Open in your browser to chew on all the Bites

Sweet Maple & Emerging Colors

March in Vermont.

It is full on Sprinter (Spring from Winter) with arctic blasts & big snow for many parts of New England. But that is not slowing down the Grocers Project. We have a lot going on. The two online series are cranking along with fantastic speakers sharing their knowledge to help food manufacturers & farmers sell more food. We are halfway through the Farmer as Retailer Series. The online training is designed to help buff up skills & operations to create optimal conditions to add revenue through repeat sales & efficiencies of operation. The information & tactics shared also enhance farm-based retail profit centers. We are also moving along with the Distribution Readiness series for food vendors to up their skill set. Our slate of speakers share real-world conditions to grow sales, by understanding production, marketing & distribution variables.

In the planning stage is a warehouse tour for stores & vendors to catch a glimpse of how food moves through the system. The tour will be in White River Junction with details coming soon. Interested in attending? Drop me a line to express your interest. 



Read on for current local food producer news, & many related resources. Thanks to the many businesses who contributed to this issue.

What's in Store? More Than Products, That's For Sure!

One thing we have in Vermont, a sense of place that often takes root through community stores. "Up in the Islands", Gail & Mark Horne have been running the Keeler's Bay Variety for 50 years!

Let's see what has happened in that time. A whole lot since 1974! The store has seen customers grow through generations, (& the Horne family too!). Locals & summer

people come in year after year enjoying 5 decades of friendly service. As things evolve, so has the store with an evolving product mix & seasonal staples including fishing gear, watercraft fun & adjusting food product mix as trends change. The checkout counter has for ages had products made from within their community. The store became a "gateway" for cottage kitchen businesses to grow & learn the ropes of selling "wholesale" sold on, these & new businesses emerge. Their deli & meat departments are staffed by long time locals deeply rooted in the

community & helping the store be what it is. Mark & Gail chose South Hero to raise their family & embrace the community.  

Congratulations to Gail, Mark, Wendy, & the long-term crew of Val & Jason that have built a business that their community relies on. 

Monument Farms:

Telling Our Stories

Through eight episodes Monument Farms Dairy tells the stories of our community stores, the heart & soul of our small, yet mighty state. They are the doors to the soul of many of our rural towns.

Number 7 in the series connects us to

The Lincoln General Store paying tribute to its longtime owner.

The town prides itself on its sense of self, crafted in large part by the

warmth of & care by Vaneasa Stearns, who owned & ran the store for 32 years.

With a change in hands in 2023, a new chapter unfolds, one that will continue to embrace the community, its shared spirit as one of the strongest communities in the state. Inevitably, new ownership of a business means some transformation. However, the community remains committed to the welcoming nature embedded in its history.

Listen to this wonderful tribute!

Catch all the other Monument stories of fantastic Vermont classic general stores here.

Buffalo Mountain Market which merged with Quality Market in 2022 is serving its community with a melding of conventional, organic & local products.

Located in the center of Hardwick the store has taken advantage of numerous opportunities & grants. As a coop, they worked with Columinate Consulting on several organizational needs & secured USDA money for upgrading of infrastructure.

The store has also upgraded its web

presence & seeks to create an instore marketing program that aligns its

look across departments & increases product & pricing visibility for

sale items.

Addison County with its wide open spaces is fast becoming a home for grass farmers serving this emerging niche with increased supply. Lucas Family Farm located in Orwell, VT sells premium grass fed lamb & beef locally, including select cuts to the Middlebury Natural Foods Coop.

VT Grass Farmers Association

The VGFA is a network of pasture-based livestock farmers. The organization hosts educational workshops & on-farm learning opportunities for farmers & interested individuals, as well as co-hosting an annual Grazing & Livestock Conference. VGFA also undertakes distinct grant projects that improve the viability of pasture-based livestock production in the northeast.

