Two Oneonta businesses have hit their sweet spot.
Toonie Moonie Organics, makers of Toonie Moonie Organic Marshmallow Creme, and Vesucre, makers of a non-dairy frozen treat, have advanced to the second round of New York Business Council’s “Coolest Thing Made in New York” competition.
According to madeinny.org, the competition “highlights the state’s vibrant manufacturing industry and its products, as well as the many career opportunities available in the manufacturing sector.”
Vesucre CEO and founder Sarah Hartmann and Toonie Moonie founder Kim Condon said they learned of the competition from Michele Catan, senior adviser with the New York State Small Business Development Center.
Hartmann, an Oneonta native, called it a “total honor” to be part of the competition.
“I’m blown away,” she said. “Stewart’s ice cream is in this competition, Cabot’s Creamery is in it, so there are some major brands. So, for our little disruptive startup to have this kind of recognition is truly an absolute honor and we’re very grateful. And, to be there with Kim — oh, my gosh, we’re so honored.”
Hartmann founded Vesucre in October 2022.
“I moved up here from New York City and … I was newly vegan and couldn’t find a frozen dessert I liked, so I got to work developing a formula which is rather unique in that category, because the main ingredients are oats, sesame and dates,” she said. “There’s a lot of oat milk in vegan ice cream, but not this combination. When I describe it to people, I say, ‘Think of it like a cross between ice cream and creme brulee,’ so it’s creamy and frozen on the bottom of the cup and crunchy on the top for texture.
“But it’s the pillars of the company and what we do that’s different,” Hartmann continued. “No. 1 is sustainability; beside being a 100% vegan product, it is also free from gluten, soy and refined sugar. But, in terms of sustainability, we’re a zero-waste operation and the primary piece of that is the oat milk we make. When you make oat milk, there’s a byproduct, and we take that and bake it into other things. So, sustainability is definitely a core value and the other is inclusion. Since Day 1, we have employed local individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities in our manufacturing facility (through) partnerships with the ARC of Otsego and Springbrook and, hopefully very soon, Pathfinder Village.”
Hartmann said Vesucre is also being recognized with an inclusivity award from the Department of Education in October, as part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
“These amazing people are not just doing custodial work; they make the oat milk, they bake the brownies, they develop their own flavors,” she said. “So, there’s a lot of joy that goes into the products we’re making.”
Hartmann said she counts fellow competitor Kim Condon as a “friend and mentor in food manufacturing.” Condon began Toonie Moonie as a healthier alternative to traditional marshmallow creme.
In a 2019 interview, Condon said, “Marshmallow creme has been around since the early 1900s and the conventional brand is ‘Fluff,’ but my children were young at the time that I started thinking about developing the company and I was really passionate and careful about what I fed them. We ate primarily organic, but we loved sweets and had a need for them in our lives. I would surf the internet and get a feel for what was available … and I discovered that there really was no organic version of marshmallow creme,” she continued. “I started experimenting in my kitchen with different recipes and came up with one I thought was really good.”
Condon, a Fly Creek resident, moved Toonie Moonie from her home setup to her 144 Roundhouse Road production site five years ago. Today, Toonie Moonie is available in about a dozen major grocery chains, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Mom’s Organic Market and the upscale, California-based chain, Erewhon Market.
Condon said, despite Toonie Moonie’s reach, it remains a small company with a dedicated team. Condon, too, prioritizes inclusivity in business.
“That’s really, really important to me,” she said. “I want to give opportunities to individuals who may not fit into the traditional job mold. We have a very inclusive team. And one of my greatest resources has been people who have retired but aren’t quite ready to retire and are really vibrant people.
“I’m very particular about who comes to Toonie Moonie, because it’s my workplace, too,” Condon continued. “But the team I have now is the best team I’ve ever had. I love them and I get very excited about each of them. I don’t only sell my consumer-sized container, but we’re also an ingredient for other companies, and we have some pretty major companies that are in the R&D stage. We have a lot of exciting things in the future and some really big projects on the horizon … but we’re kind of an anomaly, because we’re the only ones in the world doing what we’re doing and we’re playing with the largest players in the world, but we’re a team of 10 in Oneonta, New York.”
Condon said inclusion in the Coolest Thing contest came as a pleasant surprise.
“I think it’s really cool to learn about the other companies that are in New York state,” she said. “For me to be included among those companies — and there are so many cool and exciting and innovative companies — is a real honor. I love small business and I’m very inspired by people starting their own businesses. It is a very brave thing for people to take that creative process and make it into a business and an adventure.
“Going into this, I had no confidence or false hopes that I was going to be a finalist,” Condon continued. “We’re a small company and we’re kind of like the ‘Little Engine that Could.’”
The bracket-style competition winner will be announced mid-September.
For more information or to vote for Vesucre and Toonie Moonie, visit madeinny.org/coolest-thing-made-ny. Votes may be cast once in a 24-hour period and voting for this round closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11.