We recently connected with Regina HIld and have shared our conversation below.

Regina, appreciate you joining us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

My parents instilled hard work and being a “doer” in my family’s household. I’m one of five and the second to last in the sibling line-up. I was born on a 200 -acre centurion farm in central Iowa. My parents were tough, driven and independent. My mother was a remarkable cook, who taught us five children if we expected to have a seat at the super table, we needed to learn how to plant, pick and cook. My early culinary inspiration turned my passion into a business.

My dad was a farmer and together with my mom they raised us five children on the farm. There was always something to do and chores were a daily task after school. One of the memories, I cherish to this day is my love of farm animals. As a child, I had many pets on the farm. I learned early in my upbringing- not to name the cow, chicken, or the duck because one day that animal would be on my dinner plate!

Regina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After earning a business degree, I started a marketing and sales career in Atlanta. I quickly learned that I wasn’t the corporate-desk type. After find myself in Colorado and laid off in the Summer of 2001, I returned back to Atlanta bound and determined to attend culinary school. I interviewed several of the directors in the area around Atlanta. In 2010, I enrolled at Gwinnett Technical College to study and became a culinarian in 2012. I become ACF-Certified Culinarian, earned my applied Science degree in Culinary Arts and honed my skills as a pastry chef and bakery manager. In 2015, I found my way and open my small business, Regina’s Farm Kitchen, Artisan Fruit Spreads -in my family kitchen in Dunwoody, GA.

The decision and direction after earning my degree started me into the patch of having my own business. My parents not only farmed, but mom and dad each had an entrepreneurial spirit. My dad sold seed McCurdy seed corn and had test plots on our acreage. My mom sold beauty products by a company called Blair. Mom also worked seasonal positions in a sweet corn factory in Reinbeck, Iowa. Mom also was a cook and a dishwasher at a truck stop in our home town. If it’s one thing I learned from my parents- it was to work hard, be responsible, independent and provide.

My brand with the rooster and the rolling pin come from my farm background and my love of baking. Regina’s Farm Kitchen makes small-batch fruit spreads. My love of taking food and creating something delicious really got me motivated. My mom had several strawberry patches on our farm. During the summers, we were expected to pick strawberries and sell them. Mom would let us help her fill strawberry orders for the locals in the community. The money we earned picking strawberries is how I bought my school clothes!

My first flavor jam, Strawberry Blueberry Jalapeno won me a Good Food Award in 2018. After winning the prestigious award, I began crafting other flavors in my Dunwoody kitchen. The unique flavors kept coming, and my customers at the farmers’ markets in Alpharetta and Dunwoody asked for more -so I kept producing the low -sugar, preservative-free fruit spread. What set us apart from others was that we are not in big-box stores. I currently sell sell nine, unique flavors. Our products serve a purpose in that we sell only to small mom-pop local boutiques that want to sell artisan, small-batch-speciality food products. Our early years of producing under a cottage license are long over. I currently work with several manufacturers who make our trademarked patented products.

Running a small-business is not a simple forty hour “work” week. I will share that you gotta LOVE and have passion for what you’re doing because you’ll be putting in more time than the average 30-40 hour work week. What you put into it is what you get out of it. I know because of my work ethic and living the brand “made from scratch by a farm-raised chef” Regina’s Farm Kitchen, Artisan fruit Spreads will be around for another years to come.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

In the beginning, I operated under a cottage license. This license only allowed me to sell direct to the customer in the state of Georgia. I found a program at the University of Georgia that taught me more how to get my food product to the store shelf. I attended the two day and learned more and networked with others in the artisan food product business.

We’re lucky to be in the state of Georgia and have the help of The Department of Agriculture and Georgia-Grown. I highly recommend you join the Georgia-grown organization. This helped me network and gain insight to co-packers. I also did extensive research on my own. You will want to do your homework. This can be the most costly area of being a small business owner.

Make sure you price your product correctly. The margins you make are crucial especially when inflation occurs, supply chain issues, and I’ll repeat if it can happen it will. I always say if this business were easy “everyone” one be selling it. Also do your research and find how who is your customer, why they buy, what they like about it-do not just ask your family. You must get out and find the customers for your food product and understand why they buy.

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

During 2020, our website was live because in 2019, I did a complete change in how I marketed the product to my customers. I’m thankful all the social media was in place, our website e-commerce site was up and running and I had prior shipping experience so we could ship our products nationwide. Our e-commerce business carried us through 2020 and into 2021 when customers could purchase our fruit spreads from www.reginasfarmkitchen.com If you’re not signed up for our newsletter-I highly recommend you sign up for shipping specials, event announcements, and recipes. During the year we offer free shipping, sales, and specials ONLY to those loyal Jambassadors who subscribe to our www.reginasfarmkitchen.com website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.reginasfarmkitchen.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reginasfarmkitchen/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reginasfarmkitchen/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginanekolahild/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/ReginaFarmKitch/

Image Credits
Eric Valentin