Nello's teams with Whitted Bowers Farm and Whole Foods to produce first certified biodynamic tomato sauce in U.S.

From left to right: Rob Bowers, Byrne Huddleston,
Cheri Whitted Bowers and Neal McTighe walk through
the Whitted Bowers certified organic and biodynamic
farm in Cedar Grove. The Whitted Bowers Farm
will produce tomatoes for Nello's Sauce.
(Indy Week photos by Alex Boerner)

The imminent arrival of local tomatoes has long served as a sad reminder of the limits of Neal McTighe's entrepreneurial dreams.
The maker of Nello's Sauce, a line of premium tomato sauces produced and bottled just north of Raleigh, sources his tomatoes from California, where they grow abundantly year round. The volume he needs—currently about 20,000 pounds each month—and North Carolina's relatively short growing season made his goal of using locally grown fruit unrealistic.

Until now. Just weeks after announcing that Whole Foods was expanding regional distribution of Nello's Sauce to 140 stores from Texas to New Jersey—doubling the amount of tomatoes he processes each month—McTighe reveals the chain awarded him a loan to introduce a new product with specific local ingredients.

"It is truly groundbreaking," McTighe says. "It's the first in their business's history to support biodynamic agriculture. The real kicker is that this will be the first biodynamic, U.S.-grown, U.S.-made, tomato sauce ever. And we're doing it right here in North Carolina." Other sauces labeled organic and biodynamic contain non-U.S.-grown ingredients or were produced outside of America, most likely in Italy, McTighe says.

Nello's Biodynamic Marina will debut this summer with both USDA Organic and Demeter Biodynamic certifications. The limited edition sauce, labeled Summer 2015 Harvest, will be sold exclusively at Whole Foods. It will be made from the yield of 6,000 heirloom tomato plants (plus basil and garlic) grown for the express purpose at Whitted Bowers Farm in Cedar Grove. Sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and tomato paste have been sourced from other certified organic providers.

"I am willing to claim this will be the cleanest jarred tomato sauce ever produced in America," says McTighe, referencing the rigorous seed-to-shelf standards with which Nello's has to comply.

In fact, the standards are so tough that McTighe delayed announcing the new sauce several times while awaiting final approval from Demeter USA, the nonprofit American chapter of Demeter International, the world's only certifier of biodynamic farms and products.

Nello's Sauce founder Neal McTighe holds a
Bradywine tomato from Whitted Bowers Farm
in Cedar Grove. Whitted Bowers plans to produce
15,000 pounds of Bellstar heirloom tomatoes
to be used in the marinara sauces
of Raleigh-based company Nello's Sauce.

Established in 2005, the 52-acre Whitted Bowers Farm has been certified by Demeter since 2009. Co-owner Rob Bowers explains that the term biodynamic includes a range of protocols that improve the quality of farm land with fertilizer-free herbal and compost-based remedies. This not only protects soil from being drained of nutrients during the growing process but also discourages development of plant diseases that can destroy crops and devastate animal health. Given agreeable weather, he says the result of such mindful farming is "more and better output."

The stars also play a significant role at the farm, just as they did in generations past, when growers consulted the constellations for bountiful harvests. "It's the axis of biodynamic farming that raises the most eyebrows," Bowers concedes, "but paying attention to the alignment of the moon and close planets works.

"My grandmother once told me, 'Everyone knows you're not supposed to plant potatoes when the moon is in Pisces,'" recalls Bowers, who provides produce to numerous fine-dining restaurants and sells at the Carrboro Farmers Market. "There is a lot of folk wisdom, but it's evolved to the point that we know by the hour what to do. I don't know if it's causal, but there is a construct that works."

The farm's website prominently features the current phase of the moon to assist others who aspire to farm this way.

Since growing produce this way is expensive, the 18-ounce jars of Nello's Biodynamic Sauce will sell for either $7.99 or $8.99, depending on final production costs. The 14-ounce and 25-ounce jars of the current line sell for about $4.99 and $7.99, respectively.

Given the relatively small production, McTighe cautions that Nello's Biodynamic Marinara may sell out quickly.

"We didn't want to go too big this year because we're all a little nervous about introducing an entirely new product to the market," he says. "There is a lot riding on this, but we hope to grow quickly in future years."

