Trading Up : Gourmand Finds Success Via Shows

Adeline Ashley stumbled into the gourmet food business, then she stumbled into success when a fan of her mango salsa suggested she attend a trade show. She has learned to make bulk sales, cultivate valuable contacts, get feedback on new products and check out the competition--all at trade shows. Ashley was interviewed by Karen Kaplan.

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I got into the gourmet food business totally by accident. I was helping with catering for my sister’s restaurant and I developed a recipe for mango salsa. People really liked it and they came to the restaurant to look for it. I started selling jars of it in my spare time.

I brought my jars of salsa to a food fair in Los Angeles and set them up at my sister’s booth. A woman tasted my salsa and said I should be selling it at the Fiery Foods Show in Albuquerque. That was the first time I had ever heard of a trade show.

I decided to check it out. I brought 300 jars of salsa with me and I sold them all--I even got back orders. That’s when it occurred to me that maybe this could be more than a hobby.

I started calling up different trade shows to get registration information. Some of them will only accept companies that have been in business for a certain period of time. If I didn’t qualify, I’d ask them to recommend other shows I could attend.

I picked up a lot of orders everywhere I went, so now I go to at least six trade shows a year. I decide which ones to go to based on the buyers that will be attending. My main focus is to meet buyers for grocery stores, upscale retail stores and gift buyers.

I don’t go to trade shows that are aimed at restaurateurs, for example.

I’ll also call up manufacturers who have showed at a trade show before and ask them whether they think it would be worth it for me to attend.

There are some shows that you have to go to just to maintain your image. If you don’t go, people will think there’s something wrong with your company. Some shows lead to a lot of sales or orders. Some shows give me great contacts that I can follow up and turn into sales down the road.

If I didn’t get so many leads at trade shows, I’d be struggling. There is no Yellow Pages that lists all the stores and contact people who I sell to.

The trade shows are also good for developing new products. I whipped up some won ton skin chips for people to use to taste my salsas, and they kept asking when I was going to start selling them. I decided on the spot to add the chips to my product line.

You see a lot of new things at a trade show, and that allows you to pick up on the early stages of a new trend. You can also see what your competition is up to.

I get so many orders at trade shows that I’ve had to give up day-to-day control over much of my business in order to focus on maintaining our growth. I no longer do the cooking, the packing, the shipping or the books.

I miss being out on the road and visiting the mom-and-pop stores that sell our products. At least I still get to see them at the trade shows.

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AT A GLANCE

Company name: Adeline’s Gourmet Foods

Owner: Adeline Ashley

Nature of business: Produces and sells gourmet foods

Location: Los Angeles

Year Founded: 1992

Number of employees: 5

Annual sales: Expecting $900,000 this year