Randolph attends the lunch. Afterward, as Llewellyn is being whisked out the door to his next appointment, she buttonholes him: "I'm the lady who called your office." Llewellyn replies, "Give me a call." Randolph does -- later that same day -- and is promised a 15-minute appointment. The meeting extends to 45 minutes, ending with Llewellyn asking, "How can we help you?"
In short order she has an appointment to meet with Ocean Spray's director of purchasing and marketing and a senior purchasing agent. (Ocean Spray buys fruit from 52 countries.) In the midst of that meeting Randolph allows that, gee, she sure wishes she had a way to test-market her fruit drink. Brief, awkward silence. "Well, uh, perhaps we could bring you into an Ocean Spray focus group."
Randolph returns some weeks later with bottles of Caribe Crash. Nineteen women, ages 35 to 54, taste the drink; 17 say they would definitely buy it.
Randolph has no formal relationship with Ocean Spray, yet clearly she has its CEO's ear. Llewellyn has offered to have the company's senior purchasing agent come to Randolph's office one day in the future to help her smooth out any wrinkles relating to her purchasing arrangements. That kind of validation offers hope as Oualie's moment of truth nears. "Keeping up my momentum is going to be a challenge," admits Randolph. "I know there's going to be a wonderful reception for these products. People will taste them and say they're great. But then what?"
She answers her own question by further admitting that good-tasting food and zippy labels won't carry the day. Running the business day to day could get thorny. "Managing the co-packer relationships will be hard. I'm cognizant of how many little ways we could be tripped up." She hopes by year's end to have enough money to hire a full-time operations person.
While Randolph knows there is no turning back, she wouldn't have it any other way. "One of the most remarkable things about these past two years is that I've learned so much about something I didn't know anything about before: business. What continues to astonish me is how helpful people are if you have a vision and you communicate it to them. They are eager to assist you. That's a tremendous and continuing revelation to me, and I hope someday I'll have the chance to give some of that back; to teach someone else some of what I've learned."
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Research assistance was provided by Leslie Brokaw.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE COMPANY
Oualie Ltd., Waltham, Mass.
Concept: Make and market a six-product line of Caribbean-inspired snack and specialty foods, first to regional specialty stores, later to national supermarkets
Projections: Sales of $800,000 with $45,000 profits in year one; $3.3 million in sales, $1 million in profits in year two
Hurdles: Overcoming a capitalization shortfall; getting shelf space in the crowded specialty/snack food category; getting consumer acceptance for a cuisine -- Caribbean -- that hasn't yet achieved widespread popularity
THE FOUNDER
Octavia Porter Randolph, 36
Given the origins of her company, it's hard to argue with Octavia Randolph's self-characterization: "There's an element of recklessness or courage -- or both -- in me." It's an element that's been there a while.
Here's an abridged bio: Randolph dropped out of an all-girl prep school at 17 and headed West in 1969 to breathe the liberating air of San Francisco. From there she stayed on the road less traveled, which led to Mexico where, as she puts it, "I hung out." A year later, resettled in Los Angeles, Randolph landed an office job in an architectural business by day and took drafting courses at night. That paid off with a job in a structural engineering firm. Randolph's interest came to focus on architectural history and preservation, a field in which she worked as a consultant for the next 12 years. Randolph believes it is this experience that those who would doubt her management skills shouldn't overlook. "I've always been very self-directed," she says. "That's why I can do something crazy like turn my back on 12 years of work and start a food company."
FINANCIALS
Oualie Ltd. Projected Operating Statement
Year one Year two
SALES
Salsa $311,825 $1,269,468
Banana chips 311,825 1,259,802
Jams 173,666 737,614
TOTAL SALES 797,316 3,266,844
COST OF SALES
Salsa 204,142 767,031
Banana chips 183,145 681,892
Jams 117,800 442,618
TOTAL COST OF SALES 505,087 1,891,541
GROSS PROFIT 292,229 1,375,343
% gross profit 37% 42%
Year one Year two
EXPENSES
Payroll 173,223 276,308
Professional services 20,000 18,250
Advertising 20,400 24,000
Travel and entertainment 12,000 20,200
Miscellaneous (rent, office services, 36,579 64,719
insurance, etc.)
Interest (14,744) (32,939)
TOTAL EXPENSES 247,458 370,628
PRETAX INCOME 44,771 1,004,715
% NET PROFIT 5.6% 30.8%
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
COMPETITOR
BOB KEIM
Co-owner, Vine Inc., a small Martha's Vineyard, Mass., manufacturer of grape-flavored sparkling water
Oualie is very, very similar to our company. We didn't have any experience in this, and we decided we wanted to do it. I took a year for planning and research, and Randolph has done the same kind of thing.
