Miyoko’s popular products beyond the North Bay include its Euro-salted butter, cream cheese and fresh mozzarella. [Courtesy Miyoko’s Creamery]
about its delivery operations. For example, Hog Island Oyster Co. brings oysters to the Ferry Building every day. Storage for the shops at this space is extremely minimal. This means the frequency of deliveries for the producer is a good topic for a story because it highlights freshness. Another valuable story to tell is which products have the highest sales. Miyoko’s popular products in the North Bay and the entire Bay Area include Euro Salted Butter, Plain Cream Cheese and Fresh Mozzarella. It can be entertaining and informative for a producer to explain how a trend started in the North Bay, where the product may have been offered first and later spread south and east. Younger generations especially will be interested in stories
Reno and Idaho,” says Pozzi. Pozzi primarily sells to Whole Foods. The store has featured his products and operations on the Whole Foods blog . “We’ve been selling lamb in partnership with Whole Foods for about 18 years. We have done hundreds of demos in their stores. I always look for opportunities to develop a relationship,” says Pozzi. One way Pozzi has gained knowledge to share information about agriculture is by serving in local and national agricultural organizations. Pozzi is a member of the board of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, the district manager for the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
in Sebastopol and the treasurer of the American Sheep Industry Association, a national trade association based in Englewood, Colorado. “My time at the ranch and working with these organizations taught me there are many opportunities to educate teams from grocery stores. I particularly like to share more about the
“Shoppers are always impressed when we mention how close many
about how North Bay producers engage with consumers online. For example, Miyoko’s utilizes its company website as well as email marketing campaigns, local events, geo-targeting efforts on social media, LinkedIn posts and distributor advertising. Grocers can help producers in
of the purveyors are.” — Jane Connors, GM of the San Francisco Ferry Building.
a unique way by highlighting the companies that donate products to charity. In this story, Nessel asked to give a special shout-out to Petaluma Egg Farm. She explains that every holiday season, Petaluma Egg Farm donates eggs to Bi-Rite’s Healthy Holiday Meal Box program. Through a partnership with Mo’Magic, a San Francisco nonprofit organization, the Bi-Rite program is able to provide a full holiday meal to 700 families in San Francisco every December. A case study: North Bay lamb goes to Fresno The story of Pozzi Ranch Lamb is a helpful example of how a North Bay business can influence markets far beyond the Bay Area. Pozzi produces pasture-raised lamb without antibiotics or hormones. He also buys lamb from four other ranchers who follow these protocols. “We supply stores with Pozzi Ranch Lamb 12 months out of the year. All our lambs are within 60 miles of locations from where they are sold. Our North Bay ranch supplies lamb throughout the Bay Area. Our company supplies lamb all the way south to Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay. In addition, we also supply lamb to the Sacramento Valley, Fresno,
environmental aspects of our operations, from the ranch’s role in maintaining grasslands to ways that we sequester carbon to minimize greenhouse gas emissions,” says Pozzi. Pozzi adds that another, easy and effective tool to build relationships is holding a comfortable social gathering like a barbecue. “There have been so many times that we’ve had consumers from Marin County Whole Foods stores put their business cards in a fishbowl. Then we picked out several winners and thanked them in person for buying our products. I highly recommend feel-good, thoughtful ways to invite business partners to the North Bay,” says Pozzi. g
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48 NorthBaybiz
October 2024
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