Article in the Defiance Crescent News
www.canaljunctioncheese.com
On Sunday, we here at Canal Junction were featured in the local paper in the Living section. It was a great article done by a wonderful reporter. Thank You, Georgia for the article.
From that article there have been questions as to why I am not selling at any local markets or stores. Before you go off on me let me say that I have to keep a business head on me. I can not let emotion rule me, or the business. Banks don’t care about emotion. But please don’t take this as all I am trying to do is make millions. If I wanted to do that I would have stuck with my original plan to work for the Wrangler clothing company in their marketing division.
First in order for me to attend a market I have to be able to pay for the time that the person spends there even if it is me. My time cost something. If I am at a market there is something back at base that is not getting done. If I send someone there I pay them, a fair wage. Then you have to figure in the time it takes to get ready and also the cost of the product being sold. So would it be nice if I was at the local market? Sure, but I have to put the business brain on not the emotional one.
Second, selling through local stores. I actually did when we first started. For those who are not into retail you may not realize this. A retailer is not about selling product, it is about moving a certain amount of product off that shelf to make money. Retailers are not product sellers, they are shelf space renters. Those who have product at eye level pay more for that shelf than those at the bottom or top of the shelving. Each linear foot of shelf space in a store is equal to a certain amount of money. If you (the one who is putting a product on the shelf) can not move the required amount of product through that shelf the retailer will replace it with something that will. This is the game that I am NOT in. I am not a big, standardized cheese plant.
Am I against dealing with local retail? No, but understand I am not a distributor, I am not a huge corporation, I can not deliver to all your stores, my cheeses come in random weight packages, and it is a living product that requires more care than something in a vacuum sealed bag. It is alive and needs nurturing. Cheese tastes the best when it is cut right off the original chunk that it is in.
Which brings me to my next item. We are now offering the cheese cut to order here at the farm. For those who have gone to a cheese counter where there are cheeses galore you know what this is like. For those who have not had that experience allow me to try and put it into words. At a cheese counter there are many different cheeses setting there. Displayed as the whole, maybe cut in half to see the interior, you can sample it before you buy it. When you want to purchase it you tell the cheesemonger how much you want. They cut is right off the chunk, wrap it up in paper that nurtures the living product inside it, weight it and then you get to enjoy the best tasting cheese around. This is what we are now offering. We still have the pre cut packages but for those that want it fresh, you have that option. My personal opinion is to have it fresh, it just tastes better.
Do not forget, we have retail here at the farm. Hours: Tuesday 1-6, Thursday 10-6, Saturday 8-noon
Helping you to understand more about what we do here,
The Head Cheese, Brian