Rooted in Eugene | Part 1: Love and Natural Foods
Eugene, Oregon may not immediately land on your radar, but for those in food manufacturing, the region is known as a nearly perfect place for producing products and distributing across the west coast. Saddled on the southern edge of the fertile Willamette Valley, the metro area’s modest size, lack of traffic congestion, and inexpensive highly renewable hydropower supply pair wonderfully with it’s location less than 500 miles from both Seattle and The Bay area.
The region is arguably ground zero for the natural foods movement and hippie culture in the Pacific Northwest. The vibrancy and notoriety of progressive thought in the community may best be captured by The Oregon Country Fair, an annual celebration of art, music, earth and family that attracted 58,474 participants in 2019, nearly as many people as Burning Man in Black Rock City, Nevada that same year.
A staggering number of the region’s food and beverage companies have deep ties with the Oregon Country Fair, essentially growing up alongside the festival and its participants. Perhaps the most notable of these connections is the one forged by Springfield Creamery, the makers of Nancy’s Probiotic Foods, when the company took a creative approach to tackling a fairly serious business challenge.
Despite early successes, the young creamery was struggling financially. Chuck and Sue Kesey, founders of the business, reached out to friends of Chuck’s brother, Ken Kesey (yes, THAT Ken Kesey) in hopes of organizing a fundraiser concert. Chuck Kesey ended up driving down to the Bay Area to pitch some folks on supporting the idea. He never would have imagined The Grateful Dead agreeing to play a show less than a month later!
On August 27th 1972, The Grateful Dead setup on stage just west of Eugene in Veneta, Oregon on land now owned by the Oregon Country Fair and played for over 20,000 people. Paying just $3.50 per ticket (printed on repurposed Nancy’s Yogurt labels) Deadheads from all over the country poured into the greater Eugene area, and whether they knew it or not, contributed a small part to one very hip crowdfunding event.
Sue Kesey is now in her eighties and recently became the CEO of Springfield Creamery. While she admits that she and Chuck are probably better yogurt makers than concert promoters, she certainly has fond memories of the famous event. “Yes, we went from yogurt-makers to concert promoters in 27 days,” she says. “It was quite a fork in the road for us, as it gave us the hand-up we desperately needed. All these years later we still are so honored by the support from our friends and neighbors and love being part of this community that is so rich with good food and good people.”
Almost 50 years since The Grateful Dead saved a young yogurt company, the region’s progressive thought leadership has transitioned to business leadership for a large number of companies. Considering a metro area with less than 400,000 people, it should be thought provoking to see the growing list of 173 food and beverage manufacturing companies that includes Nancy’s Probiotic Foods, Yogi Tea, So Delicious Dairy Free, Coconut Bliss, Mountain Rose Herbs, Ninkasi Brewing, King Estate Winery, and Organically Grown Company.
However, what seems to activate all of these operational advantages might actually be more in line with the community energy that drove those 20,000 Deadheads some fifty years ago. The sheer concentration of passion for quality food, healthy lifestyles, and environmental stewardship adds something special to this region that is fairly rare, especially in a place that provides the quality of business opportunities that are readily available in Eugene, Oregon.
Want to celebrate Nancy’s Yogurt, The Grateful Dead, and the community sprit that helped save a young yogurt company?
Rooted in Eugene highlights stories of people who chose to live, work, and play in the greater Eugene area’s dynamic food and beverage manufacturing industry
Check out the rest of the series!
Part 2: High Quality Ingredients
Part 3: On The Cusp Of Something