Kera Pezzuti said the idea started when she and her friends decided to have an outdoor picnic during a ski day at Deer Valley.
“We went to Centennial trees and we set it up and just had a blast,” Pezzuti said. “We brought a little speaker, made sure that we were visible from everyone around us. And we sat out in the woods, and enjoyed the sunshine and talked to each other, and didn’t have to worry about sweating in the lodge - when you get that humid glaze on your goggles… We were just able to continue to enjoy our day in such a different, innovative way than what we had previously done.”
They dubbed the event “charcuteski.” Pezzuti said she posted it on Instagram, and from there it took off.
“My cousin reached out to me and she said, ‘this is serious, like this could be something serious. You guys should make it an actual Instagram.’ And we did, and within the day, we had 100 followers. Within a week, we had 1,000 followers. And within two weeks, we were getting people submitting their own ‘charcuteski’ from the other side of the country.”
The company offers catering services and to-go boxes featuring cheeses, meats, and crackers. Fellow co-founder EJ Elliott said social media has been crucial to their growth, specifically through partnering with other ski-related brands.
“In some instances it’s almost like dating - the social media thing - you’re trying to understand what their values are, if you match the same values, and if you guys can collectively come to something together,” Elliott said. “We’ve had certain partners that we’vee worked really well together, and I think that’s really how social media businesses sort of grow… You can be a part of something and someone else can be a part of you. It’s this whole idea of sharing a value basis that becomes sort of entrepreneurial spirit.”
The pair said they’ve also experimented with snowboards and monoskis. To learn more about charcuteski, follow them on Instagram. A link to their profile can be found here.
