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About Epicurean Foods International Inc.
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Our Story ... A Chronology
The following is a brief chronology of Epicurean Foods International Inc.
1993
Epicurean Foods International Inc. is founded by Phyllis and Greg Sprout, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Borne out of the couple's love of fine wines and foods, the company specializes in producing its own exclusive lines of high-quality, excellent value, Canadian gourmet and specialty foods.
"Our biggest attraction to this industry was definitely our love of fine foods and fine wines" says Phyllis. "We've always enjoyed entertaining with foods that aren't generally available at most grocery stores. Invariably, we've found that our guests enjoy these new and unusual foods as much as we do. Going into the specialty food industry was a natural extension of our love of creating interesting meals. Basically, we have turned our part-time hobby into our full-time business!"
1994
While Phyllis and Greg definitely have a passion for fine foods and wines, it is dispassionate planning that shapes their business. It is only after completing an exhaustive market research survey that the couple ultimately writes their business plan. The couple, (who both have M.B.A..s), spend almost one full year formulating their entry strategy into the gourmet and specialty food industry.
"Quite often, you have an inkling that your idea might work," Greg recalls. "Ultimately, you have to "go with what your tummy tells you so to speak. However, we have always believed that what we have to do is quantify, as well as we can, if there is sufficient demand to make our products and our business viable. Before we started the business, we were never really sure if our concept would work, but we believed then (and still do) that if we spoke to enough people and got enough honest feedback, we had a much better chance of success. To this day, we've continued this concept of "staying close to our customer" and developing only those products for which there is a proven demand".
1995
The company continues its sales efforts on a full-time basis. Greg conducts Sales calls during the day to gourmet shops and gift shops within a 75 mile radius of Waterloo during the day. Orders received during the day are filled at night by Phyllis and Greg in their home kitchen. All inventory is stored easily in a converted single-car garage. From a spare bedroom home office, Phyllis maintains the accounting records and ensures that all supplies are available for production when required. Greg recalls:
"There is no doubt that while we still continue to work long hours in our business, I look back and wonder how we did it for so long in those early days. At first, it really was a seven-day-a-week thing. During the first few years, I remember, there were times when we both worked twelve to sixteen hour days, six days a week. On Sundays, when technically, we weren't actually doing production or sales calls, the business was on our minds. Often, we were thinking about the feedback, both good and bad, that we were getting from our earliest customers. While our start-up phase was, I'm sure, no worse than it is for most small food producers, it sure made for long days. It's funny though - we worked through it and somehow survived - fear can be a wonderful motivator!"
Even during these early days, the couple tries to stay as customer-focused as possible, as Phyllis explains:
We have always approached it from the perspective of, "Don't try to sell what you can make, make what you can sell". That has always been our guide in new product introductions, and so far, it seems to be working quite well. It's extremely expensive and discouraging to invest your time, effort and money into a new product or product line and have it fail."
The company employs just one full-time employee (excluding Phyllis and Greg). His responsibilities include everything from producing the company's products to Shipping & Receiving to Inventory Control and Customer Service.
1996
By continuing to "listen to their customers", Epicurean Foods International Inc. grows from its home-based business status to become a "small and personal", but rapidly expanding local gourmet food producer. As word of the company's exciting new products spreads, new accounts from across Canada are opened and the loyal customer following of Epicurean Foods continues to grow. Gourmet shops, upscale supermarkets, gift stores, wineries, fruit markets, department stores, gift basket packers and catalogue companies are now among the company's clientele.
The company introduces several more new gourmet and specialty foods to an extremely receptive customer base. Included in the growing list of products available are flavored pastas and pasta sauces, flavored oils and vinegars, specialty olives, flavored teas, gourmet seasonings and dip mixes.
Using the profits from their fledgling business and the knowledge that they have gained from customer feedback, Phyllis and Greg plan several product line extensions and other completely new and exciting product line introductions for the months ahead.
