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/480793
wonderful brand and idea, but it's the daily work on making sure it is produced well that keeps our customers coming back." MacGurn echoes that sentiment. Even for a trained cook, learn- ing to make dosas properly involves six to eight months of training, he says. "On the upside, if it was easy, you'd see dosa shops everywhere. So the good news is there really aren't any knock-offs," he muses. "On the downside, it's an incredible amount of money to expand the busi- ness, and our real concern always is staffing the kitchen." But the fact is, customers love them. "We've had a lot of Indian mothers who are serious cooks come in, and they end up saying our chutneys are better than in India," he says. Even Bobby Flay, a regu- lar customer, has told MacGurn that he's "killed it" with the curry chutney and chicken dosa. That consistency in quality and f lavors, the owners say, has helped the company remain a success. Dorothy Lane Market's Killer Brownie, which was introduced in 1983 and today remains one of the Ohio retailer's best sellers, is as an example of how a consistently high-quality signature item can draw in customers over decades. "We commit to making sure what is out is always fresh and using only high-quality ingredients," says Chimene Ross, chief customer officer, of the Killer Brownie. The signature product even has its own dedicated facility. It wasn't an instant hit. What helped the brownie take off was when Dorothy Lane began cross-marketing the treat by adding it to the retailer's box lunch program, Ross recalls. She attributes success over the long term to being unafraid to dedicate significant merchandising space to the brownie. "If an item is the reason people come into your store or that department, then you have to send the message that you believe in it by stacking it high to send the wow factor," Ross explains. Marketing online and in stores is imperative, she adds. "Killer Brownie is pic- tured on a rolling screen on the register at every checkout lane. It's also on our gift cards and grocery bags." Be Open to What the Market Wants Gary and Isabel MacGurn, co-owners of Hampton Chutney Co., originally created a business plan for a small dosa restaurant. Gary had lived in India for five years, where his love of the rice-and- lentil crepes developed. With plans to garner interest in these ethnic wraps through a local farmers market over a holiday weekend in 1995, the couple's hopes were dashed when the manager said the dosas wouldn't work. Instead, he asked them to sell their chutneys. Although they had planned a business around dosas, the MacGurns obliged—and struck gold. "Customers would taste [the chutneys] and grab a whole bunch to buy," Gary MacGurn says. By the end of the first weekend they had sold more than 400 containers of their cilantro, mango, and tomato chutneys, encouraging them to reconsider their dosa plan and create the Hampton Chutney Co. The fresh, authentic chut- neys quickly landed in New York City specialty retailers Citarella, Fairway, and Zabar's. A year and a half later, the couple opened their first dosa shop, fulfilling the original dream. After 20 years in busi- ness, Hampton Chutney Co. has grown to three dosa shops—one in Long Island, N.Y., and two in Manhattan—and the chutneys remain an essential part of the business. Meet Expectations, Every Time No matter how great the concept, quality control and consistency are a must, or customers will fall off. Chef Dominique Ansel of Dominique Ansel Bakery is the mastermind behind the blockbuster Cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid. A media and global consumer frenzy followed its introduction in May 2013, and its success eclipsed other acclaimed and inventive offerings on the menu. The standout success wouldn't have been sustained if it weren't delicious each and every visit. "The most long-lasting of signature items rest on consistency and quality," says Ansel. "The Cronut is a Dorothy Lane's signature Killer Brownie didn't take of until the retailer started cross- marketing it in its box-lunch program. SPRING 2015 71 PHOTO: DOROTHY LANE MARKET