We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kacy Franzen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kacy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

There were several simultaneous things happening all at once that lead to the idea for Junie & Sprout. It was a few years ago, during a time that I was really into creating and sharing vegan food photos on instagram, and making them look as beautiful and colorful as I could. It became a creative outlet for me–like an art project–where I curated this cheerful, whimsical, aesthetic showcasing food and vegan life.

At the same time, I was in awe of other accounts who were making stunning charcuterie boards (not vegan, vegan cheese didn’t really have a great reputation at the time), and bakers who were decorating the most magical cakes. I wanted to create something magical of my own, so I ordered baking supplies, and books about baking vegan cakes, not because I wanted to bake, but because I wanted to decorate! Use fruit and flowers to make art! But the books and the supplies arrived and sat there and sat there, untouched, because I was never inspired to learn the baking part, to be able to do the decorating part.

One evening, I was at an event for an activist organization, and they were serving vegan cheeses by Miyoko. Delicious, exciting, artisan cheeses in all sorts of flavors. That was the first time I thought vegan cheese boards could be possible. I started making boards and sharing photos of them. I remember I had a friend who told me she was inspired by my boards, and made one of her own! She showed me a photo of her creation. And I love my friend, she’s an amazing artist herself, but in that moment I realized making food look appealing, specifically in the form of a cheese board, was not a skill that everyone had.

The cheeses from Miyoko’s seemed to be the start of a wave of all sorts of other vegan cheese makers, doing more and more delicious and innovative stuff. So charcuterie boards were becoming extremely popular, but no one to my knowledge was doing the vegan thing with these great new cheeses. With more and more people becoming aware of the impact their food choices have on the planet, and their health, and not to mention the increasing number of people going vegan, I felt there was definitely a void in the market I could step in and fill.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Kacy Franzen and I run a small business called Junie & Sprout. We make spectacular charcuterie and cheese boards, using the finest artisanal, plant-based ingredients. I have a background in fine arts, a lifelong passion for extraordinary food, and a devotion to veganism, which combined is how I got into this biz!

I feel really proud that we source the top plant-based cheeses, seasonal farmer’s market fruit and use a variety of flavors and textures, so no two boards are exactly alike and they are always the most sumptuous they can be. Each distinctive creation is made with an abundance of love and an incredible attention to detail.

Junie & Sprout is all about enjoying life and sharing food that looks and tastes delectable with the ones we love, all while doing as little harm as possible. Everything we create is completely vegan and we are careful to choose the most sustainable packaging we can find, whether it’s recycled, recyclable, or compostable and avoiding single-use plastic wherever possible.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

So far, the best source of new clients has happily been word-of-mouth. The best compliment is when a client sends a board as a gift to a friend or colleague and that person becomes a new client themselves. Also, Instagram.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn was the idea that everything is fixed and rigid. Whether it’s a plan for my business, negotiating with vendors, or approaching other businesses for collaborations, there is always room for conversation and adjustment. It’s a lesson I find I am constantly unlearning. Perhaps the new lesson is to practice non-attachment and be open to possibilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.junieandsprout.com
• Instagram: @junieandsprout
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/junieandsprout
• Linkedin: Kacy Franzen