NYC's Mercantile Mayhem: Peter Som's Fashion to Food Vibe Shift, Labnehs Go Mainstream, CoffeeFest, Pomexpo Norooz Bazaar and Canadian Boycotts
A newsletter about the survival of independent businesses in New York City with a focus on immigrant-owned, storefront retail and CPG enterprises.
As the world spins off its axis, I had the opportunity to report on a variety of independent businesses in New York City, which kept me sane.
GOURDS & BOLTS OF CLOTH: CREATING FROM RAW MATERIALS
Peter Som has shifted from fashion to food, but he says it’s not all that different in theory. He’s still creating something beautiful from raw materials, whether it’s a squash or bolt of fabric. Som, who has had a long, successful career in fashion, just published a new cookbook Family Style. It features recipes inspired from his Chinese American upbringing in the Bay Area, passed down from his mom and grandmother, which reads like a homage to them. In addition to recipes like lemon chicken and summer roll fish tacos, Family Style is filled with Som’s photos, personal history, along with hosting tips—candles are your friends, runners are better than tablecloths, less to iron.
Last Tuesday on March 18, the official Family Style pub date, Yu & Me Books held a book signing event in a LES high school library. Beverly Nguyen, the stylist-editor-writer-consultant-Beverly’s-owner, a lovely home goods shop on Orchard Street, interviewed Som.
Many parallel fashion/food terms were bandied about, like recipes that are “front of closet” (dependable, useful) and “the little black dress” (classics that can get jazzed up in different ways). Famous lemon chicken is one of Som’s favorite recipes, along with the short ribs with black garlic. Staple items he keeps at home? Som said he always “sleeps better at night” when he has lap cheong sausages in the freezer. An audience member asked about the perfect date night recipe, clarifying, “seducing your next victim.” Som said duck thighs.
THE TALE OF TWO LABNEHS
While labneh might be an ingredient in The New York Times’s food section recipes or served with bakery treats like Librae’s Jerusalem Bagel, it hasn’t always been so common. Labneh has been illusive for many New Yorkers.
Labneh is a creamy-yogurty strained dairy product popular in many regions in the Levant, Turkey and Iran. In Lebanon labneh is traditionally slathered on manoushe (flat bread with zaatar) or part of a platter with pita, olive oil and vegetables, among many other dishes. In the US, brands like Karoun and Arz, have been carried in New York City stores like Balady in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, for years, where there is sizable Middle Eastern diaspora population. But in mainstream supermarkets like Whole Foods, Fairway and D'Agostino's, labneh has often been difficult to find, until Yaza and Bezi, busted out onto supermarket shelves. Yaza launched in 2023, Bezi in 2024.
Why has it taken so long for this creamy deliciousness to go mainstream?
Labneh should be thick, but since the FDA has strict regulations about strained dairy products, it’s difficult to produce in the traditional way in the US. Nearly all the labnehs that have previously been on the market use pectin to get the right labneh consistency. Yaza and Bezi do not use pectin; Bezi does use sodium alginate, which is derived from algae. Both companies created workarounds to launch labneh brands in the US.
Yaza founder Karim Khalil is of Lebanese heritage and makes Lebanese style labneh that’s slightly tangy, which now sells at Whole Foods among other supermarkets. Yaza's plain lanbneh's ingredients are: pasteurized cultured milk and salt. In order for Khalil to make the most authentic labneh possible, he created a contraption (top secret!) to strain his labneh to comply with FDA regulations. Bezi is a more mild Turkish style of Labneh, in eye catching packaging, which they import from Turkey, their home country.
These two labneh companies also had to do what’s known as “consumer education” in the biz. Since Labneh is not known to many people living in the US, they both market it as a “dip” (a familiar category) and added flavors. I am a plain labneh kind of person, but Bezi’s “everything”, as in “everything bagel”, is outstanding.
