Pitching your sauce

I know several people here have, but there's not much action on this forum right now for some reason.

I know you have to have it bottled by an outside source and most of them will have minimum amounts you have to buy.

Before you went to that expense, you should take your sauce around to local restaurants and let them try it, and then ask them if they'd be interested in using it. Local grocery stores can also be an avenue if you can get them to stock it on their shelves.

It's a tough market though, just go to any grocery store now and look at all the sauce choices. Everybody and their brother has what they think is the next great sauce and they're all fighting for a piece of the pie. It's an uphill battle to get your name out there and it's going to take a lot of up-front expense with little payoff for a long time.

Not trying to discourage you, I'm just sharing what I learned when I was looking into doing it. Good luck, and feel free to send me samples. In the name of research of course. :becky:

I just noticed you're in Memphis. One of the places recommended to me for having sauce bottled was Ingredient Corp. of America, located in Memphis. Their pricing was reasonable and their minimums weren't as high as most others. You can check them out at www.memphi.net to start getting an idea of what your investment will be.

Resesgrill said:

Yes they are reasonable I am talking with them now.. I have a white sauce I would like to market. Thanks for the insight!

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In all seriousness, I'd be interested in trying it and possibly using it on my food trailer. I've made a few versions but I'm not a big fan so I can't really judge it, but it could be a nice option for our customers. It wouldn't do much to grow your brand outside of my tiny area, but it could be a start.

I would not invest in a lot of bottled inventory until you have talked to restaurant owners/buyers. The approach is this: "I am thinking about marketing my white bbq sauce recipe, and am looking for advice. Can you help me?" You will learn a lot from this, where going in with a salesman hat on will not get you nearly as much. Then at the end of the conversation, you ask "Do you know anyone else who might be willing to give me some advice." Then stay in contact with your best sources and best prospects. This is the way to build a network that eventually can become a source of orders and leads.

https://memphis.score.org/ can help you. This is what SCORE does. Look hard at their 5-session "Simple Steps Starting Your Business" workshop beginning on January 14.

You mentioned your white sauce, do you have other sauces to sell? If I was getting into the sauce business, I wouldn't really start with restaurants, I would start with retail, and LOTS of sampling/demos.

Resesgrill said:

Has anyone ever bottled their sauce and had success pitching their sauce to a restaurant. Curious what im up against

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Sweet Baby Rays for $25 a 5 gallon bucket is what your up against.

I'm curious about the white sauce. Almost everything else on the shelf is - not - white.

ynotfehc said:

... If I was getting into the sauce business, I wouldn't really start with restaurants, I would start with retail, and LOTS of sampling/demos.

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The OP's market investigations should lead him to the best initial target market and the SCORE guys can help with that too. Selling directly to consumers via shows and farmers' markets is another time-honored way to initially offer a product. I had two sisters as SCORE clients who did exactly this, testing and developing their bagels for a couple of years. Now that have a very successful bagel shop in a trendy part of town.

Resesgrill said:

Has anyone ever bottled their sauce and had success pitching their sauce to a restaurant. Curious what im up against

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Bbq Bubba said:

Sweet Baby Rays for $25 a 5 gallon bucket is what your up against.

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^ + 1 Keep in mind that the average consumer considers the act of adding the sauce to constitute calling food BBQ.


Personal taste is a major hurdle to overcome, it is just too subjective to our individual preferences. I am sure five tasters could taste the same product at the same time and give you five different reviews. Regional and ethnic tastes are the greatest variables in our own individual likes and dislikes. There are so many sauces to currently choose from, it's a lot like wine; many styles, many regions, and many twists. I don't think there is a right or a wrong selection, just preference. I have tasted some sauce that I think were bad, but other people people think it's the greatest sauce in the world, it's all a matter of preferred choice.



You will also find that most commercial BBQ sauces are high in the sweetness factor. Lots of high fructose corn syrup, simply because it is cheap. This may not be what people like, but rather what they have been taught to think they like because it is the only thing made available to them.



