Picky markets prompt Erickson cherry growers to change business strategy
Gary and Susan Snow. (Natalie Santano Photography)
Blame it on the market, a fussy mass of consumers around the world that demands perfect, flaw-free fruit, refusing to give anything less so much as a second look.
That change, as much as anything, pushed Susan and Gary Snow into deciding they had to do more than grow late harvest cherries and export them around the world, not knowing how much they would get paid until months later.
“We used to have maybe a three per cent cull rate,” Susan says. “Now that number can grow to 20 to 40 per cent. And there’s nothing really wrong with the cherries; it’s just that the market won’t accept even the slightest flaw.”
(To make matters worse, buyers on the other side of the globe can reject the shipment and growers have no recourse.)
On a 25-acre farm, that’s a lot of cherries to dump, something no grower is very happy about.
“We just knew we needed something to use perfectly good cherries and to help us diversify,” Gary said. “When Creston got into the late season cherry business there was no competition in the world. Now there’s lots and it isn’t going to get any easier to compete.”
Even if the cherry crop could be pushed to ripen later in the season, there isn’t sufficient local labour to bring in the harvest. The bulk of pickers are young, many from Quebec, and they begin to head back to school or elsewhere as the end of August nears.
Adding juice making to the family farm operation seems like a natural progression, but it has been slow going.
The couple, who celebrate 25 years of marriage this year, spent a long-time researching and testing ways to make cherry juice that would taste as good as fruit fresh from the tree. Then there was the challenge of coming up with the investment capital to build facilities, buy equipment and market a product that has gained consumer acceptance.
Tabletree Enterprises Ltd. — “To the table from the tree” — got a boost when the Snows placed second in a provincial innovation competition that awarded them with a $100,000 grant to help get the business up and running.
From the outset, Tabletree black cherry juice got rave reviews from customers. It’s high in nutrients and has the antioxidants and anthocyanins that health-conscious consumers value. A proprietary process keeps not only the cherry flavour, but the bright red colour that makes the juice look as good as it tastes. With a pound of cherry juice in every 200 ml bottle (and triple that in the culinary sauce), the juice packs a nutritional punch.
That Susan is in the farming business is hardly a surprise. Her dad, Lou Truscott, has spent his life in fruit farming and beekeeping. In fact, the Truscott family has been farming in the Creston Valley for more than a century. Her uncle, Chuck and brother, Bill, have also made their mark in the business. Bill operates Truscott Farms, an enterprise that includes the popular Highway 3 fruit stand in Erickson. Lou founded that fruit stand and Chuck operated it for many years.
That Gary ended up a farmer was less predictable.
“I always said I didn’t want to marry an orchardist or a beekeeper,” Susan laughs.
Instead, she fell in love with a musician, a bass player who had been on the road with various bands since he was 17. She met her Kansas City-born love at a Creston Valley Blossom Festival and the pair lived in Kalispell, Mont., from 1987-1996.
Gary continued with his music career and Susan spent their first year together as a roadie.
“Six people and a basset hound in a big diesel bus,” is the way she describes it.
She moved into hospital administration after their son, Micah, was born.
In 1995, Gary got his first real taste of farm life when he came up to Creston to help his father-in-law with the cherry harvest.
“He came back so excited,” Susan recalls.
Soon, the possibility of returning to Canada was on the table. Susan was finding her work more stressful, Gary was tiring of the constant travel and Micah would have the chance to grow up among family.
Not long after they made the move, Susan found herself wondering, “How did I go from hospital administration to ‘Lutheran ladies member’, making breakfast for our men?”
“The lifestyle was certainly healthier,” Gary says, thinking about a musician friend who had partied himself to death at the age of 40.
But the downside of farming was something Susan was forced to once again come to terms with.
“The only regret I really have is that, with a kid, when you are a farmer you don’t have much summer fun. As a child, our one big summer vacation was driving to the prairies so Dad could check out a beekeeping operation.”
Gary’s childhood summer memories included fishing at the side of his father.
