Britt Jungerberg and Sara Doherty met in their school lunchroom in ninth grade and they’ve been best friends ever since. Food became an important part of their adult lives—cooking together, throwing dinner parties, and when kids came along, focusing on snack-friendly recipes like a cream cheese and white bean-based dip flavored with chopped dill pickles. “Everyone loved it,” says Doherty. “Since there was nothing like our dip on the market, we decided to start a business.”
They launched Minneapolis-based Plucky Pickle Dip in 2017, selling their “tangy, creamy, crunchy, pickle-y” dip at three farmer’s markets. Next, they expanded to local co-ops and Kowalski’s, a Minneapolis-area grocery chain. They landed a meeting with Target and then a test run. “Target kept awarding us more and more store accounts, because at every review it was selling so well,” Doherty says.
Britt Jungerberg and Sara Doherty.
The Plucky Pickle Dip lineup currently includes six different flavors. The Original Dill is based on Jungerberg and Doherty’s homemade dip recipe. The Spicy version kicks things up a notch with hot cherry peppers, and the Cheddar and Mustard flavor includes sharp Wisconsin white cheddar and whole-grain mustard. There’s also a plant-based version of the original dip made with vegan cream cheese. The two newest flavors feature bread and butter pickles: Sweet Pickle and Sweet and Spicy, which includes hot honey. “We’re loving those two, and I never thought I was a sweet pickle lover,” says Jungerberg.
Obviously, all of the flavors can be used as a dip for vegetables, pretzels and chips. “But the versatility is what we continue to have so much fun with,” says Doherty. “You can put it in deviled eggs, pasta salad, or sandwiches and wraps.”
“You can put it on anything coming off the grill,” adds Jungerberg, like burgers and hot dogs.
Plucky Pickle Dip is currently on the shelves in 1,400 stores across the country, including Target stores nationwide and regional chains like Hy-Vee in the Midwest and Central Market in Texas. Another large batch of stores will be onboarded this spring, and Jungerberg and Doherty look forward to their brand becoming a household name on a national level.
“It’s easy to see why people don’t get past those early phases,” says Jungerberg, recalling how difficult it was to make the dip by hand when they launched their business at farmers markets. “There’s so much dedication and uncertainty involved. It’s not an overnight thing. We’re still on the journey.”
AUTHOR
Stacy Brooks is a Minneapolis-based freelance journalist focusing on food and travel. Her writing has been published in Hemispheres, Midwest Living and Wine Enthusiast, and she blogs at Tangled Up In Food.
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