Consumers are embracing innovation in food and food experiences like never before, and their evolving tastes are creating a landscape in which local, sustainable, and higher quality foods will thrive. We are proud to connect you with local vendors, giving you countless opportunities to buy better and buy local.
Appetizers
Curdtown Cheese Curds
Buffalo, MN
Established: 2011
Mission: To have a constant focus towards the satisfaction of our customers. To provide exceptional products with attentive, timely, and personalized service. To operate with passion, energy, and integrity always.
Popular Products: Curdtown Deep Fried Cheese Curds, original and seasoned.
Fun Fact: Curdtown was founded by a native Wisconsinite on a mission to create the highest quality and tastiest fried cheese curd on the market.
Kaufhold’s Kurds
Ellsworth, WI
Established: 1995
Mission: Our company mission and goal is to provide our customers and consumers with a premium and consistently flavorful, all-natural, hand-breaded Wisconsin cheese curd, while maintaining and providing excellent service, values and dedication from our family-owned and operated staff.
Popular Products: Hand Breaded Wisconsin Cheese Curds
Fun Facts: All of our products are very lightly hand breaded, no machines! We use lots of fresh ingredients, including whole eggs, fresh milk, whole garlic cloves, fresh jalapenos, fresh habaneros, and fresh onion!
Bakery
Alive & Kickin’ Pizza Crust
Green Bay, WI and Prior Lake, MN
Established: 1989
Mission: We make great crusts for the top pizza brands throughout North America.
Popular Products: Our Dough Balls and Par Baked Pizza Crusts
Fun Fact: We have made over 1 billion crusts and dough balls since 2000.
Catallia Mexican Foods, LLC.
Eagan, MN
Established: 2005
Mission: Catallia Mexican Foods is committed to producing a premium tortilla in an environment that contributes to the success of our team, customers, business partners, and the community. We will strive to exceed expectations in all that we do and will seek to serve as a role model for the minority and civic communities as a company and neighbor.
Popular Products: Flour and corn tortillas, and flavored wraps
Fun Fact: Catallia is a minority-owned and family-operated business.
Why did you start your business? Over 33 years ago, Catallia’s founders Cathy Cruz Gooch and her husband Harold Gooch recognized the need for authentic tortillas in the Midwest marketplace. Tortillas were always a staple bread in Cathy’s culture, growing up in a large Mexican family in St. Paul, Minnesota. As Mexican food and culture continued to grow in popularity, Cathy and Harold made it their passion to produce an authentic, family tortilla recipe for all Midwest families to enjoy at home and at restaurants in their communities.
Chef Robert’s Gourmet Foods
Breezy Point, MN
Established: 1985
Mission: To have our product recognized as one of the most popular and appetizing breadings on the market.
Popular Products: Chef Robert’s original mix
Fun Fact: The Landing restaurant on Lake Alexander was one of the first places that the Chef Roberts breading mix was introduced to in Minnesota.
Why did you start your business? I purchased this business when it was fairly new because I used the product and thought it was the best product on the market.
The Good Bread Company
Minneapolis, MN
Established: 1994
Mission: To exceed customer expectations by crafting baked goods of unsurpassed quality within a culture of professional trust, respect and integrity.
Popular Products: Egg Hamburger Buns, Stadium Hamburger Buns, Brioche Buns, Sliced bread varieties, Ciabatta, Focaccia, Dinner Rolls, Hoagies and Baguettes.
Fun Fact: Our bakery products are enjoyed by customers in eighteen states, but Minnesota is home and we truly value the relationships we have developed with our home state customers.
Great Lakes Bakery
Superior, WI
Established: 2013
Mission: Our mission is to provide products that will delight our customers and provide service that will exceed their expectations.
Popular Products: Bagels
Fun Fact: Due to our water source (Lake Superior) we have warm our water to be able to activate our dough.
Great Northern Baking Company
Minneapolis, MN
Established: 1983
Mission: To strive to be the cleanest labeled and best K-12 bakery serving the needs of all levels of schools and universities.
