Kristen Preau, AKA Jambalaya Girl, shares how she grew her brand to over 1,000 retail locations from New Orleans to Anchorage, Alaska.

It all started with peddling jambalaya pots and serving others.

Jambalaya Girl shares 5 takeaways on this episode of the Close The Deal. Com Podcast: 

1. Best restaurant to close the deal in New Orleans
2. How she accidentally started this company based on a story
3. What it takes to successfully launch a retail brand (Costco to Walmart) - she shares her secret ingredient too...to success in retail.
4. How she navigated Covid since covid took away her best form of promotion
5. Tips for someone considering the retail journey (not easy)

Connect with Kristen:

https://jambalayagirl.com/

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-preau

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Show Notes with Kristen Preau:

AKA Jambalaya Girl

Kristen: You know, we, we've definitely had our tough paths. We definitely had our setbacks in retail. Oh my gosh. Had one, one retailer. We were in, and then we were out and we lost a huge chunk of business that, I mean, to the point where it could have put us out of business. And it was, we, we survived it.

That was a very tough lesson learned. We now apply that to every new distribution that we go into. But no, that. It, it, it makes me appreciate  the fact that we, we love what we do, and if we don't love something, don't waste our time.

If a relationship's not working, goodbye to it. 

Ewell: That is Kristen Preau, AKA - the Jambalaya Girl. She is a force of nature in the city of New Orleans, and she brought a product called Jambalaya Girl to the market and has it in over a thousand retail stores from New Orleans all the way to Anchorage, Costco, Walmart, you name it.

It keeps growing. Now you're listening to the Close The Deal. Com podcast with Ewell Smith.

I am your host, and in this episode she's gonna pull back the veil on what it takes to get a product to retail at that level. And then she's also gonna share some tips on how to get going if you're thinking about doing something similar. She's got some great advice. Now let's get started with the show. 

Kristen. Welcome to the CloseTheDeal.com podcast. Where are you today?

Kristen: Home is in New Orleans and Algiers Point.

Best restaurant to "close the deal" in New Orleans

Ewell: Loaded question for you.

Kristen: Yes.

Ewell: I've seen your product in Costco and other stores all over the place.

Kristen: Okay.

Ewell: But let's say you didn't have Costco as a client and they and the executives were flying into New Orleans to meet with you.

Where would you take them to dinner

Kristen: To dinner. Oh man, I, 

Ewell: to close the deal.

Kristen: To close the deal. You know what I'm, I'm actually, I typically don't do this, but I am going to highlight a chef that I truly believe gives some classic New Orleans dishes, and that's Frank Brigtsen.

Absolutely. For a unique experience. I'd have to bring him over to, to Brigtsen Restaurant in the River Bend.

Ewell: You can't go wrong, Frank. He's fantastic.

Kristen: He's such a

Ewell: And he's a gem. He's an unbelievable ambassador for, for Louisiana seafood too.

Kristen: Absolutely.

Ewell: Now you're in the retail business, and that is a hard path.

Kristen: Mm-hmm.

The problem Kristen solved - sort of...

Ewell: You came into the business with a food product, which may be even a harder path. What was the problem you saw in the marketplace? And then what was the solution that you came up with? What inspired this?

Kristen: I would like to tell you that I'm smart enough to say that I started my business trying to solve a problem, but this business is so organic and is such a grassroots growth model that 12, I'm almost 13 years in business now and I'm just now fully understanding what I've been through, and it, it was a story that got me into business.

This, my dad sold cooking equipment, the big cast iron pots. And I had the nickname Jambalaya Girl since I was little. Um, ended up doing some cooking, some jambalaya to help raise some money and help out some people after a hurricane. And the inspiration was when we took it on the road. I mean, I was up in, uh, I went up to Tennessee, to Kentucky.

I went all over the country and served jambalaya to raise money. For New Orleans, and people were so blown away at how good our jambalaya recipe was, that it was just the light went off. Like, man, I, I love being an ambassador for New Orleans culture. Here I have my dad's recipe. That to us is just this easy, big cast iron kettle.

Some guidance from culinary legends

We cook all the time. And, uh, then using, using kind of my background and connections through our family is we know we, we got to work with Chef Paul Prudhomme. My dad used to make cooking equipment for him that he featured in his cookbook, and then Chef George Rodrigue was another person that gave us this opportunity.

He helped us make our jambalaya recipe into the blend that we actually packaged now as Jambalaya Girl. So, it was a, a wonderful story. What I've learned that the problem that we truly have solved and why. Our customers  have given us the opportunity to be in business is because. We make our box mixes delicious, and we do it by giving just better quality ingredients.

