Hipster Nonsense -Reduce Food Waste
Donation protected
WHO ARE WE?
Hipster Nonsense is a new local Calgary business dedicated to reducing food waste. Our business model is based around buying/accepting donations - from Calgary area farms and secondary suppliers - of “inglorious” produce. By inglorious, we mean anything bruised, weather damaged, or otherwise rendered unsalable due to purely aesthetic reasons. Quite often produce is actually at its best and ripest however it was not sold directly to consumers and will not last until the next day at market. We use our combined 15 years of experience as Chefs to transform these inglorious fruits and vegetables into a wide variety of babyfood, shelf stable and lacto-fermented goods which we then sell directly to customers through area farmers markets. We promote all of our farmers/suppliers directly on our jars and through social media to further contribute to the growing attitude of our fellow Calgarian's to support local businesses.
In starting “Hipster Nonsense” our goal is not only to sell our pickles, preserves and other hipster friendly “nonsense”, but to be part of a larger movement by helping consumers make better choices. And what more important choice do we make than what we fuel our bodies and minds with every day. We believe that being a part of enacting social change doesn’t have to involve protesting, and grand scale political involvement, but simply voting with your dollar, and your fork. Using your money to support local farmer’s and businesses instead of multi-national fast-food corporations sends a direct message: that we hold the power, and we will make decisions based on health and responsibility for ourselves and our planet, not based on convenience. That we care more about quality and sustainability than the absolute cheapest price. We will support those who care more about environmental responsibility than profit margins.
With regards to the environment and, you know, the general well being of humanity, we really believe most people have the best intentions in mind. However, with all the misinformation out there, like major fast food chains having a “healthy options” menu and advertisements claiming pop-tarts and corn syrup based fruit juices are healthy choices for kids, it’s understandably difficult to know what the best options are. The skewed price of fast food has thrown off the value people place on genuine fresh seasonal food. When you can buy a processed hamburger-like item for a dollar, it’s easy to forget the enormous benefit you receive from paying a little more for the real thing. People are generally aware of the value of a dollar, but we, as a culture seem to have forgotten the value of food. We waste as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa *1, but are at the same time unwilling to shell out a little extra for the fresh option over the processed. We need to take the extra time to go to the farmers market, and read labels at the grocery store to make sure you and your family are eating safe, healthy food that didn’t travel too far to get to you. Yes, Chinese garlic is cheaper than North American varieties, but given the huge number of refused shipments from China based on contaminants like banned antibiotics, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, we think it’s best to pay more, and use a little less *2. Not to mention all the fossil fuels used to get the garlic all the way to your neighbourhood grocery store. Plus, there’s the fact that food grown close to home is able to ripen naturally on the plant, which means it tastes astronomically better then it’s ‘picked two weeks ago 10,000 miles away, artificially ripened’ alternative.
We started Hipster Nonsense as a family, after realizing just how difficult it is to raise a child while staying healthy, and making all these good decisions. This is why we decided to start a preserve based business. Just because strawberries aren’t locally available all year doesn’t mean you can't eat them all year, it just means you need to plan ahead a little We understand, however, that it is extremely difficult to make time for things like jamming, pickling and preserving. Instead of beating yourself up trying to do everything yourself, you can simply support local businesses (like ours, for instance) that do all that hard work for you.
WHY DO WE NEED FUNDING?
To be successful Hipster Nonsense requires an adequate kitchen facility that is available at all times for their exclusive purpose. This will allow an increased production capacity which thereby increases potential profits. The currently used space is acceptable for selling solely in farmers markets, however an exclusive space is necessary in order to expand production capacity to offer wholesale product to secondary sales venues. Hipster Nonsense also needs a branded delivery vehicle and enough working capital to enable wholesale purchases of mason jars to further reduce manufacturing costs.
At present all funding for Hipster Nonsense is coming from Austin's personal savings which means he is required work more hours at a different job to not only pay the bills but to put extra capital towards the business. Erica is therefore Calvin’s (their son) sole caregiver, which does not allow much time for working on Hipster Nonsense. Both Austin and Erica are irreplaceable as the creative minds behind the business and virtually nothing can be outsourced to others. Therefore there is extremely limited time available to work towards achieving Hipster Nonsense’s goals.
With outside funds, Austin would be able to work only part time in order to cover living expenses (including childcare for Calvin) and therefore both Austin and Erica could put virtually all their time and energy towards building Hipster Nonsense.
Currently all farmers market locations Hipster Nonsense can immediately afford to sell from do not offer a large enough customer base to satisfy growing supply levels. An optimal location would be a permanent booth at the Calgary Farmers Market. This market operates Thursday-Sunday all year and has a much larger customer base - approximately 20,000 customers per week. (http://www.calgaryfarmersmarket.ca/location_and_history) However it is also much more expensive to rent a booth at this location A suitable booth (with options for refrigeration and hot food service) for Hipster Nonsense would cost at least $1600 per month.
With appropriate startup funds Hipster Nonsense would be able to rent a booth at the Calgary Farmers Market as early as early as 2015, enabling faster growth.
All that is needed to acquire the tools necessary for success is funding. Please help us create a sustainable future, for ourselves and our children!