Popular Products: Whole grain school items snack breads, cookies, muffins and Brekkies and everything is produced in a peanut and tree nut free facility.
Fun Fact: Did you know Brekkie is an Australian term for nutritious breakfast.
Why did you start your business? To provide nutritious baked goods to the K-12 industry in a peanut and tree nut-free facility.
Pan O Gold Baking Co.
St Cloud, MN
Established: 1910
Mission: To put out quality product at a competitive price
Popular Products: Dinner Rolls, Artisan Style Hamburger buns, over-size Vienna breads.
Fun Fact: Pan O Gold is a family owned company in their 3rd generation.
Rise Baking Company
Minneapolis, MN
Established: 2013
Mission: The joy of cookies, bars and breads have always brought people together. Rise Baking Company’s divisions, Best Maid and New French Bakery, focus on the future of those traditions so we can keep you coming back.
Popular Products: Best Maid – Chocolate Chip 3oz Grab ‘n’ Go Cookie, Individually Wrapped Peanut Butter Crispy Bar, Individually Wrapped Marshmallow Crispy Bar, Chocolate Chip 1.5oz Frozen Cookie Dough
New French Bakery- French Baguette, Ciabatta
Fun Fact: Last year alone, Rise Baking Company baked over 120 million cookies at our Best Maid facility in River Falls, WI. That’s enough cookies to build a trail from River Falls to Rome, Italy and still have extra left over for a snack!
Beverages
Citrus Systems Inc.
Hopkins, MN
Established: 1985
Mission: “We provide a reliable supply of consistent, top quality beverages to our customers.“
Popular Products: 4oz and 6oz Citrus Sun portion cups, 100% Juice Concentrates and 100% Juice Ready to Drink beverages
Fun Fact: In 2020 Citrus Systems is celebrating 35 years in business.
Why did you start your business? Presented with a unique opportunity to get involved with a revolutionary new package of fruit juices using bag in box. Tom Boehland set out in 1985 to take this concept to the food service marketplace.
Connolly’s Tom and Jerry, LLC.
Superior WI
Established: 1949
Mission: To provide a locally made Tom and Jerry batter, a holiday tradition that everyone loves when spending time with friends and family!
Popular Product: Tom and Jerry Batter
Fun Fact: The brand has been around since 1949
Why did you start your business? To keep the brand local, and to spend time working with friends and family!
Center of the Plate
Brakebush
Westfield, WI
Established: 1925
Mission: To provide, quality products and services at competitive prices that meet or exceed our customers expectations.
Popular Products: Fully Cooked Bone In and Boneless wings, Tenderloins, Chicken Fillets, both IQF and fully cooked. New items Fully Cooked Chicken Burgers and Chicken sausage topping
Fun Fact: Neither of the original brothers finished grade school
Why did you start your business? Farming in the 1920’s were tough and Brakebush saw a need to help farmers get their crops to market, so they bought a truck and started to haul everything from eggs to cattle to market.
Ferndale Market
Cannon Falls, MN
Established: 2008
Mission: For three generations, our family has continued to grow free-range, antibiotic-free turkeys, and we are proud to sustain the farming tradition. Together with our network of fellow independent farmers, we provide a full line of distinctive ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat turkey products for retail and foodservice, all carrying our local, natural claims.
Popular Products: Uncured Boneless Smoked Turkey Breast, Ground Turkey, Turkey Breast Roast, holiday whole turkeys
Fun Fact: Our farm is named for our founders, Fern and Dale Peterson, who got us started in 1939.
Why did you start your business? We believe in the way we continue to grow our turkeys, outdoors and without antibiotics, and are proud to remain an independent, family farm.
Hormel
Austin, MN
Established: 1891
Mission: Inspired People. Inspired Food. We strive to bring more to the table for customers, employees, consumers, shareholders and the communities where we live and work.
Popular Lines: Austin Blues, Cafe H, Fontanini, Fire Braised Meats, SPAM
Fun Fact: There are 12.8 cans of SPAM products eaten every second.
