Michelle Chick :: Thai Manna

It might be April 1 but this is no joke.

If you’ve been following along with me, you know that I love supporting small business and I love celebrating the big and the small things. Today we get to celebrate with Michelle Chick, a long time friend and the culinary genius behind Thai Manna.

She is this year’s Alberta Farmers’ Market Winner of the Outstanding Perennial Vendor Award. According to their website,

This award recognizes the diversity of the talents of AFMA’s long term Make it, Bake it, Grow it vendors. The vendors must have been in business for five or more years.

To be considered for this award the vendors must demonstrate these qualities.  The products have to be local and unique. Characteristics of excellence and uniqueness include: packaging, labeling, marketing, popularity and customer impact for the market. These vendors have products that have stood the test of time, have a loyal customer base, and attract customers to the market.

This year’s winner is Michelle Chick of Thai Manna.

Michelle has grown this community focused business from her heart, and from her experience as a young mother trying to ensure her family had a healthy, original and quick meal on the table no matter what parenting disasters were unfolding. Watching her continuously change, grow, evolve, and adapt has been remarkable.

Michelle first appeared at the Millarville Farmers’ Market about 12 years ago. Her customers have been impressed with the ongoing quality of her products, her ingenuity in bringing new products to market, her business savvy in adapting her packaging materials to fit the times, and her community focus in providing her product for fund-raisers, and thank-yous to front line workers.
Michelle was one of the first to see the need for “food kits” that allowed anyone to create a full meal with just the addition of a few fresh ingredients. Recently she introduced the kits for crowdfunding fundraisers!

Thai Manna is definitely one Millarville’s most popular vendors and has quite the customer base at the markets and online. She has been a model vendor. She is always on top of everything! The samples, her packaging, the rules, the customer engagement, her fabulous marketing plans, as well as the smiles, she always has a smile for everyone. She and her staff have continuously been role model vendors.

Michelle is a joy to deal with, guaranteeing a perfect meal for all her customers every time. She cares for her community. Michelle and her team have staying power! Congratulations Michelle!

Congrats, Michelle.

Check out the website for all the amazing places you can pick up her delicious Thai curry take home kits OR have them delivered right to your door. Yes, a shameless plug. #sorrynotsorry

Sidenote: branding and social media sessions are so much fun and, as for location, skies the limit. We did these at Southcenter Mall.