Vermont Grass Farmers raise livestock in their natural environment in a manner that nourishes their neighbors, provides habitat for wildlife & pollinators, builds healthy soil & keeps our waterways clean. Products can be available to retail stores (as well as from their own farm stands) so check out the link above to find one near you

“We do not have nutrient deficient fields. We have biologically deficient fields”.

- Dr. Allen Williams

Multiplier Effect: Beef @ Morrisville Food Coop

Rooney Farm organic beef is on the shelves at the coop located in the center of Morrisville. It comes from right down the road, as a matter of fact, on Mud City Loop. How Vermonty is that, especially this time of year! The Coop prides itself on growing its selection of locally produced foods & the multiplier effect while also providing a range of products to round out selections.

As we know from reading other issues of Small Bites, when distributors consolidate or sell there is a ripple effect that can be challenging. The sale of Associated Buyers to Rainforest has left a gaping hole in product availability. This is true not only for national brands but it has been impacting product access from New England brands too.

The Morrisville Coop like many rural stores are likely going to experience gaps in delivery days too. This fallout from the changes has been noted by other stores across the state. AB had a steady route & days for delivery which stores became accustomed to & dependent on. RF is not maintaining the same routes & closing down some areas altogether. The result is stores having gaps in products with uncertainties in their purchase strategies. It also hugely impacts vendors getting products into the regional supply chain as the ‘pick-up routes’ are different. 

Talk about Multiplier Effect!

Through the door of the Genny in Craftsbury & Albany, VT there is a joy multiplier effect with Breadseed Farm greenhouse grown tulips & Talking Well Farm daffodils welcoming folks from the community. These blasts of color are just what folks need in Sprinter.

In 2023 the Woodstock Farmers Market through community engagement contributed $57,000 to local charities. All this while the community also supported the store after the July flooding.

"Fact is, no one person (or brand) can be all things, to all people. You simply pick the fight that feels the most worth winning and stake your damn claim. "-NCS

North Country Smokehouse

With production based in Claremont, NH & selling nationally, the Smokehouse has been doing business for the last 100 years. The charcuterie features traditional cure recipes, using hand-selected, natural ingredients, & a smoking process over embers of local hardwoods.

A vertical integration model sources of all natural, Certified Humane ® & Organic pork from duBreton. They are a Canadian based producer leading the supply of humanely raised, sustainable meat. Their ethos includes better conditions & humane treatment from breed selection to vegetarian feed, antibiotic free practices, & non GMO farming, they are committed to changing the world through the ethical treatment of animals. North Country Smokehouse a subsidiary of duBreton, is a member of the Free Farmed program, which assures proper care & handling of livestock.

The products are noted for balancing taste with tradition & modern food trends. They are consistently winning awards for their premium quality products. Look for the “Certified Humane” & “Certified Organic” marks on the NCS products. Available widely throughout NE through AGNE, BRP, D&B & many national food service companies.

Keep Your Eyes on These Businesses

Vermont Cheeseless are plant-based cheesecakes shipped frozen DSD & via Wilcox to stores. They are targeting natural markets in Vermont & other stores buying from Wilcox. Heathy Living stocks a wide range of flavors in their freezer section.

Mighty Mudita, an emerging business of plant based deli slices announces they are selling food service pack sizes to Healthy Living Deli in BTV. Accounts such as this can really help an emerging brand get their sea-legs as they scale operations.

In St J, the Caledonia Food Coop membership is growing & things are moving along for a coop in the NEK! They have surpassed their current fundraising goal! YAY for St J

Dosa Kitchen has new packaging for more convenient sizing & were a featured Producer of the Month at the Brattleboro Coop. This is great promotion for the brand that is on the move in New England!

King Arthur Baking is making a move in how it aligns values with environmental concerns. Their new Regeneratively-Grown Climate Blend consists of unique wheat varieties grown using practices that improve soil health. Its rich, nutty flavor & tender texture are perfect for bread, muffins, scones, & more.

