Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Flournoy.
Hi Catherine, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hello and thank you, it’s great to have this opportunity to share my story. I’m the owner of Slow Stir Foods and I currently make seasonal preserves and stone ground nut butters. I began making preserves in 2011 when I worked as a personal pastry chef, but my love for cooking began as a child after I immigrated to the US. My earliest memory of being in the kitchen was at age four, baking our Great Grandma Ruth’s Mace Cookies with my wonderful and angel of an Aunt on Christmas Eve. My paternal side of the family, here in the US, were a mix of creatives and entrepreneurs, and on my maternal side, in Taiwan where I was born, were farmers. It’s fair to say this drive to have a creative business rooted in seasonal and healthier foods is in my DNA. However, my story isn’t a linear one — far from it. It would take well over a decade, and numerous professional experiences during a very personal journey of deep healing and self-discovery, to eventually make my way back to the art of food — twice actually — and have the courage to commit to it. I like to say that my story inspired the name of my business Slow Stir Foods. On one hand, the name conveys my cooking methods and speaks to a way of life; and on the other, it speaks to the journey that brought me to where I am today.
It’s often said, “Follow your bliss.” For me, that meant following my curiosity to experiences of joy and adventure. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to pursue an array of industry and small business experiences. This pursuit allowed me to cultivate a very meaningful and purposeful professional path and has given me perspective, knowledge and the skills to create this business from the ground up. For instance, my career of working in numerous restaurants and professional kitchens, from front-of-house to back-of-house as an apprentice and then pastry chef, taught me about the industry and how to organize myself, scale recipes and run a commercial kitchen. My career in tech & creative staffing taught me how to identify, vet and work with a solid graphic designer. And my career in business development and events management strengthened my sales strategies and project management abilities. My experiences as a whole helped me to identify my ethos and shape the long-term vision that I have for Slow Stir Foods.
The dream of having a food business lived in my imagination, journals and sketchbooks for many years in the category of “I’ll do it one day.” The abstract vision moved with me as I moved through life and unearthed other gratifying creative endeavors (I’ve also had three small businesses: in the healing arts, dance and jewelry making). Of my artistic languages, working with food has been my most consistent medium of creation and expression. It also aligns with my passion for service and community building. It became clearer to me as time went on that creating and sharing food has always been the most natural fit for my personality, spiritual development and way of life. And authenticity is key for me in everything I do and how I relate to people. So my work is a way of life!
Fast forward: 2019 was the impetus to get my idea out of the closet and into broad daylight. I was managing a $1.3 million Special Events development budget for a non-profit in the social justice space. It was autumn and I had just come off the heels of my most grueling year of work. A series of what I believe were serendipitous events and divine interventions placed me at a crossroads. It felt like a now-or-never moment… I can still recall that visceral pull from my center to say yes to this next step, and that’s when I decided that I would finally launch my food business. That was the moment Slow Stir Foods truly began to take shape. I would consciously share my intentions with select people to hold myself accountable to deliver on my word. I needed that because at the time I had a lot of fear around failing. The alternative of giving up was not an option I wanted. Soon enough I identified local suppliers and a talented graphic designer. I created an e-comm site, and I kept on cooking and imagining! With permits in hand and products ready to go to market, my business officially launched in July 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of the first fiscal year in business, my products were sold in seven retail locations, at two farmers markets in SoCal, a private label, and my online store was bustling with holiday orders. Now here I am, and the rest is history in the making.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the first half of 2020, due to the pandemic, the permitting process to operate as a food producer in Los Angeles was unusually drawn out and quite challenging but understandably so. To give you a sense of how involved the process was, I had originally planned to launch in January but it wasn’t until July 2020 that I would receive my permit to officially begin selling my products. During that time, there was a point when I hit a wall and didn’t think I’d be able to launch my business as I had wanted. That led to some internal conflict and fear as I was unprepared to pivot that I nearly threw in the (kitchen) towel. Instead of saying “I can’t” or “I won’t,” I reminded myself that “I can” (hello, double entendre) and challenged my own limiting belief systems. I cut out the noise, focused on what I could create and pivoted. I’m really proud of that. My products have been well received in an already saturated market in a way that went above and beyond my expectations. That has been incredibly heartening and encouraging.
