Thursday, August 19, 2010

My quest continues to outsource production of my gourmet products

Well, back to the drawing board...I was optimistic that production of my gourmet products could be outsourced to Farm to Table co-packers but as the negotiations progressed, it became clear that Farm to Table is positioned to work with organizations much larger than Baron's International Kitchen is. Though Baron's International Kitchen is growing, it isn't at large scale production yet and so I'm sort of in between the 2 options of making the products myself or partnering with an organization like Farm to Table co-packers.

I reached out to the NYS Dept of Agriculture & Markets and asked about other co-packing facilities in the state and they forwarded me a list of organizations. I reached out to those within about 2 hours of my area Kingston, NY for information about their services and am planning to meet with Nelson Farms next week.

Nelson Farms is a venture of Morrisville State College that provides entrepreneurial agri-business opportunities for specialty food processors, farmers, growers and producers. Their services include processing/co-packing, product development, distribution, marketing and sales promotion and education/training. They also have a dairy incubator. It sounds like their services are much more in line with those I require but I'll be meeting with the Director, Dave Evans next week to learn more. There'll be more info coming soon after the meet with him.

In the meantime, I'm back in the kitchen next week Tuesday to make more of the Mild Caribbean Marinade. Baron's International Kitchen will have a booth at the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest on September 11th & 12th at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY and I'll need more inventory for that event. If you're a foodie or love good wine, consider attending the event. Local restaurants will be providing free/nominally priced samples and there will be lots of wine to sample too. You can also purchase at the event cases of those wines you enjoyed sampling. If you've been curious about my gourmet products and would like try before you buy, stop by my booth at the event and have a taste. I'm sure you're gonna love 'em.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Terry

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