone. Her youngest sister told it was a fabulous idea and to go ahead and do that for the rest of the family, but she unfortunately couldn’t partake. Katelyn simply could not have the entire family sit down to homemade ice cream and have her sister left out! So she found a recipe for nutmeg ice cream in Bon Appetite magazine and started turning on the hand crank machine. It was awful! But these are the impetus moments for entrepreneurs and Katelyn began assiduously researching the ingredients available for plant-based ice cream flavors. The experiments were continuous and the ice creams turned out better and better until people began to try them and ask for more. Yup, a business was born because and entrepreneur was giving people what they wanted after being the one to “crack the code”. Plus, as she began to shop the competition in the stores, she realized nobody could touch her product in the gluten- and dairy-free segments, so she knew she on to something business wise. After a few years in Boston, Katelyn closed the business and upon moving to Portland, Oregon, she jumped back in with her new company, Kate’s Ice Cream. Starting in a farmers’ market her reputation grew fast and she moved into Kate’s Kitchen to make larger batches to match burgeoning demand. Kate’s Ice Cream is made using organic coconut and cashew milk and is 100% plant-based and gluten-free. The company collaborates with local, woman, and minority owned businesses and uses fresh seasonal produce from local Pacific Northwest farms. Their ice creams are available at pop-ups around the area and in select grocers. They also will be moving into a brand new ice cream shop on Portland’s trendy Mississippi Avenue soon. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Lindsay Strannigan’s degree and background in public relations and marketing is a natural one for an entrepreneur. Afterall, people need to know about your company and have a positive impression, who better to lead that charge than the founder? Living in Portland, Oregon, Lindsay had desk job with great benefits but the boredom factor got to her. So she started a food blog that included recipes and “inserted” herself into the local food community by serving on the board of a farmer’s market. Her blog turned out to be her self-marketing tool as she was approached by the owner of a sandwich shop asked her if she could help them out. The shop turned out to be an early adopter of Instagram and Lindsay guided them to very successful awareness and ultimate success. That led to additional clients as Lindsay’s word-of-mouth spread throughout the business owner community. Because of the early start, Lindsay has become a social media guru in this fast moving and fast changing field. She has self-taught through the evolutions of the industry including teaching herself to do video and reels, staying on top of the latest trends to keep her clients current. And here is her current advice on social media platforms: Instagram is the best for food related companies, as it’s visual and people can handle their own account. Tik Tok is a rising platform in popularity, but generally only big companies with their own video production facilities can really use it to an advantage. And you have to be watching every day for trends so you can jump on them quickly. Lindsay bills herself as a social media strategist and works with her clients to build a plan, budget and execution schedule. Sometimes, she creates content including overseeing the photography and copy. Her iPhone is her tool to create almost everything except when a professional photographer is needed. And she is often the spokesperson for the client, being on the frontline answering questions and de-escalating problems. COVID has been a big issue for Lindsay, as many of her clients are restaurant owners and have had to react to lockdowns and restrictions. But she has led them through the tough times, kept them afloat and served them well. Reputation is everything. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

You always miss the food from your home, no matter where you go. That’s exactly what has been the driver for Holly Ong and Patricia Lau, founders of Sibeiho. The Singapore natives who have known each other over 17 years always loved to cook for family and friends. Patricia’s husband is an Oregon native, and when they made the move to Oregon seven years ago, they still cooked the same amazing South East Asia dishes for family and new friends. And they love their new home in Oregon. They particularly adore going to the farmers’ markets and finding fresh produce and the unusual foods. A trip to the Oregon coast introduced them to the local crab and gave them the idea to make their Singapore dish, chili crabs, using the crab from their newly adopted home. This led to starting a supper club, which blossomed as their reputation for delicious dishes grew. People kept asking for their special home dishes and wondering if they could produce the sauces, or Sambals as they were called back in Singapore, commercially. They kept producing what they could in their kitchen and selling it to their group of friends and soon word of mouth made them popular with the public. COVID stopped their supper club sales but their delivery business kept them afloat. However some customers kept asking if they could buy the Sambals in a store and that led to a conversation with our host, Sarah Masoni and her team at the Food Innovation Center, Oregon State University, about how to stabilize the product for commercialization. Holly and Pat attended a class at the center on food processing and production. They got into the science of giving a food product shelf life while not losing the flavor that made it popular in the first place; every food entrepreneurs’ challenge. They worked in the Center’s kitchen with Mike Adams who is incredibly experience in working out the magic formulas for any food item. And so birth was given to their growing business of selling the enticing flavors from China, Malay, India and Peranakan that their line of Sambals give to every dish you cook. Of course they offer their own incredible recipes to prepare authentic South Asian dishes on their website. Currently, the company sells online and out of their retail store. There’s only one way to experience it: Try it! When you do, you’ll understand the Chinese word, Sibeiho (See-Bay-Ho) which in English roughly means something very, very good. And their company also is very, very good indeed. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Lisa Nguyen got interested in baking in the Bay Area, California after the birth of her first child (she now has three) and went the traditional route with all the schooling and a degree and was set to enter the bakery world. The family moved overseas and she could not work, so plans got put on hold. At that point, she thought the dreams of a career were over but when the family moved to Portland, Oregon, she got that entrepreneurial “flash”. In the summer of 2019, just before COVID hit, she was sitting with her Mom eating some of the fabulous donuts they had just made. Donuts were a family tradition in Lisa’s life. Her Mom and Dad and the whole family always celebrated happy moments baking, creating and enjoying their unusual donuts. While sitting at the kitchen table, Lisa’s Mom remarked they could make the donuts even better, then Lisa’s husband called at that exact moment. Lisa playfully remarked they could do donuts bigger and better – and her husband remarked, “Let’s do it!”