Every food company starts out with a really cool story. From the newlyweds who make vegan cookies to the 8th grader who wanted to sell pretzels for a graduation challenge. Our story is the all-too-familiar farmer’s market story – but with a twist! We used to sell Eddie’s Energy Bars until we realized that selling a product in one of the most crowded markets was just crazy. We switched our focus to something that we had been making for family bbq’s for seven years: our rich and creamy mustard. Here’s the story:
The Recipe Exchange
Ed, who holds a PhD in Materials Science, worked with Ginger, the keeper of this incredible mustard recipe. As with any great recipe, you ask for it. We received the mustard recipe from Ginger and started making it at home, on our stove top, one jar at a time. Michael, Ed’s son and the Director of All that Happens at Green Mountain Mustard, ate the mustard with a spoon – it was that good. But, then the tweaking began. We knew we could make it better. After a few months of tweaking, the perfect mustard was here: rich, creamy, and down-right delicious.
Our First Farmer’s Market – We Sold Out!
We were selling energy bars at a farmer’s market the next town over and noticed that no one was selling mustard – or any condiment for that matter. We whipped up nine jars of our original Sweet-Hot Mustard and brought it to the market the next weekend. It sold out in 30 minutes. The next weekend we brought 24 jars and sold out in just over an hour. The process repeated throughout the summer. We knew we were on to something.
The Initial Launch
After a few years at various farmer’s markets around where we lived, and after Michael graduated college, we decided to launch this little venture and see where we could take it, however we needed to differentiate from the other mustards in the state. Of course they all use Vermont Maple Syrup, so we decided that we would source our eggs and butter locally. Our eggs come from a 70-year-old family farm and our butter is from the many VT farmer’s who support the Cabot Coop. Our smooth and creamy mustard was ready to make its debut on the shelf.
What’s Happening in 2012?
Through a partnership with Clear Brook Farm in Shaftsbury, VT, we have started using locally-harvested yellow mustard seed in our Wholegrain Mustard. This summer, we’re striving to make our wholegrain mustard out of 100% locally-harvested seeds. It’s incredibly exciting! We can be found in over 70 stores across the Northeast and other states. We’re planning to hop around New England to different craft fairs and festivals hawking mustard, so we hope to see you there.