In the era of Amazon and big box chains, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to stick together and attract customers who are craving personal connections and looking for more ways to support the local fixtures in their neighborhood.
And as the classic saying goes, two is better than one. By collaborating with fellow small businesses, you can potentially double your customer base, create unique new products with your joint expertise, and build up your local business community!
We love helping small businesses build connections and find collaborators through the Honeycomb network to achieve their shared goals.
These are 4 local business collaborations made possible through Honeycomb!
Thinking of crowdfunding with Honeycomb? Take 2 minutes to see if your business is ready.
1. Cinnamon Pickles (5 Generation Bakers x Pittsburgh Pickle Company)
Verona-based Pittsburgh Pickle Company is run by three brothers on the mission to create farm-fresh, artisanal pickles. When they started off, the brothers were cutting vegetables and bottling products all by hand.
However, as customer demand grew, it became very clear that they needed some equipment to speed up the process. The brothers raised $50,000 in local investments on Honeycomb to purchase a commercial food slicer and other co-packing equipment.
After raising $35,000 from their own Honeycomb campaign, cinnamon swirl bread manufacturer 5 Generation Bakers reached out to the Pittsburgh Pickle Company with a crazy genius idea: what if we make a cinnamon pickle together?
As it turned out, the pickle brothers had already experimented with a few cinnamon pickle recipes on their own. After a few collaborative tastings, the Cinn-a-Pickle was born!
Balancing the classic flavors of a bread-and-butter pickle with Jenny Lee’s signature cinnamon sugar, The Cinna-A-Pickle is the first retail-ready cinnamon pickle in the country. You can buy a jar (or two) to try out here.
2. High Quality Jams (Batch x Pittsburgh Pickle Company)
There’s a happy sequel to the previous story. The equipment that the Pickle brothers bought was so effective in helping them speed up production that they could now start co-packing for fellow local businesses who wanted to enter wholesale distribution.
Makers of small batch, handmade goods, Jessica and Meghan of Batch are known for their delicious, creative jams. After opening a storefront location in Saxonburg and building up an avid customer base, Jessica and Meghan were ready for their next big goal: expanding to e-commerce and wholesale.
Based on the order size and turnaround time of wholesale food distribution, Batch realized that it was impossible to continue bottling their jams by hand and began searching for a co-packing partner. It was very important to them to find a co-packing partner who shared their vision for fast production without compromising the high quality taste of the jams.
Through Honeycomb, Batch was introduced to Pittsburgh Pickle Company, and after finalizing the partnership, Batch ran a Honeycomb campaign to cover the upfront costs of co-packing and building an online store.
Since then, the co-packing partnership has been fruitful and the newly packaged jams are now available on the shelves of local grocery stores or delivered straight to your door.
3. Pasta, Beer, and a Movie (City Fresh Pasta x Abjuration Brewing Co.)
McKees Rocks microbrewery Abjuration Brewing Co. is known for their science lab concoctions and creative brews. Tom & Dave of Abjuration Brewing were invited to join the newly renovated Parkway Theater and take part in the revitalization of McKees Rocks.
When they needed more fermentation tanks to keep up with customer demand, Abjuration Brewing raised $50,000 from 54 community investors to buy 7 SS Brewtech unitanks.
With a location at Nova Place on the North Shore and selling at dozens of farmers markets, City Fresh Pasta makes and cooks fresh pasta, pierogies, and other ready-to-eat meals.
After years of operating, owner Eric Earnest decided to buy full ownership of the company to expand his
vision of fresh-made pasta across Pittsburgh. He raised $19,797 in local investments to launch a pasta food truck!
During this time, the Parkway Theater was actively searching for a restaurateur to run their on-site kitchen. Through an introduction by the Honeycomb team, City Fresh Pasta met with the team at Parkway Theater, and they realized that it’d be the perfect partnership.
With the new City Fresh Pasta Café now open, head on over to the Parkway Theater to grab your dinner, drinks, and a movie all in one place!
Through their Honeycomb experience, City Fresh Pasta will have two brick-and-mortar locations with a food truck coming soon, and Abjuration Brewing has a trusted food partner to pair with their delightful brews.
4. Ice Cream Pop-up (My Goodness x Millie’s Ice Cream)
With three locations across Pittsburgh, Millie’s Ice Cream is a beloved scoop shop with an intentional focus on farm-fresh ingredients. Millie’s raised $49,700 to buy a vintage ice cream truck and pilot their research on the best neighborhoods for them to open new brick-and-mortar locations.
My Goodness is the first neighborhood market in Regent Square to offer locally sourced foods and prepared meals. Owner Sherree has run the beloved breakfast & lunch spot, Square Café, for over 17 years. After hearing from her customers and neighbors that Regent Square lacked a spot to get fresh local produce, Sherree partnered with Jeanne, a veteran physical therapist, to open My Goodness.
Sherree and Jeanne raised $35,000 in 36 hours to buy refrigeration equipment for the new shop! My Goodness carries organic, sustainable local favorites, including Pigeon’s Bagels, Commonplace Coffee, Pitaland, and...Millie’s Ice Cream!
As a result of this collaboration, the Regent Square community has gained easy access to fresh produce, healthy prepared meals, and delicious ice cream.
Get your fixing of Millie’s Ice Cream pints at My Goodness in Regent Square today.
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