Rid here: we finally got our prices and now can move ahead. Are the prices where we want them?
Sorry, that's proprietary. But, we do have a new twist in this thing and that's the case we pack the jars in. Co packer dudes want us to go to a 6 bottle case from the standard 12 bottle case. Why? I dunno- something to do with how some food stores and distributors want their shipments now. We were told we could be one of the first companies "to ride this new wave". Hey, this aint some f**king surfing class. There is nothing cool or sexy or earth-shaking about a friggin box!
Stay tuned all you sauceheads out there.....we are getting ready to fire up those kettles for real.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
No more waiting!
Well......Michael and I have been emailing each other like crazy. He's in WIlliamsburg, VA. It has been determined that we will go into production the last week of Sept. Now, the questions becomes, is that gonna happen? Who the hell knows. But we need to establish a date in order to keep ourselves from jumping off some bridge somewhere.
We have not gotten the quick responses needed from our co packer guys. But we are on them, now. Hopefully we will get answers to move ahead with the nutritionals and processing approval from Cornell.
We will also need to forward all this info to the FDA so we can start cooking up these sauces and get them into our customers shopping carts!
SO---- this is the deal---we are going into production the last week of September. Hahahahahahaha.......absolutely.....yessireee....yup.....you betcha.......really.
(we shall see)
We have not gotten the quick responses needed from our co packer guys. But we are on them, now. Hopefully we will get answers to move ahead with the nutritionals and processing approval from Cornell.
We will also need to forward all this info to the FDA so we can start cooking up these sauces and get them into our customers shopping carts!
SO---- this is the deal---we are going into production the last week of September. Hahahahahahaha.......absolutely.....yessireee....yup.....you betcha.......really.
(we shall see)
Monday, August 23, 2010
The waiting game
Rid here: It's late August. Everyone is running away to grab their last minute vacation. Not me. No sir. I'm working. Trying to get anything done is impossible!!
We are still waiting for our co-packer to finalize ingredients and related pricing so Michael A. can do his final calculations to see how much these sauces are going to cost to make--and to see how much (or how little) we will make on them. We are also debating whether to run a 30 case batch (wait til we get orders before spending big bucks--but price per jar to make goes way up) or do we order 100 cases, (so if we get an order, we can fill it immediately, much better unit prices to produce). We don't want to have to wait 2-3 weeks to fill an order should one land on our desk. That's how long it takes for the co packer to prepare for a production run. If a new client wants it NOW, we better be able to respond.
Hopefully we get moving again this week. Nothing is happening and I am EXTREMELY frustrated by the slow pace. What pace? There isn't one. I'm from the advertising business. We live and breathe deadlines. BOOM! Meet it or die.
Ya wanna know how f***ing slow the pace is? They are rebuilding all the roads, installing new sewers and putting in about 5 miles of sidewalks in our neighborhood. They started 3 months after we started talking to co packers. They are just about done. We are still waiting to get something done. ANYTHING! Maybe a good price. Or a nutritional. Or a Mediterranean tomato sauce sample that's not pink. Or..... never mind.
We are still waiting for our co-packer to finalize ingredients and related pricing so Michael A. can do his final calculations to see how much these sauces are going to cost to make--and to see how much (or how little) we will make on them. We are also debating whether to run a 30 case batch (wait til we get orders before spending big bucks--but price per jar to make goes way up) or do we order 100 cases, (so if we get an order, we can fill it immediately, much better unit prices to produce). We don't want to have to wait 2-3 weeks to fill an order should one land on our desk. That's how long it takes for the co packer to prepare for a production run. If a new client wants it NOW, we better be able to respond.
Hopefully we get moving again this week. Nothing is happening and I am EXTREMELY frustrated by the slow pace. What pace? There isn't one. I'm from the advertising business. We live and breathe deadlines. BOOM! Meet it or die.
Ya wanna know how f***ing slow the pace is? They are rebuilding all the roads, installing new sewers and putting in about 5 miles of sidewalks in our neighborhood. They started 3 months after we started talking to co packers. They are just about done. We are still waiting to get something done. ANYTHING! Maybe a good price. Or a nutritional. Or a Mediterranean tomato sauce sample that's not pink. Or..... never mind.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Labels
Rid here: Well, I have finalized the labels for our four glorious simmer sauces. They are elegant yet have a sense of "inviting" to them. People seem to like them....and find them.... "inviting".
