From the Blog
Celebrating Women Owned Businesses
Join us in celebrating International Women's Day on March 8 by taking a look as we showcase some of the empowering women-led businesses that we support on the shelves of New Pi.
Below you'll find just some of the businesses whose products you can find at the co-op. Let's honor these inspiring individuals!
A Chocolate Studio
Anne uses both her background in mathematics and 25 years as a professional artist to bring unique flavors and design into bite-size chocolates. Assortments include dark chocolate, caramel pecan, lemon delight, hazelnut praline, tequila lime as well as some unique options that change regularly.
Agri-cultured
Sarah Underberg and her husband Eric started making fermented foods to address health problems like joint pain. Today Agri-Cultured makes raw sauerkrauts, pickles, and kimchi.
"We’re changing lives one gut at a time,” Sarah says.
photo credit: thurstontalk.com
Alaffia
Washington native Prairie Rose Hyde and her husband Olowo-n’djo Tchala, from Togo, West Africa, founded Alaffia in 2003. Alaffia makes skin and hair care products that are Fair for Life-certified, and uses a portion of their proceeds to support Empowerment Projects in West Africa.
Buffalo Ridge
Farmer Emma Johnson’s mom started the orchard with the romantic memory of a heritage apple tree from her grandmother’s farm as her inspiration. Each year, the family adds more trees to the orchard, allowing them to grow their business slowly, at a comfortable pace. Emma; her husband, Marcus; her parents; and a few others all work the land. Buffalo Ridge Orchard is a labor of love.
Clear Creek Orchard
Clear Creek Orchard’s small-batch preserves are made right here in central Iowa; using the best ingredients to produce flavorful, all-natural jams and jellies without added preservatives. With over 31 varieties to choose from, their jams are used on everything from toast to desserts and even meat and seafood.
CRystal Forestry
May, owner of The Crystal Forestry Project, has been making natural products for over a decade for use at home and in her work cleaning professionally.
She came up with the line to help families reconsider what cleaning products can be made from. Using a combination of natural ingredients, May leaned into elements from earth, water, and plant life.
DogPatch Urban Gardens
The addition of salad dressing is just one of the ways Jenny Quiner, owner of Dogpatch Urban Greens, in Des Moines, IA has grown her business over the years. She expanded her urban farm's offerings to include salad dressings designed to compliment its popular seasonal lettuces. The dressings come in three varieties, – lemon garlic, maple ginger, and balsamic – and are made with avocado oil.
EvanHealy
Evan Healy, a holistic aesthetician, founded the cult favorite skin care line that shares her name back in 1999. Her simple product formulas are made from organic, plant-based ingredients from small farms around the world.
Get Fresh
Wendy Zimmermann has been making juices as a healthy and healing treat for over two decades. Now, she and her staff are making the most of Eastern Iowa’s locally-sourced produce serving up customizable smoothies and cold pressed juices. Maintaining a truly farm-to-bottle spirit, they’re committed to staying completely compostable, sustainable, and natural -- and you can taste the difference in every sip.
Go Macro
We are a mother-daughter owned and operated company that puts our heart and soul into promoting a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. What started in a farmhouse kitchen as a mother and daughter team has grown into a top-selling, plant-based nutrition bar company. Today our team is much larger, but the spirit of our family remains.
Herbivorous Butcher
Aubry Walch and her brother Kale founded their vegan “butcher shop” in Minneapolis to tremendous success. Herbivorous Butcher’s delightful, meat-free, plant-based products include deli slices, cheeses, and bacon.
Honey Pot Co
Bea Dixon, founder of Honey Pot Co., began a natural feminine care line after her own personal struggles. Made with natural herbs and without chemicals, toxins, or artificial fragrances, this line is both refreshing and healing.
Hue Hill
Hue Hill crafts farm grown vegetables into vibrant, live cultured, powerfully probiotic fermented foods. From traditional sourkraut to beet ginger kraut and pickled, spiced slaw – their ferments are not only delicious, but packed with nutrients.
