Mask maker

Love of food

BY STACIE GAETZ | PHOTOS BY KRISTY REIMER

Alove of good food brought Eric Krautheim and Naomi Kerr together years ago and now they are sharing that passion with the community through their hand-blended spices, rubs and condiments.

“At Township 27 we are passionate about nutritious, flavourful, local, sustainable food,” says Krautheim.

“We prepare spices, blend spice rubs, sauces, dressings and condiments for people who care about and love food.”

The company got its start during one of the couple’s “To Hell with Winter” parties that they are famous for in their circle of friends.

“We love to entertain and for many years, our guests have encouraged us to either start a barbecue restaurant (too much work!) or produce and sell the spice blends we had created,” says Krautheim.

“Our good friends Wayne and Rhonda Hanson of Your Local Ranch were at one of our mid-winter parties in early 2019 and were the final motivators in getting us started in the spice company.”

The two started their product trials in a test kitchen in March 2019, obtained their Alberta Health Services certifications in November 2019, and incorporated and began production in January 2020.

When it came time to name the company, there were a number of options on the table, but they decided to keep it simple.

“We wanted a name that provides a sense of place, country and good things,” says Krautheim.

Township 27 represents the location where they make their products – a commercial kitchen at Golden Rod Community Hall.

They are currently working on creating a commercial kitchen on their property, which is located three kilometres from Golden Rod.

PRODUCTS

Township 27 currently produces an impressive 56 products in their lineup, including: • seven spice blends; • five salad dressings; • catsup sauce; • Maple Spice Barbeque Sauce; • 25 herbs and spices; • four different styles of hats with the Township 27 logo; • branded charcuterie boards.

Krautheim and Kerr produce products by hand in small batches to maximize flavour and freshness. They even grind their own chilis, pepper, coriander and cumin seeds.

Their products are sold in glass jars that can be re-used, refilled and recycled responsibly.

The spices, rubs and sauces are also gluten free with no MSG, cornstarch, fillers or preservatives.

“First-time customers become regular customers! With the level of freshness and availability of spices that are very difficult to obtain we’re finding our customers very quickly become friends and supporters,” says Krautheim.

He adds that their sales have quadrupled since the COVID-19 pandemic as people are gaining a new appreciation for food cooked at home, how it’s prepared and what ingredients are used.

“We are passionate about preparing and selling our products in their purest form without MSG, additives or fillers of any sort,” says Krautheim.

“Our product ingredients are PH balanced to be shelf stable. We develop our recipes, source the best quality ingredients and grind, batch, bottle and label our products ourselves to maintain control of the process from beginning to end. It’s all about nutritious and delicious food.”

PARTNERSHIPS

Krautheim says a number of partnerships with other local businesses have come up organically.

“We were approached by Micro Acres to begin producing salad dressings for their salad share program,” he says.

“And through that, we built a connection with Dan Berezan at CultivatR and began preparing our pantry staples line of herbs and spices.”

When asked what the most popular products are, Krautheim says each category of products has its top sellers.

However, he adds the spice blend line, which was made in collaboration with the Viking Chef Marc Swiednicki, called “Death by Pork,” is consistently a top choice.

The couple also prides themselves on the fact that they are putting their money where their heart is. They give back to the community with two per cent of their gross sales revenue going to supporting local food banks and other food initiatives.

“We exist for more than the financial bottom line profit of the company,” says Krautheim.

“We also exist to benefit society by giving back to the communities we serve. As our business is food based, our purpose in this regard is to support local food banks, brown bag initiatives, and any other food initiative that provides food directly or indirectly (through community gardening for example) to those that could not otherwise afford good, whole, nutritious food.”

He adds that they are always looking for new food-based initiatives to support.

Township 27 products are available on the company’s online store as well as a number of Airdrie stores including Your Local Ranch, Homegrown House & Pantry and The Meatery.

The Township 27 website also includes a newsletter and blog, where the couple shares recipes from their cookbook and discusses food topics. life

“I find the learning process of starting and running a business rewarding”

YOUNG BY STACIE GAETZ | PHOTOS BY ? ENTREPRENUER IN STITCHES