Strawberry farm savors sweet victory in biz-plan contest

From The Mohawk Valley Business Journal, vol. VII - no. 11, May 21-June 3, 2007

Steven Greenberg of Tassleberry Gourmet Foods was awarded $20,000 in cash and professional services for winning the 2007 Mohawk Valley Business Plan Competition.

WESTMORELAND - Pairing strawberries with a punch gave enough of an edge to Tassleberry Gourmet Foods for the company to win the 2007 Mohawk Valley Business Plan Competition

The company, owned by Steven Greenberg and Marone Acee, uses strawberries grown at Tassleberry Farms on Stop Seven Road in Westmoreland to create a variety of products including strawberry vinegar, strawberry balsamic vinegar, strawberry vinaigrette, strawberry marinade, strawberry jerk sauce, and strawberry dressing and dip.

"My business partner Ron Acee's mom, Margaret Acee, is a terrific cook and has been making strawberry vinegar from an old family recipe for many years," Greenberg says. "More and more people were asking her for the product. As farmers, it seemed both natural and smart business to move to quantity and quality production, expanding the product line and striving for farm viability."

The business has been open for almost two years now and markets its products through its own Web site (www.tassleberry.com), and also at specialty food stores and at festivals. Tassleberry is also part of the Pride of New York program, which showcases products made in New York, and is a member of the Upstate New York Growers and Packers Co-op.

The company has four employees and expects to sell 1,700 cases of products in 2007, Greenberg says.

To win the competition, Tassleberry beat 21 competitors and three other finalists — MSi Molding Solutions, Inc., submitted by Thomas Bashant; My Third Leg, submitted by Robert Parow; and Secure Bike ID, submitted by John Cappelli, Karen Scott, and David Cappelli.

As the winner, Tassleberry receives $20,000 in cash and professional services from the competition sponsors. Those sponsors include Adirondack Bank, Cathedral Corporation, D'Arcangelo & Co., M.A. Polce Consulting, Mohawk Valley Applied Technology Corporation, the Mohawk Valley Business Journal, the Mohawk Valley Small Business Development Center, New York Business Development Corporation, Oneida Financial Corporation, Paige Group, Partners Trust Bank, Radisson Hotel-Utica Centre, Roberts Office Interiors, and Stewart Consulting.

Greenberg says Tassleberry will use its cash winnings to purchase production equipment and work on its Internet-marketing campaign with Site-Seeker, a Webdesign and development company in New Hartford.

This is the fourth year of the Mohawk Valley Business Plan Competition, which is run by Mohawk Valley Economic Development Growth Enterprises Corp. (EDGE), which provides economic services for businesses in Herkimer and Oneida counties.

Last year's winners, Laurie Burns and Denise Collins of D&L Movement on the Go, used their winnings to pay the loan for their first production run and also took advantage of a number of the professional services, such as accounting services, offered by the contest sponsors.

Winning the competition really helped Burns and Collins ramp up the marketing of their Movement on the Go (www.movementonthego.com) therapy game, which is now featured in three major therapy-supply catalogs.