During that seven months period of “hurry up and wait,” there were huge benefits and successes as well! I was able to identify a new graphic designer who helped me design the logo, branding and labels I truly wanted and feel so proud of. I filled my pipeline with new distribution clients and prospects so when it came time to launch, I had a presence in several locations within my first few months. I had additional time to identify more cost-effective suppliers and backups. I improved my workflow. I invested time in more recipe development that prepared me for seasons ahead and so much more. It was truly the perfect storm. So my greatest professional challenge in that time turned out to be a much-needed runway to launch Slow Stir Foods exactly how it was meant to launch in order to make a great first impression (and spare my sanity)!
Then, by early 2021, I started to experience supply challenges and an increase in the cost of materials. Sourcing glass jars took more effort as they became in high demand and factories in China either couldn’t keep up with demand or there were logistical issues with freight and cargo shipping. I also had to find new farms to provide the sustainably grown and organic fruits I had become accustomed to using. A producer I had grown especially fond of because of the people and how ethical their practices were was hit hard by the pandemic. They were pivotal in 2020 as they provided Slow Stir Foods with a variety of fruit across all four seasons. As a new season of harvest approached in 2021, I scrambled to find and vet new growers to replace this single supplier. And as I grew my presence at farmer’s markets, keeping up with production, marketing and business development became more demanding. The silver lining in all of this is that I feel less reliant on one supplier, I’ve met more great farmers and other food industry entrepreneurs so I feel even more rooted in this community.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Slow Stir Foods works with the seasons to craft versatile, sweet and savory fruit preserves and stone ground nut butters with minimal or no added sugar and using strictly CA bounty that are sustainably grown or are certified organic. So the menu changes four times a year.
When it comes to my brand, my ethos is largely characterized by service and contributing to a stronger food culture in the United States. I’m very proud of being able to bring Slow Stir Foods to life. And I couldn’t have done it as consciously as I have if it weren’t for the ethical and collaborative farmers whom I source from. My sourcing practices speaks to the quality of my products as it encourages local seasonal consumption and a lower carbon footprint. Being a resident of CA, I only source produce that’s sustainably or certified organically grown in CA. This allows me to frequently invest back into the local economy. It’s a win-win all around.
Staying true to my calling has allowed me to honor one of the founding pillars of Slow Stir Foods that I am especially proud of: to make a positive social impact using my time and my proceeds. In my first year of business, I was able to remain an active volunteer working with foster youth while donating a portion of proceeds to local and global non-profits that either directly support foster youth in our immediate community or do work around the globe to address various forms of poverty. For anyone interested in learning more, look into the great work of The Academy Project (TAP) and CARE. Additionally, thanks to kind word of mouth I was fortunate to take my reach a step further by partnering with the Association for Training & Success (AFTS) to give a number of presentations to high-school students in culinary programs within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
There are plans to continue expanding the product line so stay in touch on Instagram and visit my website to see what’s new! And for anyone interested in working or collaborating with me and Slow Stir Foods, please reach out over email or by phone. I am planning to hire part-time help and offer portfolio-building internships!
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Yes, and I could write a listicle about this! For now, here are some bullet points from my experience that I hope will be helpful for those just starting a business.
- Know the lay of the land for your product or service while being aware of global events. The industry of your business will help to define your required blueprint and roadmap but world events might force you to modify your course.
- Don’t hold back from offering a product that has potential. Create, release, observe, evaluate and iterate! Let the market be your compass.
- Be prepared to pivot. In times of uncertainty, stay focused on your overarching goals but also find balance in fluidity and responding creatively.
- Build and cultivate your pipeline of clients and customers. This is an obvious one to be profitable, but it is a good preventative measure for maintaining success in unexpected circumstances.
- You are your best brand so strive to make every interaction transformational, not just transactional. Add value wherever you can, even if it’s just in passing.
- Be a great listener. And communicate thoughtfully. Your influence shapes how far you go in any chosen direction. It also builds trust along the way.
- Find a way to make time that is just for you. Don’t wait until you burn out, that will interfere with creativity & productivity. Mental health is vital! Be kind to yourself.
- Cultivate your intuition. This isn’t fortune-telling, this isn’t future prediction, this is about trusting yourself to assess and navigate a world with many moving parts.
- Don’t take things personally. Remember, business relationships are human relationships. And in a pandemic, it is definitely not business as usual.
To that end, it’s okay if you don’t know what you don’t know. Every moment is a learning opportunity, and when we’re really present and open to what’s unfolding, just remember to focus on your strengths and the resources you do have and move forward from there. Consciously practicing this self-awareness has allowed me to cultivate a clearer understanding of what my strengths are which helps me to manage struggles along the way. And whether the moments feel nerve-wracking or delightful, hopefully they are always enlightening and empowering.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.slowstirfoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
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