“Now I don’t look forward to summer because it comes before I’ve finished my spring work,” he laughs.
Susan says that getting into the juice business has stretched the busy summers into fall and winter.
“Before we starting making juice in 2009, at least we had some time to relax after harvest. Now our falls are busy with making juice and our winters are filled up with marketing and making business plans and getting ready for next year.”
Each year, the Snows are asked to demonstrate their products at food shows and retail locations. Just a few weeks ago, they headed to Calgary to set up their booth at three different Sunterra markets in three days. They spend a lot of their time educating consumers about farming practices.
Since 2004, their farm has been certified by Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices). The annual certification process assigns a unique identity to each producer and ensures the producer records all relevant product and farming practices information. Global GAP standards are primarily designed to reassure consumers about how food is produced on the farm by minimizing detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations, reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety.
“We know how to grow good fruit,” Gary says. “We are kind of the poster kids for the ‘save the family farm’ movement.”
June 2012 – Creston Valley Advance
That change, as much as anything, pushed Susan and Gary Snow into deciding they had to do more than grow late harvest cherries and export them around the world, not knowing how much they would get paid until months later.
“We used to have maybe a three per cent cull rate,” Susan says. “Now that number can grow to 20 to 40 per cent. And there’s nothing really wrong with the cherries; it’s just that the market won’t accept even the slightest flaw.”
(To make matters worse, buyers on the other side of the globe can reject the shipment and growers have no recourse.)
On a 25-acre farm, that’s a lot of cherries to dump, something no grower is very happy about.
“We just knew we needed something to use perfectly good cherries and to help us diversify,” Gary said. “When Creston got into the late season cherry business there was no competition in the world. Now there’s lots and it isn’t going to get any easier to compete.”
Even if the cherry crop could be pushed to ripen later in the season, there isn’t sufficient local labour to bring in the harvest. The bulk of pickers are young, many from Quebec, and they begin to head back to school or elsewhere as the end of August nears.
Adding juice making to the family farm operation seems like a natural progression, but it has been slow going.
The couple, who celebrate 25 years of marriage this year, spent a long-time researching and testing ways to make cherry juice that would taste as good as fruit fresh from the tree. Then there was the challenge of coming up with the investment capital to build facilities, buy equipment and market a product that has gained consumer acceptance.
Tabletree Enterprises Ltd. — “To the table from the tree” — got a boost when the Snows placed second in a provincial innovation competition that awarded them with a $100,000 grant to help get the business up and running.
From the outset, Tabletree black cherry juice got rave reviews from customers. It’s high in nutrients and has the antioxidants and anthocyanins that health-conscious consumers value. A proprietary process keeps not only the cherry flavour, but the bright red colour that makes the juice look as good as it tastes. With a pound of cherry juice in every 200 ml bottle (and triple that in the culinary sauce), the juice packs a nutritional punch.
That Susan is in the farming business is hardly a surprise. Her dad, Lou Truscott, has spent his life in fruit farming and beekeeping. In fact, the Truscott family has been farming in the Creston Valley for more than a century. Her uncle, Chuck and brother, Bill, have also made their mark in the business. Bill operates Truscott Farms, an enterprise that includes the popular Highway 3 fruit stand in Erickson. Lou founded that fruit stand and Chuck operated it for many years.
That Gary ended up a farmer was less predictable.
“I always said I didn’t want to marry an orchardist or a beekeeper,” Susan laughs.
Instead, she fell in love with a musician, a bass player who had been on the road with various bands since he was 17. She met her Kansas City-born love at a Creston Valley Blossom Festival and the pair lived in Kalispell, Mont., from 1987-1996.
Gary continued with his music career and Susan spent their first year together as a roadie.
“Six people and a basset hound in a big diesel bus,” is the way she describes it.
She moved into hospital administration after their son, Micah, was born.
In 1995, Gary got his first real taste of farm life when he came up to Creston to help his father-in-law with the cherry harvest.
“He came back so excited,” Susan recalls.