Morey’s Seafood International LLC
Motley, MN, and Plymouth, MN
Established: 1935
Mission: To focus our knowledge, experience and integrity as a seafood industry leader for nearly a century, to be the leading supplier of high quality, sustainable and wholesome products to the customers that we are privileged to supply.
Popular Products: Fresh and Frozen Seafood items and a wide variety of Morey’s branded seafood products
Fun Fact: Our company was started when a truck loaded with frozen fish broke down by Ed Morey’s property. Ed traded a load of corn for the fish–smoked the fish, and Morey’s began!
Rancher’s Legacy Meat Co.
Vadnais Heights, MN
Established: 2010
Mission: To be an innovative and trusted provider of high quality beef and pork products committed to the highest level of food safety, integrity of product specifications, and outstanding customer service.
Popular Products: Beef: Specialty Craft Burgers, Premium Burgers, Bulk Grind, Cut Steaks and Chops plus a selection of specialty proteins.
Fun Fact: Rancher’s ground more than 4,500 tons of beef in 2016. Rancher’s products are shipped to approximately 25 US states and internationally into approximately 15 different countries.
Olsen Fish Company
Minneapolis, MN
Established: 1910
Mission: Preserving The Tradition of Quality Herring and Lutefisk Since 1910
Popular Products: Pickled Herring, Lutefisk, Lefse, Lingonberries, Salted Cod and Dried Cod
Fun Fact: We are the largest producer of lutefisk in North America.
Condiments
Anderson’s Maple Syrup, Inc.
Cumberland, WI
Established:1928
Mission: Anderson’s Maple Syrup, Inc. values the trust customers put in us to provide the highest quality Pure Maple Syrup. It is our goal to earn that trust in all we do.
Popular Products: Pure Maple Syrup
Fun Fact: The Anderson family is the only maple syrup producer in Wisconsin to have had each generation win the “Wisconsin Maple Syrup Producer of the Year” award, the 4th generation is starting and will hopefully continue the tradition.
Why did you start your business? I continued the business that my father and grandfather started, mainly because I could see the connections to the farmers and the customer that is often time so far removed that their is no connection at all. We are positioned to help the consumer understand the greatness of Pure Maple Syrup, and also help the producer make better syrup. I enjoy the conversation and friendship of many maple producers and love being an important part of their business.
Jimmy’s Salad Dressings & Dips
Stewartville, MN
Established: 1972
Mission: Jimmy’s Salad Dressings & Dips takes pride in providing safe and high quality restaurant and retail products.
Popular Products: Jimmy’s Cole Slaw, Chunky Blue Cheese, Ranch, Pineapple Cole Slaw, French and Parmesan Dressings
Fun Fact: Jimmy’s is a family-owned business located in Minnesota!
Why did you start your business? “Prior to opening Jimmy’s, my dad (Jimmy) owned a local restaurant called The Fish House. He wasn’t pleased with the salad dressings available commercially so my dad, being the great recipe maker, started creating his own recipes at the restaurant. Soon customers were requesting product to buy and take home. After a time, I spoke with local grocery store managers and saw this as an opportunity to sell to restaurants and grocery stores.” Tom Slightam, President
Dairy
Burnett Dairy Cooperative
Grantsburg, WI
Established: 1896
Mission: Profitable growth through superior quality, customer service, commitment and innovative solutions.
Popular Products: Whole Milk and Part Skim Mozzarella Loaves and Shred.
Fun Fact: Our master cheesemaker’s name is Bruce Willis. He says he is the “original” Bruce Willis. Even better, his middle name is Wayne – so he is Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Bruce Willis (Die Hard).
Dean Foods
Woodbury, MN
Established: 1963
Mission: More than 80 years ago, Dean Foods was born in America’s heartland. Since then, the world has changed beyond belief. But from our first milk delivery to life in the digital age, we’ve maintained a refreshingly simple passion: bringing nutritious, wholesome food and beverages to every occasion.
