Join the marketing cohort

Are you a New Hampshire cheesemaker, ice cream churner, yogurt fermenter, or other dairy processor? Are you interested in marketing but not sure where to focus? We would love to have you in our new cohort. Let us explain what that means:

The short story

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) funds cohorts to make technical assistance and community more widely available to dairy processors in our region. As a food and farm focused marketing business, Bittersharp is running a cohort to help New Hampshire dairy processors make savvy choices as they grow their brands. In short, the cohort brings together a small group of dairy processors for in-person workshops and 1:1 marketing sessions that have been funded by the NE-DBIC. We are currently working with Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy, Swallow Ridge Farm, Bending Branch Farm, Little Red Hen, and the New Hampshire Cheese Guild.

Want to learn more? See our FAQs below or reach out to christina@bittersharp.com

The Nitty Gritty

This cohort began in May of 2024 and will run until March 2026. We will have at least 6 in-person workshops and participants will get at least five 1:1 marketing sessions to work on pressing projects. Together we’ll cover:

  • Brand Building - Distilling your story, values, mission and how these manifest in public look and feel.

  • Audience Segmentation - Understanding current customers and prospective future audience bases using owned data and local demographics.

  • Marketing Funnels - Creating a marketing strategy that accounts for awareness, consideration, conversion, and retention initiatives.

  • Paid vs Unpaid Marketing - Leveraging existing platforms and content as opposed to paid media placements.

  • Social Media and Website Design - Selectively choosing storytelling platforms that are fun and fruitful to both you and your customers.

  • Packaging and Print Design - Balancing label requirements and marketing terms while standing out on a shelf.

  • Leveraging Markets and Events - Best practices for booth setup and customer engagement.

  • Employer Marketing - Positioning your brand to attract passionate employees and enable your community to share your story.

  • Referral Programs and Promotions - Creating rewards and promotions that encourage desired behaviors while staying true to your brand.

    …and more, depending on the interests of the group!

The long story

I’ve been fortunate to spend most of my career focusing on sustainable farms and storytelling - convincing people of the richness of Northeastern food culture and the importance of their daily choices. But farmers rarely get the luxury of focus. In addition to managing every aspect of coaxing food from nature you are expected to be clever business leaders, compliance experts, marketers, and spokespeople for your work.

It’s no secret that small dairy processors are integral to the food identity of the Northeast. Familiar roadside ice cream stands, creative cheesemakers, and local yogurt fermenters are part of what makes this area so special.

To non-farmers, these businesses are often considered “hidden gems'' given that they are frequently found by chance. When they are found, much of the thoughtful, herculean work being done by small teams is still left behind the scenes. This cohort will provide marketing support to New Hampshire processors that have the potential to establish a memorable brand, create valuable sales connections, and attract repeat customers yet lack the time and resources to do so. Success here will mean processors are able to learn from each other, pilot new ideas without wasting funds, and collaboratively grow a regional dairy identity that cultivates lasting customer relationships. At least in my experience, many food producers and processors go into this field because they prefer spending time outdoors, among animals, and elbow-deep in their craft. As a technical assistance provider I look forward to making this increasingly possible by providing a space to learn from shared challenges and successes.

FAQs

  • This cohort is open to dairy processors around New Hampshire. Cheesemakers, ice cream churners, yogurt fermenters, and more are welcome as well as people working with cow, goat, or sheep milk. Poducers in Southern Vermont and Northern Massachusetts may be added if space allows.

  • The spirit of the cohort is about growing a dairy identity across New Hampshire. That takes collaboration! Other cohorts across the Northeast focused on grazing practices, women in dairy, and more have been most effective when each member is open about their successes and failures. We believe that customers are not a limited resource and by sharing best practices we can be strategic in our marketing and show people, stores, and more that New Hampshire is a dairy destination of its own. There is room for every participant here to grow together.

  • I will try to keep this brief! My name is Christina Johantgen and I will be the point person for the cohort. For the last 10 years I’ve been fortunate to work in food and agriculture marketing as an early part of the farm share company Walden Local Meat, a founding team member of the food-focused Walden Mutual Bank, and currently doing sales and marketing for the distributor Myers Produce and local farms. I’ve designed brands from the ground up, sent more marketing mailers than can be counted, and convinced tens of thousands of Northeast eaters to try new, local products.

    I believe there isn’t one “right way” to do marketing, but collaboration is key to elevating industries as a whole. Outside of my farm-related work I was part of an innovation team called IDEO CoLab. Our goal was to bring competitors together to tackle shared challenges. In one example, we worked with Nespresso and Starbucks to put aside their coffee competition to focus on designing a reusable cup - an issue that was holding them both back.

    I have a degree in Environmental Science from Brown University and a masters in Visual and Digital Media from IE Business School which was funded by a federal Fulbright Grant. I have spent the last three years living on a pasture-raised egg farm and sheep diary, getting hands-on agriculture experience while working full time in marketing and branding.

  • See the “Nitty Gritty” section above for the preliminary list. The goal is to cover many of the biggest pillars of marketing so that you can make strategic choices for your own business. If there’s a topic that you would like to cover but don’t see listed we can certainly add it in.

  • Most tangibly, you will get approximately 6 workshops covering core marketing knowledge and looking at examples from other businesses in and out of food. You’ll also get about six 1:1 consulting sessions that focus on your business’ marketing goals. Ideally, you will also come away with a group of other New Hampshire dairy processors that you can bounce ideas off of or lean on even after our work is over.

    If you come away with project ideas that need funding, you will also have priority for future Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center grants as a cohort member.

  • To get the most out of the cohort we ask that you attend our in-person workshops through March of 2026 and host one visit at your business. As a small group we will be in regular contact through text, email (or another method the group prefers). The program is free, but we hope to enjoy your participation!