Soon, the possibility of returning to Canada was on the table. Susan was finding her work more stressful, Gary was tiring of the constant travel and Micah would have the chance to grow up among family.
Not long after they made the move, Susan found herself wondering, “How did I go from hospital administration to ‘Lutheran ladies member’, making breakfast for our men?”
“The lifestyle was certainly healthier,” Gary says, thinking about a musician friend who had partied himself to death at the age of 40.
But the downside of farming was something Susan was forced to once again come to terms with.
“The only regret I really have is that, with a kid, when you are a farmer you don’t have much summer fun. As a child, our one big summer vacation was driving to the prairies so Dad could check out a beekeeping operation.”
Gary’s childhood summer memories included fishing at the side of his father.
“Now I don’t look forward to summer because it comes before I’ve finished my spring work,” he laughs.
Susan says that getting into the juice business has stretched the busy summers into fall and winter.
“Before we starting making juice in 2009, at least we had some time to relax after harvest. Now our falls are busy with making juice and our winters are filled up with marketing and making business plans and getting ready for next year.”
Each year, the Snows are asked to demonstrate their products at food shows and retail locations. Just a few weeks ago, they headed to Calgary to set up their booth at three different Sunterra markets in three days. They spend a lot of their time educating consumers about farming practices.
Since 2004, their farm has been certified by Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices). The annual certification process assigns a unique identity to each producer and ensures the producer records all relevant product and farming practices information. Global GAP standards are primarily designed to reassure consumers about how food is produced on the farm by minimizing detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations, reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety.
“We know how to grow good fruit,” Gary says. “We are kind of the poster kids for the ‘save the family farm’ movement.”
June 2012 – Creston Valley Advance
Erickson-made cherry juice up for coveted award
Natalie Santano Photography
The producers of locally made Tabletree juices, Gary and Susan Snow, are about to take the world stage, with their black cherry juice being nominated for a World Juice Award.
When Susan Snow picked up the phone at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 14, she first thought it might be a prank call.
“When the organizer called us, I was still asleep obviously and I proceeded to tell him why we couldn’t come to Spain for the award because we couldn’t afford it,” she said on Monday. “And Gary is in the background saying, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute.’”
Sponsored by Foodnews, a trade publication, the World Juice Awards are a prestigious competition — only three finalists are selected from around the planet in each of six categories. Tabletree has been selected in the best juice award category. Participants in the annual event, being held this year in Barcelona, include industry giants like Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
“We have known about the World Juice Awards for several years,” she said. “We were introduced to Gary Morton, a value-added expert from Nova Scotia who gave a workshop a few years back. Gary became a good friend of ours and a mentor to us in our business. Gary worked with a blueberry juice company in Nova Scotia that won this award seven or eight years ago and he spoke to us about the award and how it increased their sales significantly.”
Tabletree juice has been nominated in previous years, but this is the first year it has made the final cut.
“They also told us that they and the judges had been researching us over the Internet,” Snow said. “We try to keep up with the whole social media thing, with our website, Twitter, Facebook and the like and in this instance we think it worked to our advantage.”
Coincidentally, the Snows had already been planning to travel to France later this year to meet with French researchers.
“They have been testing for use in cardiovascular research. We were invited to a meeting in Vancouver by IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program) where a delegation of researchers came from France and one scientist was very interested in our products because of the anti-inflammatory properties of cherries,” she said. “The initial studies were good and we are awaiting the final results. This is very exciting as we have a lot of testimonials of people being helped with aches and pains, gout, inflammation and lung conditions that have been using our juice and culinary sauce and it would be wonderful if cardiovascular health could improve by using it, as well.”
Whether or not Tabletree comes away with the award, simply being a finalist could reap large benefits.
“A lot of the big companies will be represented at the conference and it will put us on the world map,” Snow said. “We are able to track visitors that go to our website and already our website has doubled in hits and an amazing number of out of country visitors have come to our site already.
“As a matter of fact, I told Gary later that after this gets around, I didn’t think we had made enough juice this year. It’s a very exciting time for Tabletree, that’s for sure.”