Popular Products: Milk
Fun Fact: We take around 10% of the U.S. milk supply and turn it into food and beverages that fuel better lives – nutritious, wholesome, and flavorful at the same time.
Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery
Ellsworth, WI
Established: 1910
Mission: Provide support and stability to our 325 family dairy farms.
Popular Products: Natural White Cheddar Cheese Curds
Fun Fact: The ECC produces roughly 160,000 pounds of cheese curds daily.
Emmi Roth
Monroe, WI
Established: 1991
Mission: Our mission is to create the best cheese moments for our employees, customers and consumers. The best cheese moments are Emmi Roth moments.
Popular Products: Grand Cru
Fun Fact: Grand Cru is a domestic gruyere made in Copper Vats
Why did you start your business? To produce European style cheese with Wisconsin milk.
Land O’Lakes
Shoreview, MN
Established: 1921
Mission: Feeding Human Progress
Popular Products: 6/5 lb Extra Melt Loaf, 6/5 lb Queso Bravo Cheese Dip, 6/5 lb. Golden Velvet Loaf, 6/5 lb. Extra Melt Cheese Sauce
Fun Fact: Land O’Lakes is a farmer-owned cooperative.
Eggs
Locally Laid Egg Company
Wrenshall, MN
Established: 2012
Mission: We believe that the best quality eggs are produced locally by hens on pasture.
Popular Products: Shell eggs
Fun Fact: You don’t need a rooster for a hen to lay eggs!
Why did you start your business? A desire to see birds on pasture…. along with a midlife crisis 🙂
Sparboe Companies
Litchfield, MN
Established: 1954
Mission: Feeding Families, Enriching Lives
Popular Products: All Varieties of Shell Eggs
Fun Fact: You can tell what color egg a hen will lay by the color of the feathers around the ear hole of the hen. Hens that have brown feathers all over but white feathers by their ears will produce white eggs. If they have brown feathers by the ear, they will produce brown eggs.
Michael Foods
Minnetonka, MN
Established: 1908
Mission: Our mission is to provide fresh, delicious and convenient food solutions that generate exceptional experiences for our customers and consumers, while delivering profitable, sustainable growth for our company.
Popular Products: Eggs, Potatoes, Sausage, Gravy, Mac-N-Cheese
Fun Fact: Michael Foods breaks approximately 1 out of every 6 eggs in the United States.
Frozen
JonnyPops
St. Louis Park, MN
Established: 2012
Mission: Make A Better Pop, for a Better World
Popular Products: Strawberries & Cream Smoothie-on-a-Stick and Triple-Berry Smoothie-on-a-Stick
Fun Fact: Real fruit is the #1 ingredient in all JonnyPops fruit flavors!
Why did you start your business? We wanted to honor our friend and namesake Jonathan by making delicious frozen treats that spread kindness and made our communities a better place. A Better Pop, for a Better World.
Kemps, LLC
St. Paul, MN
Established: 1914
Mission: We passionately transform nature’s pure milk into great products every day.
Popular Products: Ice Cream, Frozen novelty treats
Fun Fact: Kemps will be donating 500,000 1/2 pints of milk to local food shelves in 2020.
Porsena’s Pizza – Randy’s Foods
Faribault, MN
Established: 1955
Mission: Creating “custom pizzas worth craving.”
Popular Products: The entire Porsena’s line!
Fun Fact: We make over 350 different types of pizzas!
Non Foods
National Checking Company (NCCO)
Saint Paul, MN
Established: 1905
Mission: NCCO specializes in providing innovative products and services to the foodservice industry. We pride ourselves on helping your business thrive by enhancing customer satisfaction, improving profitability and providing relevant solutions to everyday foodservice problems.
Popular Products: Date Code Genie Automated Labeling Systems, DateIt™ Food Safety Labels, Register Rolls, Guest Checks, SecureIt™ Tamper-Evident Labels
Fun Fact: In the 1920’s, NCCO invented the original GuestCheck™, an icon of American restaurant and dining history.
