North Country Smokehouse’s Alicia Baker Discusses Expansion and Organic Anniversary
By Chandler James of Deli Market News
CLAREMONT, NH – March 16, 2022. A lot is happening over at North Country Smokehouse (NCS). Between its continued expansion on the West Coast and the 16-year celebration of its first-ever organic farm, NCS is furthering its mission to make sustainable food accessible to everyone. Alicia Baker, Director of Marketing, explained that clean labels and traceability are top of mind for West Coast consumers, and NCS fills that niche.
“Being that we’re vertically integrated and own our own farms, feed, husbandry, and harvesting operations, it goes a long way to establishing trust,” she said. “Consumers are learning to look beyond the label claims and learn about the businesses they buy from. Our ability to be open and honest, and even proud of our practices, means we can share and educate consumers. Right now, we’re very focused on educating West Coast customers about our brand and farming practices and pointing them in the direction of our valued partners.”
Alicia noted that NCS is having strategic conversations with distributors and retailers alike. The company is careful not to dilute the markets for its partners, so the team is very careful about how they build onto this footprint.
“We’re focused on both retail and foodservice, and we’re busy selecting the right distribution partners to work with, primarily partners who are looking to take on various products and cuts, not just bellies for bacon. Our food philosophy puts total respect for the animal at the forefront, so choosing partners who take a good product mix is critical—especially with Prop 12 mandates requiring many end users to source compliant supply, which further limits raw material availability,” Alicia told me. “We recently partnered with upscale retailers Lazy Acres Natural Market, Newfound Market, Save Mart, and Raley’s O-N-E Market.”
West Coast consumers can now walk into their local grocery and specialty food stores and find North Country Smokehouse products on shelf, rather than ordering from the company’s website exclusively. Alicia says, “It is not just about having access; it’s about preserving all the resources possible in distribution, from energy to transportation and packaging.”
In addition to these expansions, NCS also recently celebrated the 16th anniversary of its first-ever organic farm. The company’s Chief Executive Officer Aaron Corbett, marketing department, and video crew along with the Global Animal Partnership team, toured the farm with its farmers and talked about the improvements made over the last 16 years. The company put together a recap video of the tour, which can be viewed below.
“We played with the pigs, watched the sun rise, shucked corn, and had meaningful conversations about the current and future state of regenerative agriculture and organics,” Alicia added. “Our farms were one of the first partners under the Global Animal Partnership banner (under duBreton), so we were also celebrating the partnership. We don’t just look out for one another, we look out for our animals and the land, and that’s what sets NCS apart.”
As Alicia outlined, the company’s standards exceed the federal organic mandates, and NCS believes there’s still a lot of work to do. The supplier launches a few new organic recipes each year, like its organic Canadian bacon, organic ham steak, and organic petit ham.
“Converting to organic is especially hard for small family farmers, as the farms have to be shut down for several years. That’s impossible for many farmers who rely on the crops and their yield to make a living. Our organic farm partnerships solve that problem; we subsidize farmers during the transition with fair market prices. They don’t have to compromise their livelihood for the sake of profit,” Alicia concluded. “The relationships we’ve made are rewarding and lasting, and leave a legacy footprint that doesn’t just impact the food system today, but the future of food as we know it.”
Alicia and I also took a deep dive into Prop 12 and North Country Smokehouse’s efforts, so stay tuned for our next report.
View the full article here.
