Local Producers

Women’s History Month: Black Mountain Beauty

March 9, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!

Black Mountain Beauty

Owner: Marnie Jackson

Meet Black Mountain Beauty, a women-owned and women-powered Marin company, makers of organic, non-gmo, no cruelty, vegan and plastic free bath products for your whole family! They care about the future of our oceans!

“I am a farmer out in beautiful West Marin County in Northern California. I love to create products from the bounty of my farm. I am a Fiber Farmer first and create soft, cozy clothing from my Wensleydale sheep and Angora rabbits.

We live close to the beautiful Pacific Ocean beaches which I love to visit. Unfortunately, there is more and more plastic pollution on these beaches every day. So, in an effort to reduce my own use of plastic, I began creating all-natural Shampoo and Conditioner bars that need no plastic packaging. These have been selling like crazy to people who like chemical-free products and also care about plastic pollution in our oceans.

I am branching out to new, everyday personal products that can be made with biodegradable packaging or no packaging at all. Hope you enjoy it.” – Marnie Jackson

They are on a mission to create a zero waste beauty line. There are too many single use plastic containers floating around in the Ocean. Black Mountain Beauty is trying to reduce waste by creating, simple, organic, cruelty-free beauty products in biodegradable or refillable packaging. After spending many a weekend picking up plastic garbage on local ocean beaches, Black Mountain Beauty wanted to make a change in the world by doing their best to eliminate plastic waste.

We love what they do!

We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.

Thank you Black Mountain Beauty!

Women’s History Month: Primavera Tamales

March 8, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned! We’ve also put together raffle baskets that feature these great women owned businesses. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.

Primavera Tamales

Owner: Karen Taylor Waikiki

Karen started Primavera in 1991 after years of working as the chef at a Mexican restaurant in Sonoma. All of Primavera’s products are made by hand in a commercial kitchen. Corn masa (the main ingredient in tortillas and tamales) is made both fresh from dried corn and from pre-ground corn flour. Fresh masa is made by soaking dried white corn with lime (the mineral) and then milling it in a 15-horsepower stone grinder. Primavera is always experimenting with new recipes; Karen’s employees have made several contributions to their menu.

Primavera uses many organic products, including corn, corn flour, tomatoes, squash, melons, chiles, and eggs. Many fresh vegetables are sourced directly from local farms; the remaining are purchased through a local supplier that sources nationally and internationally. Corn and beans are grown in the United States.

Thank you Karen & Primavera Tamales!

Women’s History Month: Cult Crackers

March 3, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned!

Cult Crackers

Owners: Dianna Dar & Birgitta Durell

Meet Cult Crackers, a women-owned and women-powered Bay Area company, makers of delicious small-batch organic crackers. Cult Crackers co-founders, Dianna and Birgitta, are local moms who met while volunteering at their daughters’ school in Berkeley. They became good friends and business partners when they launched their artisan cracker company. The two women are passionate about what they do, making a good-for-you snack that people love. Their biggest fans are their teenage daughters who also help out at their family-run small business. Cult Crackers, in their colorful red and blue recyclable bags, are a customer favorite.

Their totally addicting crackers are filled with good-for-you organic ingredients and packed with flavor and crunch. They bake their crackers at the Berkeley Kitchens, a wonderful community of small food producers in Berkeley, California.

They want you to enjoy their crackers knowing they’re made with your health and our planet in mind. From the very beginning they decided if they were going to do this, they were going to do it right, using their business as a force for good. They are commited to using only the highest-quality organic ingredients they can find, are certified organic, mix and bake every batch of crackers by hand, package in sustainable packaging, pay their employees a living wage, and do things with care and intention.

They love what they do, and that Cult Crackers nourish people in so many different ways.

We love what they do too!

We’ve put together raffle baskets that feature this great women owned business along with several others. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.

Thank you Cult Crackers!

Thank You Mr. Dewie’s!

February 15, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

Mr. Dewie’s is one of our 40th Anniversary sponsors!

We’ve been working with them for years and even carry their amazing cashew milk ice cream by the scoop in our Annex. In each of our 40th Anniversary Raffle Tote’s you will find a coupon for a pint of their wonderful product redeemable in our stores.

Brothers Ari and Andrew Cohen, born and raised in Berkeley, CA, are the creators and co-founders of Mr Dewie’s cashew milk ice cream, founded in 2011.

Their mission was to make a creamy, rich, and delicious ice cream that also met their personal dietary needs of being free of dairy, gluten, and soy. It was important to them to keep it local, and to use only natural, organic and healthy ingredients. No fillers, additives, preservatives, gums, or oils — truly homemade!

We love Mr. Dewie’s! Thank you!

Thank You Cult Crackers

February 10, 2022 by The Natural Grocery Company

Cult Crackers is one of our 40th Anniversary Sponsors. In every raffle tote you will find their crackers.

Birgitta and Dianna make and sell Swedish crackers with a healthy California twist from their headquarters in Berkeley, California.

Their totally addicting crackers are filled with good-for-you organic ingredients and packed with flavor and crunch.

