251- How to Get onto Grocery Store Shelves with Roger Sudnick of Good Measures Foods
Roger is founder and CEO of Good Measures Foods, a company that is improving scratch baking for today’s busy bakers.
Roger leveraged the experience he gained by leading triple digit growth for several start-up retail brands to launch Good Measures.
He has a passion for building businesses by developing winning strategies, overlaying a healthy dose of pragmatism and collaborating with excellent partners.
Roger enjoys biking, family and travel.
Personal mantra: “The measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS
- Have focus groups to confirm that your product resonates with your target market.
- It’s important to be receptive and ready to take action when the right opportunities appear.
- The way to grow your business is through connections.
- When building a team, define the responsibilities and divide them into roles. Then find the right people to fill those spots.
- To get your products on a retailer’s shelf, be courageous and talk directly with the store manager.
- To effectively market your product, identify a need that your product solves and speak to that. When there are other similar products, speak to meaningful points of differentiation.
- The beginning of any product lifecycle is trial and awareness. a great way to raise awareness of your brand is through product demonstrations.
CONTACT LINKS
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Thank so much! Sue
Transcript
Gift biz unwrapped episode 251 When it comes to new products
Speaker:and new items,
Speaker:life's about a very,
Speaker:very meaningful point of difference.
Speaker:Attention gifters,
Speaker:bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one
Speaker:now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal,
Speaker:Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there And I'm so happy that you're joining me here
Speaker:today. I want to share with you how this episode came
Speaker:about because it's a really random yet I find over and
Speaker:over again that this is how it goes.
Speaker:This is how to make things happen.
Speaker:So it also serves as a lifetime example.
Speaker:For the past two years or so,
Speaker:I've been meeting up with a small group of people.
Speaker:The third Thursday of the month just for fun are friendships
Speaker:formed from the chamber and so sometimes our conversations do turn
Speaker:to business,
Speaker:but mostly we connect and support each other in overall life.
Speaker:I guess I'd say.
Speaker:Well, a few months back we were walking out of the
Speaker:coffee shop,
Speaker:passing other tables on the way and Sharon stops for a
Speaker:second and says,
Speaker:Oh look Sue,
Speaker:don't you use these in your business?
Speaker:She was pointing to a brochure about a product that we
Speaker:do indeed have made for the ribbon print company.
Speaker:The two people at the table of course looked up and
Speaker:then one of them says,
Speaker:Sue, Sue,
Speaker:Mon height is at you.
Speaker:Truth is,
Speaker:at first I didn't recognize him.
Speaker:It had been years.
Speaker:Rob was a very successful sales associate from my corporate days.
Speaker:He didn't work on my sales team,
Speaker:but I always knew he'd continue to do well.
Speaker:You know how it is,
Speaker:how you can sense that with some people.
Speaker:Rob and I agreed to meet the following week to catch
Speaker:up. Not only did I want to know what was going
Speaker:on with Rob these days and what he was involved in,
Speaker:but we had so many common acquaintances that I hadn't kept
Speaker:up with.
Speaker:I was really curious what he knew about some of them
Speaker:equally. I had acquaintances that he wasn't aware of so I
Speaker:knew it would make for a really interesting conversation and Rob
Speaker:didn't disappoint.
Speaker:He stayed connected with lots of people,
Speaker:different from the many I still talk to and equally as
Speaker:exciting. We each have some valuable introductions for each other people
Speaker:that we've met along the way that we can share with
Speaker:each other to help each other advance towards our goals.
Speaker:This is a perfect demonstration of how getting out from behind
Speaker:your computer screen or production studio and connecting with people can
Speaker:lead to outcomes.
Speaker:One of these introductions was with Roger our guests today and
Speaker:that is how this episode came to be.
Speaker:You're going to hear from an expert on how to find
Speaker:the white space in your industry,
Speaker:an unmet need that is just waiting for a solution and
Speaker:then what to do to bring the idea to life.
Speaker:We also talk in detail about getting placement on your local
Speaker:grocery shelves,
Speaker:so if you're the maker of a consumable product,
Speaker:perk up your ears.
Speaker:There's great stuff here for you.
Speaker:Given that,
Speaker:let's just get right into it,
Speaker:shall we?
Speaker:Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Roger satanic.
Speaker:Roger is the founder and CEO of good measures foods,
Speaker:a company that is improving scratch baking for today's busy bakers.
Speaker:Roger leveraged experience gained by leading triple digit growth for several
Speaker:startup retail brands to launch good measures.
Speaker:He has a passion for building businesses by developing winning strategies,
Speaker:overlaying a healthy dose of pragmatism,
Speaker:and collaborating with excellent partners.
Speaker:Roger enjoys biking,
Speaker:family and travel,
Speaker:and Roger's personal mantra.
Speaker:The measure with which you measure will in return be measured
Speaker:out to you.
Speaker:Roger, welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Oh, hi Sue,
Speaker:and thank you for inviting me for the conversation today.
Speaker:Okay. I'm thrilled that you're here and I do have to
Speaker:tell all our listeners,
Speaker:I had to repeat your mantra how many times,
Speaker:maybe 20 before I just got it right.
Speaker:You got it right.
Speaker:That's the important thing,
Speaker:right? Absolutely.
Speaker:Now, as we start off,
Speaker:I like to do something a little bit creative in a
Speaker:way for our listeners to get to know you a little
Speaker:bit differently,
Speaker:and that is by having you describe yourself through a motivational
Speaker:candle. So if you were to tell us what your candle
Speaker:would look like by color and quote,
Speaker:tell us a little bit more about you,
Speaker:Roger. All right,
Speaker:thanks. So if I was in the motivational candle,
Speaker:my color would be sky blue.
Speaker:And the reason or sky blue is it because it represents
Speaker:the sky and the sky is endless and represents endless possibilities.
Speaker:Blue sky is calm when the sky is blue,
Speaker:the day is sunny.
Speaker:It's a great reason for optimism.
Speaker:So sky blue is my color for my candle because it
Speaker:represents unlimited possibilities.
Speaker:As far as motivational quote,
Speaker:I have a quote from John C.
Speaker:Maxwell, who's an author that's focused on leadership.
Speaker:It's life.
Speaker:It's a matter of choices.
Speaker:And every choice you make defines you.
Speaker:And this one special to me,
Speaker:especially because I've used something very simple,
Speaker:an abbreviated version on my children as they were growing up.
Speaker:The version I use on them is life is about the
Speaker:choices you make.
Speaker:And they heard it from me probably a hundred thousand times
Speaker:as they grew up.
Speaker:And now I have a 23 year old and a 25
Speaker:year old boy and they'll play It back to me sometimes
Speaker:that life is about the choices you make.
Speaker:Oh, so you're getting a taste of your own medicine here.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:But at the end of the day,
Speaker:what you choose to do,
Speaker:and also importantly,
Speaker:what you choose not to do will make up what you
Speaker:are. It defines you.
Speaker:And for me,
Speaker:it's a reminder every day what I decided to do and
Speaker:what I decided not to do,
Speaker:there's a question around that.
Speaker:Does it help me meet my personal goals,
Speaker:my professional goals?
Speaker:And you're in control,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and I think so often there is the mentality out there
Speaker:that things happen to us versus us taking control and making
Speaker:things happen for ourselves.
Speaker:And that's what this quote tells me too.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:That's a great add,
Speaker:Sue, We get this life to live and why should we
Speaker:be reactionary when we don't have to be sitting?
Speaker:That way we can make things happen for ourselves,
Speaker:which is what all of us who are listening to this
Speaker:show want to do.
