Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefanie Garcia.
Stefanie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
It all started with my passion for food that I luckily grew up around as part of my Hispanic culture. Watching my grandma make fresh tortillas and whip up some of the tastiest, simply prepared foods created some of the best childhood memories for me. Fast forward to my decision to attend Johnson & Wales University for Restaurant and Foodservice Management and I’d say my fate in the food world was sealed. It was at college that I learned from a fellow student about a fun organization called Slow Food that advocated for good, clean, and fair food for all. Up until that point good food to me meant making delicious items that guests would love. I really wasn’t aware about everything that goes into getting a vegetable or piece of meat on the plate. I became fascinated with the movement to know where your food came from and buying local when possible. Of course I was still young and having just graduated from college I was ready for a new gig and one thing I had learned was that living the restaurant life wasn’t quite hitting the mark for me but I wanted to do something in food. I luckily was at the right place at the right time and got into a manger in training program for Whole Foods Market in the Florida region. I have to credit my journey with them for teaching and showing me the true facts about food, beverage, personal products, you name it that we all buy every day without maybe really knowing or even caring where it comes from. I proceeded to spend 4 and half years or so in leadership roles in the stores at Whole Foods and had found myself in Chicago along the way working at the Lincoln Park store off of North Avenue. There happened to be a position for a Local Forager job open up at the Midwest office so I jumped at that opportunity. I landed the role and spent another 4 and half years running around the Midwest and Ontario Canada meeting farmers, meeting producers of all types of products, and helping companies land a spot on the shelves at their local Whole Foods store. It was awesome. I visited manufacturing plants, dairy farms, agricultural farms, hydroponic operations, shared kitchen spaces and everywhere else someone created or grew food or created natural products (personal care items like soap and oils were also included in my adventures). I knew that helping companies go to market with their products was what I wanted to do for a career forever. I then had to make a critical decision to embark on what I discovered and that was to leave Whole Foods Market where I had called “home” for 9 years and expand my horizons and experience because I believed that in order to be able to truly help a company I needed to know what they were experiencing. My first stop was a sales manager at The Honest Company based in LA. I managed their central US sales accounts in the natural and specialty channels and learned real quickly what it was like to work with a growing brand with national placement and a lot of points of distribution. Almost a year later I was approached by another start-up called This Bar Saves Lives to help them grow and navigate the retail market. What I love about that company is they are a for-profit that works with non-profit partners to provide packets of food to children suffering from malnutrition around the world. I mean how could I say no to that?? So I learned more and helped save lives during my time there, getting to know companies like Edesia who manufacture the food packets that are sent to children around the world. Even while working at that company doing so much good, I had the itch to get back to working with producers and helping them bring their products to market. I knew that I’d have to make the leap at some point and last September 2017 turned out to be that date where and I launched Cultivar Consulting. Everything I have learned about food production, health and wellness, and ultimately living a meaningful life was what I have created my consulting company to embody. I only work with brands that have purpose and traceability. So whether they give back by building wells in Burundi, Africa like Pacha Soap Company or create healthy delicious foods and beverages like Element Shrubs or Chicago-based Sofrito Foods, I am purposeful in my work and give the brands all I have learned and experienced to help them become successful.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If it was smooth I don’t think I would have enjoyed the journey as much! Being a consultant is tough and relies a lot on referrals, word of mouth, and your own reputation in the industry that you are in. I have seen an uptick in consultants over the past few years, especially in the food and beverage realm since it has shown a lot of growth and people are genuinely passionate about it. The good news is that because of the growth more people are starting food, beverage, and personal care brands. The bad news is that some of them don’t come from this sector and don’t have the first clue of how any of it works. While this could be good for a consultant because there are potential clients out in the market that could use their services, it is also not easy because these companies are usually bootstrapped with little to no funds to pay outside consultants. And if they do have money to pay someone to help them there’s no guarantee the company will be successful, especially if they are in a category of products that are considered “saturated” and there is very little room for new products to fit in. So for example a company may be making an amazing jarred salsa but there are literally hundreds of brands making jarred salsa all competing for the same spot on the local grocers’ shelf. That’s some stiff competition and it means that some companies will win and others will not. For me always keeping my ears and eyes open for new clients is key even if I don’t need a new client right now. Also staying up to date on the latest trends is important because people love new things but also want their usual staple item. So knowing what’s going on the marketplace is a priority to always be a step ahead and give clients the best information possible.
Cultivar Consulting – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Cultivar Consulting helps young brands navigate the ins and outs of bringing their product to market. I only work with products that fall in the “natural” products realm and that have a positive or beneficial quality to their business. I help companies with sales strategies, marketing and positioning, business plan development, and retail support items such as promotional plans and distributor relationships. I’m most proud of the fact that I have been able to create this business and have it embody the purpose of bettering the individual and the world around us. Cultivar means “to grow” or “foster the growth of” in Spanish and this is what I seek to do with all the companies that I help. When a business is trying to grow and get traction and sales as fast as they can, they often leave the basic foundational needs out or even forget them entirely so then all that hard work for growth crumbles because there’s nothing to support it. I feel like knowing how to build the foundation and support a business from step 1 to step 20 is what sets my company apart from others. While I am a sole proprietor I have built a very extensive network of professionals who touch every point that a business would encounter. Having someone by your side who can quickly get an answer about some obscure ingredient supply question can save a business a lot of time and frustration. And it all works together to create that full package.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment of my career so far isn’t one thing, it’s the compilation of everything that I have learned about the industry that I have been passionate about as a kid. I am so proud that I really have an understanding of how food production and retail operations work and how they are linked together within a huge spiderweb of connectivity. Food is one thing that will never go away, we all need it. But we also need to learn more about it. Sustainable production will continue to be in the spotlight and there’s no getting away from that. So what can we do, create, learn, and grow that will help ensure we have healthy and bountiful food for all?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cultivarconsultingllc.com
- Email: stefanie@cultivarconsultingllc.com
- Instagram: @cultivarconsulting
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanie-garcia-3614b120/
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