Today we’d like to introduce you to Penny Krieg & Jennifer Buffalo.
Hi Penny Krieg & Jennifer Buffalo; please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We are Penny and Jennifer, sisters and co-owners of Charcuterthree! Our dream was always to start a business amongst us sisters, with Jennifer and Penny living here in Greenville and Shelley living in Maryland. We all had completely different work experiences; a VP of Sales/ Marketing, a small business owner and a CEO of her family, we always knew collectively we had the skill, drive and passion to create something pretty special! Our family get togethers eventually turned into business brainstorming sessions, and honestly, we had a few other ideas that didn’t involve meat and cheese!
Fast forward to the start of Covid, the whole world shuts down and Jennifer loses her corporate job. We found ourselves more than ever longing for a fresh start and new passion. In October, we took a drive to the mountains and stopped at a winery to enjoy a break from the stresses of our world. We ordered charcuterie, which was presented on a board, sealed in a clear plastic envelope…very subpar for this winery and lacked any kind of flair. There and then we had our “ah hah moment,” and a little help from a bottle of wine! We spoke with the manager basically telling him we could do better (no beating around the bush here, thank you again, you lovely bottle of wine!), he promised to speak with the owners and would be back in touch. In November we pitched our concept, a disposable Kray box filled with charcuterie to be enjoyed at the winery or to take home and enjoy later. No more sanitizing boards for the winery!! Well, it stuck, and we went straight to work creating our company name, acquiring all of our licensing, DHEC and ServSafe certifications, sourcing our packaging and product and finding a commercial kitchen to call home…all in a matter of 4 months! It’s been over 2 years since our first delivery to that same winery, and 25,000+ charcuterie boxes later we still love smelling like meat and cheese!
We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ha! Now that’s funny! No, there have been many bumps in the road, some we expected and some we didn’t. Our middle sister and co-founder made the hard decision to leave the business, logistically it was more of a challenge than we all had anticipated. Supply chain issues, fluctuating pricing on goods/packaging, and learning to push ourselves out of our comfort zone have all posed an obstacle. We’ve persevered with support from each other, our families, our friends and our community!
We’ve been impressed with Charcuterthree, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share about what you do and what sets you apart?
We truly are a family run business, thrive on connecting with our customers and building lasting relationships within our community. Our parents work in the kitchen most days with us, our dad Jim being the master meat slicer and our mom Betty washing and cutting the grapes for each box, tray or grazing table! We use only the freshest ingredients, hand cut all of our artisan meats and cheeses, and love to locally source products whenever we can. We love working together as sisters, there is no tiptoeing around each other and when we don’t agree with something, we just say it! Because we are sisters and know each other so well, we use our strengths to our advantage, and we are constantly developing new ideas together!
Are any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Nothing motivates us more than getting great feedback and support from our loyal customers and social media followers!
Contact Info:
- Website: charcuterthree.com
- Instagram: Charcuterthree
- Facebook: Charcuterthree
