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ByTerciusBufete tbufete@norcaldesigncenter. com CHICO After graduating from high school, Arielle Danan's course of action seemed inevitable. Like her siblings before her, she was en route to a university. Coming from a family she describes as "ac- ademic," her acceptance to UC Berkeley was less of an accomplishment than it was compulsory. So, when Danan deferred her collegiate career to pur- sue the fields, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Her friends called her crazy, because given the choice be- tween toiling under the hot sun and the particular com- fort of college, not many would refuse the latter. However, it would only take a few years for Danan to build Beber Almond Milk into something that would be emblematic of Chico's knack for being an "un- likely" incubator for suc- cessful, small businesses. Instead of heading straight to a university, she found a program which placed people with various farms overseas, exchang- ing work for housing. When she was done, she had vis- ited Israel, Italy and India. It was during this time that she learned how to make al- mond milk. She says it's a relatively easy process and it's not even a secret. But she rec- ognized a possible market for the product in her home- town. When she pitched the idea to the Chico Farmers Market manager in 2012, she says a long-term plan wasn't even a part of the conversation. "I didn't think much of it," Danan said. "I was want- ing to do it, but I thought it would last maybe a couple of months." Despite bringing what she thought was a "good amount," her stock of al- mond milk sold out within two hours, forcing her to consider that this venture could "possibly be some- thing" and to hire her first employee to share in the work load. Currently, the business goes through over one thousand almonds to make nearly 600 gallons every month. Upon receiving the almonds directly from the farm, the nuts are soaked overnight to "leech out" an enzyme that would other- wise make the product hard to digest. After being rinsed off and blended with water to create the milk, the mix- ture is pressed to remove chunks. In addition to the classic version, Beber Al- mond Milk's honey, choco- late or lavender spiked va- rieties add more natural sweetness to the mix. "We keep it really, re- ally simple. That's defi- nitely our goal — cut out a lot of the nonsense that a lot of the other companies throw in there," Danan said. "They use about 2 percent almonds in their product. Which they are doing sim- ply for costs; that's why they can sell it for $4 per quart, because they're not using very much almonds in there." Instead of using the lower-quality, leftover al- monds and thickeners like carrageenan that are the norm for most of their com- petition, Danan says that they only use the sweet- est variety of local organic, nonpareil almonds from providers like Maisie Jane's Almonds. They also don't pasteur- ize their almond milk to preserve the fresher flavor and health benefits that of- ten get heated away in favor a longer shelf life. To help her get the fresh- est version of her product to the various markets, she leads a half-dozen employ- ees who help her get the products to four different markets in the state and six grocery stores. Danan also handles scheduling, inventory, finding new markets for the business. Much like one of her mentors, Sarah Adams of Chico Chai, she had a fair bit of on-the-job learning to do. Danan says that she treats this busi- ness much like an "under- graduate business" — she taught herself a little bit of economics, read books on running businesses and ... well, made it up as she went along. "Everybody is kind of making it up," Danan said. "There's no hard and fast rules about it and if you re- alize that it's just people making stuff up and learn- ing as they go, it's a lot eas- ier and a lot less intimidat- ing." Within two months, she said that the business "took on a life of its own." Danan left her other job, commit- ted herself full-time to her project and the business slowly moved away from borrowed equipment and kitchens. They even began showcasing their almond milk in the Bay Area within their first year. This slow, natural growth, Danan says, would not have been possible if it didn't start in Chico. "It's not only a really great place to start a busi- ness because it's inexpen- sive and there's a lot of tal- ent, but just the network- ing that goes on," Danan said her business wouldn't have survived if she had begun it in a larger mar- ket like the Bay Area. "I've been approached by peo- ple from Sierra Nevada and from all these companies at the farmers market, just wanting to help out and willing to meet with me and to talk things through for no other reason than to just be a part of it and to help out a small busi- ness because they've been a small business." Locally Sourced is a biweekly feature spotlighting local businesses and the recipes and products that make them special. LOCALLY SOURCED (Almond) milk and honey Beber Almond Milk seeks simplicity in dairy alternative PHOTOSBYTERCIUSBUFETE—ENTERPRISE-RECORD Arielle Danan, 22, began Beber Almond Milk a er a life-changing experience traveling abroad while deferring college at UC Berkeley. She says the goal is to keep it really, really simple and cut out a lot of the nonsense that a lot of the other companies include in their almond milk. Beber Almond Milk offers up honey and chocolate varieties in addition to their classic almond milk during farmers markets all over Northern California. Sierra Gonzalez, 21, greets a customer during her shi at the Saturday farmers market in downtown Chico. She's been working for Arielle Danan since April of last year. Sh ir le y W ul fe rt , a 6 4-y ea r- ol d r eg is te re d n ur se , p ur ch as es s om e a lm on d m il k d ur in g t he fa rm er s ma rk et . PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thank you! "We keep it really, really simple. That's definitely our goal — cut out a lot of the nonsense that a lot of the other companies throw in there. They use about 2 percent almonds in their product. Which they are doing simply for costs; that's why they can sell it for $4 per quart, because they're not using very much almonds in there." — Arielle Danan Round Up Saloon Round Up Saloon 610WashingtonSt. (530) 527-9901 Come join us for BBQ & Football on Sunday's LIVE MUSIC CALL FOR DATES 365-7194or365-4322 OPEN 7 DAYS 6am-10pm 8080 AIRPORT ROAD Your full service: Meat Department, Deli & Groceries www.kentsmeats.com On-site HARVESTING CUTTING & CRYOVACING Open7Daysaweek:4amto10pm (530) 727-6057 •DozenDonuts (mixed) $8.99 "The best donut in town!" Baked Fresh Daily SeniorDiscount BreakfastCroissantSandwich Sausage, Ham or Bacon Includes sm. coffee, or any other drink $ 4.99 218 S. Main Street, Red Bluff 734MainStreet 530-690-2477 11am-9pm Mon.-Thur. 11am - 10pm Fri. & Sat. 11am-8pm Sun. 9 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP Pizza Restaurant FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, January 20, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4