The Kitchen

As part of my job, I sometimes will call up stores that you, our lovely customers, suggest might be good candidates for our pasta. It's a dirty job cold-calling, but someone has to do it. I just thought I'd share a little irony from the front-lines here.

Here's my procedure for calling a store:
1) Identify myself, and ask to speak to the manager
2) If the manager's available, ask if they have a minute to listen to a pitch for an exciting new product I think they'd like to carry. If the manager's not availabel, just make a note to follow-up later and move on.
3) If they're not too busy, go into the pitch; if they are they'll usually ask you to e-mail, fax, or (hard to believe this one) snail mail them some info.
4) On occasion the pitch goes well and they ask for samples right then and there. Other times they'll say they're not interested for a variety of reasons (don't carry much food, small store, organic only, don't use our distributors, a black cat crossed they're path today, whatever).

And sometimes we just get rudely cut off at some step. And hey, I don't blame them, I'm not a fan of telemarketers either, even if I sort of am one (it's a bit different when the person your calling has a job of buying things, though).

It's just kind of ironic when you call a store whose name is "Yes! Organic Market" ... and they cuts you off at because "No, we don't want any new products". Hey, it says "Yes!" right there in the name! ;)

We're finally in Massachusetts and Connecticut!

A major supermarket chain in the area, Big Y, just brought us in. They have around 55 stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and our Light Macaroni & Cheese should be appearing in all of them in the next few days and weeks. If we do well with this first product we expect them to carry our whole line in the future, so please be sure to stop by and get some.

One thing we've been hearing from every Whole Foods store we visited is that in-store tastings are key to our product succeeding there. Unfortunately, the person in charge of WF in-store tastings has been AWOL for the last week. :(

In her defense, they seem to be opening a lot of new stores here in FL (3 in the last 3 months!), and most of the senior staff has been working at the new locations around the clock. Supposedly she'll be back on the 10th, and we'll see what happens then. In the meantime, I hope you've been visiting and buying!

Our Light Pasta and Light Mac & Cheese is now available in all of the Whole Foods locations in Florida - and with your help, maybe the whole US! Read on...

Florida is our chance to prove to Whole Foods that our vision of good-tasting, reduced-calorie, high-fiber foods resonates with their customers. If we do well here in Florida, you can expect to see us in Whole Foods around the country very soon. If we don't, it will take us a bit longer. So if you live in Florida, please visit a nearby Whole Foods (see the table below for the complete list) and check out the pasta aisle.

Even if you don't live in Florida, you can still help bring FiberGourmet to your neighborhood. Maybe you have a friend who lives in Florida, or is planning to vacation there. Ask them to pick you up a souvenir pasta in Whole Foods, and it might turn into a gift that keeps on giving all year long.

Whole Foods Locations

This is kind of a critical time for us, and every purchase helps keep the low-cal dream alive, so go buy some!