. And the journey of HeyDeyPDX began. (For those not of the area, PDX is the airport symbol for Portland and is used for short hand in a lot of communication) They planned to launch in March, 2020 then all the COVID restrictions hit. At first, Lisa thought it was a sign that this venture was not to be, but they had invested so much time and money into the business that they decided to give it a couple more months. Good decision. They launched in May of that year and haven’t looked back yet. They’ve dealt with COVID by selling through pop-ups in what they call a partnership arrangement. Coffee shops, tea shops, restaurants and bakeries all have a scheduled day where HeyDayPDX Donuts are offered. From a business standpoint, they sell about 500 donuts at each pop-up. And they do that sometimes in 15-30 minutes! They originally thought they would sell their donuts at farmers’ markets. But with Lisa being the entire production staff, they realized they could never have enough product to stay open for three or four hours at a market booth. Lisa has no plans to do the usual production ramp up and sell more donuts. Sure, they realize demand is huge and they could work longer and harder and probably make more money. However, they have a very comfortable life/balance right now. Lisa can pursue her passion, have a profitable business and be a Mom and wife. Life is good. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

As they say, in 2001 a piece of France landed in Portland, Oregon. Cheryl Wakerhauser, who had given up a career as an astronaut to train at the prestigious pâtisserie of MOF Philippe URRACA, started her authentic French dessert restaurant, Pix Pâtisserie. There she served up both innovative and traditional French desserts, chocolates and house made ice creams along side a plethora of top notch beverages. As her website says, “Some women buy shoes, Cheryl buys Champagne”. The walls held over 700 cuvées, including vintage and large format, with a focus on small grower producers. Cheryl wanted quality wine to be affordable while providing a relaxed, fun environment in which to enjoy it. People noticed. Her offering was awarded World's Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine List every year from 2014 - 2020 by London's World of Fine Wine Magazine. Her creativity didn’t stop there. In the same space, Cheryl also housed a proper Spanish tapas bar named Bar Vivant. Amazing bar food with a quality selection of wine, beer, cider, Sherry and tasty cocktails. The atmosphere was pure fun and patrons were even encouraged to throw their napkins on the floor and not be afraid to “get a bit rowdy”. You may have noticed the use of past tense, because COVID came along and put the brakes on all of it. Hopefully those days will be back but that formula is out for now. However, Cheryl thinks outside the box. Out of necessity she developed a non-contact, incredible new vending machine with a wistful name typical of Cheryl, the Pix-O-Matic. It’s a 24-hour vending machine holding Pix desserts, macarons, conservas from Bar Vivant and other random stuff to make you smile. The machine is thoroughly cleaned and restocked each day at 10AM. Selections can be purchased with the contactless credit card reader. At first, it was a Hail Mary experiment, but it made $100 the first day. Then $400. The $4,000! Before COVID, Cheryl had a staff of 20+, was trying to find employees and all the other headaches of a restaurant owner. Suddenly, she was making as much money as the restaurant would make on a busy Saturday, with one and half employees. Hmmmm, life suddenly got easier. She has now recreated the previous whimsical experience around a couple of vending machines and a superbly fun room in which to enjoy your food and beverage. In an almost Disco-like atmosphere, individuals and families can enjoy themselves all hours of the day. Her story was not missed by Business Bites podcast as a brilliant way to create a revenue stream in the lockdown era. Fall down seven times, get up eight. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Nostrana, is an Italian word, translated to English loosely means “ours”. And for the Nostrana restaurant, Portland, Oregon, “ours” means the food you are served is as fresh as can be because it has travelled the shortest distance possible. Hence it is Nostrana’s “own” production. The food is local and from the patrons’ own area, so authenticity is the restaurant’s marque. In most of Europe, markets are required to say where the produce originated, and this is Nostrana’s way of bringing that genuineness to their customers. Cathy Whims is founder and owner of Nostrana, a fixture in the community for 16 years now. And she has created not only a loyal following, she has created some dishes that have remained popular and on the menu since day one. One is the Grilled Beef Tagliata, a flat iron steak grilled and served on a bed of arugula with a garlic sauce (I think I’m getting hungry) an item always in demand. However for the rest of the menu, Cathy likes to keep things in flux so there is always something new to try and be delighted. Cathy started her culinary career as a chef because her mother was a great cook. Cathy was a vegetarian in high school and had to teach herself how to cook and share with the family. She simultaneously studied Latin in school and this gave her an affinity for the Italian language and cooking. So when she moved to Portland, she was lucky enough to get hired at Genoa, which at the time was an exclusive, special occasion, Northern Italian cuisine restaurant with a huge following. People were served a seven-course meal with a few choices and every item was premium. The experience of seven years as a cook culminated with Cathy becoming one of the owners and that evolved into a 20-year love affair with her dream job and dream business. She learned so much about Italian food and about local sourcing, especially the local wine. She became the buyer and began getting to know the Italian wine representatives, who urged her to come visit Italy as their guest. This gave her a great understanding of real Italian food and pure, simple Italian ingredients. Her knowledge base now greatly expanded, Cathy decided to follow her passion and create and serve real Italian food in a casual, relaxed atmosphere and that is exactly the Nostrana experience. