Pickle company draws inspiration from love of funk music

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Posted December 31, 2021 | By Joel Bronson
joel@ocalagazette.com

Adam Volpe, owner of Adam’s Funky Pickles, is a man of many talents. In addition to his line of pickles, Volpe is also a certified drone pilot and musician.

“When COVID hit, I worked to get certification to fly drones in order to do real estate videography and photography,” Volpe said.

Volpe is also the director of operations at the Marion Theater and periodically plays with the Ocala Symphony Orchestra.

“I will be playing in the Symphony’s David Bowie tribute in March,” Volpe added.

A passion for food led Volpe to train as a chef. He was also a part owner of the Ocala restaurant Pi for a time. Volpe ran a canning program out of his kitchen for around seven years. The popularity for his pickles sprung the idea to create Adam’s Funky Pickles. Finalizing packaging and labeling, as well as completing the procedure to become a wholesaler to retail stores, took about a year to complete.

The current issues with delays in the supply chain have provided challenges for Volpe to maintain a steady product supply.

“I am currently six weeks between batches due to the lack of containers getting off the cargo ships,” Volpe said. “I have driven two hours to track down cucumbers, as well.”

Even with the delays in production Volpe would eventually like to expand to the Tampa and Gainesville areas, but would like to cater to smaller, home-grown retail shops.

“I have a particular idea about retail locations that I want to carry our pickles,” Volpe said. “Juniper General Store and Stella’s Modern Pantry are wonderful retail partners.”

The names of Volpe’s pickles draw from his love of funk music. Product names such as ‘Earth, Bread and Butter’ and “Funk-A-Dill-Ics’ pay homage to Volpe’s musical background.

“I wanted the pickles to reflect my love of funk music,” Volpe said.

You can find out more about Adam’s Funky Pickles at their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/AdamsFunkyPickles.