Old School

I decided the time had come to buckle down and work on the Saus marketing/publicity plan. (My guilty conscience on how negligent I've been has been eating away at me... I really thought procrastination would finally stop once I graduated, but instead I think it got worse.) So I sat my butt down and forced myself to concentrate and think outside the box.

Unfortunately, just like my procrastination got worse since college, my thinking got more structured and box-like- damn you corporate world! I exhausted all the typical PR ideas, even embraced new media, but nothing earth shattering/freaking awesome would come to me.

I decided I needed a trip back to college to bring out my "creative" side (what the corporate world sees as ideas that "won't" work because I don't fully understand the concept behind them...) But those are the ideas I'm looking for. So I emailed an old professor and requested a meeting. I find myself really looking forward to his ruthless critique of my "marketing" plan (something I would have dreaded in college- oh how the times have changed.)

Eco-Spending

Organic, fair trade, sustainably grown. These are buzz words that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I just ate Vietnamese Fresh Rolls for lunch from Equal Exchange Cafe. We are in a recession, I am scrimping with money and here I am going out for lunch! (What can I say, food is a priority in my life). But these words made me feel good about spending my hard-earned, what-little-I-have money there.

I know this eco-organic thing is more than a trend... could we call it a movement? And businesses are leveraging it to boost their image (and business). Which is great. Great for the environment, great for the economy- anything to get people spending.

And we at Saus have already discussed being as sustainable as possible as a business. Serving locally grown produce (see Wo de si-uh), composting, using recycled/recyclable to-go cartons, etc. And even though these are all things we can feel good about doing, we also have in the back of our minds that our customers will be happier to support us by spending more, if they know they are also supporting an eco-friendly company.

So, sound off.. Do you think you feel better about spending (and spend more) if you are helping a good cause? What do you think about portions of proceeds going to good causes (doesn't have to be environmental)? Or will all these warm and fuzzies have no effect on your spending?

Wo de si-uh

... for some local, sustainably grown produce... Once again, I butcher a language! Can I get a whaaaat?

So our latest internal "hot-button" issue/debate is over locally grown food. We, as a company, believe in sustainability and supporting local business. We also want to appeal to our market's ethical food interests. Our thinking is that if our market likes what we support, they will want to support us and become regulars... So basically, we are totally altruistic.

Anyway, when we first broached the idea of buying our produce from local farmers, we focused solely on Massachusetts farms. Of which we found a fair amount (mostly in western MA). However, a recent conversation with my partner/friend Renee left me reeling. Let me preface this by saying that Renee has what I am going to call a "sharp business-mind." Through some industry contacts, Renee discovered that Maine was a hot-spot for the kind of produce we need. When she mentioned this to me, I sort of dismissed it since Maine is not Massachusetts and we decided local was an important cause to support.

When Renee and I eventually got to talking about Maine produce, I mentioned "what about the whole local thing?" She looked askance. Maine is local, was her reply... it's in the northeast. And if it's "local" and we can get it cheaper there because it's a bigger industry there, then why not?

So... what defines local then? Does it have to be within the same state, region, country... I, lets call me naive.. or maybe idealistic, think at least within the same state. And Renee, the lets-cut-a-deal part of the company, says oh... northeast... it's fine. Thank god we have a third to tie-break, or else we'd have to resort to rock-paper-scissors or competitive drinking games. You know, how real companies solve problems.

Anyway, wa du si-uh... I am going to wrap this up and get some lunch. Hopefully, the lettuce on my sandwich is from a "local" farm. So while I eat my lunch, voice your opinion on what local means to you. And when you see a company boasting their use of local produce, where you automatically think it came from.

As an addendum to Renee's last post, let me thank in name Meghan. You are famous.