HEX Ferments began in 2010 as a performance-art collaboration between co-founders Meaghan and Shane before growing into a Baltimore food company known for its living ferments. It works with local organic farmers, including those using regenerative practices, and follows an unheated traditional process that preserves the activity of its sauerkraut and kombucha. Its bottle-exchange program has kept tens of thousands of pounds of glass out of waste and recycling streams, while the company has earned a Good Food Award and Slow Food’s Snail of Approval.
Good Food Awards Winner
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Slow Food Snail of Approval Winner
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Collective CultureFrom its farm in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, Collective Culture makes kombucha, krauts and other fermented foods and drinks from farm-grown and locally sourced produce. Founded in 2021, the operation shifted in 2025 toward a collaborative model that brings area farms together to preserve more seasonal produce and create spontaneous ferments. Its mild kombuchas use organic teas and sugars, while its krauts are made with crops grown at the sustainable Apple Ridge farm and ingredients from partner farms.SAYLORSBURG, PA
Hawthorne FoodsBorn two decades ago in the cellar of Hawthorne Valley Farm, Hawthorne Foods makes wild-fermented, ready-to-eat vegetables in New York’s Hudson Valley. The Hudson company works directly with organic family farms and produces raw, probiotic foods in a former plastic factory converted into an SQF-certified fermentation facility. Hawthorne Foods became a certified B Corporation in 2023, tying its growth to living soil, living wages and living foods.HUDSON, NY
ShuBrew Brewery and FoodFounded in 2013 by Zachary and Erika Shumaker, ShuBrew Brewery and Food is a Zelienople restaurant and brewery pairing craft beer with globally influenced food from a scratch kitchen. Though brewing moved to nearby Harmony in 2016, the Main Street gathering place continues to serve beer alongside seasonal dishes built with local purveyors, suppliers, and farmers. ShuBrew became Butler County’s first restaurant to earn Sustainable Pittsburgh’s platinum designation in 2019 and incorporates practices such as donating spent grain to local farmers and minimizing kitchen waste.ZELIENOPLE, PA
Small World FoodSince 2007, Small World Food has operated as a cooperatively run Rochester food business, turning ingredients from local organic farms into handmade baked goods and naturally fermented foods. Its small-batch kitchen draws on old-world baking and fermentation traditions, while its market work connects as many as 15 regional farms with customers. The cooperative’s members, including local farmers, are paid according to what their contributions produce rather than a flat hourly rate.ROCHESTER, NY