September 2012 – Creston Valley Advance
When Susan Snow picked up the phone at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 14, she first thought it might be a prank call.
“When the organizer called us, I was still asleep obviously and I proceeded to tell him why we couldn’t come to Spain for the award because we couldn’t afford it,” she said on Monday. “And Gary is in the background saying, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute.’”
Sponsored by Foodnews, a trade publication, the World Juice Awards are a prestigious competition — only three finalists are selected from around the planet in each of six categories. Tabletree has been selected in the best juice award category. Participants in the annual event, being held this year in Barcelona, include industry giants like Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
“We have known about the World Juice Awards for several years,” she said. “We were introduced to Gary Morton, a value-added expert from Nova Scotia who gave a workshop a few years back. Gary became a good friend of ours and a mentor to us in our business. Gary worked with a blueberry juice company in Nova Scotia that won this award seven or eight years ago and he spoke to us about the award and how it increased their sales significantly.”
Tabletree juice has been nominated in previous years, but this is the first year it has made the final cut.
“They also told us that they and the judges had been researching us over the Internet,” Snow said. “We try to keep up with the whole social media thing, with our website, Twitter, Facebook and the like and in this instance we think it worked to our advantage.”
Coincidentally, the Snows had already been planning to travel to France later this year to meet with French researchers.
“They have been testing for use in cardiovascular research. We were invited to a meeting in Vancouver by IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program) where a delegation of researchers came from France and one scientist was very interested in our products because of the anti-inflammatory properties of cherries,” she said. “The initial studies were good and we are awaiting the final results. This is very exciting as we have a lot of testimonials of people being helped with aches and pains, gout, inflammation and lung conditions that have been using our juice and culinary sauce and it would be wonderful if cardiovascular health could improve by using it, as well.”
Whether or not Tabletree comes away with the award, simply being a finalist could reap large benefits.
“A lot of the big companies will be represented at the conference and it will put us on the world map,” Snow said. “We are able to track visitors that go to our website and already our website has doubled in hits and an amazing number of out of country visitors have come to our site already.
“As a matter of fact, I told Gary later that after this gets around, I didn’t think we had made enough juice this year. It’s a very exciting time for Tabletree, that’s for sure.”
September 2012 – Creston Valley Advance
Erickson’s Tabletree Black Cherry Juice wins top award at World Juice 2012
Creston Valley orchardists Gary and Susan Snow capped a surreal month on Oct. 10 by accepting an award for making the world’s best pure juice at an industry conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Tabletree black cherry juice had bested the other finalist for the award, Nudie Juice, the largest juice producer in Australia.
“WE WON!!!” Susan Snow reacted on Facebook following the awards ceremony. “We are bringing home the gold. We are so excited. We actually have the ‘Best Pure Juice in the World.’
“Wow, how cool is that. Makes us cry all over. I really did blubber when we got it. It is so unreal…like a dream. Not sure what the fallout will be from this. We are crossing our fingers and our toes.”
Not much more than a month ago, when a sleepy Susan answered the telephone at 6 a.m., her first thought was that the caller was pulling some sort of prank. Eventually, Gary urged her to take a message and promise to return the call. They soon learned that the World Juice 12 nomination was legitimate. The World Juice Awards are handed out annually at a conference sponsored by a leading industry magazine, FoodNews. It attracts hundreds of the most important juice industry players in the world.
Tabletree Black Cherry Juice, the couple’s first foray into adding value to their late season cherry crop, began after a lengthy research period during which they developed a proprietary process that enhances the juice flavours with honey and cinnamon. An innovation award from the B.C. government helped get them up and running, but a lack of capital has slowed planned expansion.
The couple decided to travel to Barcelona to attend the conference, also arranging to make a visit to Dijon, France, where scientists are studying the anti-inflammatory properties of Tabletree black cherry juice.
The Snows got an early taste that they had entered an entirely different world in Barcelona when they were unexpectedly invited into a marketing workshop when they were on their way to a day of sightseeing.
“So there’s me in my ball cap and running shoes,” Gary said in a CBC Radio interview.
