Meet the Iowa (organic) pie lady!

April 16, 9:11 PMOrganic Food ExaminerNatalie Rotunda

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When Happel Gourmet Foods started baking pastries in 1992, it wasn’t as an organic purveyor of gourmet foods. That came later, in 2004, along with a slight change when Happel became Happle and the "a" was changed to the picture of an apple, distinctive artistic touches done by David Garman, one of the family ownres. David and Tamra Happle-Garman branched off to run the side of the business that produces fruit pies that deliver fruit flavor the way it was meant to taste.

I caught up with Tami today, just as she and David returned home, and asked her to talk about their pie business.

Tami, when did you go organic?
We were certified organic in 2004, and introduced our pies at All Things Organic in Chicago that year. Previously, we’d made pies without adding things to them, and then people asked if we could make them organic.

How hard was it to convert to organic ingredients?
When we started, we experimented with ingredients. Not everything was available in a usable quantity. Slowly, things came together and the shortening we use came out just shortly before, and it gives you a flaky crust. Previously, we’d tried non-hydrogenated oils which made an unsatisfactory cracker-like crust.

Initially, we couldn’t get the fruit, but, eventually, we found organic fruit growers we could buy from directly. So that’s nice that we’re working directly with them. The cherries, apples and blueberries come from Michigan, and we get the cranberries from Wisconsin. So everything is grown in the Midwest.

It’s a personal commitment we made. The more you learn about where your food comes from, and we’re continually learning about it, it’s what we want to feed our family and serve to other people. I’ve seen more growth because of it. Our organic [business] side has been growing every year. On the Coasts, people have been buying more organic products. Iowa people are starting to now. People are thinking more about it and making those choices.

Do you sell to wholesale distributors?
We sell our pies to the Wedge in the Twin Cities, for instance. From our wholesale side, we focus on the stores that are more co-op oriented. We can do a product under another company’s label.
 

I notice you make four fruit pies. Do you make any soft pies?
We make pumpkin pies during the holidays. I had to adapt the recipe a bit because not everything was available as organic. It’s the only pie we make that is not vegan because we use milk and eggs.

People looking for us on the website are looking for organic products. We’re trying to find ways to get the word out. Because it’s a family-run business, we’re all wearing so many hats. Last year, I’d just started putting together e-mail lists of people who had ordered from us in the past. We don’t badger people with spam, and so we just send out a reminder once a year that we have organic pumpkin pies. A lot of people responded to that.

Do you see the demand for organic foods, in general, increasing?
I do think that people I talked to a few years ago didn’t understand organic foods or didn’t think there was a difference but now they’re looking at many aspects of organic differently. When we first started looking at it, I didn’t know anything about it.

At the farmers market you get a wide cross-section. People walk by and say they wouldn’t eat that because it’s organic. They think organic foods don’t taste good. It’s surprising to people how much more intense the fruit flavors are. Sampling is our best sales tool.

We have three acres and honestly, our neighbors like what we’re doing, they’ve been very, very good about it. The local community, as a whole, is not organically inclined.

The Amana farmers market started last year and they try to have as much organic as possible. It’s growing here. When we started in 2004, our certifying agency had only been certifying since 2001. The numbers have been growing and growing, a lot of them in Iowa, though the certifying agency can go beyond Iowa borders. There’s been a lot of conversion of land to organic.

So the organic experience has been a good one for you so far?
When we started in organic, learning the ins and outs, every person I talked to in the organic industry---so many nice people--- were willing to share what they know.

Tami’s mother has the right idea about what organic foods can do for a person’s health. She told Tami she’d rather eat the right foods now than have to take a pill later to get better. She gets it!

For an unbelievably good pies, visit Happle's online.