Crafty Pickle Co came to fruition in Aberdeen in April 2019.
It was based in the teaching kitchen at Community Food Initiatives North East (Cfine) and fast became a company that many admired for its intentions.
I met founders Arthur Serini and Madi Myers, both of whom are registered associated nutritionists, just months after Crafty Pickle Co launched. Their confidence struck me.
They knew exactly what they wanted to achieve from the get-go and went into great detail about their mission – “to start a business that would do some good in the world.”
This was to be combined with spreading the word about fermented foods and how beneficial they are.
Crafty Pickle Co
So, what does Crafty Pickle Co do exactly?
Arthur and Madi use surplus or imperfect produce to craft a range of raw, alive and unpasteurised sauerkrauts, kimchis, kimchi juice, and kombucha – on occasion – by working with local businesses and charities.
These are sold online, at markets and events, and in shops, cafes and restaurants.
A percentage of the sale of each jar is donated to support the work FareShare does fighting food insecurity.
They also teach the skills of fermentation, incorporating their nutrition knowledge, so have regularly hosted workshops and held talks over the years.
The pair met in the city while studying for an MSc in Human Nutrition at Aberdeen University.
Touring the UK
Since its inception, the business has continued to thrive. The entrepreneurs relocated to South Wales during lockdown in 2021. This was, one, because Madi found out she was pregnant and, two, to be closer to friends and family.
Now that they’re settled, Arthur and Madi are eager to host a string of workshops and talks not just in South Wales, but further afield, including returning to Aberdeen.
“In the long term though we’ve managed to keep going and things have been looking better since everything has opened up again,” Madi said.
Arthur will be returning to the city on Monday to give a talk on fermented foods and the place they hold in improving overall health and more specifically gut health at the Aberdeen Health & Wellbeing Festival.
He is also running a kombucha workshop on Wednesday and a zero-waste kimchi workshop on Thursday, both at Foostory on Thistle Street.
Arthur said: “These events provide everything needed to start making your own ferments at home, as well as in-depth troubleshooting tips, information on fermented foods in general and their links with health.
“Participants can try our krauts and kimchis during the workshops, too!”
Madi added: “Both of us enjoy the teaching aspect of our business so much that we’d like to focus more on that, while hopefully employing more people to help us run the production side.
“Arthur would love to travel around the UK teaching the skills of fermentation and meeting fellow ferment-enthusiasts.”
The audience in South Wales
Arthur and Madi now run Crafty Pickle Co in a premises they own on a farm in Crick, Monmouthshire, which is around a 10-minute drive from where they live in Chepstow.
It boasts a dedicated temperature-controlled space to ensure fermentation happens as they would ideally like it, as well as a large shipping container storage area where they can now hold more packaging and shipping materials.
“The main difference is that people down here seem to be crazy about kimchi,” says Madi.
“It was always our best-selling product but a lot more folk down here seem to know what it is and already love it, so it’s not a hard sell at all.
“Obviously, there are more people down here which means there’s more potential for sales, but that also means we have a lot more competition from fellow producers.
“This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just makes us work smarter!”
Crafty Pickle Co attends local markets in Monmouthshire and Cardiff and hosts regular kraut, kimchi and kombucha workshops.
‘Oh, how we miss Scotland’
A main goal for the business owners is to hold more workshops in the Granite City before venturing further afield.
Arthur said: “By the time we left, Aberdeen really felt like home so it was sad when we left and we reminisce about our time spent there all the time.
“We’ve still got some lovely customers in and around the city, so it’ll be great to pop in and catch up with them, as well as see some old friends and go to our favourite places to eat and drink.
Madi added: “Aberdeen is so well situated for nature lovers such as ourselves.
“With the sea and mountains so close it’s uniquely situated to explore Scotland. Oh, how we miss Scotland.
“There are also so many people in Aberdeen who really care deeply about the city and want it and its people to succeed and thrive, and we loved being a (small) part of that.”
To purchase tickets for Crafty Pickle Co’s upcoming talk or workshops, visit Crafty Pickle Co on Facebook or Eventbrite.
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