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Press Releases: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Ford's Gourmet Foods Speeches: Patrick Ford, Sandi Ford Patrick Ford's Acceptance Speech - North Carolina's First Ever Exporter of the Year Good afternoon. My name is Patrick Ford; I am the international marketing director of Ford’s Gourmet Foods and Sandi’s youngest son. I am honored to have been nominated for this by Bob Sutter and then selected by the North Carolina Agriculture Department to My family has been in the food business for many years. My great-grandfather, Andrew J. Ford and his sons Connie Mac (my grandfather) and Carl had a small farm outside of Raleigh back in the late 1930s. With a small crop surplus to sell one year, they founded Ford’s Produce. My parents, Lynn and Sandi Ford took over the business from my grandfather who retired in 1985. My mother began a new division, Ford’s Fancy Fruits , a fruit basket company. It is important for us, at Ford’s, to revisit this history because it guides decisions we make about our brand. Our history is one of our brand pillars. Breaking into a foreign market doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of building familiarity by having a presence at trade shows, sending samples, advertising, in-store sampling, and building relationships with buyers to make a product successful on foreign soil. Nobody thought we should make Bone Suckin’ Sauce. My mom and dad went to the label maker to make the first label. He told them that another barbecue sauce was ridiculous and no one would buy Bone Suckin’ Sauce, especially in the south. My parents pressed on and ordered the first labels. Then my dad ordered the first pallet from our bottler and after receiving ½ of his ordered my dad called him to inquire. Our bottler told my dad that he appreciated his enthusiasm but he had seen so many people try and fail that he only thought he should make a small run. Dad told him that he needed the whole pallet please. We still work with the same bottler and label maker to this date. Our orders are taken a little more seriously now. Thank goodness. Sometimes it pays to go against the grain. It also pays to have a strong relationship with your suppliers and vendors. We work very closely now with our suppliers to forecast and produce consistently good products that are able to withstand the overseas shipping requirements. Bone Suckin’ Sauce is second to none in its category and once people try the sauce they are convinced of the same. The name is the #1 reason people pick up a jar of Bone Suckin' Sauce! The flavor brings them back for more. So our biggest challenge is getting samples of sauce out there. We have found that international trade shows, contests, and in-store demonstrations are the best ways to really get sauce in people’s hands. I remember watching one of our customers, Mrs. Virginia Smalls, sell sauce in the Charleston, South Carolina market. Curious to what made this woman stand out in a market full of very persuasive business people. I noticed something really funny. She was selling Hot Bone Suckin’ Sauce. I learned a lot from Mrs. Smalls that I definitely still use today. I used to go to the market and just watch her interaction with customers. She was a true sales person. Her livelihood depended on it. My parents came to visit me one time in Charleston and we went to visit Mrs. Smalls. After all she was our only out of state customer back in 1993. She taught us to read the customer. In her many, many years of selling she had figured people out. If a person had their hands in their pocket they were not going to buy. If they had their hands out of the pockets handling products they were a buyer. My dad had his hands in his pockets and my mom was wide open and ready to shop. We all laughed. Mrs. Smalls also figured out that she could stay and work if I would take her kids to their dentist appointments. But that’s a different story. Finally, use your resources. There are organizations both business and government out there to help you. They want to support your business and many times they may have funds to help you along. We have be fortunate to work with: The North Carolina Department of Agriculture, SUSTA, Foreign Agriculture Service, NC Peanut Council, US Peanut Council, National Honey Board, Food and Drug Administration, The US Department of Commerce, and the list could go on and on. Sandi Ford's Acceptance Speech - North Carolina Exporter of the Year
Our international success comes from having the right people working with us. I lost many hours of sleep from the excitement and the fear of that order. I lost sleep over filling out my first letter of credit - reading all that fine print After calling the Dept. of Agriculture and asking for help. Their International Marketing Dept Team Wayne Miller and Britt Cobb told me about Wayne Loot’s Wake Tech class on World Trade. How wonderful it was to found out about prepaid wires and making sure you do not offend your potential customer when you require the talks to be in a language you understand – English.. I’m not afraid of foreign trade when we talk in US Dollars.
Every business strives to have the right people in the right jobs at the right time when the opportunity for international trade knocks. Our division, Ford’s Gourmet Foods, works with a staff of 12 including Patrick & myself. 10 dependable, loyal warehouse and office people – ages range from 20 to 79. AND our extended organization promoters: By my estimation, our small North Carolina business of 12 has one of the largest extended staffs of the best qualified people in the right jobs in the whole USA, A few month’s ago I made a promise to Patrick. I’ve looked for another word to describe how fortunate I feel to be succeeding in this competitive business. Couldn’t find one.
Press Releases: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Ford's Gourmet Foods |
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"We love that it’s naturally sweetened with honey and molasses, and packed with flavor from apple cider vinegar, horse-radish, and mustard. With all this and a hint of smoke, Bone Suckin’ Sauce is great for grilling and dipping. Grade A+" Health Magazine |
"There are a million barbecue sauces, but we fell for the Ford family's... The sauce rocks." Newsweek
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Fox News "How To Cook Bone Suckin' Ribs"
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"As a transplanted South Carolinian, I LOVE the Bone Suckin' Mustard! It is my family's favorite. I use it on pulled pork, chicken, and as a condiment for grilled veggies." Liz |
"I think all of your products rock. I use the Bone Suckin Sauce on everthing from eggs to fish to chicken to rice to steak. It is by far the best tasting sauce on the market." Todd |