The company's steady growth necessitates that the company move to a seemingly massive 1,700 square foot manufacturing facility and warehouse. The company's first Office Manager is hired to assist Phyllis with her many administrative responsibilities. Several full-time and part-time Production Associates are also added to fill the growing number of daily orders.
1997
Epicurean Foods embarks on an ambitious plan to market its products in America. To do so, Phyllis and Greg attend the largest Trade Show of its kind in the world, The 43rd Annual Summer International Fancy Food and Confection Show in New York City. They joke that this is their version of "Coming to America", a blockbuster Eddie Murphy movie at the time. The decision to expand to The United States was a big one for them:
"It was certainly very intimidating doing "The Fancy Food Show" the first time" recalls Greg. "Everything about the Show was so much bigger than we were used to. We had done a few Trade Shows in Canada, but you could practically drop one of them into The Fancy Food Show and not find them! It certainly was an "eye-opening" event, but unquestionably, was one of the best business moves that we ever made."
The Show proves to be the proverbial "big break" that Phyllis and Greg were hoping for, as they are approached by several gourmet food distributors and many shop owners who were impressed by their products' superior taste profiles, excellent price points and upscale packaging. Their expansion into America had begun and continues steadily throughout the balance of 1997.
1998
The company marks an encouraging return to the 44th Annual Summer International Fancy Food and Confection Show. Building upon the success that they had experienced a year earlier, they continue to build their distribution to specialty food retailers across America. Sales continue to grow steadily across Canada through a growing independent broker and distributor network.
1999
In an effort to continue to expand their US customer base, Epicurean Foods exhibits at both the 1st Annual Spring Fancy Food and Confection Show in Chicago and the 45th Annual Summer Fancy Food and Confection Show in New York. Both Trade Shows prove to be excellent venues for expanding their distribution to both small independent shops and larger corporate accounts and distributors within America. Distribution of the company's products in Canada and into the United States continues to grow steadily to both small and large retailers.
2000
An unknown but incredibly exciting new technology called "The Internet" has fascinated the entire world. Like millions of others entrepreneurs worldwide, Phyllis and Greg are intrigued by the potential for their business. They purchase some software and launch www.epicureanfoods.com, unaware that this would eventually change the entire direction of their business forever. Their first website is extremely basic, featuring some pictures and descriptions of the company's 200 products. No e-commerce is conducted on the site, as it is viewed primarily as a source of information.
The company continues its steady sales growth through conventional channels by hiring its first full time, dedicated Sales Manager to augment Greg's efforts. As well, the network of company brokers and distributors continues to grow steadily. Sales Representatives carry Epicurean Foods' products in all 10 Canadian Provinces and in many of the Northeastern and mid-Western US States.
2001
Despite the massive worldwide "dot-com" meltdown, Phyllis and Greg continue to see enormous potential offering their gourmet foods online. Phyllis continually upgrades the company's website until it becomes obvious that it is a full-time position in and of itself. An independent web designer, Jeff Muhlbock, is retained to commercialize the company's website. The results are almost immediate. As Greg recalls:
"I remember very clearly thinking that we weren't sure exactly what this "internet thing" was. We just knew that it was going to be absolutely huge. We understood that it was going to change how business was done. It was the "great equalizer" for us and for many small businesses. We couldn't afford to have an expensive sales force calling on customers all over North America, but with a great website, we knew that we could reach customers who we could never reach before. Even though we had almost no idea of exactly where we were going, we knew we had to keep trying to improve our site. We've made our fair share of bad business decisions, but this was the best business decision that we've ever made. We really were "early adopters" of the technology..."
Continued growth requires that the company move to larger premises. A "state-of-the art" 8,000 square foot plant with 30-foot high ceilings provides adequate warehouse and office facilities for the company's continued growth plans. Additional Office Personnel and Production Associates are retained to produce, market and administer the company's 300+ products.
2002 - 2004
The company's Sales and product distribution continues to grow steadily across both Canada and America. New product lines continue to be added that address a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive marketplace.
