Two graduates of the Windham Grows Farm & Food Business Accelerator have won 2020 Good Food Awards. Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind and Vermont Tortilla Company received the prestigious award after a national competition.
Regional finalists for the Award are chosen in a blind tasting. All companies that score well on taste undergo a rigorous vetting process to ensure they meet the Good Food Awards Standards. Three products in each region are chosen as the winners.
“The Good Food Awards are looking for sustainable business practices combined with superior craftsmanship and flavor,” said Jim Verzino, Windham Grows’ Entrepreneur-In-Residence, “The competition is fierce, and having a great product is only one piece of the puzzle.”
Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind earned the Award with their Smoked Maple Sriracha. Founder Robert “Sugar Bob” Hausslein commented, “At Sugar Bob's we believe in the power of collaboration. Our collaboration with the Windham Grows cohort led directly to this celebration in winning a Good Food award in San Francisco. The skills we gleaned in sharing our story and in buckling down our financials lifted us up and let us play on the national level. Thanks Windham Grows!”
The Vermont Tortilla Company’s Organic Stone Ground Corn Tortillas also took home a Good Food Award. Founder April Moulaert said, “As small business owners with limited funds available for training, we greatly value the various no cost educational resources that are available in New England that we have been lucky enough to participate in including Windham Grows, the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, the Fair Food Network Boot Camp, and the Center for Women & Enterprise Vermont’s Power Forward for Food & Beverage Entrepreneurs. I strongly encourage emerging business owners to utilize these resources to help grow their businesses.”
“Congratulations to Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind and Vermont Tortilla Company,” said Lissa Harris, Executive Director of Strolling of the Heifers, “It takes an enormous amount of hard work and discipline for entrepreneurs to get their products to this level. We’re so proud that Windham Grows helped these companies get there.”
About Windham Grows
Windham Grows, a project of Strolling of the Heifers, is a socially responsible accelerator that builds the farm and food sector by providing critical services, resources, financing and mentorship to early-stage businesses. A 2019 recipient of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s Innovation and Inspiration Award, Windham Grows has graduated five cohorts from its food-based business track, and is currently working with its first cohort of farm-based businesses. It has added over 50 jobs to the local economy and helped cohort businesses raise over $2 million in outside funding.
Applications are now being accepted for the spring/summer 2020 food-based business track. To find out if your business qualifies, and to apply, visit www.windhamgrows.org, or contact Program Manager Peter Doran at [email protected].