An Inspired Chat with Jennifer Piette of Deer Isle, Maine

We recently had the chance to connect with Jennifer Piette and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Playing my piano! Music has been a constant thread through my life – currently, I have a 1912 German Steinway that survived two world wars, a move across the Atlantic, and then dramatically, the Woolsey Fire in CA. When I found it after the fire, covered in ash and looking totally destroyed, I thought that was it. A piano restorer came out to the charred house, took one look and said ‘Jennifer, this is a disaster: but we can fix it. This is a very special piano’
The restoration process was an incredible gift – when the piano was delivered to my post-fire place in Echo Park like a Phoenix from the fire, it had honestly been transformed into one of the most beautiful instruments I’d ever played. Now it’s here with me where I live on an island off the coast of Maine, and I’m back to practicing daily, teaching a couple of students, and just completely in love with making music again. It’s my private sanctuary that’s gotten me through every major life transition. Plus, at nearly a ton, it’s definitely committed to staying put in Maine!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Jennifer, founder and CEO of Narrative Food — we’re a B Corp that curates custom gift boxes for companies who want to make an impact with their corporate gifting. What makes us different is that every gift tells a story, supports small-scale makers, and gives back 2% of sales to nonprofits.

We just went through an incredible transformation — after running farm-to-table delivery boxes in LA for over a decade, we completely reimagined our business model and moved across the country to Deer Isle, a tiny island off the coast of Maine. It was a leap of faith, but it’s been amazing. We discovered a community of incredible makers right in our backyard — like 44 North Coffee, a woman-owned roastery literally around the corner, and Slack Tide sea salt, hand-harvested from the Maine coast.

The move inspired our new ‘For Good’ product line, where each product connects to a cause — Coffee for Community, Chocolate for Change, Caramels for Climate. We’re transforming these beautiful Maine-made products into mission-driven gifts that help companies show their values. Plus we just launched subscription “coffee break” boxes designed specifically for remote teams, designed to help keep people connected in this hybrid work world.

It’s been a journey going from serving thousands of families in SoCal to working with corporate clients nationwide from this little island, and transitioning from the West Coast community of growers and makers, to a new community in Maine, but the storytelling piece has always been central to what we do — whether that’s with moving images back in my screenwriting days, or now with food that connects people to the makers and causes behind it.”

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
It wasn’t one dramatic moment, but moreso a gradual awakening that happened during my 25 years living in Europe. I remember being in Portugal during fava bean season — there were these specific sausages that were only made to go with the fava beans when they showed up, and everyone was connecting on that pairing. It was the same in France, where people would spend hours in the kitchen with friends, connecting around what was actually growing at that moment — or celebrating the new harvest of Beaujolais.

When I moved back to the States, I had this culture shock in reverse where people were grabbing dinner from drive-throughs instead of gathering around tables. I realized we’d traded all this incredible food heritage — and America has amazing food heritage from so many different cultures — for convenience.

That’s really what sparked Narrative Food: reconnecting people to the stories behind their food, to that human moment of being around the table together, to the excitement of eating seasonally and the anticipation of those moment. It’s not about being precious or nostalgic — it’s about understanding that when you eat something that was grown with intention, made by someone who cares, shared with people you love, that’s when food becomes nourishment in the deepest sense. That European experience taught me that food is never just about food — it’s about community, identity, and how we show up for each other.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would tell my younger self to ‘stay in the solution.’ I’ve learned over the years that problems are part of life- whether it’s something small like opening what’s supposed to be a case of cucumbers and finding grapefruit instead, or something huge like figuring out how to save your business when a pandemic has raised all your costs and changed everything about how people work and eat.

Early on, when a problem arose, my chest would tighten and I’d feel panic creep up the back of my legs! But now, I’ve learned there’s always a solution – always. The trick is finding it, and you can only do that when you shift out of problem mode and into solution mode. Some of my best business pivots have come from what initially felt like disasters. The fire that destroyed my piano led to its most beautiful restoration. The pandemic that killed our LA delivery model led us to Maine and this whole new chapter with corporate gifting.

I wish I’d known earlier that the problems aren’t the enemy – staying stuck in them is.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m committed to proving that business can be a force for good – that you don’t have to choose between profit and purpose. I’ve been a B Corp for over a decade now, and I truly believe we’re in the middle of a fundamental shift from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism.

Every purchase decision, every partnership, every hire is a chance to create positive ripple effects. When we buy coffee from 44 North, we’re supporting a woman-owned business that sources ethically. When we give 2% of sales to nonprofits, we’re funding real change. When companies choose our gifts, they’re telling their stakeholders ‘we care about more than just the bottom line.’

It’s not always the easiest path, but I genuinely believe this approach makes businesses more resilient, more innovative, and ultimately more successful. The companies that figure this out first are going to be the ones thriving in ten, twenty years.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
I call it ‘getting into the zone’ – those moments when everything else falls away and you’re just purely present in what you’re doing — like something magical is happening and you just become a conduit for that energy. It happens when I’m playing piano and the muscle memory takes over, so I’m not thinking about my fingers or the notes, just channeling the music. Or when I’m cooking a dish I love and my hands know exactly what to do. Sometimes when I’m writing for my Substack, I’ll hit that flow where the words are just coming and I’m not overthinking it.

Those are the moments when I feel most at peace – when the doing becomes effortless and you’re just… there in the zone, as if connected to a higher power. Completely present, but out of your self.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://narrativefood.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/narrativefood
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-piette/