Local Startup Rosie Wins Multiple Awards
It seems you can’t turn around in Ithaca these days without hearing great news from local grocery delivery startup Rosie! Expanding rapidly in 2013 after receiving the top prize of $200,000 in funding from CenterState CEO Startup Labs Syracuse, Rosie now has 25 employees in an office on the Ithaca Commons and is set to double its staff in this current year.
Rosie’s ability to make food access more convenient has been recognized before. Rosie and partner retailer, Dash’s Market, were recently selected to take part in a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program that allows Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to purchase groceries online. The company was also named Distinguished Business of the Year by the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce. At a dinner in January, the Rosie team was celebrated for its investment in downtown Ithaca, cultivating a modern workforce and being pioneers of the tech service industry in Tompkins County. “Rosie Applications is an incredible startup firm that spun out of Cornell and has been growing ever since,” said one nomination.
Rosie Director of Marketing David Makar and Rosie Co-Founder Jon Ambrose pose with Mitty the Oven Mitt, mascot of the Food Marketing Institute’s National Family Meals Month.
Empowering families through increased food access and economic impact isn’t all Rosie is up to these days, though. The growing company stays busy by building — and winning awards for — creative marketing campaigns. One of their most recent awards came from the Food Marketing Institute (FMI). FMI recognized Rosie with the Gold Plate Award for its marketing campaign with 11 independent grocer partners, “National Family Meals Month Powered by Rosie,” which encouraged families across America to share more meals together in honor of National Family Meals Month.
David Makar, Director of Marketing at Rosie, and Alyssa Nappa, Marketing Strategist at Rosie, pose with one of their NGA awards.
Two other Marketing awards came from the National Grocer’s Association (NGA) Show where Rosie’s partner, Broulim’s Fresh Foods, took home both the Outstanding Marketer of the Year award and the Connections Through Social Media and Digital Marketing category winner title. Both of these awards were for Broulim’s online video campaign, “Hear from Customers Like You.” The Rosie team helped to produce this video in order to highlight specific customer testimonials about their experience using Broulim’s e-commerce site, powered by Rosie.
The growing bouquet of awards above illustrates the future for Rosie, and it’s looking bright. By remaining in Ithaca, Rosie’s founders have ensured they are able to both give and receive support from local entrepreneurs in order to grow their company and their impact on the area. Rosie means more than fresh produce and local meat; it means supporting independent local businesses and growing the local economy, together.
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