This first appeared in Indy Week.

Triangle-made Nello's Sauce to be sold throughout the South

This article was first posted in Indy Week.



© Indy Week photos by Justin Cook

Neal McTighe flunked sophomore Italian, but when studying tomato sauce, he did his homework. He researched his topic thoroughly, ensuring that his thesis had all necessary ingredients. He's defended his case countless times, consistently earning high marks.

And now, in what feels like graduation day, he has the piece of paper he's dreamed about: a commitment from the 27-store South region of Whole Foods to stock and sell Nello's Sauce, his line of handcrafted tomato sauces that taste fresh from the vine.

The deal means that all four flavors of the Raleigh-based brand—including the new Provencal Pomodoro —soon will be sold in nearly 100 locations across nine states.

McTighe's business jumped more than 30 percent last month, "and that doesn't even include this new agreement," he says. Nello's Sauce has been available in Triangle Whole Foods stores since summer 2011. He says it is the top-selling sauce at the North Raleigh location, beating even Newman's Own. "It's a really big step for us. I feel like we're finally getting to where we want to be."

Dubbed Nello by Italian friends, McTighe has a particular destination in mind. He wants Nello's Sauce to be the No. 1 artisanal brand throughout the South.

It's a lofty goal for a fellow who grew up in suburban New Jersey, where Italian restaurants, pizza shops and memories of a gravy-making great-grandmother loomed large.

"I've always been interested in Italy, and I've always been obsessed with tomatoes," he says. "A college classroom just wasn't the place for me to make it all connect."

McTighe enrolled in a study-abroad program in Italy. What was intended as a brief cultural immersion became a three-year residence. He became fluent and traveled extensively, making a point to visit his great-grandmother's hometown of Carife, near Napoli. The fresh-tasting sauces he enjoyed there and elsewhere left a strong impression.

McTighe eventually earned his doctorate in Italian from the University of North Carolina. He is an adjunct professor in the Italian Studies division of Meredith College.

McTighe divides the rest of his time between overseeing sauce production at a commercial kitchen space in Hillsborough and conducting in-store tasting demonstrations. "I suppose I could buy ads, but nothing will deliver the conversion rate of getting a spoonful of sauce into someone's mouth," he says. "It really is that good."

While the economic downturn added risk to starting a new business, the timing seems to have been ideal for Nello's Sauce. Just six months after McTighe started testing recipes in his home kitchen in January 2011, the Original All-Purpose Marinara was approved for sale by Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. Other shops soon followed.

Cooked in 55-gallon batches, 14- and 25-ounce jars of Nello's Sauce are still hand-filled by employees. McTighe figures he'll need to invest in an automated system soon to keep pace with growing demand.

To keep customers coming back, McTighe strives to push the boundaries on flavor profiles, which he believes gives Nello's Sauce an edge over stiff competition. In January, they added Hot Pepper Pasta Sauce, an arrabiata spiked with red pepper flakes; the Provencal Pomodoro followed in July. The latter is garlic-free and features classic elements of herbes de Provence: thyme and lavender.

"When we first tested it and told people it had lavender, the reaction was not what we hoped for," he admits. "But when they loved the other flavors, I'd give them a sample of the Provencal and ask them to try to identify the herbs. Not a single person ever guessed lavender."

The floral note is subtle but somehow makes the tomatoes taste more tomatoey. McTighe sources the lavender from Hauser Creek Farm in Davie County. He is searching for a reliable provider of North Carolina-grown thyme.

While he incorporates locally grown ingredients, McTighe gets his meaty Roma tomatoes from a California grower. "I'd love to use local tomatoes, but I need them year-round and I need them to be the same every time," he explains. "Customers expect consistency."
McTighe is developing another distinctive flavor that he hopes to have refined for tastings and production later this year. "The goal is to not be gimmicky but to create great sauces that no one else is making," he says. "It's what makes us memorable."

McTighe, who is accustomed to customers calling him "the tomato guy," says it's a great feeling to know that the brand is having such an impact.

"I was shopping with my dad one day in an antiques store. He was wearing a Nello's Sauce T-shirt and a woman came up to him to ask if he was in any way related to the maker," he says with the satisfied expression of a man who proved there is life after flunking college Italian. "It was awesome."