We had flights booked. I still said no.
Here's why we walked away from a deal the day before our pitch.
This week, we were in talks with a leading national natural grocery chain. I was genuinely excited. I shop there myself. It’s one of my favorite stores because of how seriously they take their vegan selection. Not just a hidden dusty corner. A real, evolving, thoughtful commitment to plant-based options. And you had been asking us to be there. It was the second most-requested retailer in your messages to us. The fit seemed obvious. Flights booked. Pitch prepared. We were ready. Then, the day before we were supposed to go, something shifted. There was a misunderstanding about our pricing and they wanted us to come down. I passed. Not because I was being stubborn. (I’m half Scottish, so I do have a reputation for that.) Because our price reflects exactly what goes into the product. Clean ingredients. The cultures. The aging time. The hands that tend every wheel. Every one of those things costs something and none of it is negotiable.
The moment we start cutting corners to fit someone else’s margin, we stop being Rebel Cheese. So we didn’t get on the plane. To be honest, that wasn’t easy. We wanted to be in those stores. That’s what made it hard. But I’ve learned that the deals that ask you to compromise yourself are almost never worth it. The right partners don’t ask you to be smaller to fit their shelf. We built this company on one belief: real food, made with real craft and clean ingredients, is worth paying for. That’s true whether you’re browsing our deli in New York or opening a package shipped right to your door. Our standards don’t go on sale. The cheese that would have been on those shelves is the same cheese available in our shop right now. Made the same way. Tended by the same hands. No shortcuts. Try the cheese we wouldn’t compromise on →
P.S. We were just named to Inc. Magazine’s Female Founders 500, one of 500 women-led businesses recognized this year. We’re proud of it, and honestly, a little surprised. Thank you for being part of what made that list possible. If you’ve been meaning to try our cheese, now feels like a good time.