Who We are and What We Do
White Chocolate Razz Jazz Jam (Premium white chocolate and raspberry)
Blueberry Pear Fusion Jam (Early Blues blueberries and Barlett pears)
Mango Tango Jam (Mango, pineapple and strawberry)
Bubbly Be-Bop Strawberry Jam (Fresh strawberries and champagne)
DJ Mix is the result of what can happen when two good friends (Donna and Jane), who once made jam alone in their kitchens, realized how much fun it is to make jam as a duo. For two summers we created day-long excursions around our area of New England to find the best sources of local fruit. We spent hours in fields and orchards hand-picking, and then a long evening cleaning and processing the fruit so that we could cook jam all the next day, using the traditional recipes we had gathered throughout the years. This is our idea of an ideal summer vacation.
By the second summer we got hooked on trying unique combinations of fruits. We have spent many sultry July and August days bent over the steaming kettle on the stove, breathing in, and oohing and aahing over, the aromas of mixes of raspberries and peaches, strawberries and kiwis, blueberries and pears. We have always kept it simple; fresh fruits, sugar, and fruit pectin. Then we tried adding some simple touches to a batch here and there, like bananas with toasted walnuts, some spices, some liquors. By autumn we had so many jars of jam they were flowing like glass rivers through both of our houses. But we still had more concoctions to try. We gave them away as gifts, and then made more. We got many requests for more jams, and we still couldn't stop making more. That's when we decided it was time to start selling.
Seven months later we are cooking our jams in a local commercial kitchen, (thanks, Ebenezer's!) selling at the local farmer's market, and fulfilling a number of custom orders. It has been quite a process and learning experience to get this far, and we can't wait to keep going! We would like to continue to "spread" the jam-love to a wider audience. Our next goal is to get our jams into local specialty food stores and markets, and to be able to sell them online.
What We Need & What You Get
The process of getting a specialty food product into the marketplace is slow, grueling, and expensive. We are really passionate to move forward, but we have whittled down to the last of our savings to get this far, and are hoping that there are good folks out there, like you, who are kind enough to support us in our endeavors.
Here is the breakdown of our needs for the licensing process (which will allow us to sell at wholesale) and our first 60-gallon batch of our top 6 jam flavors to deliver to stores throughout Massachusetts. We will also be offering our jams online when we reach this critical point.
• Fruit, pectin and other ingredients — $1500
• Jars and lids — $500
• Labels — $800
• Product testing at Cornell plus nutrition analysis — $1100
• UPC codes — $800
• Application fee for licensing — $300
• Marketing, printing (sell sheets, etc.), shipping — $200
To show our heartfelt thanks for your generous support we would like to “jam” for you! With a thoughtful donation of $25 we will create a special “limited edition” jam that we guarantee you won't be able to find in any store. We will divulge the flavor at a later date, as we're continuing to run test batches in search of a combination that will get your feet tappin' and your taste buds singin'! And, since we're true New Englanders, we'll make it with the fresh fruits and flavors of the fall season.
The Impact
We really want to spread the jam love around, but even as we slowly grow, there are certain things about DJ Mix that you can count on:
• We will continue supporting our local farmers in New England
• We will never use anything but fresh, natural ingredients (no preservatives or artificial ingredients, ever!)
• Even as we expand (we are optimistic) we will continue to work in small batches so that we have full control over quality
• We will continue to infuse our passion, creativity, love and laughter into our products
Other Ways You Can Help
Some people just can't contribute financially, and that's OK. However, you can still help us out immensely if you “tune” other people in to our cause. We would be so grateful!!