Minnesota Maker

Few people think of vanilla as an agricultural product. “For a lot of consumers, vanilla is simply a bottle that they take off the shelf,” explains Sara. “When I first did sampling at local co-ops, I was surprised by how many shoppers had never thought about the origin of their vanilla. They never thought about where it came from, how we make it and why that matters. Few people realize that there’s a seasonality to vanilla. The international market opens at a specific time. The fruit is not always available.” 

Coffeewomple fans notice how Nicole and Zach’s process highlights the natural flavors of the beans in nuanced ways. “You can make good coffee just by starting out with a good bean. That will get you 90% of the way there,” explains Zach. “That final 10% requires a lot of testing. The palette is huge. One thing you learn early on is that you can’t add a flavor that’s not there. If it’s not in that green bean to start, you’re not going to find it.” 

Mark Petersen of Stillwater’s Facepunch Foods fell in love with heat when he was six years old.  Facepunch has since produced tens of thousands of bottles of sauce, both as Facepunch and as white label recipes for other businesses.

Does your favorite pancake mix or locally-crafted brew filter stormwater runoff, improve water quality and work towards a healthier future for Minnesota’s rivers? If it carries the Perennial Percent label, it already has. 

St. Paul's X2 Pastries is a “hustle of love” according to Xiong Xiong. “We get to bake for ourselves, the products we think are the most delicious and delightful, and we then share it with all of you.” 

The founding of America’s only certified Bee-Friendly Farm Distillery began with a homework assignment. Cheri Reese and Mike Swanson, owners of Far North Spirits, were living in St. Paul following careers in marketing and communications. Mike was pursuing an MBA from the University of St. Thomas where his entrepreneurial class project included a business plan for a distillery that grew its own grain.