Keeping it Local: Ocean Ranch Organics and Cate Dining

February 17, 2022

From Lucky Llama açaí bowls to the aisles of Pacific Health Foods and now Booth Commons, if you have had breakfast in Carpinteria in recent years, chances are you’ve encountered Ocean Ranch Organics granola.

A local woman-owned and operated business founded by Kim Redman, Ocean Ranch Organics is dedicated to creating nutritious products with organic and sustainably grown ingredients. The handcrafted and hand-packaged granola is even hand-delivered, often by Redman herself, directly to Cate’s dining hall.

“It’s a nice personal touch and shows that they truly care,” said Amy De Witt, Cate’s Director of Dining Services. “They always check in personally with us during their deliveries and ask how the community is enjoying it and what flavors they like best. Of the many vendors that we use, they pay the most attention to our feedback.”

Featured as a daily offering for breakfast at Cate, the origins of the relationship with Ocean Ranch can be traced back to 2018, when the School’s Food Committee organized a granola tasting.

The relationship has been fruitful ever since.

“I thought it was so fun and interactive to be a part of,” recalled Jenn Smith, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Ocean Ranch. “Students voted on which flavors they liked the best, and the School was able to place an order based on that. We had never done something quite like it, and it was fun to see what all of the kids liked. I think that is one of the most rewarding things about our partnership. We are local, and in this small area, it is nice to be able to reach out to the kids in the community.”

Flavor favorites from the inaugural tasting included Dark Chocolate Coffee Bean, Wild Honey Sesame, and Lemon Blueberry. Honey Sesame is the current staple in Booth Commons, with a seasonal rotation of Lemon Blueberry and Cranberry Orange.

As the local business has grown over the years, Cate remains the only school that partners with Ocean Ranch.

“It’s something that you can’t really put a price on,” Smith said. “Being able to see it go into the hands of a school – all of these kids are getting to enjoy the nutritious organic food that we make by hand. So that is something that we really enjoy doing. It’s very rewarding.”

The relationship has been rewarding for both sides, with the Cate Dining staff seeing a sizable increase in its monthly orders.

“Once we switched from a generic granola to the Ocean Ranch brand, we have seen more of our community incorporate granola into their breakfast,” said Cate’s Executive Chef Stephen Mack. “We are moving through a lot more volume than before.”

That volume amounts to around 75 pounds of granola per month, and that figure expects to rise with new menu options on the horizon.

“We have plans to introduce our own açaí bowl with Ocean Ranch granola, similar to what Lucky Llama offers,” De Witt said. “That was one of the top requests from the Food Committee. We have a bowl program that we are now planning to incorporate into our breakfast offerings, and the açaí bowl with Ocean Ranch granola will be our newest addition.”

Stay tuned to the CommuniCATE newsletter and the Cate School Instagram for the latest updates at the dining hall!