“We both looked like Creston farmers,” Susan added.
Attending the conference were 350 representatives from 60 countries.
Gary said that his sense of calm that came with having a 50-50 chance to win the award against only one other finalist dissipated as the announcement neared.
“My stomach was just turning over,” he said.
Luckily, the awards ceremony was short and sweet. It became all the sweeter when the underdog, a company that Gary described as “by far the smallest at the conference”, Tabletree, was announced the winner.
“I cried, of course,” Susan said. “Now the world knows about Tabletree and the world knows about Creston and it knows about Canada.
“Now we’re on the world map.”
While it’s far too early to project just what the award and the attention might mean for Tabletree, Susan reports that hits on the company website have tripled.
“Our heads are spinning, I guarantee you,” Gary said.
“Now I am going to sound like a total wimp here,” said Susan. “But what is the most amazing thing in all of this is the support of all of our friends, family, and community and all the warm wishes and sharing of our great news. It is so amazing to share it all with you. Not only is it good for us, but for Creston, for Canada, and for the cherry industry. The world is waking up to the health benefits of the cherry and what our juice can do for them. We love it and we thank you all so much!”
October 2012 - Creston Valley Advance
Tabletree black cherry juice had bested the other finalist for the award, Nudie Juice, the largest juice producer in Australia.
“WE WON!!!” Susan Snow reacted on Facebook following the awards ceremony. “We are bringing home the gold. We are so excited. We actually have the ‘Best Pure Juice in the World.’
“Wow, how cool is that. Makes us cry all over. I really did blubber when we got it. It is so unreal…like a dream. Not sure what the fallout will be from this. We are crossing our fingers and our toes.”
Not much more than a month ago, when a sleepy Susan answered the telephone at 6 a.m., her first thought was that the caller was pulling some sort of prank. Eventually, Gary urged her to take a message and promise to return the call. They soon learned that the World Juice 12 nomination was legitimate. The World Juice Awards are handed out annually at a conference sponsored by a leading industry magazine, FoodNews. It attracts hundreds of the most important juice industry players in the world.
Tabletree Black Cherry Juice, the couple’s first foray into adding value to their late season cherry crop, began after a lengthy research period during which they developed a proprietary process that enhances the juice flavours with honey and cinnamon. An innovation award from the B.C. government helped get them up and running, but a lack of capital has slowed planned expansion.
The couple decided to travel to Barcelona to attend the conference, also arranging to make a visit to Dijon, France, where scientists are studying the anti-inflammatory properties of Tabletree black cherry juice.
The Snows got an early taste that they had entered an entirely different world in Barcelona when they were unexpectedly invited into a marketing workshop when they were on their way to a day of sightseeing.
“So there’s me in my ball cap and running shoes,” Gary said in a CBC Radio interview.
“We both looked like Creston farmers,” Susan added.
Attending the conference were 350 representatives from 60 countries.
Gary said that his sense of calm that came with having a 50-50 chance to win the award against only one other finalist dissipated as the announcement neared.
“My stomach was just turning over,” he said.
Luckily, the awards ceremony was short and sweet. It became all the sweeter when the underdog, a company that Gary described as “by far the smallest at the conference”, Tabletree, was announced the winner.
“I cried, of course,” Susan said. “Now the world knows about Tabletree and the world knows about Creston and it knows about Canada.
“Now we’re on the world map.”
While it’s far too early to project just what the award and the attention might mean for Tabletree, Susan reports that hits on the company website have tripled.
“Our heads are spinning, I guarantee you,” Gary said.
“Now I am going to sound like a total wimp here,” said Susan. “But what is the most amazing thing in all of this is the support of all of our friends, family, and community and all the warm wishes and sharing of our great news. It is so amazing to share it all with you. Not only is it good for us, but for Creston, for Canada, and for the cherry industry. The world is waking up to the health benefits of the cherry and what our juice can do for them. We love it and we thank you all so much!”
October 2012 - Creston Valley Advance
Introducing the Tabletreeni
The Tabletreeni. You heard it here first, folks.
