Restaurant Show, Trade Show

We just got back from exhibiting at the National Restaurant Show.

It was a fantastic show for us...we met quite a few people and hopefully, they will become customers.

Here are some photos....1) Gary with Nicky, whom we hired to work the booth with us. She did an incredible job!

and 2) and 3) photos of the exhibit hall during teardown.


Photos were taken by Pearl

Cats

After posting Pamela's cat picture yesterday, I saw a "photo op" of my own this morning...here are Sunshine and Ellwood.

from the email bag, cats

Gary,
We have 2 rescues that were "fancy feast junkies" when we got them.

We didn't adopt them at the same time and the older one - Emma- changed over to good food, meaning a food without any by products or fillers, very easily in just a couple of days. Mabel was our problem. No matter what we gave her she got sick and I had just about given up on trying.

Then I bought a few cans of Pro Plan Select turkey and rice with oatmeal in it and she was finally able to handle it. From there it was like it made right all the wrong in her system and now she can handle all the good foods we give them, one of which is by your company. Yours is in the mix with 4 others that we consider superb and they both love it!

I have to admit though, when I first opened a can of the chicken and sardines and saw what was on the other side of the lid, I swore I would never open a can again. Turns out they both loved it so much, I ordered another case. Presently, I have a case of the chunky seafood and the turkey pate coming tomorrow. I'm sure they will be hits as well.

On that note, let me thank you again for your time. I do appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Pamela, Emma & Mabel Torma

Trade Shows

I am updating The Trade Show section on our web page to reflect:

Thaifex postponed - I had already blogged that the dates were revised and I will not be able to attend.

Now adding...

Fancy Food Show in June in New York - attending but not exhibiting




Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco in January, 2011 - attending but not exhibiting




Also, I am sad to see the demise of the Organic Trade Association show (OTA). We exhibited there a few years ago and picked up some good customers...it is now going to be co-located with Expo East in Boston in October.

New Water Bottler

While I was in Los Angeles, I met with a potential new water bottler.

I chose this supplier because they had a booth at a trade show where they showed off the new PLA bottle.

Now, what is that expression - perception isn't always reality?

The sales rep told me that they had packed some water in the PLA bottle, but that the bottle didn't work too well...it either leaked or some of the water in the bottle evaporated out...so that 16.9 ounces of water was actually 16.6 ounces. In walking through their warehouse, I saw that indeed this was the case.

So instead of trying to use the PLA bottle, I asked him about recycled plastic bottles. Those are indeed a possibility; they have now been approved for use in water bottles...but since they blow their own bottles, they would need to convert all of their bottles to recycled plastic....and for now, the recycled plastic costs more than virgin plastic.

I haven't made a decision about what to do yet...since distributors work 4 months in advance, we've missed the summer season on water. I will have to remember at Christmas to plan for water season.

Our new (hopefully) water bottler blows their own bottles. Here is a picture of what the mold looks like before it is blown...and after it is blown, it looks like a water bottle :)

Facebook Update

So I now have 50 unopened emails in my Facebook Folder...I've been added as a friend...confirmed as a friend...others want to be friends...and i guess i should do something about it...so Facebook is the next project to do