COFFEEFEST NEW YORK
I have so many great photos (if I do say so myself) of independent specialty coffee businesses at the CoffeeFest New York, at the Javits Center, including Yeri Coffee, which officially launched yesterday. Yeri sources its beans from southern India, where founder Sundar Chellappa is from originally. I will post an assortment of photos on my Instagram (like my long lost 8th cousin, three times removed, by marriage—he had the last name Roberts, oddly enough, I don’t run into too many Robertses despite it being a common name) and include them in the next Mercantile Mayhem newsletter.
However, I will include a panel discussion of coffee business groundbreakers I attended, three based in New York City. Their coffee businesses span multiple aspects of coffee: roasting, importing, distributing, wholesale and physical cafes.
Lily Kubota, editorial director of Roast Magazine moderated the conversation, panelists included Sahra Nguyen of Nguyen Coffee Supply, Sarina Prabasi of Buunni Coffee, Chi Sum Ngai of Coffee Project New York and Joseph Stazzone of Cafe Kreyol, in Manassas, Virginia, outside DC.
They talked about all the nooks and crannies of the industry, from roasting and the meaning of “direct trade”, to the high price of green coffee and training staff.
Nguyen: when Nguyen Coffee Supply launched, she had to work on educating consumers about Vietnamese coffee beans. When she launched, Robusta beans were considered inferior to Arabica in some circles, which Vietnam is known for growing.
Prabasi: community is primary. Prabasi thinks certifications have gotten out of control and it always falls on the farmers’ shoulders, the latest one being “regenerative”.
Ngai: in response to a question asked about what a roaster starting out should focus on, Ngai answered, roast consistency. Ngai added that other aspects of a roaster’s business, like marketing, messaging, will come later.
Stazzone: the high cost of green coffee beans is actually good, it will ultimately benefit the farmers, putting more money in their pockets. Stazzone likes to hire people with a good work ethic, often outside the coffee industry. “You can’t teach someone to have a good work ethic, but you can teach them how to roast,” he said.
IN CELEBRATION OF NOWRUZ
Last weekend Pomexpo Norooz Market in Chelsea (yes, I listed it in the last newsletter if it’s ringing a bell—maybe you went?!?) held a festive event in preparation for Nowruz, the Persian/Iranian celebration of spring and the new year.
Hedi Yousefi produced Pomexpo, which was packed and buzzing with people, many of the Iranian diaspora. Yousefi arranged for independent businesses to sell Iranian-rooted products, like Zahra Tabatabai’s Back Home Beer, which is sold all over New York City and beyond, Lena Derisavifard’s sweet treat BiBi Bakery and Kimia’s street wear company Lebās.
Sag is an Iranian aragh (not to be confused with Lebanese arak made with anise) a distilled spirit, made from raisins, produced in Yonkers. Sag’s labels and merch designs are gorgeous and your fingers should run, not walk, to your keyboard or smart phone to listen to Sag’s phenomenal music mixes on the radio page of the website.
This year Nowruz began on March 20 and it lasts for 13 days. It’s a centuries-old celebration of spring and the new year that features the “haft seen” or “haft sin” table, or arrangement, that has seven elements to symbolize everything we could want in a new year: rebirth, fertility/life, love, patience, well being, health and hope. (Cliff Notes version, for a full description click here.)
CANADIAN BOYCOTTS
Canadians are cancelling their vacations in Maine due to Trump’s tariffs and threats to make Canada the 51st state. Even beloved food brand Burlap & Barrel, a single origin spice company with an enthusiastic, loyal customer base, has been receiving messages from Canadian customers who will no longer purchase their spices. "We're not really sure how to handle this," cofounder Ethan Frisch is quoted in this article, "We as individuals at Burlap & Barrel did not vote to put Trump in office…”
The Vermont based Skida outdoors wear company is also facing boycotts from loyal customers. There are apps for Canadians to ensure they are purchasing Canadian made goods like O SCANada and Maple Scan. How could this possibly be good for US businesses in the near or far future?