Cabot Butter Wins Big Again in 2024! One of the top prizes for them is Extra Creamy Sea Salted Butter a first-place from the World Championship Cheese Contest. The Coop is proud & honored to continue to produce award-winning cheese & dairy products made with love, pride & purpose. They have other wins too, Their products are sold nationally but a staple at (all) Vermont stores, Way to Go in '24 Cabot!

Distribution: When Things Go Wrong With You, It Hurts Me Too

Let's face it, vendors & grocery store category buyers have plans in place that can go awry at the distribution level. Things can go 'wrong' at all ends of the distribution spectrum. It is not always clear where the fault lies, simply that sales & other plans can get diverted.

For instance, a store has planned a

sale & run a promotion with advertisement, sometimes as part of a 'buy-in' marketing plan with their distributor. When the delivery arrives, the intended items are not on the truck. They show up as out of stock. This impacts the store on so many levels. For one, customers may have planned to stop by for the products, endcap displays sit empty, & staff have to explain the gap in product availability. They often do not know the reason though.

It could be a vendor did not fulfill

the purchase order, leaving a gap at the distributor. Or, the product

may have not been received, inventoried, & slotted correctly at the

warehouse. Or there could have been any number of factors.

All the store knows is they have lost

sales, must apologize to its customers AND hope some recompense can be arranged with the distributor. Cambridge Village Market had a recent experience with several out-of-stocks from their primary distributor & with whom they have an advertising agreement with. They shared the explanation of the gaps in availability from their key distributor on social media. They hoped this explained to their customers the lack of product they had promoted widely.

"They were out of stock so we do not have it. It seems like there was one or two things each week that we had to have in our flyer but they were out of stock. We have had some upset customers and we completely understand why. We just wanted to put it out there to make sure everyone knew we were trying to get the product in." -CVM

A Brief Business Resources Announcement

As your farm & or food business enterprise grows, your need for support services evolves. Consider the new resources & coaching services of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. They have just released a series of Business Sense Briefs designed to aid the growth of businesses. Dig into & learn the ropes of not only sales & marketing but compliance issues, think getting a handle on your Human Resource needs as your staff grows. The Briefs are a one-stop resource for helping identify current & future needs to address growth.

For the participants in the Winter Distribution Readiness & Farmer as Retailer Series, we encourage you to explore the links crafted to support the healthy growth of your business.

Need a Helping Hand?

Momentum Business Solutions works statewide with food (& other businesses) to support a number of "growth" needs. Bookkeeping, HR, taxes, coaching, & MORE! We are hearing great things from clients utilizing the professional services. See if your business aligns with theirs.

NEFNE Spotlight

Aissa Sweets

was founded in 2012 not long after founder, Ahmad Aissa, came to the U.S. from Syria. With no safe way to visit home, Ahmad decided the best way to enjoy the sweets of his childhood was to make them himself & share the recipes from home, here in his new home!

Within the first two years & with the great consumer feedback, the business grew its supply network from selling products to independent stores locally around NH & MA states to selling across New England & eventually to regions across the USA & Canada.

Products are available in select Hannaford's in New England & also in Vermont at the Rutland Coop, Healthy Living & more. Products are made to order so are super fresh for your customers! Find wholesale details & distribution details from Aissa.

Coming in June 2024: Food Center & Farm Market

In Brattleboro things are humming along with the expansion into retail at the Retreat Farm. Since purchasing the former Grafton Village Cheese Factory in 2022 they are reclaiming the space.

Through a collaborative approach, new local food producers will be moving into the warehouse / production space. The former factory will be called the Food Center, & the retail store will be the Retreat Farm Market. The focus will be on VT produced food, cheese, & other value-added regional producer products.

Storytelling is of course a significant aspect to this new enterprise. Vendors interested in selling at the should reach out.

So much more in ’24; YAY Retreat Farm for this ongoing project & its June opening!

