Promote Health and Happiness! HPC of Boulder CO

Susan Pon-Biscoe is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hello, my name is Susan Pon-Biscoe. I am the founder of The Happy Pickle Company of Boulder, Colorado (HPC). We are a woman-owned and operated company that sells some of the tastiest and healthiest pickles and kimchi around. We source locally and sell in the greater Boulder/Denver area.

Many of my kind friends have asked how they could help me take what was once a great side hustle that now has many enthusiastic supporters and turn it into a thriving company. This gofundme is a terrifying new step in facing my fears and committing to something I believe deeply in.

The Happy Pickle Company is my commitment to the world, to delight people’s mouths and feed their guts while being a small but mighty force for good. With your support, you will be helping to do good as well!

Our products are made through lacto-fermentation, which produces gut-loving probiotics. No vinegar is added. Instead, the vegetables are submerged in a salt brine along with whole aromatic spices, seasonings and the freshest ingredients. The salt brine promotes the growth of healthy bacteria; like yogurt, our pickles and kimchi contain many billions of beneficial bacteria to help us digest food, boost our immune system, and improve our mood.

Our mission is to feed people delicious, tasty, locally sourced and produced probiotic foods. In doing this, we are using people’s mouths to teach them about their guts and how vital a healthy gut is to their overall well-being and happiness. These are the real, bona fide superfoods.

The timing is perfect, as we are now in the era of the healthy gut microbiome. There is a growing body of convincing research on the importance of gut health, how it works and how it affects our health and mood. Along with this new information is the substantial commercial growth in lacto-fermented foods. *

With this mission and vision in mind, I’ve spent 2022 bootstrapping the business to;

- Refine the process of lacto-fermentation, with a focus on consistency and quality of core products

- Educate myself further on the science of the gut microbiome

- Create and establish a branded social media presence, a website, Instagram, Facebook, and a Podcast**

- Establish good business governance, including a business plan, and compliance with the cottage food industry

- Build a strong core customer base

As HPC continues to grow, I want to scale but am caught in that early business trap of ‘not quite big enough for a loan,' and I find myself at a crucial ‘in-between’ stage where the space demands have outgrown my home kitchen. More space is needed to make more products to increase our run rate, and HPC is not ready for institutional funding until we have a proven run rate.

One of the principal goals of the seed money raised here from your contributions will be to rent a small commercial kitchen and meeting space. This is important to expand my customer base, which I will grow by joining the local farmer’s market as a vendor next summer, obtaining a food license, and selling my products to local food markets.

Adjoining the kitchen, I envision a communal room to host tastings, support other local businesses with their products, offer fermentation workshops, and have educators and experts speaking on health and social issues. Different essential needs will be to purchase efficient fermenting equipment, the freshest ingredients in bulk, better labels, and to cover local delivery costs. (Imagine a Happy Pickle Mobile!)

The more extended vision is to create The Happy Pickle Company franchise! Local women-owned businesses throughout the country following my example to create The Happy Pickle Company of Philadelphia, PA or Bayside, CA! Furthermore, I plan to pay forward with HPC profits. The company’s profits will be used to support local women-owned businesses, programs, and charities and used in creative ways.

I’ve always been a fearless food adventurer. My palate was cast in my early years working at my father’s Chinese restaurant and being exposed to the eclectic foods of a multicultural melting pot that was and still is New York City. Food is an adventure, and I am always willing to try something new. I guess you could say tasting is one of my superpowers. It is my unique joy to share my love of food with my community by creating these delicious products!