Trump is engaging in Russian-style disinformation, introducing little nuggets about awful Canada. When he introduced the idea of Canada becoming the US’s 51st state, or the ownership of Greenland for that matter, everyone laughed. But, among his supporters, it’s already a less crazy idea today, and I’m guessing in three months, six months, a year, with each incorrect fact he drops, his supporters will like the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state and owning Greenland. I wonder how long it will take for Trump supporters to believe Canada is full of criminal, lazy people leeching off the US, or that "Denmark is not being a good ally" according to JD Vance. Canada and Denmark are taking Trump’s threats extremely seriously, which they should.
Besides independent businesses like Burlap & Barrel suffering, the tourism industry will slow down, as countries around the globe are warning their citizens about travel in the US, many tourists are opting not to visit, far beyond Canadians visiting Maine. EU countries no longer want to purchase weapons from the US because they don’t trust the US government.
STARTUP CPG FANCY FOOD SHOW
On to cheerier subjects… applications are open for emerging CPG brands to be one of 25 selected brands to exhibit in the Startup CPG section at the Summer Fancy Food Show, June 29 - July 1, 2025 at the Javits Center.
Startup CPG and Specialty Food Association are making it possible for emerging brands to exhibit at a discounted rate for table tops. Basic info here, apply through Startup CPG’s slack, via the Startup CPG website.
STARTUP CPG, CON’T: SHELFIE AWARDS
Separately from the Fancy Food Show, Startup CPG is judging products for the the Shelfie Awards: sauces, condiments, dips, seasoning, oils, pasta, baby/kids food, alcohol, non-alcoholic beverages and CBD products. Click here for basic info and here for requirements and how to apply. Brands need to apply and ship samples to judges by March 31, 2025, which is soon! Another category of products to be judged for the Shelfie Awards starts in April: snacks, baking mixes, flours, nut butters, desserts, bars and sweeteners.
UBE ALERT!
The ube (purple yam) will flow, drizzle, squish and be eaten on April 5, 2025, at Ubeland, by way of PhilippinesFest, the street fair just south of Union Square. Between 11am and 6pm, more than 20 vendors will selling Filipino-rooted foods on Broadway between 12th and 13th Streets. Vendors include Kabisera, So Sarap NYC, The Boiis Co and Smoove Ice Cream among others, click here for details.
Please note: April 5 is same day as Hands Off! New York City Fights Back at Bryant Park, 1pm to 3pm, it’s possible to do both. In fact ube treats might give you an energy boost.
Thank you to Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsor Accompany Capital. Based in New York City, Accompany Capital, a CDFI, helps immigrants and refugees with loans and financial services. Please read about it here.
Thank you to Small Business Majority, Mercantile Mayhem’s sponsor. SBM supports and empowers small businesses across the US with a focus on public policy. Please read about SBM here.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPONSOR MERCANTILE MAYHEM?
Yes, I am still looking for one additional sponsor, three in total, the individuals, businesses, organizations or foundations that believe independent businesses in New York City need to survive. Do you want a city full of just Chipotles, Starbucks and bank ATMs? Do you value the character that independent businesses bring to New York City?
If you would like to know sponsorship rates and newsletter stats (open rates and such) please email me: ninarobertsnyc@gmail.com and I’ll send you the details. Please forward this newsletter to others.
OPPORTUNITIES
WomensNet offers a number of grants to women-owned businesses on a rolling basis, peruse grant information here.
Small businesses in New York City could win a micro grant up to $5,000 through CitizensNYC. Plan ahead, a new grant cycle opens on May 5, 2025, deadline is July 25, 2025.
NYC Boss Up NYCHA, pitch competition applications are open for entrepreneurs who are NYCHA or Section 8 residents in “good standing”. Winners will receive a grant of $20,000. Deadline is April 30, 2025; applications submitted by April 1, 2025 will be offered feedback and applicants can resubmit their application. Apply here.
NYC Boss Up Veterans, planning ahead… pitch competition applications for entrepreneurs who are veterans of the US military will be open July 1, 2025. Children, siblings, spouses or parents of a Gold Star Family, or military spouses, are also eligible. Winners will receive a grant of $20,000. Applications close September 15, 2025, click here for more information.