This a test - a real "sample" promotion will occur when the company officially exists. Thanks for your help.
"Try a free sample of Ildi's Gourmet Hungarian Cheese Spread by sending an email with you name and mailing address to: eyepatch@rocketmail.com"
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
My local marketing survey
As I mentioned in a previous post. My recipe is a bit different than my mother's. Where her's was tangy, mine is explosive. I tend to use Feta, red onions and enough garlic to keep the eastern seabord vampire free for years! In short, I used to make to please my pallet alone. I've done some market research now and tweaked and re-tweaked the recipe and I think I have it now especially after a summer of using my neighbors as test subjects. My nieghbors are poster children for what is considered my "ideal client" as a matter of fact, I'm neck high people who love to entertain and eat good food! On multiple occasions in my neighborhood I have taken advantage of the numerous impromptu parties and cook outs that crop up during the summer. When word of a block party reaches my household, I quickly make a batch of Gourmet Hungarian Cheese Spread, apply the spread to slices of a fresh baguette and neatly prepare these samples on a serving dish. I then don my best ‘garcon” persona and ask my neighbors to sample the cheese spread. After only a few minutes, the platter is completely wiped out. At this point I get to grab a beer and join the party. During this phase I pump my “ideal clients” for information and feedback. Here is what I discovered.
As I mentioned My original recipe is derived from an old family recipe. I’ve modified it to appeal to my personal tastes, in other words – more everything. More onions, more garlic, more spices. This new – old version was first put forth to my “ideal clients” for feedback.
Out of 15 couples, of which nearly 100% match the demographic and psychographic characteristics of my “ideal client”
Men, by an overwhelming margin of approximately 85-90%, loved the cheese spread.
The men seemed to enjoy the cheese spread for the same reasons I “modified” it…They liked the “more” aspect. They liked the powerful onion, garlic and spicy aspect of the spread.
Men also preferred the appearance and the texture of the spread by a higher margin than the women. With added onions, chopped roughly and garlic, the spread has a “chunky” appearance.
Only about 30% of the women really liked the cheese spread. At least 50% were not so pleased with the “power” of the spread. Most enjoyed the initial flavor but the chief complaint was the amount of onions and, to a lesser degree, the amount of garlic.
The women, when gently pushed, eventually ‘fessed up that they would rather the appearance was less ‘chunky” as well.
Conclusion: Mom was probably right – Take the recipe back to the kitchen and give it another go.
The New- Old Recipe Redux--
The recipe was modified to more closely match good ol’ Mom’s. Onion content, per batch was cut by 65%. Additionally, the onions were cut much finer. Garlic was reduced by 33% and, instead of crushing with the broad side of a knife, a garlic press was employed. The amount of spices, namely the Hungarian Paprika stayed the same.
Another change in preparation was the use of an electronic mixer vs. mixing by hand in attempt to “smooth” out the spread.
In another nod to my mother, butter was re-introduced to the recipe – This really added a level of smoothness I could not replicate with other ingredients.
By keeping the spice level the same and by introducing or re-introducing the butter back into the recipe, I hoped to keep the positive response from the male group while winning over a higher percentage of the women.
------ The Results -------
They like me, they really like me!
The new recipe was unveiled at the next block party – The results.
Surprisingly, I did not see a drop off in positive responses from the men surveyed. They did notice a change but seemed to enjoy the creamier flavor (butter).
The male group did not seem to notice or really care too much about the appearance or texture. They just like to eat it.
The big change came from the female sample group. I had a 75-80% strong approval rating with the updated recipe. Still some kickback on the onions but the results were very strong regarding taste, texture and appearance. The less chunky, version was easier to spread and the flavor still had a kick but was now much smoother and, what might be a problem down the line, fattier due to the added butter. Hey, I’m not in the diet gourmet food business. Next up, let's talk Logo!
As I mentioned My original recipe is derived from an old family recipe. I’ve modified it to appeal to my personal tastes, in other words – more everything. More onions, more garlic, more spices. This new – old version was first put forth to my “ideal clients” for feedback.
Out of 15 couples, of which nearly 100% match the demographic and psychographic characteristics of my “ideal client”
Men, by an overwhelming margin of approximately 85-90%, loved the cheese spread.
The men seemed to enjoy the cheese spread for the same reasons I “modified” it…They liked the “more” aspect. They liked the powerful onion, garlic and spicy aspect of the spread.
Men also preferred the appearance and the texture of the spread by a higher margin than the women. With added onions, chopped roughly and garlic, the spread has a “chunky” appearance.
Only about 30% of the women really liked the cheese spread. At least 50% were not so pleased with the “power” of the spread. Most enjoyed the initial flavor but the chief complaint was the amount of onions and, to a lesser degree, the amount of garlic.
The women, when gently pushed, eventually ‘fessed up that they would rather the appearance was less ‘chunky” as well.
Conclusion: Mom was probably right – Take the recipe back to the kitchen and give it another go.
The New- Old Recipe Redux--
The recipe was modified to more closely match good ol’ Mom’s. Onion content, per batch was cut by 65%. Additionally, the onions were cut much finer. Garlic was reduced by 33% and, instead of crushing with the broad side of a knife, a garlic press was employed. The amount of spices, namely the Hungarian Paprika stayed the same.
Another change in preparation was the use of an electronic mixer vs. mixing by hand in attempt to “smooth” out the spread.
In another nod to my mother, butter was re-introduced to the recipe – This really added a level of smoothness I could not replicate with other ingredients.
By keeping the spice level the same and by introducing or re-introducing the butter back into the recipe, I hoped to keep the positive response from the male group while winning over a higher percentage of the women.