We are now waiting to fix the Mediterranean Tomato simmer sauce. The co-packer keeps using this big ass blender that whips up whatever is in the kettle. I think its making certain ingredients milky--thereby making the tomato sauce pinkish in color. No. We need it to be red. Fresh garden-like red. It will happen. In our lifetime...we hope.
We also now need to get new nutritionals for each sauce. And final ingredient lists to add to the label. In our lifetime, we hope. It takes so f**cking long to get anything done!! I feel like I'm stuck in a big vat of molasses.
We are also weighing the idea of running 100 cases for our first run instead of just 30 cases. Don't want to be caught shorthanded if someone wants to order a significant amount. Don't want a bizillion jars of sauce in our garages either. (Actually, we can warehouse them at our co-packer. Costs oodles more $$ though. Uggh. But like they say, you can't make money without spending money.
Stay tuned...there is a lot coming as we approach production day.
We are now waiting to fix the Mediterranean Tomato simmer sauce. The co-packer keeps using this big ass blender that whips up whatever is in the kettle. I think its making certain ingredients milky--thereby making the tomato sauce pinkish in color. No. We need it to be red. Fresh garden-like red. It will happen. In our lifetime...we hope.
We also now need to get new nutritionals for each sauce. And final ingredient lists to add to the label. In our lifetime, we hope. It takes so f**cking long to get anything done!! I feel like I'm stuck in a big vat of molasses.
We are also weighing the idea of running 100 cases for our first run instead of just 30 cases. Don't want to be caught shorthanded if someone wants to order a significant amount. Don't want a bizillion jars of sauce in our garages either. (Actually, we can warehouse them at our co-packer. Costs oodles more $$ though. Uggh. But like they say, you can't make money without spending money.
Stay tuned...there is a lot coming as we approach production day.
Monday, August 16, 2010
In the land of mushrooms!
Rid here: Today, Michael A. and I went to a mushroom farm in West grove, PA. It was fun and we learned a lot about how mushrooms are grown.
That's all.
That's all.
Big Test Day Round 2 – FML ???
Michael A. reporting on round 2 of “testing”. You’ve already heard from Rid that all went well…sort of, and the sauces tasted…well, FABULOUS…
Now I’d never say that Rid exaggerates, its just his, what did I call it? Oh yes, his exuberant emotionalism. But I have to say he’s not exaggerating very much at all. The sauces did taste very, very good. They ranged from a low of 4 (on a 1 – 5) up to a 5. Rid’s Roasted Red Pepper Basil Cream sauce kicks ass!
Thursday started out much the same as the week before. Kids and dogs at camp/day care, wives working (God please continue to Bless them) and Rid and I driving up the road. When Rid asked me this time how I thought the day would turn out I said “forget it, I’m not predicting a thing! Just look how last week turned out"! We get to the co-packer and first thing are the women walking in at the same time saying “hi, we’re here for the R & D test day”. Ahh, wait a minute, Rid and I are here for the R & D test day! Is this the start of an FML day?
Well, turns out that there was a schedule screw up (see Rid’s earlier blogs about the food industry) and the co packer folks were trying to work it out. Oh, and also, it was the day the co packer had the “INSPECTORS” in, just to add a little excitement to the day. (BTW, they did fine with the inspection) So “M” worked with the ladies and “C” worked with us. C starts working on the sauces and of course Chef Dave is there to assist. Piccata turns out good. Bottle it up and move on. C is moving at his usual pace (don’t get me started) and the Marsala Marsala mushroom soup! FML… “C” I say, before making any more decisions about OUR sauces please consult with us first. C tells me that maybe he should have chopped the mushrooms in the first place. Suffice it to say that was not the best thing to say to me, you know the customer, the guy PAYING FOR ALL OF THIS! Along with a few other pithy comments from C and I was just about to loose it!
Anyway at this point I left the area and tried to cool down. See Rid’s comments on my condition. Anyway, with Chef Dave’s help and M the sauces all got down. We learned a few things that needed to be tweaked. Bottom line is I think we are almost there. Rid and I will be working on sourcing mushrooms, sourcing all natural bases, etc etc. But we are on our way and in the end I don’t think it was an FML day!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
We did it! BOY, did we ever!
Rid sez: It's now early Saturday AM and I'm still thinking about the simmer sauces that we made on Thursday. You know, the small batch test....the day we would either dance in the streets or shoot ourselves.
