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Chetek business spices up fundraising drives
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| By: Anita Zimmerman |
October 28, 2009 |
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Tim Wall poses with products from Sugar ‘N Spice’s fundraising line. A former physical education teacher, Wall hopes organizations will consider selling spices as a healthy, useful alternative to prepared foods.
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A dynamic local business is reinventing itself while helping nonprofit organizations make money.
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Sugar 'N Spice sells to more than 1,300 stores in the Midwest; they've also recently revamped their fundraising offerings. A new Web site is also in the works.
Fundraising is an annual effort for students and civic groups, and when catalogs of prepared foods lose their luster, organizations can turn toward a healthier alternative.
How about bulk spices?
They're high quality, useful and have a long shelf life. Best of all, it's a 50-percent return for sellers, plus the company throws in an extra 2 percent of total sales for cash prizes or specialty gifts.
Facilitating fundraising is not a new pursuit for the spice wholesaler, but the program and product line have been expanded to ease the process and make selling simpler for clients.
Tim Wall, vice president in charge of sales and production, taught for 14 years before he went into the spice business, so he knows one community institution that's always looking for fundraising ideas: schools.
PTOs and PTAs, bands, sports teams, elementary classes, clubs-they all need ways to fund their trips, competitions and equipment purchases.
"In the school I came from, everybody was fighting for a different fundraiser," he says.
That's where wholesale spices come in. For prices ranging from $7 to $9.50, buyers get bottles of basic seasonings, including garlic powder, chili powder, cinnamon, basil, oregano, paprika, crushed red pepper, parsley flakes and cinnamon sticks.
Combination packages feature two complementary spices and cost $14 to $16.50. Popcorn toppers, peppers and grill seasonings are available.
That's not all, Wall says. Soon the company will offer four to six types of single-use kits containing marinades, dip mixes and holiday seasoning packets. Kits will be packaged in small boxes and will be suitable for gift-giving.
Although he says consumers traditionally "overpay to help the fundraiser," Wall believes friends and family get more for their money with Sugar 'N Spice's products. When he compares grocery-store products to the prices in fundraiser catalogs, spices still constitute the best deal.
"I think it's a good value," he says.
Both the program expansion and the new Web site, which could be done as soon as next month, are ways for the nearly 30-year-old business to grow. Sugar 'N Spice also hired a food-industry consultant to help guide the effort.
"We looked at what kind of potential we have besides stores," says Wall.
Once the Web site is finished, online shopping will be possible for the first time. Visitors will also be able to peruse the company's fundraising offerings online.
For Chetek organizations in particular, it's a win-win situation. Local money feeds into the economy, supporting jobs, companies that do business with Sugar 'N Spice, nonprofit groups and the entire community.
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©The Chetek Alert 2009
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