Re: Your idea..

organic frozen food for kids

Dear John et al,

I have spent a career of 20 years in international (and domestic) trade
of organic foods, including 12 years with US organic (frozen) food
pioneer Cascadian Farm which was bought by General Mills in 2000.

Because the term "organic" used in food labeling is regulated by USDA
imports must comply with US standards called NOP (National Organic
Program). See http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm . This will
answer some basic questions.

I have both imported and exported organic foods. The idea of organic
foods for kids is not new one by any means, and there is much learning
to be had from those who have tried and failed.

Organic babyfood has been a huge success, but this has not translated
into success in organic kids foods. One factor may be that mom (the
customer) buys but the kid (the consumer) has a strong veto power over
what he/she eats; therefore you have 2 different audiences to please
with a single product positioning....

One last comment: This is a category where importing has more hurdles,
risks and likely costs, than producing domestically. A mix of domestic
and imported ingredients, assembled in the US, could take advantage of
the best of both, while giving you the control you need over the
consumer product.

I could go on and on, but I will leave it here. Angela, feel free to
contact me for a deeper discussion if you wish.


All best

Shel Weinberg



phone: 360 299 3579
mobile: 360 941 5443
shel@sheldonweinberg.com

-----Original Message-----
From: spiers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spiers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of john@johnspiers.com
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 8:22 AM
To: angelahall@bellsouth.net
Cc: john@johnspiers.com
Subject: [spiers] Re: Your idea..

Dear John, your idea of the indian medicine (for me sounds like organic
medicine) weakened my frozen organic meals for kids...I dont know...

I been looking for import of non organic frozen dishes, and there is
not
many imports, so the conclusion is that here is the best place of the
world,

***who knows, you'd have to research further... it may be the cost of
shipping a frozen $3 meal is too much compared to locally produced
frozen meals..who knows...it's your profession to learn how come...***


so it will be may be a product to be exported to Germany/Netherlands the
biggest consumers of organics..., or also for the USA (not Miami..),
but I
think that the big corporations could buy an usa organic company, and
could
launch very easy a product like mine...

***Yes, but why not you be the organic company they buy, like so many
others who did well by doing so well the big boys bought them after 20
years?***

On the other hand, I will have to deal with a frozen product..with all
its
cost..(I have no expereince in Frozen foods, and sounds mabe to much
trouble
for a small business)

***Yes, you will have to deal with a frozen product; no you will not
have to deal with all of its costs, your customers will have to deal
with all of its costs, and they can take it or leave it...; and trouble
and small biz go together... new is necesarily more trouble than
standard...this was an insight by Von Mises I think, that innovative
products are necessarily a more difficult, drawn out process.... it
makes sense to me, since the big boys cannot charge off their overhead
to the necessarily tiny market for innovative ideas, it is only we with
marginal overhead that can pursue these innovations.***

I am in a point of should I continue with this idea, a frozen organic
kids
meal for 3 o 4 dollar (end prize)..or something more for a small
business..

***a small business will introduce a home version of the nuclear power
plant; the size of a bread box that is safe clean, lights up your yrad
and home like a slot machine paying off, and makes your car fly a foot
off the ground, gps controlled at 300 miles and hour to the store. GM
will not come up with this. Neither will Toyota, with their appalling
hybrid cars. So yes, organic kids frozen meals are a small biz item.
And why not $9 meals...why do you think they have to be cheap? Whole
Foods is storming America and they are charging super premium prices.
I spoke to a women who hand tailors coats who said everytime she is
forced to raise her prices her unit sales increase.***

I love the organics, but does it has to be with the difficulties and
costs
of frozen foods??

***I love women, and I run into the same problems, all difficulties,
costs and frozen food... you learn to live with it.***

Your idea of the indian medicine, is to be sold through a Web site? I
liked
it because is in the Organic area..

***well, indian medicine is not my idea, I just repeated what others
with a passion told me...***

What do you think of my thoughts, should I continue..or start to
research
the medicine "ayurveda" etc..

***Run each rabbit into the ground... don't start after one and turn
after another that you see on the side... just chase one and if you
don't catch it, it's gone down a hole, then start after another...***

John


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