Scaling the Business
Starting a specialty food business requires getting out of the Kitchen, on to the Retail Shelf and then on to the Consumers Plate. The successful journey is not over yet and really is never over. Scaling a business is truly what food entrepreneurship is all about. Scaling is a process of making a business larger in a healthy and sustainable way.
Robin started out with the original Slatherin' Sauce in a 16 oz, then a spicy variety, larger sizes for restaurants and some other sauces in the works. A Slatherin' Sauce for diabetics is a result of listening to their customers changing needs for products that solve a problem with the most natural ingredients and with the least amount of preservatives. "We are mindful however that Slatherin sauce is our core product and we don't want to take our eye off the ball and spread ourselves too thin to really concentrate on that product. I think you have to grow but do so in a balanced and controlled manner." Absolutely Robin!
Robin recently participated at AmericasMart and garnered 29 new specialty retail accounts while there. AmericasMart is a venue that brings together buyers and sellers in consumer retail products. Two specialty retail chainsKings Supermarkets (24 storese) as well as all 6 Balduccis Food Lover's Markets will be tackling the boring food challenge shortly by carrying Slather Brand products. Several other national markets are in the works. Slather Brands is also engaging, in a delcisou way, with their customers with Holly Herricks recipes for Spicy Slatherd Dark Chocolate Truffles and Super Slathered Sweet 'n Hot Pepper Wings.
A successful brand is the best way for me to provide some tips on starting a specialty foods business and here is what I took away from the Slather Brands experience:
Plan your journey from Kitchen, to Shelf and to the Plate before you start "stirring the pot". I have seen far too many wonderful products, in the Kitchen, that never made it to the Shelf AND if you are not on the Shelf you can't get on to the consumers Plate. Make sure your Idea is really an Opportunity.
A Brand Position beyond Features and Benefits . Create your brand's positioning in a manner that makes your product stand out from the others. Slather Brandsproviding a cure for boring foods is an example of differentiating a product in a highly competitive segment cooking and glazing sauces. The "food" has features that competitors can easily copy and the benefits of healthy food once again are similar across brands. This is Aspirational Marketing .
Scaling the Business. Growing your business means planning do to it as Robin said so well; "you have to grow but do so in a balanced and controlled manner"
Wishing you all the best in your journey from Kitchen to Shelf to the Consumers Plate!
