Sweet ideas
From a sketch on paper to a
nationally distributed brand.
Recognizing an opportunity, combined with positive thinking results in success.
I have always believed good ideas are everywhere—so, when the handyman who was working on my house walked in with a drawing of a ice cream novelty on a edible stick, I said—what a great idea—how can I help?
SaltiSweet
SaltiSweet Ice Cream Factory was born.
I began by pulling together a stellar team – a CFO, National Sales Director, and Production Manager. I handled the marketing and branding and stepped in on the production line when necessary.
It takes a lot of problem solving to get a product on the shelve. I managed and directed, designers, copywriters, editors, state and national compliance, sales, pricing and profit margins, distributors. The list goes on.
With so many frozen treats on the market already, doing our research was imperative. And we wanted to capitalize on Colorado’s reputation for creating “healthy brands” that use Real or Organic’ ingredients. My team and I came up with Colorado themed ice cream flavors including—Vail Valley Vanilla, Steamboat Springs Strawberry, Golden Salted Caramel, and my favorite Evergreen Mint.
We started with one Whole Foods in Littleton, CO. The buyer there loved the Colorado themed flavors. From there we built a national brand with over 3500 stores including, Kroger, Safeway, CostCo, Walmart, Publix, and more.
YEAR
2014
RETAIL SECTOR
Frozen Food
3500 Grocery Stores
Nationwide
Good Dog
Then we expanded on the patented process and created Good Dog Frozen Treats. I started by having a national focus group test of the concept against the number 1 seller (Nestle) who had a frozen treat for dogs in a cup. The focus group results showed that our product would knock the paws off our competition in perceived quality, pricing, health benefits, and most important they felt a bond with their pet when feeding our treat by hand. Doesn’t get much cooler than developing a one-of-a-kind ice cream treat for dogs.