“The Retreat Farm Market will complement what we do at the Co-op but differentiates itself by tying our food system together with a historic farm and the programming Retreat Farm is known for," -Anthony Santorelli

GM, Brattleboro Food Co-Op

Farmer as Retailer

A few links from the online series that might be of interest to others with retail operations. We teach about margin in our series & know that mark-ups can be a starting point but the more you understand margins as a percent of sales the more you can lean toward profitability.

Check out this video on Product Mix & Pricing Strategies & the

Markup & Margin Calculator



NOFA Farmstand Audit Tool

Receiving Products: Tips for Accuracy

Trillium Hill Farm is one of the many greenhouses humming along with early produce. The big freeze & snow coming up are going be a stressor for many farms. The uncertainty of Spring weather plays in the same sandbox as risk level. A shout out to all the farms selling fresh tender greens at this unsteady time of year.

Distribution Readiness Series

The cost of goods sold  includes the raw materials of each product, as well as the expenses & costs associated with producing the goods. It doesn't include indirect costs: sales, marketing or infrastructure overhead costs required to produce it.

Another relevant formula, is the inventory turnover ratio which indicates a business is selling its goods quickly & achieving consistent demand for the products. A company can use this ratio number to determine whether its purchasing & sales goals are aligned. The inventory turnover rate ideally matches a purchasing schedule & plan. When a business has too much inventory, it can result in financial strain. Moving inventory consistently indicates strong sales & better operating cost management. This is true for producers, distributors, & stores.

Tips from Alli Ball: listen to the podcast on getting Samples to Store Buyers A really good listen for brands to hear. I think you will learn a thing or two.

Networks Work

Vermont businesses attended the 2024 Boston Local meeting buyers & other businesses in this New England Networking opportunity.

Tradeshow Handbook VSFA Agency of Ag with Rival Brands  helps vendors sell to buyers effectively & align their scale of the business.

Employee Handbook Webinar

Growers Rap on Employee  Handbooks Watch the replay & so you don’t miss the next one Subscribe to the VVBGA YouTube Channel.

Riding Maple Waves This Season

No doubt it has been a wacky Maple Sugaring Season, with some small operations finishing up before this current cold snap. Larger pipeline operations that run from December will likely go well into spring. Quality of sugar content seems to be low, but we will wait patiently for more data on how the year will play out. Cheers to all the wonders of a sugarhouse & the maple sugarbush.

The April 8th Eclipse is a fine time to push maple syrup sales as the state is anticipating a huge influx of Sun-Moon-Sun seekers. Accommodations are maxed out, but maple will be plenty!

Defining Local Products

In prior Small Bites, you have seen the clues about what is "local" to Vermont per ACT 129. Here is an example of a complying business:

Raw Agricultural Product. A ‘raw agricultural product’ is any food in its raw or natural state without added ingredients, & includes pasteurized or homogenized milk, maple sap or syrup, honey, meat, eggs, apple cider, and fruits or vegetables that may be washed, colored, or otherwise treated in their unpeeled natural form prior to marketing. 

A raw agriculture product is “local” and/or “Vermont” food if it is: 

1. Exclusively grown or tapped in Vermont;
2. NOT milk, & was derived from an animal that was raised for a substantial period of its life in Vermont (meaning the animal was harvested in Vermont and lived in Vermont for at least one third of its life or one year); 
3. IS milk, where a majority of the milk was produced from Vermont animals; or
4. IS honey produced by Vermont colonies located exclusively in Vermont when all nectar was collected.

Trillim Hill Farm spinach pictured above is by Vermont definition a "Local" product as they are raw, & exclusively grown in Hinesburg.

Small Bites comes to you via grants & is created for farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, & grocers to increase VT food sales. We support the New England State Food System Planners Partnership effort to strengthen the regional food economy

Special thanks to Emily Hershberger, Michael Lesser, Mary Pelkey, Leda Scheintaub, Megan Sheridan, Peter Doran, & the businesses participating in the Winter Series!.

Contact: Annie Harlow

smallbites802@gmail.com

All info is subject to change; thank you to all who contributed to this issue.

Created with support from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust