0197: The Semper Savage Salad Dressing Story: Part I with Stacy Currie

Ea interviews, episode 197, inspiration, transformation, success stories and the imperfect action round. Seven days a week, join Mario Ficcini for today's expert authority effect interview. Great taste, but you want it all natural, no artificial preservatives. You want to live healthy. You have a successful business and you want to be long for the long haul. That's why I'm excited to have Stacy Curry, co founder of veteran owned Semper Savage here. And she's going to be sharing with what her and her husband John did to create a company making salad dressing the way you want it and the way you deserve it. I'm going to bring her up right after we thank our sponsor. Every business needs a book, including yours. Visit freebusinessbookpublishingcourse.com today to learn the seven steps to publish and promote your nonfiction lead and profit generating business book in eight weeks. Once again, that's free businessbook publishingcourse.com Here she is, ladies and gentlemen, Stacy Curry. Stacy, how are you feeling today?

Oh, I'm great, Marta. Thanks for having me on. I'm super excited to be here.

I'm excited to have you on because when I saw what you and John were doing, I just had to learn more. So tell us, how did you Semper Savage get started?

Well, so first thing I have to say is, so Semper Savage is a salad dressing and a marinade and John loves salad. I like salad, but I also like to cook and I use our products with meat and vegetables as well. But he really loves salad and he's the one that had this idea. For over 20 years he's been trying to find the perfect salad dressing that tastes really good and that's healthy. And so it's been his quest to find that salad dressing that kind of got this, got this started. But a couple stories that really helped us move forward and really think about like, wow, we could really, we could do this is that we used to take it to parties or family functions where you, where you were, you would bring your that one food that everybody said like, oh, the curries need to bring this. So salad dressing was that that one food. But what really happened and got us started thinking about this was our oldest daughter, she went away to college and she was really missing the salad dressing. So she tried to make some on her own and she sent me a message and said, mom, I tried to make the salad dressing and it tasted horrible. And so what happened was she asked if John could make some and we would bring it up to school. And so this happened every week. I would bring up a new, fresh bottle of salad dressing and bring home the old bottle. So for the entire fall semester, this is what we would do. We would kind of swap out the empty bottle and give her the new bottle. So what really happened was she, for Christmas, she decided that she was going to make John a present. So she bought a case of mason jars, and she put his picture on it. Pull it back. She put his picture on it, and she wrapped it up. And on the label it says, john Curry's World Famous Salad Dressing. So she wrapped up this box of mason jars, and she put a little note in it and said, please fill this with salad dressing. And John was really tickled to get this Christmas gift.

That's cute.

But that's when we really started thinking about we really should think about marketing this product. And kind of that's how it. How it started.

Were there any hurdles to go from that to where you are now?

Yeah, I think there's all the hurdles kind of make you bond and grow as you are jumping or attempting to jump through those hurdles. And first off, we have to really thank one of his colleagues. He was working at the Pentagon back then, and his friend Mack Talbert works with him. And Mac has a barbecue sauce company. And John didn't know this. And so Mac came in and somebody said to him, like, hey, you need to bring us some of this barbecue sauce. And so John and Mac started talking, and Mac actually mentored him through the initial stages of things like getting a recipe and taking that recipe and having it pested food tested so you could get the nutrition label and finding a company that could bottle our product and it wouldn't cost us. I don't want to say an arm and a leg, maybe two arms and a leg, because it is expensive to bottle that. So having a mentor has been really instrumental in helping us get started with that. But there's a lot of hurdles about finding a label, identifying a name, bottling that, disseminating it out so people could actually try it. We wanted people to try our product first to make sure a. That more people liked it, but then also to get the word out. And we're actually.

A little over a year since we bottled our first product, but we've only started our company nine months ago. We launched it Veterans Day 2019. So I think we're still in that process of getting it out there for people to try it and then people to actually talk about it with other people.

Oh, that is fantastic to hear. And I'M just so excited because one of my passions, I started my first company at 12, and I started this company when I was 18, say, a few years ago. And everyone thinks it's like, it is a long process, it can be complex, but all you need is that idea. And when I hear of someone that has the true entrepreneurial spirit that says, you know what, I'm going to go for it. You might make it all, but you might also lose it all. And generally it's somewhere in between. I know people that have done both, though, and everything in between. And it's just so fun to hear, you know, hey, we were making progress, we went for it, we're doing this, and now you get to share that. You know, I have a lot of people I know that make good food, and I've encouraged them, hey, you should do something with this. And they should. So what changed when you started showing up at these places and everyone's saying, oh, you need to bring your dressing. And, you know, now it's in a professionally labeled approved. You're actually marketing and selling it. Did you notice anything different when you went places and people were asking for it?