Unfortunately, despite many new products being added to the company's portfolio, Greg grows increasingly frustrated with many of the 50+ independent Sales Representatives and the company's own Sales Managers retained to market the company's products. Despite all efforts, Sales and profits (which had grown every year previously) sag. The only channel where sales are increasing is the company's website, www.epicureanfoods.com.
The single-most important decision in the company's history is made at the end of 2004. None of the contracts with Independent Sales Representatives are renewed and the employment of the last Regional Sales Manager is terminated. Phyllis and Greg decide to focus the company's sales efforts on the company's increasingly popular website. Effectively, the company changes from being "Epicurean Foods International Inc." to become "epicureanfoods.com"
2005
Phyllis and Greg and their team of Marketing and Sales professionals embark upon one of the most aggressive projects in the company's history. They conduct exhaustive reviews of each of their 300+ products. If any is failing to achieve satisfactory levels of sales and / or gross profits, it is discontinued.
Key Product Categories in which the company does not have offerings are identified and potential new products are considered and analyzed. Product formulations are developed and perfected using extensive focus group feedback. Product packaging concepts are conceived, developed and finalized. Several independent graphic designer firms are contracted to finalize the design concepts that have been developed by Phyllis & Greg and their staff. 100+ hour work-weeks are the norm - the race to transition to the new business model requires nothing less...
The result is a virtually re-invented company. Over 100 of the company's products are discontinued overnight. As well, over 50 more are re-packaged, re-priced and re-formulated to better address the needs of the market. Finally, a staggering 300 brand new products, in the industry's hottest categories, are launched by an excited but exhausted staff.
The results are gratifying. The company's new direction attracts new customers from across North America. Orders are received and processed at a rate unlike any other time in the company's 12-year history.
2006
The company continues to refine its new business model, adopting new manufacturing, marketing, sales and general management control processes as necessary. New customer accounts are opened at an unprecedented rate. In-house Customer Service Representatives are retained to assist these customers as necessary.
The company continues to fully integrate its sales, accounting and website functionality. Proprietary systems are developed that enable the company to maintain its leadership role in the online gourmet food and gift basket industry.
Purely by increasing its original information content, www.epicureanfoods.com becomes the top ranking website for many critical industry searches, expanding its wholesale and retail customer base dramatically. Sales to America exceed sales in Canada for the first time in the company's history. By December, the company's active wholesale customer base reaches its highest total in company history.
Online sales to individuals seeking to purchase gourmet foods for their own consumption exceed all company forecasts.
2007
Online purchasing for both B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) continues to grow exponentially and epicureanfoods.com is uniquely positioned within the gourmet foods and gift basket industry to benefit from this trend.
Customers visiting the company's website express their preference for "one-stop shopping" for all of their gourmet foods and gift needs. To fill this obvious need, Phyllis and Greg decide to begin distributing other complementary food and non-food items. Many of the items that they choose to distribute are from other "husband and wife teams" who they have come to know since starting Epicurean Foods in 1993. They select only those products that are created with the same "passion for excellence" that they impart to their own gourmet foods. The sales volumes surprise the entire management team.
Christmas 2007 Orders increase a staggering 473% over 2006 levels. During the critical 4th Quarter, the company is operating at full capacity. The three-year transition from "Epicurean Foods International Inc." to "epicureanfoods.com" is a complete success.
2008
The company continues to expand its portfolio to over 1,700 products. It has customers in every Canadian province, every American State and several Caribbean countries.
Epicureanfoods.com now regularly attracts gourmet food buyers from around the world, but focuses its efforts exclusively in the North American market. As well, Phyllis and Greg remain committed to their original goal of offering only premium gourmet foods and other complementary items. As Phyllis observes:
"With both the Canadian and American gourmet food markets continuing to expand at or near double-digit growth rates, despite the recent downturn in the economy, the future looks quite bright for epicureanfoods.com. We are very pleased by the reception of our products in the key markets on both sides of the border. Now it's up to us to maintain our strategy of continuous improvement in every aspect of our company. We plan to continue our focused, customer-driven marketing approach as we grow our business in the years ahead. We're really quite excited by the potential!"
