We recently connected with Laraina James and have shared our conversation below.

Laraina, 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?

I actually started canning and making pickles because my father was coming to visit. So he ordered a canning pot for us to use while he taught me. I was like “dad, I have a big pot here we can use” but he obviously knew that wouldn’t work. He’s a third generation canner and now I’m the the fourth generation! We got the canner delivered and I made some pickles for my friend’s restaurant I was working in at the time. People really stared to enjoy them! I started pickling other things soon after. A few were green beans, asparagus, giardinera and corn relish. After a few orders from some local restaurants in my home town, it dawned on me that I might want to pursue this more. That’s when I signed up for my first market at the Nederland community center. It was a holiday market. It ended up going really well!

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

I started my business as Cajun Mountain Girl Creations. Unfortunately, people were scared of the “Cajun” word. So I switched it to Mountain Girl Pickles. It is the exact same recipes. But, apparently a lot people associate Cajun with extra spicy and were hesitant to try my products. I grew up in south Louisiana, so I’m very much aware that Cajun is all about the flavor and not about scorching taste buds off with spicy food. After a few farmers markets, Mountain Girl Pickles was born. Born and operated in Nederland Colorado my company has ties to small town mountainous community and my Cajun Louisianan roots to collectively create some delicious and perfectly spicy pickled vegetables.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

What started w one canner became 2 then 3. At the time I started making products I was selling at markets under the cottage food act so I could make them at home. Even though years have passed and now I work in a larger commercial kitchen, my house STILL smells like vinegar!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I started participating more holiday and seasonal farmers markets. I slowly added in more products that I really enjoyed. My personal favorite product is my Pickled Okra which was added to the product line a few years after my business launched. We have also added pickled beets and pickled garlic with plans to add more products coming soon! I got my wholesale license a few years ago, so I can now sell to retail stores. I’ve been slowly self distributing to stores while still doing some local markets. I rent a shared commissary kitchen in Boulder to produce everything. I have a handful of amazing friends that work in the kitchen with me so now during our shifts we’re up to 10 canners at a time! At the start, I used to make at most 2 cases of pickles a day when I first started. Now we can produce up to 60 cases in a day! So incredible to see how much it’s grown over the years. It’s still a small business. I’ve continued to take out time growing it so that it’s sustainable and steady growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mountaingirlpickles.com/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/mountaingirlpickles
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mountaingirlpickles