For nearly 20 years Ann Woods consulted on and managed projects that market local, organic and sustainable products to supermarkets and co-ops across the country. Beginning in 1995, she served as president of the Organic Alliance, an organization that mainstreamed organics into U.S. supermarkets over a six-year period. She also served on the board of the Food Alliance, a national organization supporting the development of sustainable food products, and is a co-founder of Food Alliance—Midwest. Prior to her local and alternative food work, Ann accumulated 15 years of experience managing national and international marketing programs and market research projects for large corporations. Born and raised on an organic farm in northeastern Iowa, she earned a Master’s Degree in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University.
Since 2001, Ann has been a consultant with Cooperative Development Services, providing marketing and business consulting to cooperatives, corporations and state governments. Examples of the cooperatives and limited liability corporations (LLC’s) that she has consulted with to develop feasibility studies and business plans are:
• An organic dairy LLC considering start-up of a value-added line;
• A wheat producer LLC wanting to significantly increase its value-added sales;
• An organic dairy on-farm business planning to expand its marketing efforts;
• A farmer cooperative of produce growers creating a distributorship for their products
• A cooperative planning to establish a health-related retreat center
• A family-owned egg processor wishing to expand activities
• Supermarket chains wanting to source local products
Ann’s governmental work has included:
• Michigan Department of Agriculture: In 2002 and 2003 Ann developed and executed the first comprehensive Select Michigan campaign, Michigan’s state program to promote locally-grown food products to Michigan consumers. Over 2000 farmers—whose products include asparagus, blueberries, sugar beets, cherries, apples, celery, chestnuts, and many more—were helped by this and subsequent years’ campaigns. The campaign produced a 111% increase in sales at retail level for all involved products in its first year, and is credited with helping to stabilize the asparagus and peach industries.. Michigan commodity groups voted the Select Michigan campaign to be the most valuable program that the Michigan Department of Agriculture ever produced.
• Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection: In 2005, Ann researched the food industry in the state of Wisconsin, and developed a statewide plan for a local foods program with a rural tourism focus. The plan began to be implemented statewide in 2007.
Ann is also the current co-owner of a gluten-free bakery business launched in 2009, and part owner in a Wisconsin land cooperative. Additionally she has done some writing on the metaphysical implications of quantum physics.