------ The Results -------
They like me, they really like me!
The new recipe was unveiled at the next block party – The results.
Surprisingly, I did not see a drop off in positive responses from the men surveyed. They did notice a change but seemed to enjoy the creamier flavor (butter).
The male group did not seem to notice or really care too much about the appearance or texture. They just like to eat it.
The big change came from the female sample group. I had a 75-80% strong approval rating with the updated recipe. Still some kickback on the onions but the results were very strong regarding taste, texture and appearance. The less chunky, version was easier to spread and the flavor still had a kick but was now much smoother and, what might be a problem down the line, fattier due to the added butter. Hey, I’m not in the diet gourmet food business. Next up, let's talk Logo!
What is this Hungarian Cheese Spread anyway?
Thanks for asking! The spread I make is a variation of the recipe my Hungarian mother made. She made traditional Körözött (koor-roo-zut) - A tangy spread made with cottage cheese, onions, caraway and, of course, Hungarian paprika. (My version is quite different - more on that later) You will find many variations of this spread throughout Eastern Europe, Germany, Austria and even Italy! The Italians call it "Spuma di formaggio all'ungherese" which, translates to Hungarian Cheese Mousse - Apologies to Italian speakers out there if I botched the translation.
In Germany and Austria and even parts of Hungary is it known as Liptaur.
However you call it, Korozott is a spicy cheese spread that can be made with sheep's-milk cheese, Feta, goat's milk cheese, quark cheese or cottage cheese. Liptauer cheese spread can be made of any soft cheesees. Cottage cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, quark cheese, soft goat or sheep cheese are all suitable for this purpose. The cheese is mixed with local sour cream, butter, margarine or beer and finely chopped onions. Spices are added, like ground paprika, fresh parsley, usually whole caraway seeds (or ground caraway). Other recipes involve prepared mustard, Worcestershire sauce, capers or anchovy paste. Consumed on open sandwich, toast, crackers, bagels or as a filling in cold dishes like filled tomatoes, peppers, or hard boiled eggs. In Hungary there are many, many “körözött” recipes. Like Chili recipes in the U.S. Hungarians or those of Hungarian decent have their own family recipe and they often claim that their körözött is like their own individual interpretations of the dish.
As I mentioned earlier, my recipe is more influenced that a direct representation of my Mom's recipe and, as you will read in the following post, in some ways, Mom was right!
In Germany and Austria and even parts of Hungary is it known as Liptaur.
However you call it, Korozott is a spicy cheese spread that can be made with sheep's-milk cheese, Feta, goat's milk cheese, quark cheese or cottage cheese. Liptauer cheese spread can be made of any soft cheesees. Cottage cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, quark cheese, soft goat or sheep cheese are all suitable for this purpose. The cheese is mixed with local sour cream, butter, margarine or beer and finely chopped onions. Spices are added, like ground paprika, fresh parsley, usually whole caraway seeds (or ground caraway). Other recipes involve prepared mustard, Worcestershire sauce, capers or anchovy paste. Consumed on open sandwich, toast, crackers, bagels or as a filling in cold dishes like filled tomatoes, peppers, or hard boiled eggs. In Hungary there are many, many “körözött” recipes. Like Chili recipes in the U.S. Hungarians or those of Hungarian decent have their own family recipe and they often claim that their körözött is like their own individual interpretations of the dish.
As I mentioned earlier, my recipe is more influenced that a direct representation of my Mom's recipe and, as you will read in the following post, in some ways, Mom was right!
Welcome to Ildi's Gourmet Hungarian Foods!
Hello and welcome to my grand experiment. My name is Mike Rabinowitz and I'm a student in the Masters of Entrepreneurship program at Western Carolina University. Part of what we are working on is how to market our products. I struggled with how best to approach this.
One of my main issues is that my company, Ildi' Gourmet Hungarian, will produce food products not unlike what you would find at a store like Trader Joe's or Whole Earth. The first product will be a Hungarian Cheese Spread. Known in Hungarian as, "Körözött". I'll write about the cheese spread in more detail in following posts. So then the question arises, who do I market this to first? The retailers or the customer who buys this product from the retailers? The logo is another obstacle. I thought I had come up with a good one but after a few days I started to realize that A. It's a bit too similar to some other logos I've seen and B. I don't really like it after all.
So, where does the "Grand Experiment" come into play...I'll tell you...I'm going to use this blog in conjuction with Twitter to let friends, potential customers, fans of business start ups help me conquer some of these hurdles and in return, upon launch of Ildi's Gourmet Hungarian, I will send out free samples to all who would like to try my Gourmet Hungarian Cheese Spread. Please stay tuned.....
One of my main issues is that my company, Ildi' Gourmet Hungarian, will produce food products not unlike what you would find at a store like Trader Joe's or Whole Earth. The first product will be a Hungarian Cheese Spread. Known in Hungarian as, "Körözött". I'll write about the cheese spread in more detail in following posts. So then the question arises, who do I market this to first? The retailers or the customer who buys this product from the retailers? The logo is another obstacle. I thought I had come up with a good one but after a few days I started to realize that A. It's a bit too similar to some other logos I've seen and B. I don't really like it after all.
So, where does the "Grand Experiment" come into play...I'll tell you...I'm going to use this blog in conjuction with Twitter to let friends, potential customers, fans of business start ups help me conquer some of these hurdles and in return, upon launch of Ildi's Gourmet Hungarian, I will send out free samples to all who would like to try my Gourmet Hungarian Cheese Spread. Please stay tuned.....
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