Food marketing agency expands into market

Food marketing agency expands into market

Courtesy Taste the Local Difference

A statewide marketing agency that educates consumers on the benefits of buying locally produced food has expanded its presence to West Michigan.

Traverse City-based Taste the Local Difference — a portfolio company of Traverse City-based venture capital firm Boomerang Catapult — said last month it added two local-food coordinators who will be based in West Michigan: Annaliese Brown in Grand Rapids and Devon Wilson in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area.

The coordinators will offer TLD’s “affordable marketing services” for farms, farmers markets, specialty producers, restaurants and other local-food businesses based in West Michigan.

“We are excited to connect with new businesses throughout West Michigan,” said Emma Beauchamp, communications manager for TLD.

TLD also said it is combining its two regional publications covering northern and southeast/mid-Michigan into one statewide Local Food Guide, a magazine-style directory of local-food businesses that also contains recipes and stories on “local-food champions.”

“After producing two annual guides to local food for four years, we are excited to finally expand into West Michigan,” Beauchamp said.

“Rather than publish three separate Local Food Guides, we decided that one free, statewide guide would create the biggest impact. This way, consumers and business owners will have an increased understanding of the local-food systems throughout Michigan.”

Local-food businesses in West Michigan can partner with TLD to be listed in the food guide and/or online directory and receive various other marketing services by emailing info@localdifference.org.

Taste the Local Difference

Founded in 2004, Taste the Local Difference aims to educate consumers about “the value of local food” and “support food and farming entrepreneurs in building successful, well-connected and thoughtful businesses.”

Its nine employees and two interns serve the northwest and northeast Lower Peninsula, Upper Peninsula, southeast, mid- and West Michigan.

Its representatives are based in Marquette, Posen, Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Ypsilanti and Saline.