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Marketing, PR/culinary consultant, advisor and all-around Food Guru Judiaann Woo joined Sarah Marshall on this show to help out the aspiring women food startup entrepreneurs of the world. Judiaann has her own podcast show called, Food People are the Best People, so it was very nice of her to do some cross pollinating with Meaningful Marketplace, as Sarah had just been on Judiaann’s show recently. Judiaann is a Portland, Oregon home grown celebrity. Although she has lived other places, after children were born, Portland was where she wanted to be. And having been a food aficionado in the big foodie cities, she is an expert who can rightly claim that Portland is on par with any of them. But it isn’t just Portland that ranks high on the food experience. Judiaann travels around the entire state to take in the differences in geography and food and shares the experience usually through Instagram, since she considers herself a “visual person”. As she says, part of what makes Portland a great food city is all the statewide agriculture that is grown, harvested, picked and caught and can be brought into the city to create the fantastic dishes that receive critical acclaim. And yet, the state is still small enough that when you go to visit the winemakers, cheesemakers, meat smokers and so forth, there’s a good chance you’ll be seeing or even sitting next to the owner. It’s the close, hands on source-to-plate atmosphere she enjoys as a rare, if not unique, experience. At one time, Judiaann worked for the State of Oregon to help promote tourism and that really put her around almost every square mile of it to realize how incredibly diverse the geography, lifestyle and people are. And the quirky, one-off experiences are the best ones and she has shared those with her family to help them have lifetime memories. Especially during these lockdown times, that becomes very important. The pets go along too so not only is it the complete family experience, it’s also a big treat for the other tourists they meet along the way. Judiaann has found a way to share true experiences with her audience so they, too can discover things in their life that makes living more enjoyable, fuller, richer and something more than punching in and punching out. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Sarah Pesout uses locally produced vegies in her fermented vegetable products. And she sells locally in the Portland, Oregon area farmers’ markets from her booth and online. So far, her audience is extremely loyal and word of mouth coupled with Instagram has been her marketing effort. She seems to have no trouble selling everything her company can produce. The company name? Fermentista, of course. A natural for what Sarah is and does. A California native, Sarah grew up in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. From a small town, Sarah left right after high school and entered UC Santa Cruz, traveled a year, then accomplished an associate degree in culinary studies. She subsequently moved to Portland and that’s been her home since. But it was in Santa Cruz she had “the best job ever” as she says. She was looking for a bakery serving farmers’ markets and the amount of produce was absolutely overwhelming. With more produce than the local area could consume, Sarah began looking into canning, preserving and fermenting the excess production. So, when in Portland, she surveyed the farmers’ markets and observed the amount of excess produce that usually wound up as compost. Sarah reasoned that if she could pay the farmers for what would become unsellable excess, ferment the produce and sell it to people who wanted fermented vegies, that could be a good and responsible business and everybody wins. Her company intensely produces her product line and she is currently at capacity. She began selling olives to restaurants and because of the bureaucracy of selling fermented products, has been able to let restauranteurs stay current with the health department. Of course, COVID lockdown has hurt that business line so it is currently on hold. Her crafted fermented veggies stand out with packaging that reflects an attitude of “from our hands to yours." "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Adeline Marshall, absolutely related our host Sarah Marshall (daughter), is founder, owner, CEO and everything else of Adeline’s Bunny Puffs. Adeline’s freeze-dried berries and candy are sure to be a big hit, as is this young, vivacious mature-beyond-her-years entrepreneur. The name? Well, Adeline loves bunnies and when the fruits are put in the freezer, they puff up. So naturally, puff up, bunnies…you get the picture. And the logo, which you really need to see, continues the puffed bunny theme as well. An aspiring seven-year-old second grader, Adeline is most dedicated to her startup company and right now the Skittle candies seem to be the current favorite. In fact, two of Adeline’s best friends are “obsessed” with the Bunny Puff Skittles and ask for them every time they come over to Adeline’s house. Adeline gives them free bags of the candy because they are her friends, plus it’s marketing technique to get product trial as well. The brand building doesn’t stop with product and packaging either. Adeline has built her own vending machine (OK, it’s made out of cardboard, but heck, it’s a vending machine) with a saran wrap front and toilet paper rolls for dispenser buttons. When the friends come over, they like to use the vending machine to get their Bunny Puffs. Probably the debit card slot is next 😊. There are many flavors of Bunny Puffs and Adeline’s favorites are the berries, including triple crown blackberries. For the non-friend, paying customers, Adeline charges four dollars per bag and her most profitable product is probably the raspberry Puffs. When at the Farmers’ Market, Adeline cannot sell the candy Puffs, only the berries. At the Night Market, it’s the opposite, where she sells only the candies. Fellow entrepreneur, if you want inspiration, if you want feel-good, if you want proof the young generation is capable and strong, tune in to this young person. This podcast is an absolute MUST HEAR. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

It all started in the home kitchen; same song with a new verse. Holly Kurzhal’s and her husband loved their father’s homemade pickles and asked for jars so often that he finally suggested they start making their own. So they did. And after sharing with family and friends and getting requests for more and more jars, they decided to take some jars to the local Farmer’s Market, where they sold fast. They took more jars the next time and still more the next time until it became obvious they were on to something. They originally marketed the Jalapeno, hot spicy pickles but kept getting requests for milder flavors. That’s when the product laddering began and they branched out into other pickled vegetables and brines. After the birth of her second child, Holly decided to quit her job and take Kurzhal’s Kickin’ Pickles to the next level of production. They started in Holly’s kitchen for the first five years or so, then moved to a home commercial kitchen where the cooking and warehousing now take place in the additions to their home. Holly’s favorite recipe is Jalapeno Bread and Butter pickle, flavored in what Holly calls the bread and butter brine, a sweet brine with garlic, chiles and other spices. Most of the cucumbers are grown on the family’s property. They are not certified organic at this point, but the company picks, puts on ice and process them within 24 hours to ensure freshness and nutrition. There’s more to the family story as well. The original pickling formula comes from Holly’s husband’s mother, so it really is Gramma’s old-fashioned formula. And the genuine touch of a hands-on crafted food comes through in the irregular, non-corporate sizes and shapes of the cucumbers themselves. The company pickles asparagus, beans, carrots and other vegetables in a wholesome but delicious variety of flavors. The product offering is quite extensive and impressive and is sold online and in multiple grocery stores currently in the western Oregon area. They can’t keep up with demand either; everything they make is sold almost immediately. So with a home business working very well family all together in one place, they are livin’ the life and definitely kickin’ it. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

