This is Matt. Thanks Jake for the reply.
The wholesale to retail and direct-to-consumer channels are difficult to navigate for producers, and we (SA) took the route almost 15 years ago of purchasing the Coral Reef, an independent brick-and-mortar retail store (CR also offers online sales), for some of the same reasons you cite above. It is certainly difficult to please everyone, but we do want everyone to have access and transparency.
Full disclosure: My wife Amy has managed the Coral Reef for more than 10 years, so it is very much independently operated
We're bowing-out of MACNA this year, too much happening at home, but perhaps next!
The wholesale to retail and direct-to-consumer channels are difficult to navigate for producers, and we (SA) took the route almost 15 years ago of purchasing the Coral Reef, an independent brick-and-mortar retail store (CR also offers online sales), for some of the same reasons you cite above. It is certainly difficult to please everyone, but we do want everyone to have access and transparency.
Full disclosure: My wife Amy has managed the Coral Reef for more than 10 years, so it is very much independently operated
We're bowing-out of MACNA this year, too much happening at home, but perhaps next!