3 Farm Daughters Brings High-Fiber Pasta to Pantries Across the Nation
In partnership with: North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Red River Valley farmer Paul Sproule was already growing a naturally high-fiber wheat variety when he challenged his three daughters to use it in creating a product. They proved to be just the dream team for the job.
The youngest, Grace Sproule Lunski, started her first company at 16, has expertise in marketing and holds an MBA. Middle daughter Mollie Sproule Ficocello is an attorney and logistics maven, and the oldest, Annie Sproule Gorder, is a three-time entrepreneur, also earned an MBA and focuses on finance.
As the sisters grew up, they’d watched their mom, Susie, and dad, Paul, demonstrate successful farming and entrepreneurship in North Dakota. And perhaps most importantly, all three women were starting families and had become passionate advocates for naturally healthy foods providing good nutrition.
Farm to Pantry
Today, 3 Farm Daughters LLLP is a Grand Forks-based, majority-woman-owned company bringing pasta made from high-fiber
wheat flour to pantries across the country. Lunski, who handles the company’s marketing, says their marketing mantra is “three daughters, two ingredients, one extraordinary pasta.”
The two ingredients – a high-fiber wheat flour and semolina (durum wheat) – are milled at the North Dakota Mill from wheat grown on their farm and elsewhere in the Midwest. The pasta is also manufactured in North Dakota.
See more: North Dakota Mill Is Still Going Strong After More Than 100 Years
Their pasta bridges a gap between traditional pantry pasta and alternative pasta.
“We did our R&D projects with Northern Crops Institute in Fargo, and even in our first batches, the pasta was coming out phenomenally in taste, texture and performance,” Lunski says. “That was one of our first moments where we thought, ‘This is amazing.’ We loved that it had high prebiotic fiber and that it performs really, really well, especially for restaurants who are able to keep the pasta nice and firm and still have that perfect, al dente bite.”
Their five products – cavatappi, elbow, penne, rotini and spaghetti – are available in about 1,200 retail locations nationwide and online at 3farmdaughters.com. Retail has been a huge learning curve, Lunski admits.
“When we get in front of a buyer in person, we can share our story really well,” she says, noting events, like Pride of Dakota (POD) Showcases, help them connect with new customers. “Face-to-face contact with our consumers is so valuable.”
Those showcases are a great way for POD companies to introduce themselves to customers, says Katie Huizenga, POD specialist for the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.
“We have over 40,000 people attend the showcases,” Huizenga says.
POD, a statewide branding program, also helps companies get their products into the retail market. It offers networking opportunities and business conferences to help North Dakota-made, manufactured or processed products gain traction.
See more: North Dakota Beef to School Program Serves Up Inspiration
Deep-Rooted Passion
The three daughters grew up riding along on the farm equipment with their dad who grows sugarbeets, wheat, soybeans, edible beans, corn, potatoes and other crops. As young girls, they took food to the fields, and as young women, they’re still doing that, helping nourish their dad and cousin, Mike.
Lunski says 3 Farm Daughters pasta just completes the loop of being farmers by bringing the fruits of the labor of growing food to the end consumer.
“This was a really natural progression for us as sisters who are really driven to find food that is nutrient-dense,” Lunski says. “And being part of the family farm is incredible. We all went away to college and lived in Minneapolis for various number of years, and we all couldn’t wait to get back. The farming roots grow really deep, and we all have this huge family connection and passion for agriculture.”
See more: Pride of Dakota Helps Catapult Companies Like Dot’s Pretzels to Big-Time Accomplishments