Well, they ALL came out tasting fabulous. I'm talking Superb. Fantastic. I mean, really.....I'm not being biased here... they tasted like the sauce gods came down from their gas ranges in the sky and blessed these four little creations of ours.
Michael A. and I and our better halves all got together last night and sampled each according to the directions which will appear on the labels. Holy sh*t. That's all I can say about how good they tasted. If someone had told me they were made in a factory-and I didn't know that, I would've said they were crazy. They tasted like some super gourmet chef spent hours creating them. Well...duhhh... friggin gourmets DID make them. Us. And it has taken 8 months so far. And worth every blessed minute.
We now have samples of our latest batch. We are going to start getting real impressions from folks about what they think of them. They better not break my heart. We feel pretty confident that they will love them all. If they don't--they're f**king morons. Simple as that.....
We still will need to address some issues regarding the sauces. They each taste great but some of the textures aren't quite right and the processes need to be re-worked. Its not just what you use...it's how it's made, too. Like, you never use a high speed blender on olive oil--it turns to milk and ruins the color of your food. Stuff like that. We need the mushrooms in the Marsala sauce to be bigger pieces--ideally, we want slices. Might be tough to do.
I did need to calm Michael A. down on Thursday however-- there came a moment when he redefined the word, "pissed". I mean, this guy's blood pressure must've been 600 / 1000. There are those out there who have no idea about how lucky they are to still be alive this morning. I have never seen Michael's eyes get so small as they did Thursday afternoon. They looked like two little glowing red peas. I swear, I thought the guys was going to blowtorch the entire co-packing plant! I stayed verrry quiet.....
What was he so pissed off about? The mushrooms in our Marsala batch were cut too small. Waaaayy too small. Was I pissed? Nah. It's fixable.
He's fine now-(his eyeballs have returned to normal). And so am I. Life is good in sauceland.....for today anyway.
Next steps: fix the texture issues, new batch of Med. Tomato sauce, new nutritionals, new Cornell? Meet with PR people. Select label printer. finalize ingredients for labels, buy UPCs, Re-do videos, new photography of jars and beauty shots of entrees with our sauces, update the website with new photos and videos, buy liability insurance, meet mushroom people (mushroom issues abound), talk to buyers, etc.
...and that;s just Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Well, they ALL came out tasting fabulous. I'm talking Superb. Fantastic. I mean, really.....I'm not being biased here... they tasted like the sauce gods came down from their gas ranges in the sky and blessed these four little creations of ours.
Michael A. and I and our better halves all got together last night and sampled each according to the directions which will appear on the labels. Holy sh*t. That's all I can say about how good they tasted. If someone had told me they were made in a factory-and I didn't know that, I would've said they were crazy. They tasted like some super gourmet chef spent hours creating them. Well...duhhh... friggin gourmets DID make them. Us. And it has taken 8 months so far. And worth every blessed minute.
We now have samples of our latest batch. We are going to start getting real impressions from folks about what they think of them. They better not break my heart. We feel pretty confident that they will love them all. If they don't--they're f**king morons. Simple as that.....
We still will need to address some issues regarding the sauces. They each taste great but some of the textures aren't quite right and the processes need to be re-worked. Its not just what you use...it's how it's made, too. Like, you never use a high speed blender on olive oil--it turns to milk and ruins the color of your food. Stuff like that. We need the mushrooms in the Marsala sauce to be bigger pieces--ideally, we want slices. Might be tough to do.
I did need to calm Michael A. down on Thursday however-- there came a moment when he redefined the word, "pissed". I mean, this guy's blood pressure must've been 600 / 1000. There are those out there who have no idea about how lucky they are to still be alive this morning. I have never seen Michael's eyes get so small as they did Thursday afternoon. They looked like two little glowing red peas. I swear, I thought the guys was going to blowtorch the entire co-packing plant! I stayed verrry quiet.....
What was he so pissed off about? The mushrooms in our Marsala batch were cut too small. Waaaayy too small. Was I pissed? Nah. It's fixable.
He's fine now-(his eyeballs have returned to normal). And so am I. Life is good in sauceland.....for today anyway.
Next steps: fix the texture issues, new batch of Med. Tomato sauce, new nutritionals, new Cornell? Meet with PR people. Select label printer. finalize ingredients for labels, buy UPCs, Re-do videos, new photography of jars and beauty shots of entrees with our sauces, update the website with new photos and videos, buy liability insurance, meet mushroom people (mushroom issues abound), talk to buyers, etc.
...and that;s just Monday and Tuesday of next week.
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