Meet Pelle Jorgensen | CEO and Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pelle Jorgensen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pelle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Global supply chains have historically been built on a fundamentally exploitative mindset, where the small get pushed, and pushed by the big, until all the profits and margins flow to the very end of the supply chain. And nowhere exemplifies this more than the food and beverage industry, where farmers and small producers struggle to make ends meet, while large multi-nationals sell their crops, whether it is cacao, coffee, corn, or any other ingredient sourced from developing nations.

I started my own business in the food and beverage space, in order to be a small part of the change that I want to see in the world. To bring good quality food to Europe and the US with a socially sustainable supply chain that shares the wealth.

At Get Good Taste, we primarily source from small farmers and producers for our primary Mexican brand, Vera Mexicana. I have personally met with almost everyone we work with, and our business relationship with them is based on a few core values: trust, transparency, and fairness.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I believe wholeheartedly in creating a business that values all its stakeholders evenly. This means we want to pay people fairly – wherever they live and work – and that we want to treat every part of the supply chain equitably, whether they are a shipping agent, supplier, farmer, or just a guy in the post office down the street receiving our boxes.

We do this so that we can feel good about our business, but we also believe there is a competitive edge to building a company that values its community so highly. Our suppliers feel more attuned to our business and our final goals in markets that may be foreign to them, while employees know that they will reap the benefits together with management.

A challenging time to start a business:
We started our business in 2018, but in reality our first products didn’t hit shelves until mid-late 2019, and just as we were ramping up, and got our first large shipments, COVID hit the world and shut everything down. If we had already been established in supermarkets that would not have been a catastrophe – sales went up pretty dramatically in grocery stores – but for a company like ours, where we were just entering the market, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
Building a business in food and beverage necessitates a lot of inventory, and on top of that our supply chain starts on the farms of Mexico and ends in Denmark – which means that it takes 3 – 6 months for us to derive income from products.

In the beginning of 2020, we had put the majority of our cash into inventory, with the expectation that we could start running. What really happened was that all stores, restaurants, and potential clients shut down access to new brands and providers. This left our company with lots of products, but few channels to sell them in.
Fortunately, we were able to work with the Danish fund, Vækstfonden, to secure a financing round that saw us through the most challenging times, to a point where we are now in stores in the US, Sweden, and Denmark.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have just recently moved to San Diego, and have already had the good fortune of showing friends the beauty of this idyllic little slice of Southern California.

My first go-to, as a European transplant in the US, is of course the best local bakery: Bread and Cie on University ave in Hillcrest. Once we’ve devoured some “Seedy Multigrain” bread and a delicious croissant reminiscent of France, we’ll take them to the Japanese Friendship Gardens in Balboa Park to enjoy a little zen moment of our own.

Of course, I would be neglectful in my duties as a tourguide if I didn’t take my guests to La Jolla Cove to look at the beautiful seals, and of course a little trip to Coronado beach to enjoy that true Pacific beach vibe.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to highlight some of my closest partners and colleagues, who when times have been tough, have stepped up to the plate to support me. Søren, without whom Get Good Taste would not exist, Ask, our foundational rock, and Kirstine – the creative genius behind it all.

Website: veramexicana.com

Instagram: vera.mexicana

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-taste/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vera.mexicana

Image Credits
Anders Rye Skjoldjensen Pelle Jørgensen