“My goal is to bring health and vitality to my community through plant medicine” – Annie Fisher. This quote from the video on her spectacular website sums up Annie Fisher’s company, Wildfire Elixirs. However, the story behind the goal is most compelling. Mother of two youngsters ages one and three, Annie caught pneumonia, then got the double whammy of getting shingles on top of that. Absolutely drained of energy and stamina, she was inspired to regain her health naturally by herbalists like Rosemary Gladstar and began formulating a drink of herbs, fruits and vegies in a fire elixir to rebuild her immune system. She packed her immune boosters into a one gallon batch she called “fighter”, posted her concoction on social media and instantly had 100 comments, most asking for some of the drink. With that signal that she may be on to something, Annie subsequently made a five gallon batch. The process was about 4-6 weeks to brew and bottle and yielded a batch of 36 bottles that were all pre-sold. Of course, that lead to making three more batches with the same routine and a business pattern began to emerge. When one of the five gallon jars broke in her pantry, Annie knew it was time to step up to a commercial kitchen and begin to scale her home business into a bigger volume and that the demand was surely there to support her. A bartender for 16 years, she took the plunge and quit, throwing herself into the belief she was doing great things for others and that deed would reward her with an independent lifestyle. That was 10 years ago. She’s learned much about the difference between homemade and commercial grade, including pH testing, and other compliance. From her home in Eugene, Oregon, Annie sells her products online (so far) and has broadened her product line impressively. Not only are there many varieties of elixir, she also sells seasoned salt and a coffee alternative, all which improve people’s health. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Author Larissa Zimberoff has a strong connection with our own host Sarah Masoni, Sarah’s in her book! The book, “Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley’s Mission to Change What we Eat” is available both in book and audio format and is the story of Larissa’s love of both technology from living in the San Francisco Bay Area and her love of food. Sarah Masoni sums it up perfectly with her quote, “The only thing more intimate that eating food is writing about it”, which Larissa has done masterfully. The details of the thought that goes into the planning, experimenting and creating food for the world then putting those details in the correct words is truly a challenge and Larissa’s book is as much art as it is science. The route to becoming a successful writer (meaning you can make a living doing it) was of course the familiar route of necessity. After being laid off from two Bay Area high tech jobs and being accepted to grad school in between those jobs, Larissa packed it up and moved to New York to finish grad school. Two years later, she received her MFA in creating writing and began starting a career. Having type one diabetes and a need to know about the food she was consuming was part of her pursuit to write in the area. But it was also fueled by the questioning by family, friends even strangers on the street who wanted to know about the new foods: “Are these new foods healthy?’ “What’s in them?”. And with all the movements going on such as Farm-to-Table and Farmers’ Markets, more and more transparency was coming to the food chain. The new movement has become the technology behind everything and that technology is complex and not easily understood. Partly to satisfy her need to know and partly to educate the world, Larissa began understanding, documenting and dissecting the situation in order to tell others. A thought leader in pulling back the curtain on food sourcing and processing, Larissa covers the topics from Algae as food to lab-produced whey to plant-based meats to give the real story on what people are putting into their bodies. She also talks about food marketing and takes a look at the future, asking select experts what they see food will be in 20 years. An incredible perspective from a brilliant and inquisitive mind. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Cydnie Smith-McCarthy came up with the name for her company from her Dad. A Barbados native, the number one fruit in the country is Mamey Sapote (mah may supp oh tay). It’s used in many different dishes, the equivalent of avocados in the US. So the company name, Drink Mamey, is a legacy to Cydnie’s Dad and his background. Cydnie calls herself a mixologist because she spends a huge chunk of her time mixing different juices and powders and supplements to get just the right taste in her premium cold pressed juices. You can visit her Portland, Oregon company by just walking right in. You’ll see a wall full of plants and a huge section of her cold pressed juices in premium glass bottles. You also can order up a smoothie carton to take home or mix one up right there in her factory. And if you want extra supplements in your smoothie, you can get them right at the company. And there are build-in neighbors. The company houses seven black-owned businesses in the wellness industry and related industries. So she houses sections that emphasize feel good, look good and taste good – the trifecta of wellness. The rambling location that has worked out so well came about in a typical spider-web manner. A client of Cydnie’s was hit by the COVID lockdown and had to close a location. When offered up to Cydnie, she took it and has never looked back. Cydnie has a background in design and communications and started out in photography and graphic design. She worked in public relations and event planning and has always loved creating aesthetically pleasing situations and products. Also a lifetime wellness advocate, she started juicing for her family and friends and the word got out. So, she decided to bottle her juice and put a logo on it and her explosive growth has been, forgive me, organic. The toughest part of the business was the commercialization and learning the regulations of selling a food product. But once she got into a commercial kitchen and into a store, she was past the big learning curve. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

