About

Origins of Portlandia Foods

It all began with a serendipitous meeting of Portlanders Jeff Bergadine and Michael Deal on a bus in Costa Rica nine years ago. Their connection, sparked by shared passions for food, health, nature and community quickly ignited as it dawned on them that along with past experiences and current ambitions they had the perfect ingredients for an ideal partnership. Jeff had worked in the catering business for over a decade and dreamed of forming a condiment company that would set a new standard of quality. Michael, hot off the heels of his first business venture and full of zest and gusto, was looking for an opportunity to help someone else make their business dreams into reality. Upon their return to Portland, Jeff attended Oregon Food Innovation Center to learn the nuts and bolts of how to get a product to market and production ready. The two spent many long hours in Jeff’s kitchen cooking and fine tuning a ketchup recipe that was both healthy and delicious. Finally, with the help of Michael’s mother Boni Deal, an artist and graphic designer they developed the look and feel of Portland Ketchup and what would become Portlandia Foods.

Focus on health and the environment

Condiments are loved the world over. We understand their incredible value in spicing up our lives and enhancing what’s already there. We encounter them in every restaurant, theater, cafeteria or bistro we enter. Away from home, we are faced with little choice of what ingredients we consume in our condiments—the only options available are often laced with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), genetically modified (GMO), and sprayed with pesticides.

We have come to expect and accept condiments full of corn syrup that are extremely high in salt even in restaurants and cafeterias now offering healthier foods. Despite the mounting evidence connecting both of these ingredients to various modern health crises from diabetes to heart disease healthier options are still not readily available.

Portlandia Foods aims to help in correcting this misbalance by partnering with local distributors, who partner with farmers, who in turn partner with ladybugs and honeybees to produce our condiments. All our products are Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) and USDA Certified Organic, GMO free, contain less salt & sugar than the standards, and never contain high fructose corn syrup. The result is a product that is good for your health, your palate, and the environment.

Remind people how good natural tastes

When you dip into Portland Ketchup, you’ll notice the delicious organic tomato flavor and the sea salt. Portland Mustard’s smooth and creamy texture with a hint of crushed black pepper. Portland Spicy Worcestershire’s heat from organic red jalapeños. Yum!

Community engagement

If your favorite dining spot is carrying an unhealthy alternative, invite them to give us, or another healthy alternative, a try. Consider this your formal invitation, if you haven’t already, to join the movement and promote a new standard in condiments.

We’re always interested in joining forces with other like-minded businesses and food venues, by creating custom co-branding bottles integrating the style of their company for that extra aesthetic.

Create a personal connection

We love receiving your local photos to spice up front panel of Portlandia Foods labels! In the meantime, give us a taste at select local food-carts, restaurants, and grocery stores. We enjoy connecting with fellow dreamers and food-activists, and we’re friendly, so feel free to contact us!

Grab a bottle—and spread the love.