JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At The Pickle Factory, the pickle can be a snack, a gift — even a toy. But behind the bright barrels and novelty goods is a family story that began with a garden in Israel, and a manufacturing process that relies on careful measuring, testing and time.
Pickles are having a moment beyond the jar. The Wall Street Journal reports sales of pickle-flavored snacks surged 30% over the past year, with the flavor popping up in everything from ramen and ice cream to toothpaste.
In Jacksonville, that growing appetite has helped fuel a business built around all things pickle.
Charlotte Tzabari and her husband, Shai, started selling pickles at Northeast Florida farmers’ markets after Shai began making them to reconnect with the food he grew up eating at his grandmother’s home.
As a boy, he picked vegetables from her garden; the family turned them into pickles on the kitchen counter.
That kosher dill recipe, Tzabari said, has been passed down through six generations. It remains Olive My Pickle’s top seller.
From under the bridge to a pickle superstore
Before there was a factory or a retail shop, the family spent years selling pickles and olives at the Riverside Arts Market and other farmers’ markets around Northeast Florida.
“We were farmers’ markets only” for the first eight years, Tzabari said.
The family initially tried growing vegetables, too, but customers kept gravitating toward the pickles.
They began with a few products, then added sauerkraut, kimchi and other items in response to shoppers’ requests.
Today, the family operates two brands. Olive My Pickle makes fermented products, including pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi and olives.
The Pickle Factory sells its own vinegar-based pickles alongside the fermented products and a wide range of pickle-themed merchandise.
The first Pickle Factory store opened in Jacksonville in October 2024, Tzabari said. A larger St. Augustine store followed. Inside, shoppers can find pickled vegetables, pickle juice, snacks, gifts and novelty items — including pickle cotton candy, pickle candles and a yodeling pickle.
The Pickle Factory has a tasting bar, where customers can sample products before buying. (WJXT)
The store also has a tasting bar, where customers can sample products before buying.
Fermented pickles use a saltwater brine, while the company’s vinegar pickles get their acidity from vinegar. Tzabari described the difference as a milder, more complex flavor in the fermented products and a sharper bite in the vinegar pickles.
Why fermented foods are drawing interest
Tzabari said interest in fermented foods and gut health grew during the years the family was selling at markets.
She said customers increasingly came in with questions about probiotics and microbiomes.
Fermented foods contain live cultures, but specific health effects can vary. Tzabari said she sees the products as part of a broader consumer interest in gut health, not just a reason to eat pickles.
For people unsure how to try fermented foods, she pointed to the company’s pickle juice, which customers often drink by the shot. Its flavors include dragon fruit and strawberry.
The science — and patience — behind each batch
At Olive My Pickle’s manufacturing facility, production has grown far beyond the five-gallon batches the company once made for roadside and farmers market sales.
Operations Director Bryan French said the facility now produces about 40,000 to 43,000 finished units a week. It processes about 15 tons of cucumbers weekly — roughly 30,000 pounds — and sends between 5,000 and 6,000 orders to customers each week.
Operations Director Bryan French shows News4JAX anchor Joy Purdy behind the scenes of The Pickle Factory. (WJXT)
The company ships nationwide, except to Alaska and Hawaii; French said about 98% of its business is direct to consumers.
Cucumbers go through a washing machine that uses a vegetable-wash solution, then move along a conveyor into tubs. The washer helped cut cucumber processing from a two-day job to about five hours, French said.
Other steps remain hands-on. Cabbage is cored and sliced for sauerkraut, and ingredients are weighed batch by batch.
Salt must be measured carefully: French said too little can prevent proper fermentation, while too much can stop it.
The products ferment at controlled room temperature for three to 28 days, depending on the item. During that process, naturally occurring bacteria produce lactic acid. The facility checks and records each batch’s pH and quality, and tracks products by lot code.
French said the company aims to keep its products below a pH of 4.1, with 4.6 as the upper threshold it monitors. The long fermentation time also means the company keeps a reserve of product: if a batch fails its quality check, a replacement cannot be ready overnight.
After fermentation, products are moved into cold storage. They are then packaged, checked and packed with insulated liners and gel packs for shipping.
Most packaging had been done by hand; during our tour, the company was preparing to bring an automated packaging machine online for sauerkraut and olives.
The first Pickle Factory store opened in Jacksonville in October 2024. (WJXT)A family business that keeps expanding
Tzabari said the company’s product line has grown in part because customers ask for new flavors and ideas. One seasonal favorite is a Thanksgiving sauerkraut inspired by stuffing, French said.
The family’s story is very visible in the store: Colorful barrels from the farmers market days and photographs tracing Shai’s family and the pickle-making tradition.
The business has grown from those early market mornings, but its signature pickle still comes from the recipe that started at a grandmother’s kitchen counter.
You can watch my full conversation with Charlotte Tzabari and Bryan French on my new streaming show. You’ll find it and conversations about other topics making headlines at 3 p.m. Thursdays on News4JAX+.
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