Speaker:We want to take something that we're making and creating and
Speaker:either start sharing it with everybody or continue and grow our
Speaker:following so more people can have the things that we make.
Speaker:We are masters of our own destiny.
Speaker:That's right and you are going to help us out with
Speaker:that as we get into your product.
Speaker:I'm so excited.
Speaker:I never knew a product like yours existed and yes,
Speaker:I'm teasing the audience right now because I want to start
Speaker:with what led you to good measures.
Speaker:It's always so interesting to hear the path that people take.
Speaker:So share a little bit of your backstory with us.
Speaker:Well, so this story starts like so many other stories.
Speaker:It starts with cigarettes of course.
Speaker:Oh, of course.
Speaker:Of course it does.
Speaker:I have a colleague who I worked with in the past
Speaker:and he's brilliant.
Speaker:He's a retired marketer and he's done great work and I
Speaker:really, really respect the way he thinks.
Speaker:And one of his big things is that innovation in grocery
Speaker:products, which is where I play,
Speaker:it's about packaging.
Speaker:80% of the innovation is in packaging and 20% is actually
Speaker:new products or product changes.
Speaker:And what that means is things like water,
Speaker:right? He used to come in for just from the tap
Speaker:and then went to big bottles and then went the small
Speaker:bottles. The innovation there was just packaging what was in the
Speaker:bottle, didn't change.
Speaker:It's still water,
Speaker:but the functionality changed because if the package is smaller,
Speaker:bottle becomes affordable and it gives people an opportunity to stay
Speaker:hydrated on the go.
Speaker:That's a perfect example.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:So this was six years ago,
Speaker:seven years ago maybe,
Speaker:and we were having lunch and he had a new piece
Speaker:of consumer insight and the insight was,
Speaker:it's a bit dated now,
Speaker:but the insight was when the average smoker goes out to
Speaker:a bar,
Speaker:they smoke five cigarettes in the night and that night when
Speaker:they go to the bar.
Speaker:So his big thing was changed the packaging and changed cigarettes
Speaker:from a 20 pack to a five pack and you'll be
Speaker:meeting a consumer need.
Speaker:They won't have extra cigarettes,
Speaker:they'll have just what they need for the evening out.
Speaker:And he was interested in potentially trying to get that off
Speaker:the ground.
Speaker:And for many,
Speaker:many, many,
Speaker:many reasons,
Speaker:I had no interest in going into the tobacco business.
Speaker:So what I did do after lunch,
Speaker:he said,
Speaker:let's, and we went over to a local grocery store and
Speaker:we walked around the grocery store revealing.
Speaker:We walked up and down every aisle and we stopped in
Speaker:front of every category in the store.
Speaker:And what we were looking for is a category that hadn't
Speaker:had any packaging innovation for quite some time.
Speaker:So we walked the store twice and we ended up stopping
Speaker:in front of the baking category.
Speaker:In the baking category is things like flour and sugar and
Speaker:ingredients you used when you scratch bake and we had a
Speaker:suspicion that that category looked a whole bunch like it did
Speaker:back in the 1950s that there really hadn't been a lot
Speaker:of packaging innovation.
Speaker:We Googled it,
Speaker:we looked online and we did see that the section in
Speaker:the store didn't look too different than it did back in
Speaker:the 1950s when June Cleaver was baking.
Speaker:Yeah. I'm picturing what you saw on the shelves were maybe
Speaker:pound and half pound bags of flour and sugar and different
Speaker:brands of course,
Speaker:and each of them might like the packaging looks different in
Speaker:terms of branding,
Speaker:but the sizes and just in the big ball,
Speaker:that's it,
Speaker:right? That's what you saw.
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker:The categories,
Speaker:predominantly big bags.
Speaker:It's five pound bags of flour and four pound bags of
Speaker:sugar and the graphics have changed over time,
Speaker:but not quite as much as you may think.
Speaker:And the bag still poof out all the flour.
Speaker:When you pick them up,
Speaker:right? Exactly.
Speaker:The sections of math because the bags poop out the flour
Speaker:and it drops down through the shelves.
Speaker:And if you're not cleaning it 24 times a day,
Speaker:the flour will leave residue on the shelf.
Speaker:So it was a little bit messy and we did a
Speaker:little more research on this category.
Speaker:And back in the 1950s the average household size was 3.6
Speaker:people. Now it's 2.4
Speaker:people. It's decreased quite a bit over the last 70 years
Speaker:and people are baking a lot less from scratch because there's
Speaker:alternatives. You could buy pre baked goods or you could buy
Speaker:mixes that have all the sugar and flour and everything already
Speaker:combined. So you only have to add water.
Speaker:So what had happened is the consumers have changed quite a
Speaker:bit and how they use the products have changed quite a
Speaker:bit over the last 70 years.
Speaker:But the packages were still four pound bags and five pound
Speaker:bags on the shelf.
Speaker:So our opportunity was to try to find a package that
Speaker:fits better with today's consumers,
Speaker:with the baby boomers,
Speaker:with the millennials.
Speaker:And with the gen X and that's what we did.
Speaker:So what our product is,
Speaker:it sounds kind of simple but it meets a need,
Speaker:right? Just like bottled waters,
Speaker:kind of simple.
Speaker:And what we do is we pre-measured the products,
Speaker:the flour or the sugar,
Speaker:we put them in one cup premeasured pouches measured by weight
Speaker:because that's how baking is supposed to happen.
Speaker:And we put those stay fresh pouches,
Speaker:six of those into a box and the consumer gets to
Speaker:open them when they need them.
Speaker:It keeps the product insights fresh and it also is very
Speaker:neat. It's neat in the pantry,
Speaker:you don't have to have a big bag this rolled up
Speaker:or a bag that you've dumped into a secondary container.
Speaker:You open it when you need it and ordered into your
Speaker:recipe and the other ones remain closed.
Speaker:Impression until you need them.
Speaker:So that's our company.
Speaker:It's called good measures.
Speaker:That's our brand name.
Speaker:And our tagline is scratch baking made simple because that's what
Speaker:we want to do.
Speaker:We want to help people not lose that scratch baking but
Speaker:make it a little bit easier for them.
Speaker:So that is absolutely brilliant and I think everybody who's listening
Speaker:can see the application and understand the value of what you've
Speaker:done. I mean I know there's way more to this and
Speaker:I'm going to dive into the story a little bit more,
Speaker:but it's very simplistic in the way you said it.
Speaker:Like you just went in,
Speaker:you identified the need,
Speaker:you did some research,
Speaker:you looked at everything.
Speaker:Now you have your solution.
Speaker:So that's from like idea creation to finish product,
Speaker:right? That's correct,
Speaker:yes. Who's your target customer?
Speaker:Our target customer is the occasional Baker that wants a really
Speaker:quality output and if you think about it from the context
Speaker:of scratch,
Speaker:baking for most households is a very infrequent activity now.
Speaker:So when you do it,
Speaker:it's usually on a special occasion.
Speaker:And if you're baking for a special occasion,
Speaker:you want it to be great.
Speaker:So our target audience is not the remainder of the people
Speaker:that bake every day and they use up a five pound
Speaker:bag of flour in two weeks and they're in the kitchen
Speaker:all the time doing that.
Speaker:It's the people that are going to bake on birthdays or
Speaker:other holidays and they want a great outcome.
Speaker:Right, and actually if I think about it,
Speaker:if I'm going to bake,
Speaker:I don't want to buy one of those huge big bags
Speaker:if I only need a cup of flour because it's going
Speaker:to go stale over time.