What is Kombucha Tea good for? Hannah Crum, or “Queen of Kombucha” as our own Sarah Masoni calls her, can tell you. Hannah’s company, Kombucha Kamp is THE encyclopedia (or Wikipedia if you prefer) of Kombucha Tea. Her mission is to teach, inform, supply and tell the world about the good things Kombucha can do – and cannot do – for the body. Her journey began when she visited a friend in San Francisco in early 2000. The friend had a jar with floating “stuff” in it and was told it was Kombucha. It wasn’t ready to drink, so when Hannah got back to Los Angeles she immediately went to Whole Foods where Kombucha was everywhere. It was the typical love at first sip and Hannah was hooked and had to learn to brew it. She checked out every book in the library and started making it for her own consumption. Eventually, friends tried some, liked it and wanted to make their own as well. Hannah saw this as passion turned into a side hustle and figured she could charge people to teach them not only how to brew their own, but it’s usefulness as well. That’s when she started Kombucha Kamp at her house. She began a blog around 2007 and then there came the Kombucha withdrawal around 2010 which saw commercial brewers get squashed by taxes and led to the formation of the Kombucha Brewers International to fight against the unfair tax. She has served as Master Brewer for several commercial operations and wanted to share her knowledge. For some reason, the Kombucha world is very secretive and don’t want to share the golden nuggets, but she has changed that. Hannah wants people to avoid anecdotal stories about the so-called miracles of Kombucha Tea and look for scientific fact. For example, there are many stories of people whose joints suddenly stop hurting when they begin drinking Kombucha. There are even stories of Chernobyl residents who avoided cancer after the meltdown with daily consumption of Kombucha. But here are the facts: 1) Kombucha helps repair damage to the organs and 2) Kombucha reduces the absorption of dangerous gamma rays. Armed with these scientific facts and more, Hannah offers her free DIY Guide book so each person can make up there own mind about the benefits of Kombucha and brew their own if they choose. A teach, an author, a speaker and activist for health and wellness, Hannah Crum brews on. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Our guest's chocolate candies were recently awarded best chocolate candy at the Oregon Chocolate Festival in Ashland Oregon, now that's something to celebrate! Michele Davis, President and CEO of Cocacao, (pronounced Ko’ Kuh-Kow) runs a company that makes “twelve chocolaty bites of paradise”. They are confections but not chocolate, as the treats do not have the coco butter to meet the true defintion of chocoalate, that's why they are called chocolate candies. Their base is only three organic ingredients and the consumer enjoys a milk chocolate extravaganza without the dairy. The reason is a typical one: Jeff Davis, Co-Founder and husband of Michele, had severe dietary restrictionsu and loved sweets. Jeff experimented scientifically for years to find a chocolate treat he could eat. Upon meeting and marrying Michele, the couple both desired to start a company and sell the treasures Jeff had invented. Each piece is packaged individually in a twelve-piece box and that packaging strategy has been a five-year journey, according to Michele. With humble beginnings in a farmer’s market, the company sold a plain white box of treats in individual baggies. They then moved up to a box that held twelve pieces, but in warm weather did not travel well (think melty mess by the time people got them home). Moving up the food chain (pardon the pun) they moved to a quarter pound bar that sold for ten dollars. The bar was retailed by our sponsor, Market of Choice and sold well. However at the farmers’ markets, still a big source of revenue for the company, it didn’t allow for sampling before buying the expensive bar which was a huge incentive, so it was back to the packaging drawing board. They completely re-branded and went to the pre-portioned treats of all their flavors in an attractive box and focused completely on retail locations and wholesale distribution. They also sell online, but retail is by far the bulk of the sales. The packaging is exquisite; check out their website. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Her grandfather was called the “Pickle King”, but she’s the Queen of Hearts. Why? Well, Tonia just decided it was time for a Queen in the family legacy! And that legacy is a long one in the Pacific Northwest. The family company, Farman's Pickles, operated for decades in the State of Washington area and created a strong brand. Over time, the was sold to a larger food group, then again to a larger one and you know how that story goes. So a new chapter was opened by Tonia, who found that a specific grain of hemp grew well on the eastern side of the west coast mountain range, where wheat and barley also thrive. The plant also grows tall and dense, is male/female reproducing so there are seeds, and it's the seeds that Queen of Hearts process. The seeds are the super food of the plant, with an amazing amount of nutrients. Processing is to remove the outer shell of the seed and ship the heart of the seed to the company to process into its incredible food products. So, we have the "Queen" of the Farman family legacy, the "heart" of the seed and it just rolls right. The seed is so versatile it works in any number of food products so the company can offer a large line of nutritional items. Even the shell is put into animal food products as a nutritional fiber. The oil can be added to salad dressings, bread dip, a smoothy or as a great tasting supplement by the spoonful. The “cake” left over from the pressing is then ground into a protein powder, so there is literally no waste to their raw product. And they are pure and organic up and down their food chain. Only American farmers who grow organically are sourced because of the country’s higher standards, and the products are tested intensely for purity. You’ll love how Queen of Heart’s apologizes for not being cheap, but explains how you have to work hard at a quality product and that hard work has a cost. Go to their website and read the “…6 reasons why we think we’re different…” and that will explain it all. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Jana Jenkins wears a lot of hats. She is both Director of sales at Oregon Wild Rice and co-owner of Oregon-Ag. Oregon Wild Rice was started by two brothers in the mid-Willamette valley in Oregon. Fourth generation Oregon farmers on a farm about 120 years running, they went from grass seed growers to rice because the soil was heavy clay and did not drain water very well. So why fight it? They switched to rice crops which love the water five years ago and have been producing bumper crops of “wild” rice ever since. As crops go, rice is one of the easier products to cultivate. First you dam up some land, let the Oregon rain fill it with water and make a pond, sprinkle the seed in the pond and let it germinate. No plowing, discing or weeding, just wait until it grows to about six feet tall over a few months. The rice is then harvested with a combine, just like most other tall farm crops. Growing rice is not a huge industry in Oregon yet, but obviously with the ease of growing and the amount of rainfall available, it should increase. Oregon Ag came about with Jana being in stores talking to the store owners, who would refer her to other food producers, urging her to check out their products. These referrals led to a stable of clients that Jana and her business partner can take store-to-store and ask the owner what special Oregon products they need, such as a Hazelnut producer, or a wild rice producer or good pickles. Then they fill the need, acting as a built-in distributor for companies not large enough to have their own sales and distribution division. Only started last January, Oregon Ag has already built a great list and it is growing as they find more and more craft products. