“After our first farmers' market season in 2000, we thought we had missed the boat,” says Carole Olivieri, co-owner of Blue Kettle Specialty Foods. “The customers would mention how they had been looking forward to buying our products again since the previous season.”
Product development began in late1999. By January 1st the following year, Carole and her sister Marcy Mydlak were in full production on an array of products that included salsa, pasta sauce and a chilli base. “Marcy had been making and giving away salsa for years,” Carole says. “I was between jobs, so I decided to help out. We got together with women entrepreneurial groups, gathered information about the food service industry, and applied to sell in the local farmers’ markets. In the spring of 2000, we started our first season at famers' markets.”