Birgitta’s favorite cracker is their best-selling Crunchy Cassava Crackers because of its crunchy goodness. Dianna favors the Classic Seed Crackers for their sweet, rich flavors. But hold on, because according to their website, they’re working on a new cracker flavor which is becoming a new fave for both of them.

Cult Crackers wants you to enjoy their crackers knowing they’re made with your health and our planet in mind. From the very beginning they decided if they’re going to do this, they’re going to do it right, using their business as a force for good. Cult Crackers is committed to using only the highest-quality organic ingredients they can find, are certified organic, mix and bake every batch of crackers by hand, package in sustainable packaging, pay our employees a living wage, and do things with care and intention.

We love what they do, and that Cult Crackers nourish people in so many different ways. Thank you Birgitta and Dianna!

Organic Warren Pears

September 22, 2021 by The Natural Grocery Company

Organic Warren Pears from Frog Hollow Farms

Season: August to November in Northern California

Flavor: Sweet, juicy but mild.

Storage: Look for fruit that are unblemished and are slightly firm when you purchase them, unless you plan to eat them right away. They also smell fragrant. You can allow pears to ripen by leaving out at room temperature, uncovered, for a day or two; or you can stall the fruit’s ripening by keeping it in the refrigerator. In either case, don’t suffocate the fruit for long with airtight plastic. Without oxygen, pears will degrade faster and their natural moisture may encourage mold.

How to use: Pear ripen from the inside out; if the outside looks fully ripe then the inside may be too ripe! What pairs with pears? The answer seems to be endless. Fresh pears can be enjoyed on their own, as a snack, or in multitudes of ways. The refreshing sweetness of pears adds complexity to savory foods well, like a charcuterie or cheese board. Serving pears fresh showcases their crispness, which is lost in cooked preparations.

Like apples, though, pears can be cooked in baked goods like pies and tarts. They can be canned or turned into preserves and take on additional flavors in the process. Simply poached peeled pears in wine or brandy, until meltingly soft but still retaining their shape and serve with chocolate sauce.

Nutrition: Pears are an excellent source of dietary fiber and carbohydrates. It offers a sampling of essential minerals, including copper, iron, magnesium and calcium, although much of this nutrition is found in the fruit’s skin. The flesh alone is a good source of potassium and Vitamin C, although pears are not as strong of a source of antioxidants like higher-acidity fruits and leafy green vegetables.

Cult Crackers – Our Newest, Local Food Crush

August 10, 2017 by WineAndBeer

Small batch, handmade, organic crackers made in Berkeley?

Yes please!

That’s exactly what Cory (long time employee of Berkeley Natural Grocery) said to Birgitta when she told him about her made-from-scratch crackers crafted from a Swedish friend’s recipe.

Birgitta is a long time (30 + years) shopper at our Berkeley store. For years, she bought the same superfood ingredients from our bulk bins. After chatting and recipe sharing with staff, she brought the team at Berkeley Natural (BNG) samples of her crackers. They were hooked. Birgitta and her partner Dianna credit Cory and the BNG team with inspiring them to start their small business.

The recipe originated with Birgitta’s friend in Sweden whose daughter is a very picky eater. When she finally discovered a winning combination that even her daughter appreciated, she shared it with Birgitta. While Birgitta and Dianna have altered the recipe a bit (most dramatically dropping the olive oil in favor of coconut oil), the Swedish roots are strong.

The flower on the label is a traditional Swedish decoration. Their label and logo designer lives on an island in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland. The heritage (and inspiration) for these crackers points back to the majestic northern lands of the Baltic.

Cracker culture in Sweden is endless, with entire aisles dedicated to the craft. Everybody buys and bakes crackers. People commonly eat crackers with every meal whether paired with pickled herring, caviar, cheese, smoked meat, gravlax or soup.

The key to Birgitta’s leap into full time cracker production happened while selling Swedish ovenware. She was going to product shows and would bring her crackers along for snacks and meals. Everybody wanted the crackers more than the ovenware. With that nudge and the continued encouragement from Cory and the Berkeley Natural Team, Birgitta teamed up with Dianna (who has a culinary degree) to forge what is now Cult Crackers.

Together, they met the folks at Muffin Revolution and subleased kitchen space from them. That afforded them the chance (in a certified gluten-free kitchen) to produce more volume and become a registered business. When Muffin Revolution outgrew the space, they offered the lease to Cult Crackers. While it was a big jump, they accepted. And thank goodness they did!

These two ladies started their official Cult Cracker journey in June. Berkeley Natural Grocery was store number one, and now they are in ten stores throughout the Bay Area!

The crackers are delightful. At their kitchen, we snacked on them with Mitica Drunken Goat cheese and Crofters Jam. With a box to take home, I shared the crackers with my five year old son (and felt great about it!). He loved them with butter and salami.

We are so excited to carry their crackers at both stores so that you can try them sometime soon!

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Black Mountain Beauty

We are celebrating Women’s History Month by calling attention to some of our local vendors that are women owned! We’ve also put together raffle baskets that feature these great women owned businesses. Stop by the Berkeley or El Cerrito Stores to enter.

Primavera Tamales

Cult Crackers

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