Iowa Miso
Tomie, owner and creator of Iowa Miso makes delicious miso with Iowa grown soy beans. You can find her product at farmers markets around Cedar Falls, Hansen's Dairy, and now New Pioneer Food Co-op. Tomie's Iowa Miso balls create an instant cup of miso soup - just add hot water, steep, stir and enjoy! Her Amber Miso has a mellow sweetness which slowly transitions to a more nutty and tangy flavor while her Gold Miso is more full-bodied and powerful.
Jezebel Wines
Pam Walden is the owner and winemaker at Jezebel (and Willful Wines). She makes her critically acclaimed, fruit-forward wines at Southeast Wine Collective in Portland, Oregon.
Joanna's Tonic Syrups
Owner Joanna Mouming is an organic food industry veteran who decided to start her own company after realizing that she wasn’t getting the taste she wanted out of super sweet gin and tonics. Her tonic syrups are handcrafted in small batches, and made with natural ingredients to create the perfect additions to both cocktails and mocktails.
La Casa
Growing up in Texas, Mercy Sueppel learned to cook at a young age. Now Mercy works with her children Laurie and Bart to make preservative-free, authentic Mexican sauces and spices with fresh ingredients under the La Casa label.
La Reyna
Carmen and Carlos Legaspi and their family are behind La Reyna, the brand that is proud to be “Hecho en Iowa” since 1991. They are known for their excellent fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, queso sauce, and more.
Marieke Cheese
Just four months after Marieke crafted her first batch of Gouda in November 2006, she captured a gold award at the US Champion Cheese Contest in 2007. Dozens of awards followed including her biggest win thus far, the United States Grand Champion.
Marmalade Sky
Marmalade Sky is a local artisanal bakery specializing in gluten-free treats. Founder Malak Nour uses fresh, organic ingredients to create divine desserts like brownies, macaroon bars, and mini cakes.
Patti Z
New Pi staffer patti zwick (known for her beautiful quiltz) makes one-of-a-kind watercolor and quiltz-inspired cards by hand. Patti’s eye pillows, filled with organic flax and organic lavender, are also available at the Co-op, where she has worked for over 30 years.
Purely Elizabeth
Fifteen years ago while studying holistic nutrition, Elizabeth learned about the powerful effect that nutritious food has on the body. But, when she looked at grocery shelves, the options were limited for nourishing foods that people would actually enjoy. So she set out to create products that didn't have a trade off between nutritious ingredients and culinary taste to help people thrive on their wellness journey.
Rare Bird
Wende Fugate hand-makes her small-batch vegan soaps, skincare, and home products with organic and local ingredients. Rare Bird offerings are free from sulfates, parabens, and preservatives, and made with pure essential oils.
Seed Savers Exchange
Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy founded Seed Savers in 1975 with two sets of family heirloom seeds from the 1870s. Today the organization promotes biodiversity by preserving heirlooms and sharing seeds from more than 20,000 plant varieties.
Siete Family Foods
Siete Family Foods was born when my family helped me overcome a series of major health challenges. Siete Family Foods is a mission-based company, and we're passionate about making and sharing real food, gathering together in authentic community, and advocating for healthier lifestyles among Latino families.
Stasher
Kat Nouri realized just how much single-use plastic waste she and her family were producing every day, and so she went on the hunt for an alternative. What she found was an opportunity to create a totally unique and revolutionary product. Something beautiful, something functional, something you could reuse over and over again — inside and outside the kitchen.
Thumbprint
Katie’s handmade soaps are made from scratch in small batches using high quality ingredients like aloe vera, cocoa butter, and mango butter.
Trumpet Blossom Café
Katy Meyer, owns and runs the Trumpet Blossom Cafe, a vegan restaurant in Iowa City. She works with a variety of local farmers to supply fresh produce for her recipes. Find vegan wraps and salads in our to-go coolers in Iowa City and Coralville.
Two Chicks Cocktails
Two Chicks Cocktails is a women-owned, founded & run company. Megan (left), founder of Two Chicks Cocktails, created her business (and drinks) out of a passion for encouraging people to embrace one another and connect.
New Pioneer Food Co-op
New Pi is a food co-operative, owned by over 35,000 members, home-grown in Iowa. We welcome everyone to our store, regardless of membership, and focus on local and sustainable food solutions. New Pi has strong roots in Iowa City’s local food community, and continues to partner with local growers, food, and sustainability organizations to enrich Linn and Johnson County communities.