Well, yes. So actually, one of my very best friends that I met when I was five years old, we went to kindergarten. And that also was quite a long time ago. Her daughter was getting married last year, and she sent me a message and said, we really want to have your products for the wedding. They were having a nice outdoor wedding set in the countryside, and they were having salad. And so she said, we really want to showcase your product. So that was so exciting to be able to bring that and share her special day.

We are on Facebook and Instagram, and so we are starting to see people sharing their favorite recipes.

And that, to me, I think, also is super exciting. We still have people. And I just actually talked to somebody today and they said, oh, I'm just out of the savage balsamic and I need to order some more. So I think it moved from us making these products to take to these places to now people are ordering them on their own. And we also still make our products at home. So I still make all of our vinaigrettes at home. I have our bottles here, but most, for the most part, I still make ours from scratch in our Mason jars.

That is fantastic. You reminded me of some of the Shark Tank stories I've seen back in the day. And I just love entrepreneurial pretty much everything. And I'm just so excited for the both of you. I want to ask you about the all natural choice.

Yeah.

Why go that route? It's more expensive, it's harder to do. It's, you know, you got to put a different price point on it. Why did you say, I don't want to compete with everyone else out there, I want the best?

That's a good, A really good question. And when we make this at home, we definitely use the extra virgin olive oil. And we're spending that money because we want a good team tasting product, but we also want it to be a healthy product. So as we were doing this, we spent a lot of time standing in the aisles at supermarkets all over the place, from high end supermarkets to low end supermarkets, organic markets to just, you know, regular markets. And we were looking at the back of salad dressing bottles and also marinade bottles, and we were looking at the ingredients, and we found that a lot of companies, a lot of products had cheaper ingredients. So obviously their product was much cheaper. But the products that they were using in their salad dressing and marinades was a cheaper product as well. So we really decided that we wanted to make sure that we were putting on somebody's table the same healthy goodness that we want for our children, our family and our friends. And so that was a decision that we've, we've talked about, and we still stand by that. So, for example, we use extra virgin olive oil. It's the first ingredient in all of our products. We don't use an olive oil blend and we don't cut it with canola oil or other oils. We find that olive oil is healthier and it's also better to cook with as well. We also use vinegars, and we don't cut the vinegar with water. So our vinegar, sometimes people will taste them and they say, oh, it's, you know, taste. I could taste the vinegar. And we want you to do that. We're actually trying to change the way people think about salad dressing and marinades because we find that there are a lot of times they're watered down and they also have other additives like, like sugar and salt to kind of mask the flavor of our natural ingredients. So all of our products are made with all 100% extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and herbs and spices. And it's just that we call it homemade salad dressing in a bottle. And we also say, we've done the work for you.

Well, that is inspiring because I know what it takes to start a business and then maintain it and then grow it and then probably restart it again. And it's not always fun. But getting to the end result, which you have it, it's just that is a ton of fun and inspiring. So with everything you've done, what's your next goal? To get it out there.

So we have. We are working with a company to, To. To get the word out through podcasts, through Instagram stories and bloggers. And we're finding that that is a great way, first off, to talk to people. I love to meet new people. And so as we are promoting our product, we're also talking to people, and I think that's a lot of fun. So that's one way that we are doing it. We are also using our own social media to spread the word. But really what I find is that my. Which. Both John and I, our friends and family, they're the ones that are really helping us promote it. They stand by this product. They think it's a good product. They've been posting some recipes. They post pictures of their final products. Somebody just. I believe it was yesterday they used these. One of the Summer Savage products on tuna. I think it was the balsamic mini grab on tuna tuna steak. And so they actually posted that. That picture of their grilled tuna. So I think having our friends and family help us promote a product that they believe in is also very helpful.

I gotta be honest, that sounds real good. And I just tasted that a little bit, and I want some.

It's good.

Okay, focus. I'm supposed to ask you about what's been the biggest transformation in the business since you've started.

Oh, well, I think the way that we are connecting with people, I think that's been our biggest transformation. So we, we have. We've connected with people to help us because being an entrepreneur, John knows a lot about his salad dressing. I know a lot about cooking. We have a family. My children are grown up now. But, you know, I've spent lots of years cooking for my children, for my husband, and for other people. So both of us know our product, but we. The biggest transformation was learning how to market that product. So we hired somebody to help us build a website, and we've hired somebody to help us with. With marketing strategies. So I think the transformation now is that while it's still homemade salad dressing in a bottle, that we are really trying to reach as many people across the United States as possible.

To help them understand that we are on a crusade to think about and change the way people are grilling their meat and using it in the kitchen on salads and vegetables.

Excellent. So I want to ask you one more thing. And Then we're going to go to the wheel of whatever and thank our sponsor. And it is. Where do you see the company going for the next five to 10 years? What would be if you. Your. Your biggest goal with it?

