Epicurean Pantry
A Curated Black Garlic Collection
We helped Epicurean Pantry, a woman-owned startup importing premium black garlic from Greece, build visibility in a category consumers were still discovering. We paired an SEO-driven content strategy with retail and trade-show materials to grow both online discovery and wholesale reach.
We Always Lead with Results
Helped achieve page-one rankings for core keywords such as “black garlic” and “black garlic benefits”. Before optimization those terms sat at positions 50–70.
Search visits grew from roughly 90 a month in September 2024 to about 800 in January 2026. That made organic search the site’s #1 traffic source.
The brand went from near-invisible in search to appearing 285,000 times in under 1 year for black garlic queries. Daily impressions grew more than 10x.
We expanded and optimized the site’s most popular blog article. It moved from page five to page one and became the site’s main gateway for new visitors, driving over half of all site traffic.
Organic visitors spent about 3x longer on the site than direct visitors and generated 61% of all engaged sessions. Search traffic drove 41% of online orders.
Built a complete retail and trade-show toolkit consisting of new sell sheets, shelf talkers, price lists, Fancy Food Show postcards, and a refreshed logo supporting wholesale growth.
Ready to take your business to the next level?
Now Find Out How We Did It.
Client Profile
Epicurean Pantry is a woman-owned specialty food startup that brings premium black garlic products from Greece to American kitchens. Founder Lisa Zeitel sources directly from Black Garlic DownVillage, a pioneering producer on Greece’s Pelion Mountain whose additive-free black garlic appears on the menus of Michelin-rated restaurants.
The line includes black garlic cloves, paste, pearls, honey, ketchup, and mustard. Epicurean Pantry sells online with nationwide shipping and wholesale to specialty retailers, and exhibits at the Summer Fancy Food Show.
Guided by the philosophy “Where flavor meets function,” the brand positions black garlic as both a gourmet ingredient and a wellness-forward pantry staple, helping chefs, grocers, and home cooks discover a new category.
The Challenge
Epicurean Pantry entered the market with an exceptional black garlic product, offering a distinctive flavor and a compelling wellness story. The challenge was that many American consumers were unfamiliar with the ingredient. Building demand meant first helping people understand what black garlic was, how to use it, and why it deserved a place in their kitchen.
As a young startup, the company had a website but almost no search visibility. Its pages ranked well beyond the first few pages of Google, and there was no analytics tracking to measure what was working.
With a growing product line and a founder managing every part of the business herself, Epicurean Pantry needed a marketing partner. That partner had to build credibility across digital and retail channels, work within startup resources, and help turn curiosity about black garlic into real demand.
The Solution
Brandmark Studios partnered with Epicurean Pantry to build a foundation for discovery online and on the shelf. We began by setting up search and analytics tracking, then optimized the site from the bottom of the funnel up.
We started with the shop and product pages, and addressed technical SEO, metadata, and the Google Business and Merchant Center profiles. From there, we developed an education-led content strategy. We designed the plan collaboratively so the founder could write in her own voice while keeping costs manageable.
Alongside the digital work, Brandmark launched the brand’s email newsletter, amd produced a full retail and trade-show toolkit: product labels, shelf talkers, sell sheets, price lists, Fancy Food Show materials, and a refreshed logo.
Website Optimization
Before making any changes, we set up the tools to measure impact and configured tracking for key actions like purchases, contact form submissions, and call clicks. Next, we ran keyword research and a full site crawl to find the biggest opportunities. Following a bottom-of-funnel-first approach, we optimized the shop and product pages first so new visitors would have a strong experience and a clear path to purchase.
Product pages were optimized with high-quality product images. culinary use ideas, an ingredients list, a “Why Black Garlic?” section, supplier background, and FAQs. We fixed high-priority technical issues and optimized page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and image alt text across the site. We also refined the home page messaging to speak more directly to black garlic. Over time, the site’s average ranking position improved dramatically.
Content Strategy
From past experience we know that education drives discovery, so content became the centerpiece of the strategy. We rebuilt the “14 Amazing Benefits of Black Garlic” article into a comprehensive, keyword-rich resource. It climbed from page five of Google to page one and now drives more than half of all site traffic.
We published new recipes with optimized formatting, imagery, and links throughout. Each recipe includes a “Products Used” section linking straight to the products featured. A “More Recipes” module keeps visitors exploring related dishes. We added matching recipe sections to the product pages too, creating a two-way path between inspiration and purchase.
To keep the momentum going, we delivered a 2025 content plan with five detailed blog and black garlic recipe outlines. Utilizing a more collaborative model, Lisa could write in her own voice while we handled the research and strategy, keeping costs manageable for a growing startup.
Packaging and Retail Materials
We designed new product labels and created shelf talkers for Epicurean Pantry’s retail accounts. The shelf talkers give shoppers quick, appetizing ideas for using each product. When the brand launched Black Garlic Mustard, we designed its label and a new mustard shelf talker for the new product launch.
Sales Collateral
Wholesale buyers need a fast, persuasive case for adding a new product, so we revised the brand’s sell sheet with that audience in mind. The updated design features new product imagery reflecting the new labels. It includes two different back sides, one tailored to retail buyers and one to food service. Copy highlights why black garlic is worth carrying and covers what sets Epicurean Pantry apart. We paired it with an updated wholesale price list giving buyers unit sizes, case packs, dimensions, shelf life, and pricing at a glance.
Trade Show Marketing
The Summer Fancy Food Show is one of the most important opportunities for a specialty food brand to win new wholesale accounts. We designed Epicurean Pantry’s booth banner and tablecloth for a polished, professional presence on the show floor. Our team also produced promotional postcards for buyers to take home. For the 2025 show, the postcard featured a styled photo of the full product lineup, key selling points for retailers, and a time-limited 20% discount on opening orders to turn booth conversations into first orders.
Google Business Profile and Merchant Center
To expand the brand’s footprint on Google, we fully optimized its Google Business Profile. We added business photos, an optimized business description, a tracked website link, products, and FAQs. We also listed the entire product line in Google Merchant Center so products could appear in Google Shopping results.
Email Newsletter
We designed and launched The Black Garlic Digest, Epicurean Pantry’s email newsletter, to give the brand a direct, personal line to its audience. Each issue blends a featured recipe, product news and announcements, the latest blog article, and a Stockist Spotlight celebrating the specialty retailers who carry the line. We built the initial subscriber list and added sign-up opportunities across the website. The result is a repeatable format that makes each new edition easy to produce.
Client Testimonial
“As a woman-owned startup sourcing exceptional black garlic directly from Greece, finding the right marketing partner was incredibly important to me. I began working with Betsy and her team about a year ago in preparation for the 2024 Summer Fancy Food Show, and the experience has been fantastic.
They’ve supported me on various projects—from website enhancements and SEO to blog content, ad development, and newsletter production. They designed our banner and tablecloth for the Fancy Food Show, revised our sell sheet, created eye-catching promotional postcards, and provided press support. They’ve also refreshed our logo and created shelf talkers for our retail accounts, which beautifully reflect our brand.
Betsy leads a team of incredibly competent, quick, collaborative, and professional individuals. As a startup founder, it’s been a relief to have a team that understands my vision and is willing to step in and help with things that fall entirely outside of my core competencies. They’ve been a pleasure to partner with, and I can’t recommend them highly enough!”
Lisa Z.
Epicurean Pantry