Speaker:But with yours,
Speaker:I mean you don't buy just one,
Speaker:you don't buy it by the cup.
Speaker:I get it.
Speaker:There's, there's multiples in a box,
Speaker:but they stay fresh so that I can use them later
Speaker:too. I'm not opening this bag and then feeling like,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this flower has been open for six months,
Speaker:now I have to go buy a whole nother bag.
Speaker:Exactly. A lot of people don't know that.
Speaker:Here's a fact for you.
Speaker:Wow, we're from the data's mill.
Speaker:Then when it's put into the paper bags,
Speaker:it starts to deteriorate and actually after six months it starts
Speaker:to degregate in the quality of your baked goods isn't going
Speaker:to be as good as using fresh flour.
Speaker:Since our flowers sealed in the plastic pouches that extends the
Speaker:shelf life to well over a year.
Speaker:But if you think about the baking cycle,
Speaker:there's households out there that will only bake every holiday season,
Speaker:right? So they buy a five pound bag of flour,
Speaker:they break their cookies,
Speaker:everybody loves their cookies,
Speaker:they roll out the bag of flour,
Speaker:put it in the pantry,
Speaker:and next year I don't have to buy flour again.
Speaker:I have some in my pantry and they use that same
Speaker:flour and the cookies aren't as good and they're not quite
Speaker:sure. Why Were you in my kitchen,
Speaker:Roger? It looks like many people's kitchens these days,
Speaker:right? Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Except now I'm one of those people that now we're going
Speaker:to be talking about after the holidays.
Speaker:But let's say I was going to make now Valentine's day
Speaker:cookies, right?
Speaker:I need my fresh flour.
Speaker:So I'm wasting a ton of money.
Speaker:Well, probably between like the holidays and Valentine's day,
Speaker:I'd probably use the same bag but not come the summer.
Speaker:Right. And your cooking is going to be better for your
Speaker:baking. And I really,
Speaker:really like,
Speaker:and you and I about this when we first met,
Speaker:but the whole concept of not everyone is a professional Baker
Speaker:and knows all the tricks and techniques and all of that,
Speaker:but lots of people when they're measuring a cup of flour
Speaker:will pack it down and the results are going to be
Speaker:different because really your cup and the recipes are created for,
Speaker:what would you say?
Speaker:Like sifted flour,
Speaker:which is why you measure by weight,
Speaker:right? So that's a great lead in.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:And I'll pay you later.
Speaker:Okay. Ooh,
Speaker:what are you going to talk to us about now?
Speaker:I don't even know.
Speaker:Well, back to the fact that number two is that the
Speaker:average Baker,
Speaker:especially the millennials and the gen Xers,
Speaker:they'll scoop the flour,
Speaker:they'll scoop it out of the bag or they'll scoop it
Speaker:out of the secondary container in which they put the flower.
Speaker:And when you scoop the flour,
Speaker:it's compressed.
Speaker:So it does weigh more than sifted.
Speaker:Flour and recipes generally are calling for sifted plower.
Speaker:So when you do the scoop method,
Speaker:your cup of flour will weigh between 140 and 150 grams.
Speaker:A cup of sifted flour is supposed to weigh 120 grams
Speaker:for four and a quarter ounces.
Speaker:That's a big difference.
Speaker:Yeah. When you're over measuring your flour and your recipe by
Speaker:20% your outcome isn't going to look like the picture in
Speaker:the magazine and it's going to be less than satisfactory,
Speaker:so we solved that issue.
Speaker:We solved that problem and taking,
Speaker:take the guesswork out of the measuring with good measures.
Speaker:So with your product and give biz listeners,
Speaker:we're going through this,
Speaker:and this is interesting for you to think about in relation
Speaker:to your product as well,
Speaker:because we're talking about the results that the consumer sees with
Speaker:the product.
Speaker:We're talking about the fact,
Speaker:but then we're talking about the results.
Speaker:So the results are going to be you're just going to
Speaker:have a better end product,
Speaker:it's going to be tastier and it's going to be what
Speaker:the intended recipe is supposed to be producing.
Speaker:Right, Right.
Speaker:Absolutely. The other thing I would say is it's going to
Speaker:be a whole lot less messy because you don't have to
Speaker:have your measuring cup.
Speaker:I don't know about anybody else.
Speaker:If I were to sift the flour,
Speaker:let's just go with that,
Speaker:Roger. Okay.
Speaker:If I'm going to do that,
Speaker:well, I've got my sifter,
Speaker:then I've got my measuring cup that I'm trying to measure
Speaker:into like there's all this stuff and then the flower makes
Speaker:all these like the powdery mess and with yours it just
Speaker:take the bag and you put it in and you're on
Speaker:your way to the next step.
Speaker:That's right on.
Speaker:Yeah. Flour is a very messy ingredient.
Speaker:I forgot how messy it was until I started this business
Speaker:up. It goes everywhere.
Speaker:Oh yeah,
Speaker:because the production facilities got to deal with that,
Speaker:right? Yeah,
Speaker:absolutely. The production facilities,
Speaker:but even when I was testing in my own kitchen,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:it's all over the counter top and in the crevices,
Speaker:but it also gets on the floor on my clothing and
Speaker:the dog.
Speaker:If he's walking around and he tracks it around the house
Speaker:with his little paws,
Speaker:it's a messy ingredient to handle it.
Speaker:And this makes it a lot easier for cleanup.
Speaker:It's a lot less.
Speaker:Yeah. I will say there's one advantage to the mess.
Speaker:What's that?
Speaker:Have you ever seen that commercial Where a woman walks through
Speaker:the door and she's got like powder all over her because
Speaker:she's been baking forever,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:and it's like,
Speaker:look at how much work I've done because I love you
Speaker:family so much.
Speaker:Right. That was a little fake out on that commercial too,
Speaker:if I recall.
Speaker:Right. She did something that was easy,
Speaker:but then she went and got some flour and sprinkled under
Speaker:herself to make it look like she was working.
Speaker:Yeah. So do you have some separate packs that are just
Speaker:for that?
Speaker:That's a great idea and a great concept.
Speaker:It could be a good promo piece.
Speaker:Actually. I'm writing that one down as we speak.
Speaker:Okay, so back to your audience.
Speaker:Just a quick question.
Speaker:I know I have a lot of people who are listening
Speaker:who are starting to create a business and it's from their
Speaker:own home kitchen,
Speaker:so what they're baking is actually smaller batches right now in
Speaker:testing out their product.
Speaker:Maybe just doing craft shows on the weekend,
Speaker:things like that.
Speaker:So they're starting to bake more than just to their family,
Speaker:but it's still pretty small batches.
Speaker:Would your product then be good for them as well?
Speaker:My product would be great for them with the caveat and
Speaker:makes the baking experience much more efficient.
Speaker:Right. From a standpoint,
Speaker:from a cleaning standpoint,
Speaker:those things.
Speaker:So it would be great from that standpoint.
Speaker:There's a cost angle on it.
Speaker:Packaging's not cheap,
Speaker:right. In the old days with flour,
Speaker:they built all the packaging equipment right next to the mills,
Speaker:so they would mill the flour and it would go right
Speaker:into paper bags.
Speaker:We have to do is we bring in flour and we
Speaker:actually bring it in by the truckload and we put it
Speaker:in pouches and put the pouches and cartons and put the
Speaker:cartons in cases in the cases on pallets and get it
Speaker:shipped out the door.
Speaker:So there's a bit of a cost associated with that.
Speaker:So for each of your bakers,
Speaker:there's a cost benefit that goes with it.
Speaker:Certainly this can make you much more consistent on the amount
Speaker:that's being measured.
