Taking Stock Foods, LLC

My take on Food, Ag, Ideas Week: I just have to say, I was totally amazed by all the knowledge shared at this conference! It really helped me understand how farms, processors, distributors, brands, consultants and customers all work together to promote regenerative agriculture. I felt like I was part of a big, welcoming community, and it was so exciting! One of my favorite parts was connecting with people who share my passion for the conscious food movement. To capture how meaningful these connections are to me, I’m sharing the song “Waters of March” by Luciana Souza. It really reflects the depth of these relationships. https://lnkd.in/gXV2_hTR I’m thrilled to be part of the Naturally MN community, along with all the amazing makers, brands, farmers, and resource providers in Minnesota. It truly feels like a dream come true! A special shoutout to some wonderful people I got to spend time with! Armetha Pihlstrom, Sue Marshall, Kate LaBrosse, Jennifer Alexander, Belén Rodríguez, Julie Kucinski, Leah Thiele, Kayla Yang-Best, Katelyn Yee, Adrienne Pooley, Melissa A. Carmichael, Marcus Carpenter If you want to follow how Taking Stock Foods, LLC is engaging in the conscious food movement, sign up for our E-Letter https://lnkd.in/gjwKbU8w Take care!

Looks like every conversation lately is pointing to regenerative ag! At Taking Stock, we’re working on some new products (yay!) and hunting for ingredients that have a cool regenerative agriculture or upcycled story behind them. I’m also reconnecting with Sue Marshall soon (yay again!) and can’t wait to learn about all the latest technologies and innovations in the regenerative space. Oh, and I just signed up for Food, Ag, Ideas Week happening from Oct. 7-9. It’s a great chance to meet companies of all sizes working on sustainable supply chains and regenerative ag. Interested? Check it out here! https://lnkd.in/gAb4JYuG ...and let me know if you're coming so I can save you the seat next to me ;)

Right now, we’re working on new products for the first time since 2019, which is ✨ really exciting ✨ ! I’ve been checking out a ton of cookbooks from the library to get inspired for our new flavors. A big shoutout to Stephanie Hansen and her True North Cabin Cookbook which captures the amazing flavors of the North Woods of Minnesota. It’s been a lot of fun exploring these recipes! I’m always learning about flavors. I find it fascinating how flavors can affect us physically and emotionally—like how mint can cool you down and ginger can warm you up. To me, richness is also a flavor, and it can bring comfort, whether it’s in a warm bowl of rice congee or a creamy chocolate pudding. I love eating just as much as I love cooking—maybe even more! It makes me really happy to find foods that balance different flavors perfectly, like pairing the sweet taste of cantaloupe with salty prosciutto. The new products we’re working on are going to be amazing. Packaged food does a great job showing what a product is like through its design, including things like certifications and descriptions of how it was made. However, flavor is the most important part that keeps people coming back, and you can’t fully capture it on a package—you really need to taste it to understand. I’m excited to create flavors that will impress and delight our customers.

This is Jennifer Jackson and me after a meetup we had last Sunday morning. Jennifer and I were in the same cohort for the University of St. Thomas - Opus College of Business Community Entrepreneurship Program, which I’ve mentioned before. She’s the founder of Magnilay, a company that makes the best yoga mat bags out there, and she sells her products on Amazon (link below). She was the first person I met in the class, and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. We’ve been bouncing ideas off one another and supporting each other as founders, especially since being an entrepreneur can sometimes feel very lonely and isolating. During our conversation last week, we talked a lot about setting boundaries with our businesses. We’re both working on using what’s not working as an opportunity to ask, ‘Can I fix this? Can I eliminate this?’ At the same time, we’re also leaning into and celebrating what is working. When you're deep in the day-to-day, it's tough to keep perspective. How many entrepreneurs out there are just pushing through without taking time to evaluate and improve? How do we carve out time for that crucial reflection? What benefits can come from making this part of our business strategy? Making time for these conversations has been amazing. Happy 1-year friendiversary, Jennifer! https://lnkd.in/gcHcsuGg

Here I am with Madeleine Kaudy and Kate LaBrosse after an amazing intention-setting session. Kate has been providing focus, experienced guidance, encouragement, and belief in Taking Stock Foods, LLC potential as a coach and expert. She’s been helping us see things that we struggle to realize on our own. In case you're new to our journey, Maddy and I have been growing our business since we launched in December 2015. As a founding team, we're committed to each other’s personal and spiritual growth. Balancing that with the needs of the business has been challenging at times, as we've worked to support one another and prioritize the business. During our intention-setting session, we made a symbolic gesture to focus on growing the business by literally giving Taking Stock Foods a seat at the table—we placed a pouch on a chair to represent letting it take up space. We're ready to stop micromanaging our "baby" business and allow it to stretch its wings. As a mom of a 5-year-old, I see many similarities between raising a child and growing a business. When your 'baby' starts to exist in the world without you, you have to trust that you've given it the right tools to thrive on its own. The irony is that by encouraging the business to be more independent, we're taking steps toward our real dream of having it grow with less involvement from us. However, it's hard to stop hovering once that habit is in place. The intention-setting session was all about reframing the next stage of Taking Stock Foods. We're bringing energy, excitement, trust, and faith to the business based on all the work we've done. As we stand on the edge of a new direction for Taking Stock Foods, I feel a sense of liberation and satisfaction. I'm excited for the next 5-10 years, which I believe will be full of celebrations and achievements.

