Up until a week ago, Foodzie was a team of three. Our company was made up of Rob, Nik and myself - three co-founders who had known each other for over 6 years. Hiring our first employee was supposed to be agonizingly painful… right? I’ve never been a parent, but I am a founder of a startup, which is sorta like having a child… a child that you can’t imagine anyone loving as much as you. Until we met Susie, or shall I say Soozie.

Susie is now officially our Food Artisan Relations Manager and she’s directly responsible for finding the best producers for the Foodzie Marketplace and keeping them happy! She’s deeply passionate about helping small food producers succeed.

Susie came to us back in September when we weren’t hiring and didn’t have a position to fill, but it was clear we had to get her involved in some way.¹ She helped out over the past 3 months part-time and as we got to know Susie we realized she’s a full-fledged foodie and not just a “I like to eat at good restaurants foodie” but an “I love artisan producers and helping them succeed” foodie. Yes she seemed too good to be true…

She’s involved in Slow Foods - has even been to Salone del Gusto, writes her own artisan food blog, worked at a famous chocolate shop in high school, is a loyal farmer’s market customer², volunteered to start the Fair Trade chocolate program when she heard they didn’t have one, shoots videos to capture food producer’s stories³, worked with June Taylor and the grower to put on a Citron Slow Food event… and on top of all that, she is an online marketing whiz. The position of Food Artisan Relations Manager⁴ is a position we didn’t have planned - we created it for Susie because… well… she’s absolutely perfect for it.⁵

Lucky for you, our readers, Susie will be joining me here on the blog as well, dishing up her experiences with producers, her favorite products, and plenty of artisan-related goodness. So, with out further ado… I introduce you to Susie the newest member of the Foodzie family!

Notes from Susie:

¹ Reading about Foodzie in Springwise led to an “aha!” moment and late night email to the team. I was afraid my passionate case for why we needed to work together scared them away. Luckily they gave me a chance, and after a spicy Indian meal in the Mission District in San Francisco, well the rest will be history.

² My happiest experiences have taken place at farmer’s markets, on farms, and with small food companies around the world.  To me Foodzie is “the next best thing to local.” I hope to really help food producers connect with customers almost as closely as you would at a farmer’s market.

³ I’ve got a track record of showing up at food factories and farms to meet growers who are slightly puzzled about why I’ve left the beaten path to visit them. Usually by the time I leave, they get it: It’s in my blood! We’ve usually cooked up some new business opportunities ideas, taken lots of photos, and covered all about their production and marketing. Why just this week I learned about California’s Citrus Clonal Protection Program.

⁴ FARM that is!

⁵ And it’s perfect for me. To all those pursuing your dream of creating amazing food, I look forward to working with you!

Just this week I visited the Tangerine Man in Ojai, who Ruth Reichl just raved about in the Gourmet e-newsletter! Here are this year’s Seedless Kishu mandarins. (No, you can’t buy through Foodzie but I am not one to stand between you and great produce.)