consumer, online enterprise, especially when the pandemic hit. “We had to tweak a few things — especially with streamlining fulfillment, but our ordering side stayed the same,” she says, adding that now, they also supply some wholesalers, retailers, and bakeries. BOOMING IN THE PANDEMIC McKeown says that demand grew so quickly during the Covid-19 pandemic that, initially, they couldn’t keep up with the orders. In fact, her mom, who still works with the company, would ask almost daily how far they were behind. The answer went from 100 to 150 and more. “We finally said that we weren’t going to tell her,” McKeown says, pointing out that they actually reached 900 back orders, although no one waited more than three weeks for delivery. After the dust had settled post-pandemic, they had a whole new baseline of customers. Far from resting on their laurels, the McKeowns moved and upgraded their facility, brought on more mills, and expanded their product line by selling home-based mills, bags of grain, and bread mixers. They have even started selling sourdough cultures from around the world. “We have about 25 sourdough culture starters that people can buy and use in their homes,” she says, listing off sources from Australia to Bahrain to the Yukon. Sourdough starters are live, fermented cultures of flour and water used to replace commercial yeast in bread. ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 25 AUGUST 2023 continued on page 26 This market development project received funding from Grain Farmers of Ontario. END-TO-END SUSTAINABILITY The McKeowns source mainly locally grown grains from southern Ontario, with some more specialized grains coming from Western Canada. It Is a big selling point for modern customers. Farmer suppliers obtain a premium for their high-quality grains, and 1847 Stone Milling, in turn, obtains a premium price for its products. The main products include Daily Grind (multi-use flour), Daily Bread (bread flour), Rye Humour (rye flour), Run of the Mill (whole wheat flour), Have Your Cake and Pastry Too (cake and pastry flour) and several more variations. Customers can also get cleverly-named combinations like the Bouquet of Flours, Bakers Bouquet, and the Bread Box. Farm barns to silos, 11,000+ farmers like you have one thing in common. They are understood, valued and insured by The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group. Find a qualified broker in Commonwell Country today: commonwellcountry.ca/farm NOTHING SMELLS AS SWEET
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