Hipster Nonsense is a new local Calgary business dedicated to reducing food waste. Our business model is based around buying/accepting donations - from Calgary area farms and secondary suppliers - of “inglorious” produce. By inglorious, we mean anything bruised, weather damaged, or otherwise rendered unsalable due to purely aesthetic reasons. Quite often produce is actually at its best and ripest however it was not sold directly to consumers and will not last until the next day at market. We use our combined 15 years of experience as Chefs to transform these inglorious fruits and vegetables into a wide variety of babyfood, shelf stable and lacto-fermented goods which we then sell directly to customers through area farmers markets. We promote all of our farmers/suppliers directly on our jars and through social media to further contribute to the growing attitude of our fellow Calgarian's to support local businesses.
In starting “Hipster Nonsense” our goal is not only to sell our pickles, preserves and other hipster friendly “nonsense”, but to be part of a larger movement by helping consumers make better choices. And what more important choice do we make than what we fuel our bodies and minds with every day. We believe that being a part of enacting social change doesn’t have to involve protesting, and grand scale political involvement, but simply voting with your dollar, and your fork. Using your money to support local farmer’s and businesses instead of multi-national fast-food corporations sends a direct message: that we hold the power, and we will make decisions based on health and responsibility for ourselves and our planet, not based on convenience. That we care more about quality and sustainability than the absolute cheapest price. We will support those who care more about environmental responsibility than profit margins.
With regards to the environment and, you know, the general well being of humanity, we really believe most people have the best intentions in mind. However, with all the misinformation out there, like major fast food chains having a “healthy options” menu and advertisements claiming pop-tarts and corn syrup based fruit juices are healthy choices for kids, it’s understandably difficult to know what the best options are. The skewed price of fast food has thrown off the value people place on genuine fresh seasonal food. When you can buy a processed hamburger-like item for a dollar, it’s easy to forget the enormous benefit you receive from paying a little more for the real thing. People are generally aware of the value of a dollar, but we, as a culture seem to have forgotten the value of food. We waste as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa *1, but are at the same time unwilling to shell out a little extra for the fresh option over the processed. We need to take the extra time to go to the farmers market, and read labels at the grocery store to make sure you and your family are eating safe, healthy food that didn’t travel too far to get to you. Yes, Chinese garlic is cheaper than North American varieties, but given the huge number of refused shipments from China based on contaminants like banned antibiotics, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, we think it’s best to pay more, and use a little less *2. Not to mention all the fossil fuels used to get the garlic all the way to your neighbourhood grocery store. Plus, there’s the fact that food grown close to home is able to ripen naturally on the plant, which means it tastes astronomically better then it’s ‘picked two weeks ago 10,000 miles away, artificially ripened’ alternative.
We started Hipster Nonsense as a family, after realizing just how difficult it is to raise a child while staying healthy, and making all these good decisions. This is why we decided to start a preserve based business. Just because strawberries aren’t locally available all year doesn’t mean you can't eat them all year, it just means you need to plan ahead a little We understand, however, that it is extremely difficult to make time for things like jamming, pickling and preserving. Instead of beating yourself up trying to do everything yourself, you can simply support local businesses (like ours, for instance) that do all that hard work for you.
WHY DO WE NEED FUNDING?
To be successful Hipster Nonsense requires an adequate kitchen facility that is available at all times for their exclusive purpose. This will allow an increased production capacity which thereby increases potential profits. The currently used space is acceptable for selling solely in farmers markets, however an exclusive space is necessary in order to expand production capacity to offer wholesale product to secondary sales venues. Hipster Nonsense also needs a branded delivery vehicle and enough working capital to enable wholesale purchases of mason jars to further reduce manufacturing costs.
At present all funding for Hipster Nonsense is coming from Austin's personal savings which means he is required work more hours at a different job to not only pay the bills but to put extra capital towards the business. Erica is therefore Calvin’s (their son) sole caregiver, which does not allow much time for working on Hipster Nonsense. Both Austin and Erica are irreplaceable as the creative minds behind the business and virtually nothing can be outsourced to others. Therefore there is extremely limited time available to work towards achieving Hipster Nonsense’s goals.
With outside funds, Austin would be able to work only part time in order to cover living expenses (including childcare for Calvin) and therefore both Austin and Erica could put virtually all their time and energy towards building Hipster Nonsense.
Currently all farmers market locations Hipster Nonsense can immediately afford to sell from do not offer a large enough customer base to satisfy growing supply levels. An optimal location would be a permanent booth at the Calgary Farmers Market. This market operates Thursday-Sunday all year and has a much larger customer base - approximately 20,000 customers per week. (http://www.calgaryfarmersmarket.ca/location_and_history) However it is also much more expensive to rent a booth at this location A suitable booth (with options for refrigeration and hot food service) for Hipster Nonsense would cost at least $1600 per month.
With appropriate startup funds Hipster Nonsense would be able to rent a booth at the Calgary Farmers Market as early as early as 2015, enabling faster growth.
All that is needed to acquire the tools necessary for success is funding. Please help us create a sustainable future, for ourselves and our children!
Organizer
Erica German
Organizer
Calgary, AB
