Category: Lifestyle

I often wonder how different it must be to run a company in 2019 than it must have been 50 seasons ago.

A typical day for me starts between 8 and 9 am and is filled with a variety of jobs. It can include overseeing our marketing and sales, working on new product development, (by the way, we are working on a line of pies at the moment and the packaging that goes along with them) then checking in with my operations director, customer service team and retail team.

We recently opened a new retail store that is located a few miles from our core operations, so I travel there multiple times a week to visit with our staff there and see how I can support their efforts. I also manage to keep a pulse on the pecan industry, as a whole, and unique gourmet gifting trends that are always emerging. I manage our ad agency account as well as any social media engagement.

I have a fiduciary responsibility to the company, for both the shareholders (my family) and the employees that work here. I also keep an overall eye on the general direction of the company through new ideas and products that are relevant, inspiring and unprecedented. And finally, I have to be able to navigate what we need now versus what we can use later, to keep moving the company forward in a competitive gifting landscape. We are constantly evaluating the products we offer and the behind-the-scenes technology and facilities it takes to get our products out to our customers. Over the course of a day — I can have my hands involved in a lot of unique areas.

And believe me, no two days are the same.

Navigating the ‘Net

Fifty seasons ago, the internet wasn’t around. It seems strange to imagine a time where an online presence didn’t make or break a company — and what a game changer it has been for all companies, regardless of the product or service they offer. The internet accounts for nearly one third of our annual sales and continues to grow. Embracing the internet and understanding how it plays a vital role in day-to-day operations is a must for most companies. For us, it has opened the door to many new customers, but it also has added to the mix of things to learn about and how to deploy those resources for the betterment of our growth and profitability.

Social media plays a huge role in our company, and social platforms are ever increasing the avenue to gain new customers, promote new products and make direct sales. While we participate in several social media platforms, we must learn ways to leverage what is happening on these platforms to further our ability to offer our products and services. Social media is a fast-moving ecosystem. Personally, I am in it, but I am also 50 years old, so I feel like I have one foot in, and one foot out of the social realm. That is a scary place to be at times! I have to get to a place where I rely on information from younger consumers, learn their shopping habits and put our company in a position to embrace those buying opportunities.

Stayin’ Alive

If I was talking to someone planning on opening a specialty or niche food company for the first time, I think I would tell them to be really sure that you are not developing or offering a product that might be a fad product. Pecans are, in my opinion, tried and true. The Native Americans depended on them. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson planted them. Here in the deep south, we revere them. Pecans are part of our southern lifestyle, they are embedded in our culture. Pecans are also America’s nut. For others, who want to get into the specialty food business, I would say, don’t get too cute. When I think of this, I think of all the cupcake shops that opened up a few years ago and were all the rage for a while. While a few of these micro-bakeries made it, most did not. Fads are a dangerous place to operate if you want to be in it for the long haul.

So how have we survived? In large part, thanks to these three main values: Passion, Commitment and Creativity. We must be passionate about pecans and the job of servicing our clients with an outstanding gifting service for their recipients. We all must be committed to the goals of the company and our commitment must not be self-serving, but for the good of the entire company. And we must always strive to sell our products and services creatively. That is what will give us a competitive edge in my opinion. Our latest creative endeavor? Boudin Pie. If you haven’t had it, you’re missing out.

Being profitable solves a lot of potential problems, so making enough money to keep the business “in business” is key to our success. With financial stability, many of the other things take care of themselves — we will have more freedom, more influence, more creative expression and certainly room for innovation. If we aim for a certain amount of financial success, it makes room for the other things that come along.

Dreaming Big

We want to grow, no doubt. We recently moved into a renovated building on our Main Street of New Iberia in the newly-formed historic district, and we are beyond excited about this new location. I have always felt that a 50-year-old family company like ours needs to be on a Main Street. It’s what you expect to see!

We have a lot of plans for this building, including an expanded retail-facing component that will include a pie bar for having a cup of coffee and a piece of pie, and a pecan exhibit space so we can educate folks on the history and industry of pecans. We think it will be an exciting addition to downtown New Iberia and for tourists that come to our parish to visit. Also, we hope to expand our mail order catalog reach and certainly grow our online presence with digital marketing. After 50 seasons, I feel like we are just getting started!

The pecan pie is the poster child for pecans and our industry. Even though pecans are more than just pie, let’s be honest, it’s a damn good place to start. And who doesn’t love a good piece of pie? After the creation of the Boudin Pie, we’re excited to explore other flavors. Look out for the up-and-coming Bourbon Pecan!

I want Cane River Pecan Company to be a top tier gifting company with a national footprint. I also want to be the leading gourmet pecan provider nationwide, and we are already well underway. We are known for only offering an exceptional line of pecans and pecan specialties, but the goal now is to take what we are doing and offer it to even more people around the US. The South has a rich association with pecans and heirloom recipes that demand fresh pecans. We want to be the source of those pecans so we can support the southern food traditions that have been handed to us.

