Launched in September 2010 by Bonnie Kelsey Quinn, Best of Vermont is an e-commerce web site dedicated to offering the best specialty foods from the Green Mountain State. Best of Vermont
Rutland — Launched in September 2010 by Bonnie Kelsey Quinn, Best of Vermont is an e-commerce web site dedicated to offering the best specialty foods from the Green Mountain State. A carefully selected collection of the highest quality, handcrafted Vermont-made products that the state has to offer.
In a recent interview, Kelsey Quinn explained how the Best of Vermont concept came about. "After completing a fundraising campaign with Rutland Regional Fieldhouse in 2006, I felt the need to do something else as important for the community and the state. I wanted to support local business, as well as utilizing my passion for food and cooking."
She researched all the best Vermont-made products she could find, bundled them into different categories such as breakfast, grilling, sauces and cheeses, and offer the pruducts in custom gift cubes. "I started Best of Vermont as an online retail store, and used a distributor for most of the products, while going direct with others. But found it difficult to get everything I needed in a timely manner, and service was terrible."
Customers were paying Best of Vermont in advance for their products, but Bonnie needed to have the products in-house as to provide better service for her customers. "I knew I could do a better job as a distributor," Bonnie added. "We support Vermont producers, service retailers and offer an on-line ordering site. I began my distribution. When I started, the economy was pretty bad, but I knew locally made products were the fastest growing retail segment at the time."
Best of Vermont offers some 325 different Vermont-made products, some exclusively, produced by some 55 companies. Just a few product categories include cheese and cured meats, dry mixes, seasonings and spices, granola, oat and nut products, health and beauty aids, honey and maple products, mustards and hot sauces, snacks, candy and dessert products and organic and gluten-free products.
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