Can sesame seeds help save the world? A business case.
Sesame seed hamburger buns and bagels are everywhere. Many of us know that sesame seeds are elemental to delicious tahini and halva.
A few of us know the health benefits of sesame seeds. Fewer still know how the leading artisan maker of tahini and halva - SEED + MILL - is taking the magic of these products to a whole new level through social impact. This is their story!
SEED + MILL sources, roasts and prepares its halva and tahini by hand in the Middle East where the delicacies were born.
The craftsmen include Jews, Iraqi refugees, Muslims, Druze and Christians working together in Israel. One plant is owned by an Israeli Muslim citizen.
A second facility where Seed + Mill's halva is produced is owned by Iraqi refugees who have been making halva for generations. In a region that is known for conflict, the economic and cultural cooperation within these food production facilities represents a small beacon of hope.
SEED + MILL was founded by an Australian attorney turned New York food entrepreneur - Rachel Simons - in 2016 with two partners. Her passion is to help people explore the world through food.
Rachel concentrates on what goes into the products, only using ingredients she is proud of. For example, SEED + MILL uses Ethiopian sourced sesame seeds. There is NO palm oil in products. The tahini and halva - as well as its packaging - celebrate thousands of years of history being enjoyed in the Middle East, But the timing could never be better than now, as the public seeks out plant based and vegan healthy foods and snacks that are scrumptious. The bonus is cultural and religious roots. It's a perfect trifecta!
The tahini and halva are sold through 4 channels - a NYC brick and mortar shop, direct to consumer, through retail stores and delivery services, and in bulk to restaurants and caterers. The NYC shop even makes a tasty sesame seed based ice cream that was recently profiled in the New York Times.
Customers are responding to this privately owned company. Sales are growing about 20% annually. With no outside capital, expenditures are carefully considered, funded only with money in the bank and each spend must help the company advance. Rachel has worked tirelessly nearly every day for 8 years to succeed, whether it means being available on a weekend for a technician to fix the ice cream machine, or to take a late night call with a Whole Foods executive about carriage in their stores. She credits her "mum" Jane and late dad Philip for setting examples that combine work ethic, entrepreneurship and passion to "look after people through food and help them maintain their health."
Enter GIVZ as a vehicle to take Rachel's company to the next level by making social impact, increasing brand awareness, spur sales and loyalty, and finally to increase employee satisfaction. Rachel says GIVZ offered SEED + MILL an easy, compelling, persuasive story. "Work together to be successful entrepreneurs with social hearts." GIVZ makes it simple for brands to discard discounts and instead offer customers money back off the purchase price to donate to the charity of their choice - with just a few clicks. SEED + MILL has donated thousands of dollars to causes chosen by customers, dollars that would never have otherwise reached the people who need it most.
It turns out shoppers love this opportunity to direct money to help others, to organizations they believe in, and they appreciate the brands which make this possible - presenting a chance to engage these shoppers into long term relationships. Customers choose from 172,000 registered charities in the U.S. And if they prefer assistance in choosing a cause to support, GIVZ makes it easy for the brand to offer a few suggestions. Rachel says an additional benefit which emerged is the satisfaction SEED + MiILL employees get from being part of an ongoing charitable effort; her colleagues enjoy suggesting promotable charities. They look forward to getting updates on which charities have received SEED + MILL's support, and feel connected and valued.
And Rachel says the best part is that the pairing is so easy to implement. She believes SEED + MILL working together with GIVZ proves commercial businesses have a place in the charitable world. Her main takeaways:
- The partnership is a win-win-win-win. The customer gets tasty delicious food for good value, charities get money, the company's sales increase, and morale there rises.
- The customer is king. Rachel loves that the purchasers decide what causes to support. And they are not pestered to "round up" like they are at the supermarket, being asked on the spot to take extra money out of their pocket.
- GIVZ lets philanthropy and business intersect in a personalized, seamless, positive experience to help the world and build sales. What could be better?
If you want to order delicious tahini or halva, go to seedandmill.com.
If you want to try something new to help your business grow, go to GIVZ.com.