Great. Well, I. I think the hardest thing is to sit back and wait, because we have two products and. And we really want to launch them. We want people to get. To get to know who we are. But I actually have four other products that I just want other people to try. They're some of my favorite products. Like I said, we still make it in the kitchen, and I use supper Savage products almost every day for lunch and for dinner. So I definitely see us launching our salad dressings and marinades and extending. Extending beyond our two products. That's number one. We're also.

Readily available in the 48 states, but I hope that we can extend that and offer it to people.

Right now in Alaska and Hawaii. It's too difficult for us to market right there. And so I think trying to extend our boundaries so other people can purchase the product. And so I've also had other people. Somebody just a couple weeks ago said, have you thought about manufacturing hot sauce? And so the wheel started churning in my brain, and I thought, well, I can't really. You can't do that now. But to think about other. Changing the way that we're thinking about other ways people are cooking in the kitchen. I think, you know, in light of all that's happened over the past few months, I'm finding that more people are doing more cooking and grilling out. And so I hope that we can really start thinking about taking this crusade, you know, even further away, and not just the salad dressings and marinades, but including other products as well.

Excellent. And this worked out perfect because this is the wheel of whatever. And it always ends where I need it to, and it always stops on the right question. And I was debating about which one of these two should I ask you? But I'm gonna use this as my little magic decoder and get some insider info, because I want to know what you're coming out with next. Look at that. It landed on the one I just needed. What is the next flavor you're gonna be releasing?

Oh, so right now, we already have ready to go our Savage cider. So it is a apple cider vinaigrette, and it's delicious. I use it on my salads, and I also use it to marinate chicken and fish as well. I come from Maryland, and we use apple cider of vinegar on so Many things. So I'm really excited to get that one out. We also have a Savage Caesar, which is one of John's favorites. That's really what he eats in the kitchen on his salad. So it's a vinaigrette as well. And so it's a little different than a creamy Caesar, but those are the two.

That I hope we are going to be ready to launch in the near future.

I love Caesar salads. Salmon is good. And I always have told people for years, you can't go wrong with Italian.

That's great. Well, I don't think I've said, I don't think we've mentioned our two new flavors to anybody else. So this is the first time I.

Knew I was saving that one for the wheel. I'm like, which one? I could ask both of these because they're kind of like a foreshadowing and a like secret decoder ring is going to come in handy. I'm going to get some insider info right now. And you said there was four, though. I'll ask John the other two.

Okay. Yeah.

Oh, that's perfect. I already got the question. I've never done. That is so cool. I've never been able to get the wheel of whatever question prior to the interview. That is killer. Thank you.

Yeah, one of the other. The other two are actually my two favorite dressings. But I'll let him wait. I'll let him tell you.

That's good marketing right there. Ended on an open loop. Wow. Now I want to know them. All right, we got to thank the sponsor and we'll be back with the imperfect action round. You've heard me say every business needs a book, including yours. And it's true. And that's why you should visit freebusinessbookpublishingcourse.com today to learn the seven steps to publish and promote your nonfiction lead and profit generating business book in eight weeks. But you know what? Don't take my word for it. Take it from a few of my authors, like Lori. I went from having an idea and.

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Unmanageable John Cody. I've worked with Mario over the phone and online and he's been very helpful in getting me where I needed to go with promoting my books.

Rocio, there's no way in the world I would have been able to do this with somebody else again. I've attempted it in the past. It didn't serve me. As a matter of fact, I ended up more frustrated than anything. So this has been a very seamless process. Adele, if you're looking for an amazing business coach, I highly recommend Mario Ficini or Bill Benner.

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He has been great for me and.

Right now I won't work with anybody.

Else except for Mario.

Hey, their words, not mine. Visit freebusinessbookpublishingcourse.com to get started now. And I look forward to hearing your transformation as the next video success story. Once again, that's free business book publishing course dot com. And we are back with the imperfect action round. Stacy, are you ready to take imperfect action?

Yes.

In your experience, what is the fastest way to get profits?

Oh.

So I don't know because we are not, we are, we are not at the profits making yet.

So I don't, I don't even know the answer to that question.

All right, well, let me ask you this. What is the fastest way to get the product off the ground?

Yeah, so I think that, so that actually we. That cost money. I think to get the product off the ground, it was worth it to us to spend that money up front so we could get the product out in people's hands and on their dining room tables. So I think that, that spending the money first and to. In order to. To. To get the word out. And so actually people can. Can actually try that. And if I can actually say this, it's something that, that was important to me because about. Actually I think it was maybe 20 years ago, there was a chip company with the name st. Stacy. And I, I received this box and it had the words my name Stacy on it and it had some samples. And so they were just a company starting out and they apparently sent to everybody that they could find with the name Stacy and they sent these chips to them. And that really stuck with me. I think it was about 20, maybe it may have been even more than 20 years ago. That really stuck with me. So I think putting some money into the company up front so we could get rid of, not get rid of, so we could distribute the products to potential customers. That was really important to us. So we're hopefully hoping that the product and the profit is going to be positive later on based on all of the work that we've done up front.