We have been conditioned by corporate America with the products pushed on the consumer for decades upon decades. Sweet-sticky cheap BBQ sauce is here to stay because it turns a large profit. Another example of this is pancake syrup; It amazing at the number of people I meet who actually prefer diluted corn syrup flavored with fenugreek/methi seed over natural maple syrup. We have been conditioned since we were able to eat, that this is the flavor we have come to expect. I've met hundreds of people who have never tasted real maple syrup.



I agree with airedale that you have to develop your "niche" market to break the barriers of what one is comfortable with to get them to try something new or different.

Not sure about a restaurant, but have you tried your local grocery stores? Most of our stores have quite a selection of local sauces & products on their shelves. It's like a "thing" these days.

Either way, you're more than likely going to need to have a co-packer...unless your sauce falls under your state cottage law (which it may).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bbq Bubba
Sweet Baby Rays for $25 a 5 gallon bucket is what your up against.


^ + 1 Keep in mind that the average consumer considers the act of adding the sauce to constitute calling food BBQ.


Personal taste is a major hurdle to overcome, it is just too subjective to our individual preferences. I am sure five tasters could taste the same product at the same time and give you five different reviews.

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Good point - I brought the best part of a pork shoulder to a party on Jan 1.
I cleaned it up good, no excess fat. I sauced it with Sweet Baby Ray's,
because. I left the SBR bottle if anyone wanted more, and one guy squeezed so much on I was aghast. No one else wanted more. To each his/her/its own.

Is Alabama White Sauce pretty popular in your area? I have offered it several times at weddings I’ve catered - told people it was typically used on chicken, and most just pass it on by because they are unaware of it here in New England.

I say this because if it’s not popular where you are, you might have a hard time generating sales.

CT-Mike said:

Is Alabama White Sauce pretty popular in your area? I have offered it several times at weddings I’ve catered - told people it was typically used on chicken, and most just pass it on by because they are unaware of it here in New England.

I say this because if it’s not popular where you are, you might have a hard time generating sales.

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The white sauce is popular with the people that follow me around to events. Its a all around good sauce. It s fantastic on brisket. I would love to bottle it but I don't know how to do so. Not sure what a hot fill would do to the sauce. Anybody have any insight for that?

Obiguns said:

The white sauce is popular with the people that follow me around to events. Its a all around good sauce. It s fantastic on brisket. I would love to bottle it but I don't know how to do so. Not sure what a hot fill would do to the sauce. Anybody have any insight for that?

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@Obiguns, I am running off to my SCORE client appointments this morning but, with respect:

We see clients all the time who have a good idea and become consumed with what I call "infrastructure" before they had spent any time testing their idea by talking to potential customers, advisors who have expertise but may not be potential customers, etc. This is critical. No plan survives first contact with the enemy. Your idea of your target market is untested. The right market may not be restaurants (grocery stores has been suggested) where you have to compete on price (as has also been mentioned). Again, with respect, don't worry about bottling and filling until you have gained extensive knowledge of your potential markets and what you need to do to be successful.

The alternative is to do what I call "rifle shot marketing." This involves keeping a low profile while building infrastructure, the leaping out with a big bang hoping that your introspectively-developed mo0del of your market is correct enough that you can make a business. IOW, hoping you'll get lucky. Rifle shots can work but IMO are not the best strategy. It can even be the best strategy for marketers with truly innovative products and who already have experience in the markets they are planning to enter. But this is not you. Sorry to be blunt. Have to go now.

Obiguns said:

I would love to bottle it but I don't know how to do so. Not sure what a hot fill would do to the sauce. Anybody have any insight for that?

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Do you know you have to use a hot fill? There are plenty of fillers out there that can fill cold, such as a piston filler. Depends more on the consistency and whether there are chunks. If it's a matter of spoilage, there are products and methods to take care of that, but lots of testing.