By now I’m sure your inbox has been flooded by what every company, whose newsletter you somehow made it onto, is doing as a response to our current public health crisis. As a supporter of our work and the Anderson Valley I wanted to give you a brief update.
85% of sales of Piment d’Ville are to restaurants and stores that are either closed or are definitely not going to be ordering specialty spices any time soon. And after having a bumper of a harvest in 2019, we have a lot of product on hand. We had been in conversation with several additional distributors to have national coverage by summer, but everything has come to a halt. I was really looking forward to sharing those announcements with you soon - hopefully they’re just postponed several months!
The State of California is under an indefinite shelter in place order, but farming and food production is considered an essential activity. We’re working hard, safely, and under CDC guidelines of course, to come up with long term solutions to what we’re facing and how to keep our team employed and our farm in the black.
The Boonville Barn Collective’s landscaping crew has been shut down - not essential per the state. We’ve moved them over to help on the farm and assist in season prep. But that’s only a few weeks of work. There is a place for them at Strictly Vineyards, our sister business which helps manage/farm vineyards throughout the Valley.
On the farm we’re facing a hard reality. Our long term prospects of increasing sales of Piment are, well, limited. We’re working with other farms in the Valley to understand what we can focus on to further shorten supply chains by growing produce and staples for folks in the Valley. This is a radical shift from farming a shelf stable product!
We’ll keep farming single origin, farm to jar spices. Not just Espelette/Piment d’Ville, but the Comapeno and Poblano (we also have some fun yellow chiles in the mix for the 2020 harvest). If you are able and ready to jump into your kitchen we’re offering free shipping on all orders placed through our website with the code: COOKATHOME
If you’re looking to say hi to someone from afar we’d be honored to be considered as a gift and are happy to include a note with your order. Our favorite local postal worker, Ann, has been out for the past 2 months, but is back at work on Saturday. What better way to welcome her back than with lots of packages to send out?!
We’re planning on hosting some virtual dinner parties where everyone cooks the same thing and FaceTime/Zoom’s in for the meal. We’ve got some great recipes up on our website and are trying to bring some levity on our Instagram feed (including the series; ‘how do I use Piment with my picky sister’s pantry items’).
So that’s where we’re at! Stressed, but adapting. Caring for our team and community, and finding ways with other local and small businesses to keep everyone healthy and home!
Be well, and wash your hands,
Krissy
