Page 6 - BusinessWest August 19, 2024

The company began wholesaling to area stores with just one product: the wittily named “hummus-flavored hummus.”
region.
He and Cordeiro hope the wholesale business sees similar
growth and success. They intend to expand gradually and purpose- fully, starting at locally owned stores like Provisions, Cornucopia, Oliver’s Farmstand, and Brattleboro Food Co-Op.
“Food Connects serves 250 stores — including places that are very far away that we would never even know about, in Vermont and New Hampshire. But hyper-local was where we really wanted to start,” Grossman said, adding that he isn’t looking to get into large chains like Big Y — for now, anyway.
“That’s certainly something that we would consider, and I know that they’re very good to local distributors and local producers,”
he told BusinessWest. “But we really want to build this business on our own terms. I’ve seen so many food businesses our size that can’t wait to get into the bigger chains, and they figure out how to ramp up production, and they invest in infrastructure and produc- tion, and then that giant account goes away. So we feel really great about the organic growth and interest that we have.”
Food Connects specializes in those independent retailers and food co-ops, he added. “They’re pointed right at the people who we feel like would be buying us anyway. So we’ll grow in the kind of places we want to grow, using the food-truck business to bootstrap our way into the wholesale hummus business. That’s been giving us the capital that we need, as well as the PR capital.”
Another way Holyoke Hummus is starting slowly is with the items it’s wholesaling — or, more accurately, item.
“We’re doing one flavor. We’re doing hummus-flavored hummus. That gets a good chuckle from people all the time, and it resonates,” Grossman said.
“There are a million flavors of hummus out there, and every- body’s got their favorite, and that’s wonderful,” he went on. “But what food trucks do is focus on one thing. And you want to go back to that truck because you want to have that falafel or that pulled pork. It struck us that we do one flavor of hummus on the truck, and people love the hummus; people have been asking us where they can we get the hummus when the truck isn’t out.”
He said the inspiration for calling the packaged product ‘hum-
“I want to make sure that the business model is sustainable and something we know we can grow confidently before we start with other products.”
WEEKDAYS on WHMP The Valley this Morning with
Jess Tyler 7-9 am
Talk the Talk Buzz Eisenberg Bill Newman 9-11 am Rebroadcast 4-6pm
The Stephanie Miller Show 11 am -12 pm
The Thom Hartmann Program 12-3 pm
Introducing
The Ramsey Show
America’s trusted voice on life & money 3-4 pm
Armstrong & Getty 6-9 pm
Stream: WHMP.com
FaceSof Business
A BUSINESSWEST SERIES
Highlight your team in these special sections:
Faces of Finance: Sept 16th Faces of Insurance: Oct 28th Faces of Healthcare: Nov 25th
-•
WHO ARE THE FACES OF YOUR BUSINESS, THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS RUN, WHO CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR SUCCESS?
Check out previous Faces Offeatures:
6 AUGUST 19, 2024
<< FEATURE >>
BusinessWest