Good Culture

With TriNet, I was surprised by how many benefit options we can offer our team, especially with employees in so many different states.”

Investing in food for a better future

Founded in 2014, Good Culture is a clean-label cultured foods brand credited with revolutionizing cottage cheese for the modern age. With a mission to reinvent the food system, they craft cultured dairy products made from simple ingredients. While on a health journey, Jesse Merrill discovered the nutritional power of simple, organic ingredients, as well as an industry that was failing consumers.

Good Culture launched with organic cottage cheese, and now offers sour cream, cream cheese, and lactose free cottage cheese options, available in major grocers across the nation. With Good Culture, Jesse disrupted the market to center their brand and products around real food, clean ingredients, and regenerative impact to help people, animals, and the planet.

Good Culture is committed to making good food accessible and sustainable, while supporting and improving animal welfare through partnerships with organizations like 1% For The Planet and Path to Pasture. They are working from the ground up to drive the food industry to prioritize cleaner labels and regenerative sourcing, all while empowering consumers to eat, feel, and live well.

Outgrowing manual processes

As a growing business, Good Culture was focused on having a great product and building their business as specific needs arose. With this agile approach, adding a dedicated HR role became a necessity to ensure that their business had the people management and operations capabilities to scale with the team. At the time, most of their HR processes relied on various documents and spreadsheets, combined with a broker to find medical insurance. Tiffany Fields, HR Director, quickly identified the need for a holistic system, with the ability to scale, to better manage and provide for their team.  

Tiffany had experience with a variety of other HR and people management setups in previous roles and identified that a PEO would be the best fit for Good Culture. And, in discussing their search with both internal and external colleagues, TriNet was always top of the list.

With TriNet, Good Culture consolidated their HR and people operations management processes with an effective, scalable platform, while offering the hands-on support and access to benefits they wanted to fulfill their commitment to their own employees’ well-being.

Enjoying the advantages of TriNet

Upon first working with TriNet, Tiffany knew that the efficiencies of the platform would save her time, allowing her to focus on being more strategic. She was especially impressed, however, by the direct support and best practice guidance available from TriNet team members, and the breadth of the access to benefits they now had. “Coming from working with a broker, we were very limited on benefit plans that we could offer. With TriNet, I was surprised by how many benefits options we can give our employees, especially with employees in so many different states.”

And, going beyond standard medical benefits, Tiffany appreciates all the other options that TriNet gives Good Culture access to, including retirement options, the Employee Assistance Program, as well as voluntary benefits like pet insurance and legal support. For Good Culture, that means offering their employees more of what they need and deserve, without the added time and costs to source and administer each additional option. Tiffany emphasizes that, “Having the voluntary benefits and options for employees helps us create a more robust total compensation package, which is ultimately appealing to our team members and potential new talent.”

Relying on expert best practice guidance and support

The support that TriNet offers continues to be one of Tiffany’s favorite aspects of the relationship. “As a one-person HR team, having a person to call and talk to makes my day-to-day more manageable. Always having that support, from hiring and compliance questions to troubleshooting an issue, it feels like the door is always open.”

Having open communication and expert best practice guidance is especially impactful for Tiffany when it comes to managing her multi-state, remote team. With staff in different states, TriNet makes it easier for Good Culture to navigate compliance in payroll, leave, and more.

Leveraging modern technology

The ease of use of the platform is a “night and day” improvement for Good Culture, contrasting with their original manual processes. Not only is the platform user friendly, it makes it easier for Tiffany to manage day-to-day operations, so she can focus on supporting the Good Culture team and mission.

One of her favorite features includes the reporting capabilities, which allow her to view more information in one place. Good Culture also uses TriNet Learn to engage their employees even further. They host quarterly sessions focused on one topic to engage the team and expand their knowledge of useful topics.

Improving the future of food

Good Culture is invested in not only great dairy products, but also the betterment of people, animals, and the planet, a bold pursuit that will continue to require growth. As they scale and support their team, Tiffany plans to continue to leverage TriNet for all things HR and people.