First, the background. Recently, Creston cherry growers and juice producers Gary and Susan Snow were informed that their Tabletree black cherry juice had been named as a finalist for an award at World Juice 2012, an industry conference to be held in Barcelona, Spain, this month. The award? Best pure juice. In the world.
When the dust cleared and the Snows (and myself) did a bit of research and confirmed that this is a legitimate enterprise, people in the Creston Valley and beyond began to appreciate just what a big deal this was. Soon, we learned that they were up against only one competitor, a large Australian firm (about twice the size of SunRype, apparently).
On Oct. 10 I checked into Facebook and within seconds found a post from the Snows’ son, Micah. Tabletree had won. A few minutes later I had a message from Susan and shortly after a call came from her dad, Lew Truscott, also letting me know about the good news. You might have heard one of their several interviews on CBC Radio in the following days.
The Snows’ story isn’t an uncommon one among small farmers. They saw once high prices for late season cherries begin to drop and concluded their best hope for survival (the Truscotts aren’t newcomers to the business — this year the family celebrated its 100th year of farming in the Creston Valley) was to add value to their crops. They did their research and came up with a proprietary process they believed would make good quality juice. With the help of a B.C. innovations award, they got a small production plant going and have been making cherry juice (as well as smaller quantities of plum and apple juice, and reduction sauces) for three years. It is, and here the World Juice people got it right, an outstanding product. Pure juice with a small addition of honey and a tinge of cinnamon.
Excited at the news of the award, I decided to create a martini for the occasion. My first attempt was 1.5 ounces each of Hanger One vodka and Tabletree cherry juice, with a splash of Southern Comfort (in honour of Kansas City-born Gary Snow’s drawl). It was very nice. But then I happened upon an even better idea.
On a recent visit to the Okanagan we fitted in a visit to Okanagan Spirits, a highly regarded craft distillery that started out in Vernon. My primary interest was to check the gin and vodka, and to purchase some good quality tonic, which the distillery carries. In our tasting, we learned that Okanagan had only recently made its first ever batch of vodka from pears. Now, vodka can be made from any fruit or grain or vegetable that can be fermented to make alcohol, so the pear idea sounded like a good one. It has a very appealing pear aroma and a luscious, smooth taste. We were also impressed with one of the liqueurs we sampled. Sea buckthorn liqueur was a lovely surprise. Its beautiful orange fruit grows wild and is also farmed throughout the province and it has a pleasing, distinctive flavour.
So, as I thought more about my quest to develop a suitable celebratory martini, I opened my precious bottles of Okanagan Spirits pear vodka and sea buckthorn liqueur and mixed up the new concoction. 1.5 ounces each of Tabletree cherry juice and pear vodka and a 0.5-ounce splash of the liqueur. It was better than I could have hoped, with each flavour complementing the other, all merging into a very pleasant martini. Voila! The Tabletreeni! A made-in-B.C. way to celebrate some fantastic news for some wonderful people.
October 2012 - La Dolce Vita
First, the background. Recently, Creston cherry growers and juice producers Gary and Susan Snow were informed that their Tabletree black cherry juice had been named as a finalist for an award at World Juice 2012, an industry conference to be held in Barcelona, Spain, this month. The award? Best pure juice. In the world.
When the dust cleared and the Snows (and myself) did a bit of research and confirmed that this is a legitimate enterprise, people in the Creston Valley and beyond began to appreciate just what a big deal this was. Soon, we learned that they were up against only one competitor, a large Australian firm (about twice the size of SunRype, apparently).
On Oct. 10 I checked into Facebook and within seconds found a post from the Snows’ son, Micah. Tabletree had won. A few minutes later I had a message from Susan and shortly after a call came from her dad, Lew Truscott, also letting me know about the good news. You might have heard one of their several interviews on CBC Radio in the following days.
