Specialty Food Magazine

JAN-FEB 2013

Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.

Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/102355

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 133 of 163

Crepini: Taking a Great Idea to the Next Level The same sort of affection took root when Levine met his assigned mentee for the first time. Paula Rimer of Crepini & The Crepe Team was making hundreds of crepes daily by hand and was eager to automate and grow the business. Levine visited Rimer and her husband-partner, Eric Shkolnik, at their modest Brooklyn, N.Y., factory in early 2011. "We just hit if off," Levine says. "She was anticipating moving to a larger factory and I told her to contact some people who might be able to provide financial assistance or grants from the city or state." Levine also provided tips on equipment she might need and offered ideas about satellite stores and potential licensing deals. "They asked my advice on whether or not they should take an additional space next door to them," he says. "They weren't quite sure if they could afford it. I looked at the space and said, 'When you're building a business, there's never enough space. Take it.'" Russian-born Rimer's crepes resemble blinis, and are sold both plain and filled, with savory ingredients (portobello-Parmigiano, four cheese–basil) as well as sweet (La Dolce Vita chocolate). Before entering the specialty food business in 2007 she had been the CEO of a successful IT staffing company on Wall Street. Her husband believed in her venture enough to leave his own Wall Street job to take care of the financials. "The food industry was new to us," Rimer says. "There were distribution challenges, figuring out margins and growth strategy. We'd reached a fork in the road and needed advice." Crepini became interested in the program, hoping to find a mentor with nuts-and-bolts experience, who knew how to attract distributors, how to get loans and how to automate. Building the Relationship The Clinton Foundation's guidelines stipulate that the mentormentee relationship includes a minimum of once-a-month in-person meetings plus weekly conference calls or emails; the relationship should last about a year. Levine says they've surpassed that time frame. "We've become very friendly," he says. "We see each other at the Fancy Food Shows, we've had dinner at [Rimer's] house and in Russian restaurants. She's great." Levine's first visit to the factory helped Rimer see the big picture. "He spent a full day with me and my partner-husband," she says. "We were transparent and so was Bill. It was mutually beneficial to our relationship. There was no fear on either side. We make baked goods but we're not directly in competition with him. We opened up everything: books, financials, recipes. Sarabeth's is a big player, so we listened." Levine went over financial and distribution issues, the pros and cons of moving the factory to a bigger location. He helped the couple take a hard look at their lease and talked with them about utilizing The Clinton Foundation's guidelines stipulate that the mentor-mentee relationship includes a minimum of once-a-month in-person meetings plus weekly conference calls or emails; it should last about a year. tax credits and certain government-sponsored programs that would help them get more space and save money at the same time. What might have taken years, and still only scratched the surface, happened fast. That leg up was all Rimer needed to soar. The company moved into a 10,000-square-foot space in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood in July 2011. Levine advised Rimer about negotiating a new contract with a distributor, which proved to be crucial. "When you're a small manufacturer and you sign up with a nationwide distributor, they're huge companies," and may push for a deal that is advantageous for them, Rimer says. "When they ship products they can move them from warehouse to warehouse and charge you each time. Sometimes you feel grateful that a distributor wants to take your product, and you might not have the muscle to negotiate fiercely. Bill prepared us. He gave us that muscle." Crepini also took out a $600,000 loan to invest in millions of dollars worth of machinery. In 2010 the Crepini factory was generating $1 million a year in sales. In 2011 that number doubled. "In 2012 we're going to triple," Rimer reveals. "We've gone from making three million crepes a year in 2010 to nine to 10 million this year." The company has the capacity to ultimately produce 20 million crepes a year. During high seasons, the staff doubles from 14 to 28. And as he had hoped, Levine got something out of being a mentor that he hadn't expected. "We've talked about developing products together," he says. "There is a possibility they'll use our jams in their crepes and we could buy their crepes for our store." He now sees a synergy that he hadn't anticipated when joining the mentoring program. "You never know what you're going to gain from this, what kind of opportunities will arise from it," he says, reflecting on the experience. "That's my philosophy. If you throw out a bunch of ideas and make contacts and try to help people, it comes back to you somewhere down the line." Following its success with the program's first pairing, the NASFT and its Diversity Council is looking for ways to expand the program in the coming year, likely involving more Councils such as its Supplier Marketing and Retailer Network groups in the planning stages. "The Clinton Foundation provided an excellent model," says Tanner, "that the NASFT plans to build upon to help more members."—Julie Besonen JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 127

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Specialty Food Magazine - JAN-FEB 2013