On April 24, 2024, the Michigan State University Product Center recognized several food and beverage businesses for their achievements over the past year. M&R Pickling, a company founded in 2013 by Ruth Yoder, was recognized with the Value-Added Agriculture Award. From first dreaming of her business to now owning a 1224 sq. ft. facility, Ruth has shown where persistence can lead to her two full-time and one part-time employees.
M&R Pickling’s value-added vegetable business grows, processes, and sells pickled red beets, relish, pickled beans, eight kinds of pickles, salsa, and canned tomatoes. The company also processes pickled eggs, pickled asparagus, pickled leeks, seven pie fillings, three canned fruits, three fruit-based spreads, and twenty jams and jellies from purchased produce.
Diane Longanbach, Innovation Counselor of the MSU Product Center who started working with the owner of M&R Pickling in 2013, said, “Ruth has been a joy to work with. She has always been diligent in making sure her business follows the protocols for food safety with every product and process. Since her first products were launched in 2013, the MSU Product Center has worked with her to conduct a Process Authority Review, create Nutrition Fact labels and complete FDA filing. I am so happy we can recognize her amazing accomplishments as an Amish woman entrepreneur with the Value-Added Agriculture Award this year.”
When asked about receiving the Value-Added Agriculture Award, Yoder commented, “I feel honored to get this award. It shows me that all the hours of labor that I have put into this business are worth something…that it has come this far.”
You can find M&R Prickling products for purchase at a variety of locations in central and northern Michigan, such as:
- Pine View Discount, McBain
- Allen W Discount, Clare
- Sunset Acres, Charlotte
- West Shore, Scottville
- Yoder’s of Tustin, Tustin
- Millers Country Market, East Jordan
- Wayside Gardens, Greenville
- LeRoy Hardware, LeRoy
- Cheese Lady, Traverse City
To learn more about M&R Pickling, be sure to watch this video produce by Michigan State University.
MSU Extension and the MSU Product Center assist entrepreneurs and businesses in developing products and services in the food and agriculture markets. Its team of experts consults with clients on a one-on-one basis, helping new entrepreneurs navigate from concept development to launch and beyond. The MSU Product Center also offers specialized services such as labeling, packaging, and nutritional analysis. If you are interested in business counseling from the MSU Product Center, please visit our website.
This story was originally published by MSU Extension
About the MSU Innovation Center:
The MSU Innovation Center is dedicated to fostering innovation, research commercialization, and entrepreneurial activities from the research and discovery happening across our campus every day. We act as the primary interface for researchers aiming to see their research applied to solving real-world problems and making the world a better place to live. We aim to empower faculty, researchers, and students within our community of scholars by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to bring their discoveries to the forefront. Through strategic collaborations with the private sector, we aim to amplify the impact of faculty research and drive economic growth while positively impacting society. We foster mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with the private sector through corporate-sponsored research collaborations, technology licensing discussions, and support for faculty entrepreneurs to support the establishment of startup companies.
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