Today I'm going to talk about mentorship! This is a picture of Jessica H. and me after a great conversation at Claddagh Coffee Shop in St. Paul. Jessica and I were connected through our mutual friend Valerie Blomberg. Jessica runs a private chef business and reached out to learn about the networks I use to connect with other women in the food industry. We ended up talking about all kinds of things: how to grow a business, how to validate your work as a founder, estimating the cost of hiring someone else to do it, conducting affordable market research, and most importantly, where to find mentorship and guidance. When we talked about mentorship, Jessica wondered about the best ways to approach potential mentors. The interesting thing about mentors is that those who offer their help are usually doing it because they received the same kindness earlier in their careers. Mentorship isn’t a waste of time – many of us see it as our responsibility to share our experiences and lessons because we benefited from others doing the same for us at key moments in our careers. Here are some important things to keep in mind when you ask someone for a coffee chat or to pick their brain: 1. Be clear about why you’re connecting – If you admire their work or want to learn how they developed their expertise, it helps them focus and gather useful resources for you. 2. Respect their time – Set a specific time frame for the meeting or call and stick to it. If you’re running over time, acknowledge it. If things are going well, ask if it’s okay to keep in touch. Showing respect for their time demonstrates that you value it and won’t take more than they’re willing to give. 3. Follow up with your mentors about your successes – At Taking Stock Foods, we have a newsletter for mentors that I ask permission to subscribe them to. I send out quarterly updates. It’s rewarding for people who have given their time and care about your success to see how you’re growing. 4. Be a mentor yourself – Join the cycle of generosity and help enrich the community. If you’re early in your journey, you might develop this skill by encouraging a friend's 5th grader or helping an elder with technology. As you progress in your career, remember to share resources, best practices, or lessons learned whenever possible. Jessica was a wonderful person to meet. It’s inspiring to talk with people who share similar experiences and learn from different generations. Together, we work towards greater goals. #mentorship

This is a picture of me with the executive summary that Madeleine Kaudy and I wrote for the Minnesota Cup last summer. I had no idea how much the MN Cup would inspire me. When we applied in spring 2023, I hoped to meet new mentors, get some brand exposure, and maybe win some money. We achieved all of that, but the real magic happened after we competed as semi-finalists. The feedback from judges pushed us into a year of testing, research, and analysis. Now, we’re making some big changes to the brand that I never expected when we joined over a year ago. Right now, I’m updating the Taking Stock Foods, LLC brand guide - looking back at the Executive Summary and Pitch Deck we submitted last August. Reviewing these materials reminds me of how hard Maddy and I worked for that competition. I’m also proud of us for taking the feedback we received from the judges seriously and using it to improve. It was really exciting to see my friend Belén Rodríguez win the Food/Agriculture/Beverage division last summer, and I’m cheering on my friend Peter Chehadeh in the 2024 competition. If you're looking for a quick way to discover local brands and startups in Minnesota, please join me in following the MN Cup Division Showcases! https://lnkd.in/gnkCfDvm

I just got back from a month traveling around Massachusetts. During my time there, I had the chance to catch up with Dr. Paula Gutlove, my former neighbor. Growing up, our families spent countless hours swimming, singing, and goofing around together. Almost by accident, I wound up learning a lot from this socially engaged, amazing woman. A few weeks ago, Paula and I were chatting about Taking Stock Foods, LLC and the business progress Madeleine Kaudy and I have been making. Paula mentioned a concept called ESR, which refers to a company’s focus on sustainability through environmental, social, and responsible practices. This conversation came at the perfect time because Maddy and I have been wrapping up our business development work with a section called ‘Style’— our approach to running our business. We're proud that we've naturally incorporated many ESR elements into our business, and we're excited that as we expand, others within our company can also adopt them. I always love talking with Paula, and this year it was a highlight of my visit. I'm excited to think about where Taking Stock could be next year and to discuss with Paula how ESR is evolving with our brand.

Here's me holding a copy of "The Sea Around Us: Special Edition for Young Readers" by Rachel Carson. In the first chapter of this book, Rachel Carson mentions that our ancient ancestors left the sea millions of years ago, but human blood is still much like sea water. She even included a graph comparing the minerals—like sodium, calcium, potassium, and chlorine—in sea water to those in human blood. Carson's connection between human blood and sea water caught my attention, especially because today we often talk about electrolytes—like those found in bone broth. I consider electrolytes to be a relatively new trend, but now I'm interested to learn more about the evolution of how vitamins and minerals have been promoted and favored in food products. It's amazing to make new connections between how our bodies relate to the world and how the products I make can help balance your body, all from information in a book that's nearly 70 years old. I'm loving this book and learning more about the sea. What are you reading or being inspired by this summer?

Having a fantastic day today! Christine Smalley and I took a stroll this morning along the Mississippi River, and it was a blast! Christine's been part of Taking Stock Foods, LLC since the beginning, starting as a consultant when we were just dreaming up a fast casual soup concept. Her guidance nudged us toward broth and then bone broth products, and wow, has her insight made a huge impact on Taking Stock! We had a super cool chat today about our businesses (she's with DU NORD CRAFT SPIRITS LLC), trends in flavors for beverages, how I've seen a shift in brick-and-mortar stores since the pandemic, and even disccused some new opportunities in the bone broth space. It was awesome catching up with her, especially since her early involvement has helped shape our new directions. We had so much fun chatting that saying goodbye was tough. Ever met someone you could talk to forever? That's Christine for me! Can't wait to swing by the revamped tasting room at Du Nord and keep cheering each other on!