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Food for thought... how Simply Blues Food Marketing grew from one product to a major food marketing company
Call it serendipity. Being in the right place at the right time.
In the '80's, Brian Blue, the founder of Simply Blue Food Marketing, worked as a broker in the food industry for companies selling their products to school districts and airline companies. A friend in the same industry told him that the schools throughout California were receiving, at no cost, more peanuts than they could use as part of a government sponsored surplus Commodity program.
Aha! November 28, 1990 was a momentous occasion: it was the birth of Brian's son; it was Brian's birthday; and it was the birth of Brian's food service business- City Snacks.
On that date, Brian had a meeting with a school district and negotiated with them to take the surplus peanuts off their hands. He would honey roast them, package them with his new company logo "City Snacks", and sell them back to the school at a very competitive cost. A contract was signed and in January, 1991, City Snacks made their first shipment of Honey Roasted Peanuts.
The next few years were spent processing and packaging additional commodity products like walnuts, raisins, figs, prunes, and dates. They were blended with the peanuts to become a very successful Blazing Trail Mix. What a great partnership! The schools' surplus commodity products were dealt with by Brian and he delivered nutritious food items back to the schools that the kids literally devoured.
As the school districts throughout California sent Brian more and more commodities, his creativity really took off! City Snacks took these surplus food products and turned them into cheese quesadillas that were sealed and did not leak (now that was a new idea), churros that meet one bread serving, toasted cheese sandwiches, soft tacos, hand-made Pan Dulce sweet bread, and tortilla chips in the shapes of dinosaurs and bats. Sales continued to soar!
Sky Blue Bakery
The company went through a few name changes. In 1999, it became Simply Blues Food Marketing. In 2003, Brian sold his entrée business and now concentrates on a wonderful, nutritious assortment of unique bakery items under the name of Sky Blue Bakery, a division of Simply Blues Food Marketing. He now focuses on items with Whole Wheat that are lower in fat and sugar, yet maintains kid appeal with parent and school board approval.
Brian attributes his phenomenal growth to his ability to listen to his customers needs. This has allowed him to quickly adapt to current food trends, providing what the kids like and having outstanding products and customer service.
Now, that's food for thought.
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