From clothing to drinks? It could work for Sky High Farms.
The Ancramdale, New York-based non-profit has been around for decades and is built around the mission of delivering 100% of all produce and animal protein grown on its 40-acre farm to food pantries, food banks and other charitable organizations across the state.
But the organization saw a spike in awareness following the release of its Workwear line in 2020, a capsule collection created in collaboration with Dover Street Market and illustrator Joanna Avillez that generated over $300,000 for Sky High Farms in its first year.
Clothing was “never the whole picture,” the brand said in a press release. This week’s launch of Sky High Farm Universe — a separate entity from Sky High Farms that will serve as a cross-category marketplace for goods whose sales will fund sustaining and expanding the non-profit’s work — represents the next step in that vision. For brands selling on the platform, 50% of profits – once they are profitable – will be donated to Sky High Farm annually, with the remaining half distributed in order to employees, the community of the farm, and finally to investors.
The market’s first product aims to capture current interest in prebiotic/probiotic ‘pops’ in an environmentally friendlier format. Described as a “bright sparkling water lightly sweetened” with organic honey, Honey Pop is made with organic water kefir and contains 9 grams of prebiotic fiber per 12 oz. can and the added probiotic strain DE111 Bacillus subtilus. Each can contains 50 calories and 9 grams of sugar, with agave inulin.
Sky High partnered with fermented beverage manufacturer FedUp Foods to create the drink.
“We share Sky High’s vision for a just and equitable food system and their commitment to sustainable farming practices. Our partnership has created a drink that is truly unique and special – a delicious and refreshing sparkling water that delights the senses, brings awareness to the critical role of pollinators in agriculture, and supports food access with every can sold,” said Andreas Schneider, FedUp Foods’ Chief Development Officer.
Accompanying Honey Pop’s release is a capsule collection for SHF Universe co-produced with Erehwon sold exclusively at the natural retailer, as well as skyhighfarmuniverse.com and DSMLA stores. The line consists of t-shirts and hats (vintage deadstock), workwear shirts and jackets (repurposed SHF Workwear stock) and hoodies and bags with a custom-designed screen print applied by New York City’s Funhouse Printing and Brooklyn-based Arena Embroidery.
As for Workwear, there’s also more to come. Sky High Farms is already hard at work on its spring fashion collection, which will debut in Paris in June.