Speaker:It's going to be a much quicker process because the cleanup's
Speaker:not there and the measuring's not there.
Speaker:There's a bit of a cost with that.
Speaker:That's the watch out.
Speaker:Yeah. I'm guessing that there is a place where the value
Speaker:switches, like in the beginning,
Speaker:if you're not using a lot of product it could make
Speaker:sense because you're going to have fresher product so the results
Speaker:are better because you want that because you want people to
Speaker:buy from you.
Speaker:You have less production in terms of actually making it and
Speaker:cleaning time.
Speaker:But at some point it flips over where there wouldn't be
Speaker:the cost advantage initially.
Speaker:There might be.
Speaker:And then at some point it might flip over as you
Speaker:grow. That's so right on.
Speaker:So yep.
Speaker:Okay. Alright,
Speaker:so curious in terms of product development,
Speaker:now let's go back.
Speaker:Let's jump back into the middle of the story because you
Speaker:described what you do now in your production facilities as we
Speaker:were talking about the cost and packaging and all of that.
Speaker:But let's go back to the point where you see an
Speaker:opportunity, you see that people in the houses have gone down
Speaker:and the fact that we are more convenience,
Speaker:we're not doing as much home cooking and baking as we
Speaker:once were.
Speaker:So you see the opportunity.
Speaker:What did you do in terms of testing the concept?
Speaker:Cause I'm pretty sure I could be wrong,
Speaker:but I'm pretty,
Speaker:you just didn't go to,
Speaker:okay, we're already making this product,
Speaker:like step us through.
Speaker:Once you really felt this idea could have legs,
Speaker:how did you test out the concept?
Speaker:We did a traditional,
Speaker:a marketing study.
Speaker:We did some focus groups,
Speaker:we got people together and we started with a sorting exercise
Speaker:where we put 120 items on a table and they stored
Speaker:them in different ways and it's stuff that you usually see
Speaker:in the grocery store.
Speaker:But then it had some mockups of our product and we
Speaker:got to see the people involved and engaged and try to
Speaker:understand what it was.
Speaker:And then from the sword exercise we kind of understood where
Speaker:we positioned versus other items,
Speaker:other products that are in the grocery store.
Speaker:We went into more of a does this fit into your
Speaker:lifestyle, the price points that you're willing to pay,
Speaker:those kinds of things.
Speaker:And what was really exciting is part of the focus group,
Speaker:they test things out on a system they call box scores.
Speaker:And the boxes are would definitely buy with definitely a probably
Speaker:buy, probably would not buy and definitely would not buy.
Speaker:And 100% of the people that we had in these focus
Speaker:groups were in the top two boxes and the boxes that
Speaker:they would definitely buy it or they would definitely,
Speaker:or probably buy it.
Speaker:So you combine what we learned in the focus groups,
Speaker:what we had our gut feels,
Speaker:and we were brave enough to go to market with it.
Speaker:And you also were seeing that it was at a price
Speaker:point where you could grow a business,
Speaker:Correct? Absolutely.
Speaker:Would you be willing to pay this price for it?
Speaker:And the answer was yes.
Speaker:Okay, perfect.
Speaker:Well let me just stop you for half a second.
Speaker:So gift biz listeners,
Speaker:when I talk about testing your product at craft shows,
Speaker:you're not just selling what you've made,
Speaker:but you're checking to see consumers interest in it.
Speaker:Maybe certain flavors,
Speaker:certain sizes,
Speaker:certain colors.
Speaker:And then also you're testing your price points.
Speaker:So Roger has to do this a little bit differently through
Speaker:a focus group because he's selling flour,
Speaker:right? Or measured flour.
Speaker:But this is exactly what I suggest you guys do when
Speaker:you're just starting out and you're at a craft show.
Speaker:Okay? So it's a similar concept.
Speaker:Okay. I just wanted to interject that there,
Speaker:cause this was a perfect example,
Speaker:Roger. So that's so important in the focus groups were a
Speaker:point of reference.
Speaker:But I carry boxes of the product in my car and
Speaker:I talked to everybody,
Speaker:friends and families about it when it's appropriate.
Speaker:And I'll bring boxes into the grocery stores and ask them
Speaker:about the item and if it fits in their life.
Speaker:So it's a continuous process for me.
Speaker:You can always get better,
Speaker:right? So I'm always asking about everything from the concept to
Speaker:the graphics on the package.
Speaker:Let's stop right here for a quick word from our sponsor
Speaker:and then we'll jump right back in to Roger's story.
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Speaker:All right,
Speaker:so I'd like to share a little story with you about
Speaker:how this business got started and we talked about the concept
Speaker:and the idea and how we,
Speaker:seven years ago we went from cigarettes into making ingredients.
Speaker:That was a long time ago and since then I've been
Speaker:working with a number of small companies,
Speaker:helping them grow and grow very rapidly and it's something that
Speaker:I had a strong desire to do for myself.
Speaker:So we had the great idea,
Speaker:but we hadn't put wheels and an engine on it to
Speaker:make it go.
Speaker:So you had the idea seven years ago?
Speaker:Yeah, we had the idea seven years ago and it was
Speaker:always on the back of my mind that the consumers need
Speaker:this, that it's something out there.
Speaker:Were you like worried that somebody else was going to steal
Speaker:your idea if you were waiting?
Speaker:Every time I went into the grocery store,
Speaker:I walked by the baking section.
Speaker:The CFO was on the shelf yet.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Why did it take you awhile?
Speaker:Well, I think that's probably a part of your story.
Speaker:You're going to probably get into that.
Speaker:I'll let you just tell the story.
Speaker:How about that?
Speaker:Sure. Yeah,
Speaker:so it took me a little while to get to it
Speaker:and the reason is because I was doing other things that
Speaker:I found fun and fascinating and I believe it was meant
Speaker:to be part of my journey and over the past seven
Speaker:years I helped three other small startup companies grow from under
Speaker:$3 million in sales,
Speaker:all three of them to over $17 million,
Speaker:all three of them.
Speaker:So I was doing a lot of the work and a
Speaker:lot of other people recognized success.
Speaker:There had to be some learnings for you from that time
Speaker:to then that just would make you more confident as you
Speaker:were bringing your own product to market and things like that.
Speaker:Without a question.
Speaker:I believe the journey was there for me and I took
Speaker:the road I was supposed to take at the time and
Speaker:all along the way things were learned to make this venture
Speaker:more successful.
Speaker:So in March,
Speaker:working for a small company,
Speaker:helping them to get big,
Speaker:great company.
Speaker:We were having some success and this was really getting to
Speaker:me and I knew that presentation times for retailers were upon
Speaker:us. So most retailers,
Speaker:what they'll do is they'll take presentations I in January,
Speaker:February and March or what they're going to put on this
Speaker:shelf in September and October,
Speaker:which is just prior to the baking season.
Speaker:So in March I was almost in a little bit of
Speaker:a panic mode.
Speaker:It's like there was something telling me that I needed to
Speaker:do this,
Speaker:but I was afraid.
Speaker:Wait, can I stop you?
Speaker:I have a question for you.
Speaker:At this point,
Speaker:had you gone through the focus groups we were talking about
Speaker:or did you already have a sample product in hand?
Speaker:What point in the product evolution were you in this March
Speaker:timeframe? Seven years ago,
Speaker:we did all the focus groups back then,
Speaker:we had the concept developed.
Speaker:We had a package,
Speaker:although it's not the package that you see on shelf today.
Speaker:We had our brand name picked out,
Speaker:good measures.
