Rooted in Food

I wanted to help folks understand that Black people care about food, farming, and land stewardship, but we've been kept away from the table. Our voices have been silenced for too long.

In 2020, Kindred Seedlings Farm was officially established after the acquisition of a 20-acre piece of property in Southern Alamance County, NC. We began selling seedlings and fresh culinary herbs through Black farmers markets as well as offering a line of herbal tea blends. We have a large network of community support that is essential to our operation as a working farm. We are continuing to grow seedlings and plants with the goal of building a local place where farmers can purchase their veggie starts for each growing season. We are also a space for all people, especially BIPOC folks, to come find peace and see others who look like them stewarding the land. Ultimately, Kindred aspires to be a teaching farm for new farmers learning to grow food.

We are serving our Southern Alamance County community and folks all over the Triad / Triangle of North Carolina. We are members of the Black Trade Union in Durham NC where we are members of the Black Farmers Market. This has increased our visibility and network over the years.

Since beginning in 2018, we have over 1,000 active customers and a large customer database. We operate an online store, market operations 2x a month, and variety of pop-up events at our farm.

We are addressing the problem of few Chicano or Mexican owned and founded coffee companies. Most major coffee companies get their beans from Latin America or Africa, but those working the land or working in the factories are not factored into the overall business model or branding to the world. At Tepito, we are building a company that honors those harvesting in the fields to those working at our distribution center.

Tepito Coffee Roasters solves this problem by being Chicano / Mexican founded and owned. We also model a new way of doing business by ensuring that every major decision is made in collaboration with Pecora 19º09´ and our farmers in México so that we can maintain the standard and quality of their 20+ years of experience. Simply put, we are unapologetically proud to be a company for and by the growing Latinx and Chicano community.

Tepito Coffee Roasters tagline is "Rooted in Mexico, Brewed in East Los Angeles." While we are located in a predominately Mexican American community in East LA, we are serving people all across the country through our direct-to-consumer business model. Our customer base is primarily people of color living in the west coast, but we also have customers that live and work in the Midwest and across the United States.

We have been measuring our quantitative success through customer loyalty and identification with the brand as well as sales. Since our launch on March 19, 2021, we have developed a very loyal and active following both on and offline. People have really resonated with the brand which has resulted in sales of thousands of coffee bags and major media exposure.

I recognized a gap in the Kansas kombucha market when it came to being transparent about ingredient sourcing, sustainable practices, community support, and customer engagement.

Morning Light Kombucha partners with local farmers focused on sustainable agricultural practices, in addition to foraging for wild ingredients. This is how we source the majority of our ingredients for our small batch, hand-crafted kombucha. We are very vocal about where and how we are sourcing our ingredients as well as highlighting our focus on sustainability within our operations and our commitment to giving back to Indigenous communities. This transparency leads to open and honest conversations with our customers about the importance of knowing where your food comes from, conscious consumerism, and issues affecting indigenous communities.

Around 80% of our customers are women ages 30-55 and the majority are repeat customers, utilizing our refill offerings at the farmers markets, community events, and retail accounts. Right now, the majority live within the city limits of Topeka, but we have incredible customers in both rural areas in and around our reservation as well as other large cities in Kansas.

With the launch of our canned kombucha line in February 2021 and our doorstep delivery options in 2020, we have seen a nearly 32% increase in sales from this time last year and a 38% increase from 2019 to 2020. We are targeting a 45% increase in sales by years end as we partner with a new state-wide distributor. Our social media exposure is growing day-by-day as we spread to new areas of the state.