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.
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A Classic Favorite sof™ 2014 Gold Winner Booth 3824 800.372.6808 | Seattle, WA franschocolates.com producer profile of ketchup, we'd have to be where most ketchup is consumed, which is restaurants," Ramadan says. "What we found was that in order to have a viable business, we not only needed to figure out how to sell to the everyday supermarkets," Norton explains, "we also needed to figure out what kind of package size and what kind of requirements restau- rants would need." The company specifical- ly targeted restaurants that they felt were a match to their own standards, such as New York 's ABC Kitchen, The Spotted Pig, P.J. Clarke's, and Bareburger. With their headquarters in Manhattan, Norton and Ramadan have been able to leverage the city's farm-to-table movement, as well as consumers' desire to eat natural, locally sourced foods. "This is where res- taurants are innovating, and they care about the community," Ramadan says. He believes retail and restaurant customers in New York also have a good understanding of, and appreciation for, what Sir Kensington's is all about. Their strategy for both retail and res- taurants is to focus on the innovators, and today their biggest retail partner is Whole Foods Market. With Sir Kensington's ketchup now available at restaurants throughout the country and at 3,500 retail stores in all 50 states, the company has been able to grow from being a niche ketchup line into a full-service national brand that sells to foodservice, supermarkets, and specialty food stores. The Road Ahead As for the future of Sir Kensington's, Norton and Ramadan are focused on expanding and raising awareness for their company. They are also working toward building their presence in better burger chains around the country, and hope to add more restaurants that put an emphasis on local, organic, grass-fed beef to their list of pur- veyors. The com- pany also plans to roll out new flavor and packaging innovations in the near future. On the personal side, the partners are still learning to juggle the demands of life and work. Ramadan met his now-wife at the company's first Fancy Food Show in 2010, and Norton is engaged. "I am incredibly grateful for the f lexibility and understand- ing of my angelic fiancee for the amount of time I pour into this," Norton says, "includ- ing the emails that I send over breakfast cereal when she's trying to have a conversa- tion with me. I hope that I'll be able to get better and better at it." Fortunately, Norton and Ramadan are happy in what they do. "On a vast major- ity of days, and in a vast majority of cases, learning and growing a business gives us energy," Norton muses. "There are some times when it can be very emotionally drain- ing too. For the most part, we are so thank- ful for the market, for our customers, for the community, for giving us the opportunity to create something." Winter Fancy Food Show Booth 3824 Emily Crowe is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Specialty Food News. After stumbling upon a statistic that 70 percent of ketchup is consumed in the foodservice arena, the partners shifted their marketing strategy. 74 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com