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://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/567722
producer profile Before she could figure out a new plan, she became pregnant. "So I was delivering mail part-time but had also become a stay-at- home mom. I had all this extra energy," she remembers. "I'm a type A person. I had to do something else." From the Marines to Beans When a friend gave her a bag of dried beans in 1984, Cook knew what she wanted to do. "I love food," she says. "I was in [youth development and mentoring program] 4-H in cooking and always got purple and blue ribbons. When I got the beans, I thought, why don't I just make some soup mix and sell it around Kansas City?" That mix was Rabbit Creek's first: a 12-bean soup. Though homegrown recipe mixes were rare at the time, Cook recognized conve- nience would be hugely appealing to most buyers. "As a systems analyst in charge of mobilization, we were always running and planning things. Now I sit and won- der, what will that customer want around Christmastime?" she explains. "Do they really want to have to go buy parsley, onions, and all the rest of it? No—they want some- thing simple, and they want it to taste wonderful." Thirty-one years later, Rabbit Creek products range from soups to bread to dips, all of which require only one or two additional fresh ingredients. Focusing on the Customer After developing her 12-bean soup recipe, Cook needed to find a buyer. "I sat down and planned on what gift stores might want. Grocery stores are tough to sell to because you have to buy shelf space," she says. Cook couldn't afford that shelf space, so she focused on the specialty and craft catalogs that arrived at her house throughout the year. To kindle the interest of the gift shops, Cook designed a product package that added value to the mix. "I was into craft and sewing, and I wanted to make it cutesy. That's how I developed the stenciling, the ribbon tied around the bag, and the bow that would make the product more of a gift," she says. And best of all, "inside there was something that would taste good." Her plan worked. After sending out sample bags to country catalogs, she finally heard back—from Jack Daniels' Distillery country store. Rabbit Creek was open for business. "I was ecstatic," Cook remembers. "But at the time I only had my home phone. And I just didn't know how to answer the phone—should it be 'hello' or 'Rabbit Creek Foods'?" Though her product was doing well, Cook real- ized she still had a lot to learn about running a food business. Paying It Forward As Rabbit Creek got on its feet, Cook couldn't find anyone who would willingly answer any of her production ques- tions. "I would call other food companies and say, 'Where do I get plastic bags?'" she admits. "I don't know what they thought, but they wouldn't tell me anything." Because of her lack of resources, Cook had to learn how to do things the hard way. "When I started with the soup mix, I got all my ingredients at the grocery store. My husband and I were driv- ing all over Kansas City finding beans," she recalls. Finally someone recommended a bulk supplier to her. Small tips added up one after another, and she grew wiser as Rabbit Creek matured. Now an experienced food entrepre- neur, Cook is quick to share the knowledge she's accumulated over the years. She's a proud member of From the Land of Kansas, an initiative that helps businesses produce Kansas agriculture-based products. "If a company calls me and tells me that it's start- ing something new, I'll tell them anything they want to know. I don't want them to go through what I had to go through." Slow, Healthy Growth Though Rabbit Creek now offers more than 350 mixes, Cook never consciously sought out growth. "I would not add on or build until I had the money to do it," she notes. "I never got a loan. I wasn't planning on growth. It was mostly just common sense on DONNA COOK Age: 64 Years in specialty food: 31 Favorite food: Fried morel mushrooms and frog legs Least favorite food: Ahi tuna Last thing I ate and loved: I'm hooked on grilled romaine lettuce this summer with one of my dip mixes made into a salad dressing. If I weren't in the food business I'd be: I n the wine business. One piece of advice I'd give to a new food business: Learn all you can about the area of the food business that you are going into before you just jump in and start. Plus, in Kansas, contact our Land of Kansas program person and your local colleges for the small business development centers. They are a great help in getting started. To kindle the interest of the gift shops, Cook designed a product package that added value to the mix. 44 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com