Speaker:We had the logos picked out and those types of things.
Speaker:So the product was developed.
Speaker:Now what we didn't have is places to buy,
Speaker:ingredients, places to do production,
Speaker:shipping partners,
Speaker:package suppliers,
Speaker:and most importantly customers.
Speaker:So in March,
Speaker:I go to church and I talked to the man upstairs,
Speaker:which I do when they have big decisions to make on
Speaker:my life.
Speaker:And I went to really ask for guidance of which way
Speaker:should I go with this.
Speaker:And my hopes or my expectation were not that great.
Speaker:My hopes would it be,
Speaker:I would get a feeling in my stomach or something that
Speaker:kind of told me which way to go.
Speaker:So I'm there trying to figure it out.
Speaker:I'm listening to the mass as it goes on and it
Speaker:gets to the gospel.
Speaker:And the last part of the gospel that day is Luke
Speaker:six 38 and the last part of Luke six 38 says,
Speaker:yep, and gifts will be given to you.
Speaker:A good measure pack together,
Speaker:shaking down and overflowing will be poured into your lap.
Speaker:No way For the measure with which you measure will in
Speaker:turn be measured out to you.
Speaker:That wasn't very subtle.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:Yeah. So I took that as a divine insight and I
Speaker:actually said that out loud in church.
Speaker:Oh my gosh.
Speaker:And then I came home and this was in March and
Speaker:by April 1st I set up the limited liability company and
Speaker:missed a lot of the appointments for the retailers,
Speaker:but I was able to get two of them and one
Speaker:of them was a very big retailer in the Southeast and
Speaker:it went down,
Speaker:got our samples,
Speaker:we got all our production and suppliers in order and all
Speaker:those types of things.
Speaker:I went down in April to see this customer.
Speaker:Andy took both items and this particular retailer has 1,216
Speaker:stores, which is the scale to launch a business and to
Speaker:do it somewhat cost efficiently,
Speaker:where you actually have a chance to make enough money to
Speaker:invest back into doing things like marketing and stuff to grow
Speaker:your business.
Speaker:So I have the best partner in the world or out
Speaker:of this world,
Speaker:I guess I would say.
Speaker:Well, you're right,
Speaker:that sign couldn't have been much clearer than that.
Speaker:Not a chance,
Speaker:but you got the sign that you should do it.
Speaker:Right. What made you decide pedal to the metal really,
Speaker:and do it for this season instead of getting it started
Speaker:gradually and then being there and ready for the following January,
Speaker:which have been have been actually interestingly right now as we're
Speaker:talking, right?
Speaker:Yeah. So that was the backup plan and the route I
Speaker:thought would actually happen,
Speaker:but there was a,
Speaker:some, a sense of urgency put into me about get out
Speaker:there and give it a shot.
Speaker:And I guess it came together pretty smoothly for you to
Speaker:be able to do it so quickly.
Speaker:Yeah. And what I'd like to say again is they have
Speaker:a great partner That was just further confirmation that you were
Speaker:on the right track.
Speaker:Absolutely. He helped me meet the right people and I have
Speaker:tremendous partners from a supply chain standpoint,
Speaker:from production to the package suppliers,
Speaker:to ingredients,
Speaker:suppliers, that all,
Speaker:I presented the concept to them and they got it and
Speaker:they all became enthusiastic supporters.
Speaker:And the first time we did a run at the plant,
Speaker:all of my suppliers came out and help package products.
Speaker:Oh wow.
Speaker:So they will all be involved in it and for them
Speaker:what's in it?
Speaker:It's a little bit of,
Speaker:we think this is a winner.
Speaker:So a little bit investment upfront,
Speaker:we get to grow with the company.
Speaker:Alright. So am I correct in understanding the story that you
Speaker:then had a couple of chains who were willing to take
Speaker:this on for this season 2019 That's correct,
Speaker:yes. Yep.
Speaker:We started small and we started with a really big retailer,
Speaker:but we don't have mass distribution yet where it could be
Speaker:found in the Southeast United States.
Speaker:But that's okay.
Speaker:The rest of them.
Speaker:I'm going to hit this January,
Speaker:February, and March on time with the presentations and hopefully we'll
Speaker:see much bigger distribution when we look at the holiday season
Speaker:next year.
Speaker:Well, the way I look at that is the one big
Speaker:retailer that you had had an advantage because they have the
Speaker:product where nobody else does,
Speaker:so I'm not sure how they promoted it and all that.
Speaker:We'll get to that in a second,
Speaker:but that was a huge advantage because they had something that
Speaker:their competitors didn't have,
Speaker:which is good.
Speaker:The other thing I'm thinking,
Speaker:and you correct me if I'm wrong,
Speaker:this is just speculation here,
Speaker:is that now you have a stronger story to go in
Speaker:and talk with people as you're getting placement in stores,
Speaker:right as we speak.
Speaker:That's right on.
Speaker:Yup. You got to start someplace and the best way to
Speaker:start is with a success story of,
Speaker:look what this has done to their sales and profits.
Speaker:We could do it for you too.
Speaker:And again,
Speaker:this will also have to be speculation because this isn't the
Speaker:way it played out,
Speaker:but you could have gotten yourself in trouble if you had
Speaker:let's say 10 major retailers wanting to bring this on.
Speaker:Cause that's a lot then to figure out just as you're
Speaker:starting out with the first runs.
Speaker:So in a way this might've been a great way to
Speaker:build it,
Speaker:not necessarily slow and small cause you said you reached your
Speaker:threshold in terms of financing and making it work for you
Speaker:to grow,
Speaker:but then you also weren't overwhelmed.
Speaker:Like what if you had logistic problems or you saw something
Speaker:in the packaging wasn't working or a number of things could
Speaker:have happened.
Speaker:So in a way,
Speaker:this was the best case scenario.
Speaker:Again, kudos to your partner,
Speaker:right? Yeah,
Speaker:exactly. There's no question that I was blessed to be able
Speaker:to work through this on a somewhat limited scope because it
Speaker:is helping us fill in some of the potholes that are
Speaker:in the road.
Speaker:Right? So it's been good that way.
Speaker:But I do have to tell you,
Speaker:so I find a way to get in trouble just about
Speaker:every day.
Speaker:So what happened?
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:Okay. Give us that story.
Speaker:So if I would have gotten any customers or 20 customers,
Speaker:if I would've gotten too many,
Speaker:I would have been in trouble for a day and then
Speaker:we would have went into the problem solving mode,
Speaker:figure out how to make it work.
Speaker:Well, that's kind of what we as business owners,
Speaker:Right? There's always a problem.
Speaker:Yeah, totally.
Speaker:That's the way life goes.
Speaker:Some are bigger than others,
Speaker:but that's just the way it is.
Speaker:So for people who are in a consumable business,
Speaker:because when you're talking about retailers and stores,
Speaker:it's all probably grocery,
Speaker:maybe multi-department like a Kmart is or target,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:people who have grocery and other,
Speaker:but you're placed obviously in the grocery section.
Speaker:So for people who also have products who might see interest
Speaker:or have interest in placement there,
Speaker:share with us a little bit as if we're brand new
Speaker:to this of how the division of responsibilities goes because okay,
Speaker:so you go,
Speaker:you have a presentation,
Speaker:you are granted or you buy in shelf space in the
Speaker:store or department,
Speaker:depending on what it is,
Speaker:who's then responsible for putting the promotions together,
Speaker:having shelf talkers,
Speaker:promoting it into social media or print ads,
Speaker:whatever the strategy is.
Speaker:How does that all get divided out?