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Kelly Cox does what she wants. That’s a quote from Portland Magazine, and our hosts get Kelly to explain exactly what that means. For the past five years, Kelly has traveled the globe seeking the origin of the best food ingredients as the content of her award-winning series, The Original Fare on PBS. As her website says, she has done everything from plucking tea leaves in Sri Lanka to hunting seals on ice floats off Newfoundland, sharing the experiences with the public. The mission is to find where food comes from and understanding the work and culture that goes into producing food ingredients. The show is part travel, part food but mostly the people behind the food, showing our commonalities and our difference. There’s another reason for Kelly’s drive. She works with young women around the world with common initiatives, Girl Power and Gender Equality. In 2014, she made her debut as a film director with Big Dream, a show that follows seven ambitious young women around the world who stop at nothing to achieve their big dream. It’s available on Amazon. Portland, Oregon is Kelly’s home base and there is a strong connection and support, especially with our host Sarah Marshall. And when COVID lockdown hit, Kelly realized that an international program such as Original Fare was going to come to a halt when there was no international traveling! She then turned her focus locally for projects, which had mixed results, so she and her husband moved in with her parents in California. Now that odyssey has taken them with her parents to Idaho, where they are currently still treading the COVID waters. What’s next? There are a couple of wild acres on the property, so Kelly has taken to starting her own ambitious garden and also growing a chicken flock, for fresh eggs. Not surprisingly, Kelly’s life reflects her show. It’s Original. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Laney Sisun first started healing herself, then started building a company to heal others. A sufferer of Crohn’s Disease, an auto immune affliction of the gut, and it’s miserable. To manage it, she turned to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet which limits all sugar and fruit except honey and keeps the carbo count low. It worked. Then she began cooking and baking for herself because she was, as she confesses, a “junk food junkie” and giving up the donuts, cookies, etc. was not an option. But finding a recipe took lots of experimenting to come up with the desserts that were, as her Honey Palette company says, are exciting and decadent. Also a Registered Nurse and certified AIP Health Coach, Laney saw there were few products available to the public that would help them stay on the strict diet and manage afflictions like Laney was able to do. She wasn’t sure she wanted to start her own company at first, so she took a business course offered by the Oregon Entrepreneur Network, a comprehensive look at setting goals, planning strategy and of course, financing the endeavor. Also, the networking with other founders was invigorating and gave her the inspiration to give it a try. She entered pitch competitions which sharpened her vision and strategy, and built her confidence (check out her YouTube session), She won a competition that catapulted her from only selling at a local farmer’s market to getting shelf space as two Oregon grocery store chains and she was in business! Her products are especially a god send for those with diabetes, who think they can’t have the sweet things in life ever again without harming themselves, and Laney’s absolutely gorgeous looking desserts can fill that void. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Amanda Ramirez holds down two inspiring and demanding roles that are a result of her commitment to better nutrition for the world. She is a personal chef running her own business, Made to Nourish, and is also community builder and social media director of Eat Pluck. Her personal business advocates recipes that offer great tasting and nutritious meals. Eat Pluck has created spices from meat organs that are incredibly rich in natural nutrients and have added vegetables that give meals a unique spicy taste. How did she get to be the nutrition guru? In the fashion industry at the time, Amanda had health issues that western medicine could not heal. So she turned to changing her diet to natural healing and in two short months she felt 100% better. She wanted to share her good fortune and knowledge with the world and started her personal chef business began in 2013. And luckily, some of the first people she met was James Barry, founder of Eat Pluck. She simply HAD to work with James and his company after hearing him speak. The parallel stories have worked well, as Amanda has now grown her team to three women chefs who specialize in creating recipes for people with auto-immune system problems, food allergies and those dealing with cancer. They want food as healing to be a message carried forward as an alternative to pharmaceutical medication. And it’s more that good tasting, good for you food. It’s a total mental health, physical health and spiritual growth program that comes with a new way of living and thinking for many. It’s mainly what Amanda calls elimination diet, a process of eliminating the foods that irritate the gut and lead to many common maladies. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

