Cara Nicoletti, 35, has built a company providing sausages for people who like meat but want less of it in their diets.
Seemore Meats & Veggies, named after her grandfather, Seymour Salett, makes a line of blended, precooked sausages that contain up to about 35 percent fresh vegetable ingredients combined with responsibly raised pork and chicken, along with seasonings and cheese.
“People are experimenting with lessening their meat consumption, but they are not willing to give it up entirely,” says Nicoletti, co-founder and CEO.
The colorfully packaged products, with fun names such as Bubba’s Chicken Soup Sausage and La Dolce Beet-A Sausage, are sold in Whole Foods, specialty grocers, and other outlets across the country as well as directly to consumers through the company’s website.
Nicoletti co-founded the company with Ariel Hauptman, who remains chief operating officer. The two lead an all-female staff of eight, in an industry that has long been dominated by men. The target customers, says Nicoletti, are consumers seeking fast, convenient meal solutions for their families.
The company launched just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but Nicoletti credits strong relationships with her suppliers for helping her navigate the pandemic, despite the turmoil that has roiled the meat supply chain for more than a year now.
“We were lucky that we chose our suppliers carefully, and we really didn’t see that much supply disruption during COVID,” says Nicoletti. Going forward, she says she wants to grow the company by expanding beyond sausages into other formats, such as nuggets and patties, using blended meats. “Really, anywhere you can find meat, we would like to present with a blended version of that product,” Nicoletti says.
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