We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cheryl Fox a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cheryl, appreciate you joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
A little backstory on our business. My husband and I started Mama Fox’s Pantry in 2014. It consisted of me baking three different flavors of healthy granola. We had a website, were in a few neighborhood grocery stores and sold our product at the Melrose Place Farmer’s Market for close to 2 years. We decided to put the business on hold, as we were both working full time at our respective jobs. We were considering a move once I retired in 2019 and hoped to resuscitate the business at some point. In 2023, we decided it was time, especially since the small town we moved to has a seasonal farmer’s market from June to the end of October. We had observed there were no other granola products and felt the time was right. By the time we obtained the necessary permits, and started to sell at our first Saturday market in mid June, we encountered another small business granola company amongst the 12 – 15 farmer’s market booths. Needless to say, we were somewhat disappointed, thinking we would be the only granola vendor. We analyzed the competition and refined our marketing to highlight our healthy ingredients. This helped us in attracting health oriented customers looking for higher quality ingredients than that of our competitor at the market. Subsequently we have expanded our product line to feature chia seed pudding and healthy muffins. All products have been well received by the buying public.
Cheryl, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I always wanted to try my hand at baking and selling my product at local Farmer’s Markets. I love to bake and cook and wanted to share my love of healthy foods with the public. I developed a recipe for granola that has 8 ingredients, and has no preservatives. It has an abundance of almonds and walnuts, and is made with avocado oil and a small amount of honey for sweetness. I include dried fruit and cinnamon for flavor, as well as whole grain rolled oats. I would package my granola and give it to friends. One day someone asked me if they could purchase it, which sparked the idea of selling it at local Farmer’s Markets. Since doing so and having success, I have introduced chia seed pudding and healthy muffins as well. Our customers enjoy finding new items and all have sold well. As I am retired, I enjoy taking yoga classes, and have found a population of people who want to eat healthy snacks, that fuel their body, rather than sweets and other foods that can be considered empty calories. I pride myself on creating items that are good for you, but that also taste good and are priced reasonably. I live in a small mountain town in Northern Utah, and have developed a strong customer base.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
As mentioned previously, I have been retired for 5 years. My career prior to retirement was in sales and marketing. I learned that connecting with people was the key in any sales oriented environment. When my husband and I moved to our small mountain town 5 years ago, we knew no one. I immediately looked for opportunities to meet people, by taking classes (cooking, water aerobics, yoga and ceramics, to name a few). I was able to make many friends and connected with people of all ages. I also have volunteered at a local food bank in addition to baking and packaging items goods for a local organization that sponsors a yearly event that draws 50,000 – 75,000 people every fall. I have met many people through these efforts and have stayed in touch. I reach out to them via text and flyers telling them about new products I am introducing. In turn, they have told others, so word of mouth has produced news customers as well.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I began work for Macy’s Dept. Store, out of college. I was in the Management Training Program and progressed up the ladder, serving as a Department Manager, Jr. Assistant Buyer and eventually Sr. Assistant Buyer at the flagship store in San Francisco. I met my future husband while working at Macy’s, and ended up moving to LA as his career was based there. We married, and his job took us to Dallas, Texas, where I floundered, and eventually found a job with a local department store chain. I did not want to go back to Buying, so ended up doing Public Relations and Special Events. I had no Communications experience, but they took a chance on me and I excelled in this area, learning the ropes from an experienced professional. Before I knew it, Macy’s was building a store in Dallas, and I was offered the opportunity to head up their PR/ Special Events team. Within a few years, Macy’s offered me a job in LA managing the PR/Special Events for 22 stores. I was able to transition to this role and was successful. A few years later, I changed fields and became a sales rep for the LA Times handling the Entertainment Category, the largest revenue maker for the newspaper. I became Director of Entertainment a few years later and managed a staff of 6. Bottom line, I was open to change and enjoyed learning new business models and was fortunate to have some excellent mentors.