As a backpacking guide and wilderness therapist in Oregon’s Mount Hood area, Melissa Mutterspaugh, AKA Mountain Mel, was almost horrified when the group would stop and people would pull out artificial snacks in the middle of a perfectly natural environment. The experience gave her the motivation and mission to create natural foods and food products to replace the “toxic” ones they were using. A clinical herbalist, Melissa has a use for most of nature’s plants. Take nettles, for instance. They sting, trust me, but Melissa will tell you that you can pick the top of the leaves with your bare hands, and if you chew the leaves from the top, the small hairs on the bottom side will crumble and you won’t be stung by them. And if you have chronic pain from some old injury, you can rub the underside of the leaf – the stinging side – and after you endure an hour or so of discomfort, you’ll find your chronic pain may be gone! Her clinical background was achieved by attending the Elderberry Botanical Studies school in Portland, Oregon where she learned the chemical properties of plants and how to harvest. Feeling the background was helpful but a little “hippie dippie”, Melissa wanted to know more about the human body and the mechanics of interacting with the beneficial elements of plants. She next attended Portland School of Traditional Herbalism, where she heard from some of the best herbalists around how natural elements dance with the human body to help heal itself. Mountain Mel’s herbal products include herbal teas, body and lip balms, hand sanitizers and special tea blends for mothers and expectant mothers. They are available online and at certain Oregon stores currently. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Stacey Givens is a real urban farmer. On an acre pretty much in the middle of Northeast Portland, Oregon, The Side Yard grows local, fresh and delicious food for the community. And she’s a proponent of lovage, a plant that pops up in spring and is a food that may soon be discovered by many. Stacey remarks how the leaves are great for pesto and other sauces, and at a certain stage, the stems make terrific Bloody Mary straws. They grow up tall, then get dried out cut to one foot lengths for many uses, not the least of which is putting in the smoker for smoked fish! Stacey has curiously found that visitors from Germany in particular are pleased to see lovage offered in the US, as it is quite common in Germany and much of Europe. An urban farm is a different kind of place, as some of the 10,000+ annual customers have a hard time figuring out if they are parking their car in someone’s yard, but when they get in the growing area, it is truly magical and a world of its own. Stacey has about 27 large beds of herbs and plants, so it is a sensory delight. Stacey has so far decided not to chase the organic certification because they have established a reputation with restauranteurs and the public, plus they are part of the Portland scene. However, she was reminded by host Sarah Masoni that through the Department of Agriculture, she might be eligible for a $750 rebate on the certification cost. “What???” was Stacey’s reaction. Good things come from this show. The future, however, is dicey. Urban farms are disappearing left and right, Stacey says, as the acreage needed for growing becomes more valuable as a space to develop. But for now, Stacey Givens’ The Side Yard is literally spreading its seeds, offering a subscription of seeds for those who want to start their own garden. So for now, Stacey continues to grow in many ways. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Tiffany Miller and Carnie Wilson have created more than Love Bites, they’ve created Love coffee, scented candles and even hand sanitizer. Love Bites by Carnie, has created a sweet sensation Bite Mob Team and have an extremely loyal audience who orders their treats online that are delivered from their Sherwood, Oregon location. Both entrepreneurs love to cook and have found their cooking and business freedom after teaming up over 40 years ago. As best friends, they tackle the challenges and unknowns of business together and support each other even through the inevitable differences of opinion. And this they manage with home life, children and delivering delicious treats as a balancing act. Carnie got started in business journey in a rather typical way, cooking bite sized treats in her kitchen that EVERYBODY raved about and got her started thinking: Can I sell enough of these to make a living? But how to make it happen? So she put a package of desserts together and took them to a Los Angeles restaurant that quickly offered her a deal. Not having much business savvy, Carnie turned to her best friend Tiffany who had the business background and asked about the demands that would go with the deal, including scary things like “exclusivity”. After some hand wringing, Carnie said, “Let’s be partners!” and the company was born. The first year was spent on the road and actually taking the desserts to the bite-size they now sell. The support for each other also gets them over the hump of being in different cities and still operating successfully. COVID has hit them hard; they had a café to serve their coffee and bites they had to close and are not certain if it will reopen. It also has affected production, but they have weathered so far, mainly because the flavors Carnie has created and continues to create have captured the public’s imagination. COVID put their grocery store distribution on hold, but now they are planning to co-pack rather than expand their own production. They plan to expand the brand and products nationally – one bite at a time. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

Sometimes podcasts hosts all get together for a show, and that’s the case for today’s episode. Sarah Delevan, founder and owner of The Good Food CFO, also hosts her own Podcast show “The Good CFO”. For six wonderful years, Sarah was a buyer, responsible for sourcing the BEST ingredients from California farmers, ranchers, and fisherman. She spent her time in markets and in the fields, sampling the best food and tastes in the world, and loved it. But she had an even bigger love: Building spreadsheets and as she says in her website, “sitting at my desk - deep in spreadsheets + tools…identifying ways to improve the financial sustainability and profitability of the business that I was working for.”. Geeky? No, just passionate about NOT letting great food products fail simply because most food entrepreneurs close their doors because they hadn’t learned the financial aspects of their business yet. Sarah saw owner after owner fail because they were overspending on ingredients, undercharging for their products or allocating resources to all the wrong places. So in 2017, her mission to offer that critical piece of the puzzle became real and The Good Food CFO consulting business launched. As her website says, she has 50 clients and counting, and the reviews are beyond positive. She has literally been the life preserver for chefs, food cart owners, caterers and more. She has believed in Instagram for her business and her clients, so you might check that out for in-depth information on her career. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

