GRAND FORKS — Three types of pasta produced by the locally owned Three Farm Daughters company have just been introduced for sale in Target stores in California, according to a recent announcement.
Their pasta products — cavatappi, rotini and penne pasta — are being test-marketed in about 116 Target stores throughout the Golden State, said Mollie Ficocello, who founded the family-owned company with her sisters Annie Gorder and Grace Lunski in 2019.
The products will also be available through the Target.com website nationwide, Ficocello said.
“Launching in Target is a huge milestone for us,” Ficocello said. “It’s not just about expanding distribution, it’s about reaching an entire new audience that values quality, convenience and wholesome ingredients.”
Three Farm Daughters is a “true farm-to-table company,” according to the announcement released Tuesday, Oct. 14. Their noodles are made with only two ingredients — wheat flour and durum wheat semolina, sourced from high-fiber grain on their family farm.
Target has selected their “gut-friendly” products to receive guaranteed shelf space in its stores.
The sisters, whose parents are Paul and Susie Sproule of Grand Forks, worked with a Target buyer — a manager who makes decisions about the pasta category — to pitch their pasta products to Target, Ficocello said.
After their products were accepted to launch in their stores, “the buyer submitted us for the Takeoff program,” she said.
Last summer, the founding sisters participated in and completed the program, which gave them the opportunity to learn more about “the ins and outs” of the mega-retailer’s business strategies and provided a behind-the-scenes look “at how Target works,” Ficocello said.
The program is aimed at investing in a more inclusive retail industry by creating access to education, resources and support for emerging entrepreneurs, the announcement said.
The Takeoff program was an “added value” experience that Target “provided to us as a company to help educate us (on) just how Target works — the ins and out, how to work the back end on it,” Fiocello said, “but then also give us access to things like having a special meeting with the buyer to be able to kind of pick their brain and just learn the inner workings of Target.”
Mollie Ficocello (from left), Annie Gorder and Grace Lunski, the daughters of Paul and Susie Sproule, developed and operate the Three Farm Daughters pasta business in Grand Forks.
Photo by Shawna Noel Schill
Decisions about whether the Three Farm Daughters products will appear in Target stores in this area will depend on the results of the test-marketing process, Ficocello said. The retailer analyzes its product categories and makes changes once a year.
“When they bring on new brands, like us, (Target) will start it in an area, test it out for about a year, see how it goes,” she said, “and then, from there your (brand) kind of grows or it transitions from there.”
Three Farm Daughters products are sold in all 50 states and Canada. The business has a 10-member staff, including employees who focus on marketing, finance and analytics. The brand has a presence in more than 1,300 grocery stores throughout the country.
Pamela Knudson is a features and arts/entertainment writer for the Grand Forks Herald.
She has worked for the Herald since 2011 and has covered a wide variety of topics, including the latest performances in the region and health topics.
Pamela can be reached at pknudson@gfherald.com or (701) 780-1107.