Speaker:So a lot of this is good measures as a small
Speaker:company right now we have one employee and you're talking to
Speaker:them. So I'm only a lot as we go and I've
Speaker:learned a lot in the past that I can bring forward.
Speaker:And full disclosure,
Speaker:I've worked in the consumer packaged goods industry for 30 years
Speaker:now. I've made a lot of contacts in the way that
Speaker:I'm able to do this is through the people I meet
Speaker:that don't work for the company.
Speaker:But how that worked for the company,
Speaker:for instances,
Speaker:our major retailer that we have in the Southeast,
Speaker:I have a great broker partner there.
Speaker:Okay. And the brokers,
Speaker:the in between on the manufacturers and the retailers.
Speaker:And he was able to gain access,
Speaker:which is one of the big barriers when you try to
Speaker:go to retail stores.
Speaker:It's just getting audience.
Speaker:Let me talk to you about something because those people who
Speaker:make those decisions are inundated with those requests.
Speaker:So we got access and we were able to close it
Speaker:as far as package development.
Speaker:For instance,
Speaker:the company that I buy the cartons from,
Speaker:they supply the cartons,
Speaker:which is great,
Speaker:but they also have some value added services and they helped
Speaker:with design and mock ups for sales presentations and those kinds
Speaker:of things.
Speaker:Again, because they wanted to see success.
Speaker:Yeah, because your success is going to be their success too.
Speaker:Yep. The ingredient suppliers were happy to send samples,
Speaker:which the plant was happy to put into pouches for me
Speaker:to take in as sale samples to the retailers.
Speaker:So right now being small one person with lots of help
Speaker:from lots of great suppliers.
Speaker:Looking forward,
Speaker:there will be a time in the not too distant future
Speaker:where we're going to have to scale and then hold another
Speaker:set of fun,
Speaker:right. Finding all the right people to do the right things
Speaker:and dividing up the responsibilities.
Speaker:Who's going to own the supply chain and the manufacturing and
Speaker:who's going to own the marketing and who's going to own
Speaker:the back room and the accounting and those kinds of things.<inaudible>
Speaker:okay. So for right now though,
Speaker:for this last season,
Speaker:the holiday season in 2019 that we were just,
Speaker:the retailer then was the one who promoted the product you
Speaker:had to promote and sell it into the retailer.
Speaker:But they're the ones who are promoting in store and in
Speaker:print that they have your product available.
Speaker:Yeah, so that's a great question.
Speaker:They make the decisions on it and they're the ones who
Speaker:ultimately promote it,
Speaker:but they don't do that for free.
Speaker:Right. So if you,
Speaker:we just went off sale.
Speaker:We had our first ad,
Speaker:we were in an ad with our picture of our product
Speaker:in the store and that's very important to gain trial and
Speaker:awareness. And while we were in the ad,
Speaker:we had the price reduced on the shelf and the retailer
Speaker:doesn't pay for that,
Speaker:the supplier does or me.
Speaker:So I ran at zero margin for a couple of weeks
Speaker:to drive that trial and awareness to get the consumers to
Speaker:try the product.
Speaker:It'll bring them back in the future to buy it for
Speaker:full price.
Speaker:Right. And that's all just part of your product introduction,
Speaker:strategy and promotion,
Speaker:all of that.
Speaker:Exactly. That's our investment.
Speaker:And by the way,
Speaker:the retailers very invested in making this work too.
Speaker:When they decided to put good measures on the shelf,
Speaker:they decided to take somebody else off the shelf and also
Speaker:not put somebody else on the shelf.
Speaker:So they made a decision which their bosses are watching and
Speaker:ultimately their shareholders are watching their very best at and seeing
Speaker:good measures be successful,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:for their review.
Speaker:At the end of the year.
Speaker:It's like,
Speaker:well, you put in these items and they weren't successful.
Speaker:That's a bad reflection on you.
Speaker:So that's another place where it's teamwork.
Speaker:I want to measure to succeed.
Speaker:He wants good measures to succeed.
Speaker:We work together to make it happen.
Speaker:Yeah, I mean this is so interesting,
Speaker:Roger, because your product by nature has to go in large
Speaker:retailers, not just the more local retailers,
Speaker:which I want to get to in a second.
Speaker:So as you're talking,
Speaker:you're talking about how things have to happen on,
Speaker:I get that you're saying a small scale,
Speaker:but a small scale by number of retailers,
Speaker:but these retailers are big,
Speaker:they're mass.
Speaker:Correct. So I know a little bit about the grocery industry
Speaker:from my corporate life,
Speaker:but to your point,
Speaker:I mean shelf space is a premium and different shelf,
Speaker:and I'm talking to our listeners now,
Speaker:so different placement is worth,
Speaker:there's different value.
Speaker:So like eye level is different than lower on the shelf,
Speaker:et cetera.
Speaker:And a retailer,
Speaker:if you think about a store,
Speaker:there's only so much space available.
Speaker:So space is at a premium and it gets sold and
Speaker:allocate their spreadsheets and all this craziness.
Speaker:So what Roger's talking about is for him to get shelf
Speaker:space is a big deal because the shelf space is currently
Speaker:being used by somebody.
Speaker:So either someone's space is going to shrink,
Speaker:get taken away completely.
Speaker:Or somebody else that they were thinking about putting in won't
Speaker:be put in because good measures is going to be put
Speaker:in. So it's a huge big deal.
Speaker:So it's interesting and really enlightening to see all of that.
Speaker:And let me just make sure,
Speaker:let me do a checkpoint here.
Speaker:Am I correct in everything I've said?
Speaker:Roger? Well said.
Speaker:Okay, perfect.
Speaker:So, but now I want to relate it to some of
Speaker:our listeners who are like,
Speaker:okay, I am not selling pre-measured flour.
Speaker:I just want to get my cupcakes into the regional local
Speaker:grocer that has five shops.
Speaker:Okay. It's good to know how it works on a larger
Speaker:scale because then you're educated and more informed when you go
Speaker:in and talk to a smaller scale and something that you
Speaker:can actually provide product to.
Speaker:Right. So because you're properly producing out of your kitchen or
Speaker:in a smaller commercial kitchen,
Speaker:you know whatever your situation is.
Speaker:But knowing that there's value of space allocated and how important
Speaker:that is to a grocer as a business owner unto itself
Speaker:is really good to know.
Speaker:The other thing is,
Speaker:and I'm thinking,
Speaker:I don't know if you know this or not,
Speaker:Roger, but on a smaller level,
Speaker:if you can go in and talk about the value in
Speaker:how you'll be promoting that your product is also on the
Speaker:shelves of a local shop through social media or whatever avenues
Speaker:you already promote your business.
Speaker:Maybe you show it on a website as now seen in
Speaker:here in Chicago,
Speaker:we have sunset,
Speaker:which is a local grocer that could also help bump you
Speaker:into the store because they're seeing that you're also helping because
Speaker:they want to move product.
Speaker:Right? And they always want to have something new and interesting.
Speaker:So don't think because you're not at Roger's size that you
Speaker:don't have the value to get your product in a shop.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:I would suggest that you do because being a local Baker
Speaker:provides a lot of interest and excitement into the local grocers.
Speaker:Agree, disagree.
Speaker:Roger, what would you add to that?
Speaker:So you're right on.
Speaker:Unless you're fortunate enough to have very deep pockets going big
Speaker:right out of the blacks has its challenges.
Speaker:And by the way,
Speaker:I don't have the packets.
Speaker:I got a little bit lucky with that whole thing.
Speaker:But to start at a local retailer,
Speaker:to go to your local store and talk to the store
Speaker:manager at a time when they're not busy,
Speaker:bring your product in there and get their support.
