When Ariadne Pure moved to Woodinville from Greece two years ago, he found himself with some time on his hands. His wife worked for Microsoft Greece but was relocated to the Redmond office. Pure takes care of their two children (a four-month-old and a four-year-old) during the day and is family cook. Because of that role, he’s always looking for healthy things to feed them. That’s how he got the idea to create his raw honey and hazelnut spread – what he calls “Nutella, only healthier.” It doesn’t, however, have the chocolate component but sometimes Pure adds a little cocoa powder to it at home for his four-year-old. The product is delicious—the nuts giving the honey more depth. Sometimes I lick it from the jar, other times I spread it on bread with some soft cheese.
“First of all we started with the raw honey (which my son eats by the tablespoon). I didn’t want to add anything unhealthy. I eat a lot of unsalted raw nuts on a daily basis, so I thought let’s try that and see what happens.” What happened was that local restaurants and food retailers fell in love with it, including Tom Douglas, DiLaurentis, Cone & Steiner and Elysian Bar. Uwajiamya has just started buying from him as well. Part of the product’s appeal is that all of his honeys have 20 percent of the flavor its blended with—like the hazelnuts.
His growing list of clients also clamors for his grape syrup (similar to an Italian Saba). “I have the best one in the states by far,” Pure says. “It’s concentrated grape, with no additives or preservatives. The main differentiator is the type of grape – the Nemea grape, a Greek variety that he gets from Greece. At Lola, he says the syrup is used on a dish with halloumi cheese. Westward uses it in their Mediterranean fare as well. Traditionally the grape syrup is eaten with Greek yogurt or in Greek pancakes, but Pure also suggests mixing it with peanut butter for a twist on a PB&J, in a Kir Royale or drizzled over grilled peaches with ricotta cheese – a summery dish that I’m planning to try ASAP.
Pure is modest about his success though. His family, he says, has been in the olive oil business for several generations back in Greece – so the manufacturing part of the process was simple. The challenge lay in bringing it to a new market – not just winning over customers but dealing with all the FDA labeling regulations, particularly for his organic products, like the organic oak tree honey. “Sometimes a shipment comes in and the FDA might decide they want to hold it.” He’s currently working to get certification to make his grape syrup organic as well.
Once the products make it here, he stores them in a warehouse in Issaquah and then hand delivers them to his clients. “I’m not working with any distribution company so anyone who works with me knows it’s from me. When I go to a buyer or chef, I just say [about the product] ‘what you see is what you get.’ When they taste it, they place an order.”
Next up for Pure is a carob syrup and sea salt flakes, the latter for which he’s been told there’s a big market. Given his current success, it’s safe to assume these products will be hits as well. But will he be able to keep up with the expansion? “My mother-in-law came to help out in the beginning. Now I think I’m going to need a babysitter.”