The story begins with the Peace Corps. Nhu, a native of Vietnam, was volunteering in Kingston, Jamaica. Craig was part of Peace Corps Jamaica’s administrative staff. They both have a passion for education and believe that education changes lives. Hurricane Floyd brought them together, as Craig visited Nhu presumably to bring her supplies, but actually to ask her out! They lived in Jamaica for years, but Nhu longed to move back to the Pacific Northwest and they landed in Portland, Oregon. The move was difficult for Craig at first, so Nhu would shop for all the Jamaican items she could find locally so Craig could have a piece of his homeland. But it was difficult to find spices and rubs, so they started to make their own. When they had parties, they served their Jamaican dishes and friends and family raved about it. But Craig and Nhu realized there was a difference between pleasing friends and family and selling to the public so ventured carefully into the business of selling their Jerk dishes and the spices that flavor them. Jerk has been a part of Jamaica’s culinary tradition for centuries and is a way of cooking pork, chicken, seafood, beef and vegetables. The taste of Jerk best exemplifies Jamaica and the Jamaican people; spicy and hot, yet sweet! Jerk rubs are typically hot with scotch bonnet peppers (habaneros). The couple sells their dishes from a popular food cart and sell their spices there and online to encourage others to cook authentic Jamaican dishes at home. That is their way of educating others to the joys of Jamaican hospitality and food. And the name Fi Mi Kingston? It’s a slogan from the patios (pronounced “pat-wa”) dialect spoken in Jamaica. Fi Mi means “my” and it is the warm way of saying “My Kingston.” Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

With two suitcases, $70 in her pocket and no English, Nong left her native Thailand and landed in the U.S. She quickly learned that her $70 was not going to take her far and hustled for a job and started picking up English as quickly as possible. Her work ethic had been cast in steel; her mother was the sole provider for her family and money was always a struggle. But that kept them close and became the basis for her strong determination coupled with an unlimited compassion for others. Nong worked as a food server seven days a week and saved and saved. She also cooked. A very, very special dish that is basically chicken and rice but finding words to describe it is difficult. People loved it and Nong realized there was a market for it if she opened her own business. Living in Portland, Oregon, a food cart came up for sale for $800 and she jumped on it. Nong has an incredibly honest and fearless approach to life; she is very candid about what she does NOT know, a trait all entrepreneurs should emulate. She had a product, a place to sell it but no knowledge of business. But with her ambition and her humility to ask for help, she learned fast. The food cart exploded into a full kitchen and staff that now cooks, prepares and serves her chicken and rice in traditional Thai butcher paper wrapping to hundreds daily. Nong also has expanded by bottling her amazing sauce which is available on Amazon. Her compassion also is out in the open; she’s proud that her employees enjoy a robust health insurance plan and are well cared for just like her customers. Do yourself a favor and check out her videos on her website, her true personality comes through. And just to demonstrate how the American Dream has come true for her, we talked to Nong from the island of Maui, where she is vacationing with her family. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

CPG means Consumer Packaged Goods for the uninitiated, and Anna Bradshaw is a Black Belt in the art. If you are going to have your food product move off the grocery shelf, you have to tell a story to the shopper quickly and make them taste it before they pick it up and put it in their cart; and that isn't easy. And here's a great case study: Go to Episode #24, Josie's gluten free. She became a client of Anna's and here are the results. Go to Josie's website and check out the words, aka the copy. It's pure magic and that's the magic Anna brings to your product. And it's more that website copy, it's email copy, about descriptions and product descriptions, packaging, the words that sell more product by making it more appealing to the audience. Yes, the right words equal sales. How? By romancing the reader and convincing them the product will fulfill a need and that it is fairly priced. In the online world, it means clicking the "Buy" button, which is called "Conversion", because we have now converted your potential buyer into a real customer. Conversion rate optimization is a little deeper in the science, that's the art of taking your current customers and getting them to buy more from you, either more of the same product or trying some other products of yours if it's a good fit for them, of course. The other benefit of Anna's experience is for those who are starting up. Startup founders often can't tell their own story in the best light because they are too close to it and have trouble seeing it from their audience's point of view, or maybe feel like they're bragging. There's always the temptation to look at competitors' messages and try to copy it and lose their own identity. That's another place a seasoned professional like Anna can help. Anna also is an expert in showing startup founders how to get good research on their market without having a huge budget. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky

If you're old enough you remember milk in good old glass bottles. If you’re not, you’ve probably seen pictures. The Rising Sun Dairy has brought back those days with their family run dairy delivering fresh, pasteurized milk in a bottle to people in Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley. Husband and wife couple Janina and Mark VanDam first met at a Bible retreat, Mark from Oregon and Janina from Canada. Both grew up on family run dairy farms so they had an immediate connection. Mark told Janina he wanted to do dairy farming with milk packaged in glass bottles, not the conventional dairy distribution methods. And so the journey began. The couple put two years of research into the idea and in June of 2019 produced their first bottle of milk on a farm they rent from a family member. Milking is done all by hand and each day Mark packs the coolers and delivers the milk bottles to two public markets, one in Corvallis, Oregon and the other in Salem, Oregon. However, they have been expanding their business. In addition to the public markets, they have landed accounts at a local coffee house and at a bakery. Plus, they have added flavored milk to the product mix, including seasonal flavors such as eggnog. They also are doing deliveries, but only in Corvallis because of their limited level of production and staffing. Because their philosophy is fresh, local and responsible, the company also has its own bottle deposit and return system. They charge a $2 deposit per bottle. When people bring the empty back and purchase more milk, there is no charge. And if they simply bring back the empty, their $2 is refunded on the spot. Besides being environmentally responsible, glass also preserves the flavor better than conventional methods, according to Janina. With two children and 15 cows that must be milked twice a day, it’s a full schedule. But they are living their dream and loving it. "Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Thank you for listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast. Call our hotline with questions for Sarah and Sarah at 503-395-8858. If you want to support our show, write us a review, share episodes with friends, or subscribe to our Patreon. Producer: Sarah Marshall of The Joy of Creation Production House Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers Show logo design: Anton Kimball of Kimball Design Production Coordinators: Dave Drusky