Speaker:And a lot of cases that local store manager will have
Speaker:the ability to make decisions and if not,
Speaker:they'll be able to tell you who could make the decisions,
Speaker:right? If you go over to sunset foods,
Speaker:talk to that sales manager and they may be able to
Speaker:bring your product right in.
Speaker:So boom,
Speaker:you have one store.
Speaker:When you go for that conversation.
Speaker:If you're selling cupcakes,
Speaker:don't just walk in with a plate full of cupcakes and
Speaker:have them taste them and expect it to be on the
Speaker:shelf. You do need to think about all the other stuff
Speaker:that's going to make life very,
Speaker:very easy for the retailer.
Speaker:You're going to have to know your cost and the recommended
Speaker:sell price and how you're going to promote it and what
Speaker:the shelf life is and the packaging.
Speaker:It's going to bring mock ups of what it looks like
Speaker:when it gets delivered to the store and how it gets
Speaker:delivered to the store.
Speaker:And by the way,
Speaker:if you're small and you only have one store or five
Speaker:stores, there's nothing wrong with driving it to the store yourself
Speaker:saying, you know,
Speaker:every other Monday I'm going to stop by and check on
Speaker:your inventory and drop off some more to make sure that
Speaker:you have enough product in stock.
Speaker:Oh, I love that.
Speaker:And I even think you start looking at which of the
Speaker:first stores you might go to,
Speaker:just like you were walking down aisles of a grocery store,
Speaker:go into all of these and there are still independent one
Speaker:or two location grocers that would love not to have to
Speaker:seek out new product,
Speaker:but to have you come in and show it to them.
Speaker:You're doing part of their work then.
Speaker:Oh they love that.
Speaker:And there's always a big push for local.
Speaker:And if you're the person that lives down the street and
Speaker:they could promote you because you're local and you did this
Speaker:and you're telling the neighbors and friends that you have and
Speaker:they're telling people and it's driving traffic into the store,
Speaker:it's real synergistic and it works for everybody.
Speaker:Yeah, love that.
Speaker:Okay, so I'm going to ask you a question.
Speaker:I don't know if you're going to be able to answer
Speaker:or not or want to answer how this is going to
Speaker:go. So we'll see how this goes.
Speaker:But you have so much experience in consumer packaged goods and
Speaker:then you were helping those three other businesses grow so well.
Speaker:What advice or suggestions do you have based on things that
Speaker:people might either have done wrong or just not know what
Speaker:to do?
Speaker:Can you give us some suggestions on growth ideas or product
Speaker:development ideas of things to do to start or grow your
Speaker:business around the baking industry or consumable products overall?
Speaker:I guess there's not one answer for it.
Speaker:When it comes to new products and new items,
Speaker:life's about a very,
Speaker:very meaningful point of difference.
Speaker:And if you're going to go in and sell the next
Speaker:salsa and your is better than any other salts that on
Speaker:the shelf because it has 10% more onions,
Speaker:that's fine.
Speaker:And you may have friends telling you that that's a good
Speaker:thing and stuff,
Speaker:but for a retailer it's probably going to be a little
Speaker:bit of a shrug.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:I heard somebody else yesterday coming in telling me they had
Speaker:10% more jalapenos and that makes their salts better Because it's
Speaker:a big deal taking out and putting in new products.
Speaker:Yeah, and if you're a startup company,
Speaker:any buyer that you talk to at a retailer has been
Speaker:burned. They've taken an item in and then the company hasn't
Speaker:been able to deliver.
Speaker:So that hurts them a lot.
Speaker:They take a risk,
Speaker:they put their neck out on the line for you.
Speaker:Things like how do you get UPC and how do you
Speaker:put those UPC on the cartons and what are the rules
Speaker:and how,
Speaker:and if you put those into a master case to ship
Speaker:them around,
Speaker:what does that look like and what are those roles?
Speaker:And a lot of things that I've learned along the way,
Speaker:that goes back to being really buttoned up as you can
Speaker:when you walk in.
Speaker:But back to the big things pointed differences and it's finding
Speaker:that white space for consumers.
Speaker:What unmet needs are there out there that you can meet?
Speaker:And for me it was,
Speaker:well that's simple.
Speaker:I've took putting flour into pouches,
Speaker:but it's something that's different.
Speaker:It's something that is a bigger difference than just I use
Speaker:a wheat that's a little bit different in my flower that's
Speaker:got a 2% less protein or something.
Speaker:Right? I mean it's super different and it has real benefits.
Speaker:Yeah. So that's the biggie.
Speaker:If I was still in the consulting business,
Speaker:I had a company called trade management partners where I was
Speaker:helping startup companies,
Speaker:the ones that I would want to talk to,
Speaker:I reviewed their offerings.
Speaker:The ones I wanted to talk to are the ones that
Speaker:had those meaningful points of difference because that's easy if you
Speaker:don't have the meaningful points of difference.
Speaker:They're just close in points of difference,
Speaker:just a little bit extra onions or whatever.
Speaker:It's very hard to sell in and generally they're not going
Speaker:to, if you buy your way in,
Speaker:because that's what they're going to say.
Speaker:I can't put you on the shelf for free.
Speaker:You're too much like everything else,
Speaker:but if you pay my exorbitant slotting Easton,
Speaker:and is a big deal in the retail industry,
Speaker:I'll put you on the shelf and you'll have six months
Speaker:to be successful.
Speaker:That's cost way too much money,
Speaker:especially for small startup companies and it's probably not going to
Speaker:be a success.
Speaker:Right. Always kind of looking for something that's just little bit.
Speaker:Yeah, and it could be size,
Speaker:it could be flavors,
Speaker:it could be style.
Speaker:Maybe cause not everyone's going to find something that has such
Speaker:obvious white space as yours,
Speaker:Right? Yep.
Speaker:In color and positioning.
Speaker:I'd add That goes back to our beginning though on testing
Speaker:it. If you think you have a great idea,
Speaker:a great concept,
Speaker:we did some formal focus groups,
Speaker:but there's nothing wrong with having 10 of your friends sit
Speaker:around the table and friends that you can trust to give
Speaker:you really honest feedback to say,
Speaker:Hey that is different enough that that does have a place
Speaker:in my life.
Speaker:Or they could help you brainstorm if it's not exactly right,
Speaker:get where you're going,
Speaker:but if we look at it this way is to that
Speaker:way and change it just a little bit,
Speaker:then it starts to really deliver against an unmet need that's
Speaker:out there.
Speaker:Excellent point.
Speaker:Excellent. How far do you think relationships can go in product
Speaker:placement? Like for example,
Speaker:if you have some grocers who are part of the chamber,
Speaker:which that might sound unrealistic,
Speaker:but I know in my location for a while some of
Speaker:these smaller independent grocers were part of the local chamber.
Speaker:Like just having people get to know you as a person.
Speaker:Cause you could also then ask questions about your product with
Speaker:them. Would this be something that's attractive to your store?
Speaker:Potentially. Things like that.
Speaker:What do you think about the relationship angle?
Speaker:Yeah, relationships are,
Speaker:that's everything for me.
Speaker:Since right now we're a one person company.
Speaker:So relationships from all the operations standpoint,
Speaker:but also from sharing mine,
Speaker:getting opinions from people you respect,
Speaker:getting out there and meeting others to give input is really
Speaker:important. And on the selling side,
Speaker:relationships are also important.
Speaker:It's really about if you find somebody that's got a relationship
Speaker:with those customers you want to go to,
Speaker:they can at least get you access.
