People are talking about Humboldt Made …
Clint Victorine, Owner, Eel River Organic Beef
“Because of the clients we are working with, we were going to have to create videos like this on our own and the branding project came along just in time. Every major company we are competing against has this type of marketing and millions and millions of dollars behind them to fund it. Because of this branding project and the help of the Small Business Development Center, my company is going to go from being a $100,000 a year business to generating $5 million plus in sales this year. Hopefully this work will open the doors for many other people after us.”
Greg Dale, Southwest Operations Manager, Coast Seafoods
“I was recently at a shellfish and wine caucus event in Washington D.C. and lo and behold they pull out Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog. It was spectacular and probably a request from Mike Thompson, who has always been really good about promoting our region. But we all do that here. I promote Clint’s (Victorine) beef and whenever the Whole Foods guy is here with Clint, they always stop by and grab a bag of our oysters. We have a lot of high-end products here and I think part of the lure is the novelty of it. When we work together, it’s like the rising tide lifts all boats.”
Barbara Groom, Owner, Lost Coast Brewery
“I believe in branding Humboldt products. We’ve always used the tag line ‘Brewed in the Humboldt nation’ because we wanted to align ourselves with the uniqueness of the area. The (branding) committee has done a lot of hard work on this and it is important because ultimately the success of our brands keep people employed.”
Mary Keehn, Founder, Cypress Grove Chevre
“Cypress Grove Chevre has long been a champion of our unique area. Our most popular cheese, Humboldt Fog™ is named for the region and one of its “attributes.” We feel that our community and its unique characteristics are extraordinary and worth sharing with the world. I am glad to see a growing interest in promoting the region and the products produced here. Small businesses here have the advantage of the relaxed life style and local beauty but the disadvantage of being far from large markets increases the cost of doing business dramatically. Hopefully the work that comes from this branding collaboration will bring local businesses together and help them grow.”
Thomas Meagher, Owner, Riverbend Cellars
“A lot of people don’t realize that we have 25 bonded wineries here and so I’m hoping my involvement in this project will help us grow more locally. I think that with some further branding, more people will realize they don’t have to go to Sonoma to have great wine and stay to enjoy our relaxed lifestyle and our restaurants, arts and wonderful farmer’s markets. Wine and food are fine art that you consume and provide us the celebration of everyday life.”
Bob LaFranchi, Owner, Loleta Cheese
“We want to maintain our base and have always appreciated the local grocers and customers who have supported us, and we would love to be able to grow and add more jobs. I hope these films help us to create more of a relationship with our consumers within Humboldt County. We’ve been here for 28 years and the real miracle of being in business is when a customer decides to give you their hard-earned money in exchange for something you created with your own hands. Anything we can do to highlight our products and make consumers more aware of them and the impact of supporting local, helps.”
Sarah Mora, Marketing Manager, Humboldt Grassfed Beef
“For me personally, anytime I have an opportunity to pick people’s brains on what they are doing, I take advantage of it. It’s great to collaborate together in this because it is for the benefit of all. There is no point in going out and re-creating the wheel to market our products if we can work together. We don’t have a big marketing budget to compete with large beef producers like Tyson or even large grass-fed beef producers for that matter, so the fact that we get to pool our resources gets us more bang for our buck and that’s a good thing.”
