Hip Chick Farms
| Industry | Frozen Food |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 in Sebastopol, California, United States |
| Founders | Jennifer Johnson and Serafina Palandech |
| Products | Frozen Poultry |
| Website | www |
Hip Chick Farms is a sustainable, artisanal poultry product maker run by Jen Johnson, former sous chef at Chez Panisse, and Serafina Palandech which uses chickens that are from a local Sonoma farm and are ethically raised.[1] The co-owners and married couple, focus on making frozen chicken dinners with items such as spicy wings, chicken meatballs and nuggets.[2]
Founded in 2011, Hip Chick Farms received some help from the Sonoma County Loan Fund to kick start the company, and again in 2014 to print new packaging with an additional loan from Whole foods for the rebranding.[3][4][5]The revamp of the packaging from plastic tubs to boxes led to a 500% increase in sales.[5]The duo also started a KickStarter campaign which raised them $25,308 from 114 different donors.[6]
Hip Chick Farms was in 300 stores in 2015 and will be in 1500 stores by the end of 2016, including national chains such as Sprouts, Target and Whole Foods and local stores such as Northern California Safeways.[7][4]
There is a large market for organic, healthy frozen dinners. The sale of frozen food is expected to be up a billion dollars by 2018 over its $22 billion in sales in 2013 after years of stagnation.[1] This is in part due to the new healthier options being introduced by frozen food companies. Since Hip Chick Farms chicken is low sodium, antibiotic free, gluten free, hormone free organic, with no fillers or additives, and from ethically raised chickens from locally sourced farms, they fit in this specialized food niche.[1][8]
Chicken Nuggets at fast-food restaurants are often made with a blend of leftover meat, ground bones and additives that has recently been referred to as Pink Slime.[9]
Interesting facts
- Johnson has previously prepared dinner for President Obama on at least 3 different occasions.[7]
- In 2015 the couple was named on Fortune and Food & Wine's 2nd annual list of most innovative women in food and drink.[1]
- Johnson has been the Personal Executive Chef to the Getty family in San Fransisco for the last 11 years.[8]
- Hip Chick Farms appeared on West Texas Investors Club and received $500,000 for a 35% stake in their company.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d DiLella, Christopher (12 August 2016). "No pink slime in this start-up's chicken nuggets". CNBC.
- ^ "The Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink 2015". Food & Wine.
- ^ "Hip Chick Farms". Women Owned.
- ^ a b "Sonoma County Loan Fund launches with $255K in microloan pledges". The North Bay Business Journal. 20 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Here's How Whole Foods Plucked This Mom-Run Poultry Startup For Success". Fortune. 20 May 2015.
- ^ "Hip Chick Farms - for the love of food and family!". Kickstarter.
- ^ a b Kane, Peter Lawrence. "Sebastopol's Hip Chick Farms Is Blowing Up". SF Weekly.
- ^ a b "Hip Chick Farms, Sebastopol | Napa-Sonoma SBDC". napasonomasbdc.org.
- ^ a b Alfaro, Lyanne (14 July 2016). "'Pink slime' convinced 2 millionaires to invest $500,000 in real chicken nuggets". CNBC.