Speaker:That gets you all the way in,
Speaker:but they're going to get you face to face meeting,
Speaker:then you're carrying the ball and it's your turn to make
Speaker:it work.
Speaker:Agreed. So once you're in the store,
Speaker:what type of followup or how do you ensure that you
Speaker:stay there?
Speaker:You use your partners again.
Speaker:So the first thing is to ensure that you get on
Speaker:the shelf.
Speaker:Okay. And you can purchase reporting.
Speaker:If you're a small company and you've gotten this far,
Speaker:the buyer,
Speaker:the decision maker is probably your friend and they'll share information
Speaker:with you on the percent of store selling and like that.
Speaker:The Beginning of any product life cycle,
Speaker:it's all about trial and awareness.
Speaker:How can you buy something if you don't know what's there,
Speaker:right? If you don't know what the,
Speaker:how it meets a need in your life.
Speaker:So the beginnings about trial and awareness and then it turns
Speaker:into buying rate and trying to sell more to shoppers afterwards,
Speaker:but in the beginning invest in things that will get awareness
Speaker:about your brand and it may be things like the feature
Speaker:ad that you were in,
Speaker:the good measures was in,
Speaker:it may be things like price reductions because when you do
Speaker:a price reduction,
Speaker:you usually get a tag on the shelf that has a
Speaker:burst that says,
Speaker:Hey look at me.
Speaker:It could be things like product demos.
Speaker:If you have a detergent that gets out stains better than
Speaker:any other detergent spray or something like that,
Speaker:you can do demonstrations and still gravy on your shirt and
Speaker:show things up well or samples,
Speaker:like you were saying in store samples.
Speaker:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker:Sample something sample better than others.
Speaker:Right. Sampling a lollipops really easy.
Speaker:You hand it over to them and they taste it and
Speaker:either they love it or they hate it.
Speaker:Sampling and ingredient is a little harder,
Speaker:right? Because I don't want them to taste the flower.
Speaker:If it's not part of the cupcake,
Speaker:Right. For your product,
Speaker:that wouldn't work.
Speaker:Right. But I could hand out a pouch for them to
Speaker:take home and that's still a type of sampling.
Speaker:Right. So next time they bake,
Speaker:they have the capability to,
Speaker:Oh, I can pull out that thing that I got at
Speaker:the store the other day.
Speaker:See how it works here.
Speaker:As you look into the future,
Speaker:what do you think you and your partner have in store
Speaker:for good measures foods?
Speaker:No, that's a great question.
Speaker:It's a really appropriate question right now.
Speaker:Do you know today's December 5th right?
Speaker:December 5th,
Speaker:2019 As we're interviewing today.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:As our interview is today,
Speaker:and what that means is we have exactly 26 days left
Speaker:in this decade,
Speaker:right? So it's a great thing to look back and see
Speaker:what we've done over the last 3,652
Speaker:days and if we're satisfied with ourselves,
Speaker:but also look forward to see what we want to do
Speaker:for the next 3,652
Speaker:days. So your question's a great one right now is we're
Speaker:getting aspirational and thinking about what we want for the future
Speaker:and for me,
Speaker:so for good measures,
Speaker:it's a hundred million dollars in sales and then it's delivering
Speaker:on our mission.
Speaker:And our mission is to deliver precisely,
Speaker:measure top quality ingredients which result in the best scratch baking
Speaker:experience and best home baked goods,
Speaker:loved by bakers,
Speaker:families and friends while delivering value to shareholders,
Speaker:employees and customers.
Speaker:And most importantly contributing to a better world.
Speaker:That part I don't have defined well yet.
Speaker:It's contributing to a better world.
Speaker:But I can tell you it's probably going to have something
Speaker:to do with feeding hungry people and making sure that there's
Speaker:a lot less hungry people in the world.
Speaker:It makes sense cause it's a natural spinoff.
Speaker:Absolutely. It's a natural spinoff.
Speaker:It's me giving in good measures.
Speaker:That's what's important.
Speaker:Yeah, and you are really concrete in terms of the dollar
Speaker:amount that you're looking for the valuation,
Speaker:right, or the revenue,
Speaker:however, whatever you want to call that number,
Speaker:the product that you have with possibly extensions and all that,
Speaker:and also the for more give back.
Speaker:You might not know exactly where you're going,
Speaker:but you know that that's part of the equation.
Speaker:We have 26 days to figure it out.
Speaker:Yep. No,
Speaker:only 20 seconds,
Speaker:right. Cause day one of the next decade you got to
Speaker:get going.
Speaker:Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker:We don't want to let a day go by.
Speaker:Yeah. Well listen here on gift biz on wrapped,
Speaker:we've started doing past guest spotlights,
Speaker:so as you keep going,
Speaker:I'm going to be checking back with you and I'm going
Speaker:to expect a report from you.
Speaker:This is an accountability section I just added in to the
Speaker:show. That's wonderful.
Speaker:Yeah, so you'll be able to give us all an update
Speaker:of how things are progressing and what the giveback back is
Speaker:because potentially we could all contribute to it.
Speaker:Right. I look forward to it.
Speaker:Yeah, that would be great.
Speaker:Yes. Wonderful.
Speaker:Well, thank you so much.
Speaker:This has been a fabulous chat because it's a different perspective
Speaker:entering into the market in a different way from bigger consumer
Speaker:packaged goods versus what we're usually looking at,
Speaker:which is the local level.
Speaker:So it's given us more knowledge.
Speaker:It's given us more insight,
Speaker:great understanding,
Speaker:and your story is phenomenal to think that it started with
Speaker:cigarettes, continued into church and now what you're doing is like
Speaker:a story unlike any other.
Speaker:So I love it.
Speaker:Thank you so much for sharing with us today.
Speaker:Well Sue,
Speaker:thank you for letting me share and it's been a pleasure.
Speaker:You have a wonderful day.
Speaker:You too.
Speaker:I can't wait for good measures to be here on the
Speaker:grocery shelves in Chicago.
Speaker:Meanwhile, if you're in a public market,
Speaker:go down the baking aisle and see if you can spot
Speaker:the pre-measured individually packaged flour.
Speaker:Publix was the chain Roger referenced several times and I'm pretty
Speaker:sure by now they've added locations better yet.
Speaker:Take a picture of a good measure citing and tag me
Speaker:at gift biz unwrapped on Instagram.
Speaker:If you see them giving out samples extra points up next
Speaker:week we'll be talking with a brand management expert behind products
Speaker:such as the foreman,
Speaker:grill, OxiClean,
Speaker:and GoPro.
Speaker:Aren't you curious about how these products became the household names?
Speaker:We know today.
Speaker:Tune in on Monday to find out better yet,
Speaker:subscribe to the show and each episode will be downloaded automatically.
Speaker:I just learned that in iTunes these days.
Speaker:Sometimes it takes a while for the latest episode to show
Speaker:up in your feed,
Speaker:but when you're subscribed you get it immediately right when it's
Speaker:published, so there is another benefit for subscribing.
Speaker:All right then make it a great week and bye for
Speaker:now. I want to make sure you're familiar with my free
Speaker:Facebook group called GIP is free.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:We've got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week,
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing,
Speaker:to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show them what you're working on for the week,
Speaker:to get reaction from other people and just for fun because
Speaker:we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody in
Speaker:the community is making.
Speaker:My favorite post every single week without doubt,
Speaker:wait, what aren't you part of the group already?
Speaker:If not,
Speaker:make sure to jump over to Facebook and search for the
Speaker:group gift biz breeze.
Speaker:Don't delay.