The Snows’ story isn’t an uncommon one among small farmers. They saw once high prices for late season cherries begin to drop and concluded their best hope for survival (the Truscotts aren’t newcomers to the business — this year the family celebrated its 100th year of farming in the Creston Valley) was to add value to their crops. They did their research and came up with a proprietary process they believed would make good quality juice. With the help of a B.C. innovations award, they got a small production plant going and have been making cherry juice (as well as smaller quantities of plum and apple juice, and reduction sauces) for three years. It is, and here the World Juice people got it right, an outstanding product. Pure juice with a small addition of honey and a tinge of cinnamon.
Excited at the news of the award, I decided to create a martini for the occasion. My first attempt was 1.5 ounces each of Hanger One vodka and Tabletree cherry juice, with a splash of Southern Comfort (in honour of Kansas City-born Gary Snow’s drawl). It was very nice. But then I happened upon an even better idea.
On a recent visit to the Okanagan we fitted in a visit to Okanagan Spirits, a highly regarded craft distillery that started out in Vernon. My primary interest was to check the gin and vodka, and to purchase some good quality tonic, which the distillery carries. In our tasting, we learned that Okanagan had only recently made its first ever batch of vodka from pears. Now, vodka can be made from any fruit or grain or vegetable that can be fermented to make alcohol, so the pear idea sounded like a good one. It has a very appealing pear aroma and a luscious, smooth taste. We were also impressed with one of the liqueurs we sampled. Sea buckthorn liqueur was a lovely surprise. Its beautiful orange fruit grows wild and is also farmed throughout the province and it has a pleasing, distinctive flavour.
So, as I thought more about my quest to develop a suitable celebratory martini, I opened my precious bottles of Okanagan Spirits pear vodka and sea buckthorn liqueur and mixed up the new concoction. 1.5 ounces each of Tabletree cherry juice and pear vodka and a 0.5-ounce splash of the liqueur. It was better than I could have hoped, with each flavour complementing the other, all merging into a very pleasant martini. Voila! The Tabletreeni! A made-in-B.C. way to celebrate some fantastic news for some wonderful people.
October 2012 - La Dolce Vita
cherry growers to add value to their fruit crop
An Erickson couple have received a $150,000 BC Innovation Council grant to provide a value-added component to their cherry orchard. The council awarded a total of $600,000 to four winners of its 2009 Commercialization of Agricultural Technology (CAT) Competition.
Second place winners Susan and Gary Snow haven’t had much time to stew about last summer’s disastrous late season cherry crop. They’ve kept busy putting together a plan to make and sell juice from culled fruit.
“Our bluff has been called,” Gary Snow joked on Tuesday as he commented on the award announced this week. “Now I have to put somebody else’s money where my mouth is.”
"I'd like to congratulate the recipients of the 2009 CAT Competition Awards who have demonstrated exceptional achievements in the commercialization of technology in our province, taking their creative ideas to the marketplace," said Richard Hallman, Director of Life Sciences at BCIC. "BCIC is committed to developing programs and providing support for initiatives that develop entrepreneurs and startup companies for our rapidly growing knowledge economy." Hallman is a former Creston resident.
The Snows, who run an orchard on Erickson Road, entered the competition last year and were pitted against about 60 other proposals. When they made the first cut to become one of 22 entries that would be considered, they went to work at creating a business plan.
“We just sort of stumbled upon this juicing process,” Snow said. “Because we were in the competition we couldn’t say anything about it.”
The process, he said, produces cherry juice “with beautiful flavor and beautiful colour, too.” It is also a rich source of anthocyanins and antioxidants.
“Some juice on the market doesn’t have good colour and others are quite thin,” he said. “Our juice doesn’t have that issue—it’s a rich, gorgeous, thick juice with a very nice body.”
“Like a good wine,” Susan chimed in, laughing. “It’s the wine of juices.”
While he was unwilling to describe in detail what makes their plan unique, Gary said the process is different from what others are now using.
“Nobody else in the juice business is doing this,” he said.
The Snows’ business plan includes packaging that will allow the juice to compete against established products, none of which are actually produced on a farm.
“We want the product to look really fine, Gary said. “So it fits into high end stores, too.”
