Lark Ellen Farming with Kelley D'Angelo

Kelley D'Angelo, founder of Lark Ellen Farms, has seen her business increase dramatically during the pandemic. Her line of sprouted, low-carb, high-protein granolas, trail mixes and vegan patés have found a growing list of devoted customers over the past few years and it all began, and remains, here in Ojai.  She got her start as "Granola Girl" at local farmers markets and, with encouragement from Ernest Niglio, manager of Rainbow Bridge  an enthusiastic proponent of local products, decided to go big into grocery chains. Then she took her show on the road, taking orders from other retail grocers, starting with Lazy Acres, then adding Whole Foods and branching out regionally then nationally. It's a family affair for Kelley, working with sister, mother and father, selling products at the Ojai Farmers Market, manufacturing at their facility on Bryant Street and ramping up online sales. It was a steep learning process, figuring out the stores' internal "category review," getting meetings with buyers, giving out big amounts of free product to jump start the process. We also talk about the "shelf wars" that go on at grocery stores, "it's a product of who has the most money to get their product on the shelf." That Lark Ellen Farms has succeeded in this ruthless space says a lot about Ojai as a laboratory for product launches, its openness to new flavors and food experiences, and the inspiration a supportive community can provide a young entrepreneur. We did not talk about Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, the hardiness of Mongolian ponies or the coming new season of "The Things We Do in the Shadows."