In our 50th season, we are selling almost every pecan product we want to offer. With pies soon on the way, we feel like we have a well rounded offering of exceptional products. The trick is not to offer too much. People can become overwhelmed with choices. Do a few things, and do them very well. With internet sales soaring, more people are being exposed to our brand than ever before. However, only a few of those new customers are getting a chance to visit our store, so we must bring that same, great Cane River Pecan Company experience to them. Innovation never really stops; finding new ways to excite the recipient of our pecans is a constant endeavor for us — and we love rising to the challenge.

Our ability to continue to share our southern heritage and Louisiana food culture is what sets us apart from other gourmet food companies. Everyone knows that food is our hallmark in Louisiana; to be involved in the food industry — the most exciting industry in the state — is fun to be a part of. And we have a lot of great ideas that we want to see come to fruition. The future is bright for us!

I’ve spent April celebrating National Pecan Month, as everyone should, and marveling that 2019 marks my family’s 50^th season in the pecan industry. Fifty years! What a milestone. I’ve found myself doing a bit of reflection on where it all started and lessons I’ve learned over the years.

You may know where it all began. About 180 miles north of New Iberia, Louisiana, it starts on the Cane River, which runs through Central Louisiana and dissects the historic city of Natchitoches, Louisiana. My father bought our pecan orchards, nestled along the banks of the river, in 1969. Years later, he opened a small, seasonal retail store on Front Street in the city of Natchitoches.

What you may not know is that my mother started our mail order division of the company. She was the one who came up with the idea to start selling pecans as gourmet holiday gifts, using pecans that my father grew on our family farm. After closing our seasonal store years later, the retail business of selling our pecans moved to where we lived and still operate today — New Iberia, Louisiana. In addition to my mother running the mail order operations, my two brothers and I started a pecan cracking company in our family garage. We ran the “Nutcrackers” until my youngest brother left home for college. Simpler times.

The start of the company wasn’t without its challenges. After all, getting customers to believe in giving gourmet pecans as a gift was a tough sell at first. If you can believe it, there was a time that giving pecans was not really a thing. Luckily, people came around to the power of pecans as presents. Getting people to believe in the idea of our style of gifts was one of the first wins for Cane River Pecan Company.

Since the beginning, our business has enjoyed steady growth, year over year. When we started selling flavored pecans in our signature red tin, sales really began to take off, and we gained national traction. Offering a branded tin made Cane River Pecan Company memorable, and it began to set us apart from other pecan companies in the country.

Hometown CNO

Though it may be hard to believe, for nearly 13 years before becoming the Chief Nut Officer you know today, I worked in sports marketing and administration. After more than a decade of working in that field, I was inspired to leave my big city corporate job in Chicago to return to Louisiana for a few reasons. First, I love Louisiana and our food culture. To “come home” and be a part of that was intriguing to me. And the opportunity to work for myself was really a big pull to get me “home.” And of course, there are a bunch of cool things that I missed about being in the South, like attending LSU football games, duck hunting, the Cajun lifestyle, being close to family and continuing a family tradition of working in the pecan industry. I feel the same way today. No regrets whatsoever.

While we’re taking this trip down Memory Lane, I often get asked about how I came to be the Chief Nut Officer. I remember while on a flight home, I read an article about the man who runs the famous little red wagon company – Radio Flyer. He was the self-proclaimed Chief Wagoneer. I knew I needed a title that would get me access to the C-suite for corporate sales, yet light enough to have fun with the company. Right then, I decided I was going to be known as the CNO of Cane River Pecan Company. After all, at the end of the day, we sell pecans. It’s not that serious. And you know what the best thing is? Over the years, people sometimes forget my name, but they never, ever forget my title! Whenever I give a person my card, I have the pleasure of a “wait-for-it” moment until they read my title, and they always give a little chuckle. It’s memorable. And hey, don’t we all need to be memorable in business? Of course we do!

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Running a company is tough and unpredictable to say the least. We are faced with so many incredible challenges all of the time and each year, the challenges change. It really never stops and the pace is incredible, even for a small company like ours. Our original challenge was marketing the pecan itself, our later challenges have included upgrading packaging, expanding our selection of pecan specialties, building a real mail order catalog, embracing the internet, technology upgrades and facility improvements. I consider these healthy challenges, as every one of them speaks to an increased demand for delicious pecan goods.

I am proud that we have been able to offer a consistently great range of products and services year after year and have grown as a result. Sure, we spend a lot of time and financial resources to grow the company. But when you can grow organically by offering great products to a new and unsuspecting customer, and they in turn buy the product for themselves because they were so impressed, well … then you have something unique on your hands. That is when it becomes special. That’s why, thanks to customers like you with an insatiable appetite for our delicacies, we are still here to celebrate yet another National Pecan Month.