Why did you start your business? To provide not just product solutions for foodservice operations, but to do so with integrity and the best service possible.
Sunburst Chemicals
Minneapolis, MN
Established: 1922
Mission: Sunburst provides One-Touch Cleaning® programs that ensure quality results while enhancing your bottom line. We are dedicated to making your job easier and providing you with better alternatives.
Popular Products: Challenge, Score, Solid Performance
Fun Fact: Sunburst has been in business for almost 100 years!
Produce
Nuto Farm Supply, Inc. / Kitchen Kleen
Rice Lake, WI
Established: 1929
Mission: To provide our customers with a quality Russet Burbank Kitchen Kleen Potato
Popular Products: Russet Burbank Kitchen Kleen Potato
Fun Fact: In the last 5 years, for every acre of potatoes we have planted, we also planted approximately 415 trees on unused edges of our potato fields for the purpose of improving the environment. That is over 250,000 trees!
Why did you start your business? My great grandfather started this business during the Great Depression and we are carrying on his tradition of providing a quality potato to our customers.
Roland Marketing Inc.
Fridley, MN
Established: 1971
Mission: To provide our customers with the best quality products available year round!
Popular Products: Potatoes & Onions
Fun Fact: In October 1995, the potato became the first vegetable to be grown in space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, created the technology with the goal of feeding astronauts on long space voyages, and eventually, feeding future space colonies.
Sunset Orchard / Richland Hills Farms
Richland Center, WI
Established: 1999
Mission: To produce the best quality product at the highest level of food safety.
Popular Products: Fresh Sliced Apples
Fun Fact: Family owned and operated business and apple orchard.
Snacks
General Mills
Golden Valley, MN
Established: 1866
Mission: Making Food People Love
Popular Products: Nature Valley Bars, Yoplait Yogurt, Pillsbury, Cheerios, Old El Paso
Fun Fact: General Mills engineers created the black box used in airplanes.
Sides
Captain Ken’s Food, Inc.
St Paul, MN
Established: 1967
Mission: Make delicious tasting recipes, which offer customers a dining experience that they will remember and want to repeat often, following the same tradition and commitment to quality that Captain Ken’s founder, Ken Freiberg, started over 50 years ago.
Popular Products: The most famous of course is Captain Ken’s Original Recipe Oven-Baked Beans with Bacon. Another is Captain Ken’s Firehouse Chili with Beans (Midwest mild-seasoning), which is accompanied by other popular Captain Ken’s recipes like Coney Hot Dog Topping, Cheesy Hashbrowns, and Chicken Pot Pie Filling.
Fun Fact: Captain Ken’s Foods was founded in 1967 by Ken Freiberg, a Captain in the St. Paul, MN Fire Department. Ken served in the fire department for 23 years before taking “early” retirement at the age of 55 to start his business.
Mrs Gerry’s Kitchen
Albert Lea, MN
Established: 1973
Mission: For over four decades, Mrs. Gerry’s has continued to bring you the best salads and side dishes: premium ingredients handled with premium care, just as you would in your own kitchen. From our locally grown potatoes, to our individually sliced peppers, to our hand-tossed salads, we take pride in every ingredient, every process, and every container that leaves our facility and ends up on your dinner table.
Popular Products: Original Potato Salad, Premium Mac n Cheese, Sweet Pepper Coleslaw, Premium Mashed Potatoes
Fun Fact: Local ingredients are used whenever possible. In fact, 90% of the potatoes used for the potato salads are grown within 15 miles of the Albert Lea plant. Food safety and employee safety are top priorities.
Why did you start your business? Gerry Vogt is the founder of the company, alongside her husband Jerry. Gerry and Jerry (better known to locals as “The Gerry’s”) founded the company four decades ago, in support of Jerry’s sales position selling meats to grocery stores. He wanted to enhance his product offering by not only selling the main dish, but providing a full meal to his clients: meat and salads. Today, the Gerry’s are still a major part of the salads and sides organization which has grown to over 200,000 square feet, but continues to operate on a strong foundation of faith, family and quality.