He said to place second in the competition was a major victory.
“We’re a start-up business in the purest sense of the world,” he said. “We were up against some pretty big dogs—some are already producing a product and want to expand and others are listed on the stock exchange.”
To make a convincing pitch to the competition’s judges, Snow concentrated on the family farm aspect.
“We’re a 100-year-old family farm,” he told the judges. “Our idea is to have a family farm that is sustainable into a second 100 years.”
Juicing equipment is now being manufactured and the couple plans to have the business running in time for the 2010 cherry harvest. Even in a good harvest year about 20 per cent of cherries are culled in the sorting and grading process.
“We’ve been researching this idea for about two years,” Susan said. “It is more a matter of survival—the cherries that were left on our trees last summer could have been turned into juice. I’ve been promoting the need for value-added products in our local agricultural industry and juicing fits that nicely.”
In accepting the award, the Snows had to commit to have their business commercially viable within two years.
“We’re going to go full bore right away—we have to be ready this summer because our product is seasonal. It’s all worked out in our business plan. We’ve done our due diligence,” Gary said.
January 2010 – Creston Valley Advance
Second place winners Susan and Gary Snow haven’t had much time to stew about last summer’s disastrous late season cherry crop. They’ve kept busy putting together a plan to make and sell juice from culled fruit.
“Our bluff has been called,” Gary Snow joked on Tuesday as he commented on the award announced this week. “Now I have to put somebody else’s money where my mouth is.”
"I'd like to congratulate the recipients of the 2009 CAT Competition Awards who have demonstrated exceptional achievements in the commercialization of technology in our province, taking their creative ideas to the marketplace," said Richard Hallman, Director of Life Sciences at BCIC. "BCIC is committed to developing programs and providing support for initiatives that develop entrepreneurs and startup companies for our rapidly growing knowledge economy." Hallman is a former Creston resident.
The Snows, who run an orchard on Erickson Road, entered the competition last year and were pitted against about 60 other proposals. When they made the first cut to become one of 22 entries that would be considered, they went to work at creating a business plan.
“We just sort of stumbled upon this juicing process,” Snow said. “Because we were in the competition we couldn’t say anything about it.”
The process, he said, produces cherry juice “with beautiful flavor and beautiful colour, too.” It is also a rich source of anthocyanins and antioxidants.
“Some juice on the market doesn’t have good colour and others are quite thin,” he said. “Our juice doesn’t have that issue—it’s a rich, gorgeous, thick juice with a very nice body.”
“Like a good wine,” Susan chimed in, laughing. “It’s the wine of juices.”
While he was unwilling to describe in detail what makes their plan unique, Gary said the process is different from what others are now using.
“Nobody else in the juice business is doing this,” he said.
The Snows’ business plan includes packaging that will allow the juice to compete against established products, none of which are actually produced on a farm.
“We want the product to look really fine, Gary said. “So it fits into high end stores, too.”
He said to place second in the competition was a major victory.
“We’re a start-up business in the purest sense of the world,” he said. “We were up against some pretty big dogs—some are already producing a product and want to expand and others are listed on the stock exchange.”
To make a convincing pitch to the competition’s judges, Snow concentrated on the family farm aspect.
“We’re a 100-year-old family farm,” he told the judges. “Our idea is to have a family farm that is sustainable into a second 100 years.”
Juicing equipment is now being manufactured and the couple plans to have the business running in time for the 2010 cherry harvest. Even in a good harvest year about 20 per cent of cherries are culled in the sorting and grading process.
“We’ve been researching this idea for about two years,” Susan said. “It is more a matter of survival—the cherries that were left on our trees last summer could have been turned into juice. I’ve been promoting the need for value-added products in our local agricultural industry and juicing fits that nicely.”
In accepting the award, the Snows had to commit to have their business commercially viable within two years.
“We’re going to go full bore right away—we have to be ready this summer because our product is seasonal. It’s all worked out in our business plan. We’ve done our due diligence,” Gary said.
January 2010 – Creston Valley Advance
