Baron's International Kitchen signs Contract Packaging Company

Hey folks,

Well, I've been out of touch for a bit but I now have some wonderful news to report. I have selected Nelson Farms as my contract packaging company or "co-packer".

Nelson Farms will be taking over the work of cooking my gourmet Caribbean Jerk Sauce Marinades and Caribbean Hot Sauce. This is exciting on so many fronts but most notably because it means that my company is growing- always great news :) As I've been lamenting, now that I am in 16 stores, I just cannot keep up with cooking all the products myself at the Reservoir Inn Restaurant while also growing the business by getting my products into new stores and performing the book-keeping, marketing, customer service, vendor relations, strategic planning, accounts payable, event planning and accounts receivable tasks.

It's a bittersweet achievement actually because I really do enjoy the cooking...well, maybe not the getting up at 2 in the morning part of the process :) but there's something creative in mixing onions, garlic, spices and other ingredients together and getting yummy sauce at the end. I've also been a bit anal about product quality- I want it to taste PERFECT!! That anal-ity has paid off it seems as so many of you continuously share how much you're enjoying my gourmet sauces and condiments. Your feedback inspires me to remain focused on quality.

One of the many reasons I choose this particular co-packer is their dedication to quality, commitment to process and focus on gourmet specialty food entrepreneurs. Nelson Farms will be following my recipes and they are committed to following these to the letter so the taste of my Hot and Mild Caribbean Jerk Sauce Marinades won't change. You may notice that they are more smooth in consistency, not so chunky in texture perhaps but this is merely a function of the high-tech processing machines at their disposal versus my doing the same work by hand. It's actually pretty awesome the work these machines can do. In my case, I can see that doing all the work by hand isn't necessarily better :) The same is true of my Caribbean Hot Sauce- it looks a little different, smoother consistency but it has the same awesome taste. I invite you all to share your thoughts about the products when you buy them on the shelves this year.

I still have some work to do on my Portuguese Repolho Relish. As you know, the Relish is more the consistency of Sauerkraut so it falls outside of what the processing machines can bottle. I am planning to spend some time with Amanda, the Production Development Manager at Nelson Farms to adjust the consistency so that the Portuguese Repolho Relish can be processed by machine. No matter how the consistency changes, I commit to you that the great taste won't change.

I'm considering signing on with Nelson Farms' Distribution Program which is an interesting and valuable program specifically focused on helping gourmet and specialty food entrepreneurs get their yummy goodies on store shelves so stay tuned for more about that.

So, this is part of what's been keeping me so busy of late. I'm back on my regular posting schedule now and I will be sharing more exciting news so stay tuned.

Here's to growing and growing pains,

Terry


Nelson Farms located in Cazenovia, New York is affiliated with Morrisville State College. Nelson Farms is entrepreneurially focused and offers many services to help the new and growing gourmet & specialty food manufacturer take their recipe(s) from kitchen to store shelves to the world. Nelson Farms provides entrepreneurial agri-business opportunities for specialty food processors, farmers, growers and producers. Services include processing/co-packing, product development, dairy incubator, distribution, marketing & sales and so much more. I invite anyone out there interested in starting or growing their gourmet or specialty food production company to contact Nelson Farms ASAP. Tell them Terry sent you.