Excellent. What have you found in is the best way for people to enjoy your product?

So.

I think sometimes people are thinking that it's salad dressing. And so people will say, like, oh, I enjoy salad. But I'm finding that there's so many different ways that you can enjoy the product. So, number one, I love to grill, so I love to marinate any kind of meat. Pork chop, chops, steak, chicken, fish cut. Like I said, coming from Maryland, we eat fish. Rockfish is big down here. We eat. It's great on shrimp, scallops. I even. I even cook squid, which sounds maybe kind of funny to people, but I grill squid and I brush a little balsamic on it at the end of right before it's finished grilling. So it's really good as a marinade for meats. It's also awesome if you're roasting Brussels sprouts. I just cooked Yesterday for a YouTube video, I cooked and grilled asparagus with the Savage Balsamic on it. But then also cold salads like cucumbers and onions with some balsamic vinaigrette on it, or a caprese salad with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. So one thing I really like about our products is that it is really versatile, and you can put it on salad, on some cold vegetables, and also use it to cook with. Whether it's in a skillet or on the grill. I find it to be a versatile product. But I also have to say that we didn't really know that in the beginning. The more we used the products, the more I thought, like, wow, why don't I just supplement the Savage balsamic for whatever that recipe was calling for? So I'm finding new ways to use our products every day.

Excellent. Number three, the last one. Is it worth going for your dreams?

Oh, yes. I think. Definitely. I think that one of our mottos is work hard, play hard. And I think in finding your dream and going after it, that you. You have to work hard for it. It's not always, I don't want to say smooth sailing. There's a lot of extra work, a lot of new learning that we have to do. John always says, don't quit your. Don't quit your day job because there's a lot of extra money that that goes in to doing this. And while we hope we're going to be successful, you just. You never know. So it is worth it to follow your dream. Also to watch John, I think this has been a dream of his for years. And to watch him explain and talk about his products or our products, that also is really rewarding to be on that side of it to watch him really talk about his dream of.

Making salad dressings and marinades for people.

Well, thank you for sharing that. I have another question as far as what books have helped you over your life?

Oh, gosh. Well, so, so I'm an, I'm an educator and I have, I haven't been reading the like entrepreneur books. I think them with the kind of thinking about life that Malcolm Gladwell books and have been instrumental for me. I also use them when I'm working with my students in the classroom. I also have this other book that I use quite often and it is the Smartest kids in the world and how they got that way. Again, that's also for educators, but it looks at education and I think education doesn't have to be within the walls of the school building. It can just be about community and kind of education, of building a company. And it talks about the differences across different countries and how the United States, how we compare and also the kind of the contrast. So that book is very instrumental. A final book that has nothing to do with either teaching or entrepreneurship is a book on it's just called Water and it's just talked about throughout the last 300 years how civilization has shaped the way the waterways.

Are newly constructed. And it's kind of the pros and cons for that. So again, that has nothing to do with entrepreneurship, but it's a book that I actually really found to be quite intriguing.

Excellent. Well, thank you for sharing those. Where can we learn more?

Oh, so you can go to our website which is www.simpersavage.com. there's some recipes you can subscribe to a newsletter. You can actually subscribe to the products and they will be delivered monthly or bi monthly to your house. And you can also visit us on social media. We're on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and also LinkedIn. And if you do stop by, we would love to receive any comments or pictures or reviews from you.

Excellent. Well, I know you also have the affiliate program which I signed up for as well, and I'm so, so excited for you. Congratulations again.

Thank you so much. It was super exciting to meet you and to be on your show. I really appreciate it.

All right, Expert Authority world, we have another great episode here today. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a great day and God bless. You're already the expert, but have you transformed your expertise into a tangible asset that will generate and qualify leads while increasing profit for you 247 and if so, so how well are you promoting it with the expert authority effect publishing method, it's easier and faster than ever. Visit freebusinessbookpublishingcourse.com today to learn the seven steps to publish and promote your nonfiction, lead and profit generating business book in eight weeks. Visit freebusinessbookpublishingcourse.com to get started. Now once again, that's freebusinessbookpublishingcourse.Com hey, thanks for listening to today's episode. I hope you gu got a lot out of it. I know I sure did. If you haven't done so already, I invite you to subscribe to the show and also be sure to check out eainterviews.com for complete show notes, the full interview, video experience, links to the resources we mentioned, and more. Have a blessed day and I'll see you tomorrow.