 We we're giving 'em our taste in New Orleans. Everybody's got their home recipe down here, but I'm giving 'em an authentic connection to the city and our culture. I'm giving them a rich stock base. And Chef Paul said it best. The difference between a, a good dish and a fantastic one is a rich stock.

So we've got all that blended into our line of New Orleans food products now, and the fact that I have grown my business for over 12 years in the backyard of New Orleans, in the Gulf Coast area, and we have. Glowing reviews and customers love it and continue to buy it, that gives me the confidence to go solve the next problem.

And the next problem is nationwide distribution. Where I. There are products on the, on the market that aren't made in Louisiana that are made by whatever brand and it's a box of cayenne and salt cuz they think that's what New Orleans food is all about. And that drives me crazy.

I'm determined to share an authentic taste of what we grew up cooking and I'm delighted to give it to 'em and I easy to prepare New Orleans meal to share with their family and friends.

Ewell: I love it. So, we, I wanna come back to that because that's the marketing piece. I want to ask you how you grew this to where you are. The fact that you have Costco and some of the big stores is, is a testament to 12 years of hard work. Now, go back, you started traveling around the United States as a child.

How old were you when you did that?

Kristen: Oh, so that the, the traveling I was cooking,

Ewell: Yeah. To 

Kristen: That actually right after, that was right after Hurricane Katrina. I 

ewell: Okay. 

Kristen: you're so sweet. As a child, I was fresh outta college.

Ewell: Well, I was, well, I wasn't too far ahead yet. Well, you said, you said as a child, so I went with the child part. All I love.

The yellow fork earrings

Kristen: Oh yeah, yeah. No, the, the nickname, you know, a child, my husband, older brother and I'd, cooked jambalaya for the football players after the game and I'd be the little girl handing out the bowls. jambalaya, hey.

Ewell: You're right. And, and folks, I we, I'm gonna get to video one day, but right now it's audio. But if you pick up a box of Jambalaya Girl and you see the picture, the cartoon picture, what do you call that? Is it a 

Kristen: Caricature. 

Ewell: a caricature of you? You've got the, the earrings on. Well, I've only, I've only known you and the earrings are the yellow forks that she has on right now.

You cannot see it. 

Kristen: Big plastic yellow forks,

Ewell: but that's, that is her signature. And ever since I've known you at trade shows or wherever we were, you had those on. So, do you sleep in those by chance?

Kristen: I got em in every color you can get from, uh, you know, from Party City. But no, we, we've actually had really fun with it. The first time I wore the Fork, fork earrings was when the Saints won the NFC Championship to go to the Superb Bowl.

I was invited to lead the Black and Gold Parade with the buddy. It was a Buddy D’s Dress Parade and I was with all the super fans and I had Whistle Monster and the Pope and all these characters from the Superdome.

 I had an apron that said Jambalaya Girl and Whistle Monster said, you need to step it up Jumbalaya Girl, where's your superfan look? So, then I went and got some plastic forks and I made earrings, and I had a cast iron, well mini cast iron pot on my head and a golden uh, jambalaya paddle.

And thankfully the fork earrings stuck.

Ewell: Boy. No, no kidding. It is your identity. You've done a great job branding the, the brand. I, I wanna dig into the marketing, but let's, from before you could do the marketing, did your dad help? How did you learn how to take that recipe to a mass scale to bring it to production? To bring it to the retail market.

And was that the strategy from the start going to the retail side, or did you say, okay, we wanna make, uh, boil bags for restaurants?

Kristen: No, I was trying to sell cast iron pot fuel.

Ewell: Oh, okay.

Kristen: I was trying to make it that, that's our background was cooking equipment. I was trying to help the family business and, and selling more big jambalaya pots. And, um, the formula and the recipe, we, uh, Because we were working with so many chefs, Chef George Rodrigue, who I mentioned earlier, helped us create our recipe into a blended product.

And then working with Chef Paul Prudohomme, I mean, I'm just so grateful I got to share all these.

Ewell: No doubt. I mean, how many people can say that?

Kristen: and Chef Paul was able to help us blend the product at Magic Seasoning, blends his, I mean, state-of-the-art facility here in New Orleans so that I started with a package that had the production capacity to meet any retailer in the country.

Grassroots lay the groundwork to success

Yeah, I was starting with the grassroots brand business, everything. So, I truly came into, came into market by going to one grocery store, walking the product through the back door, checking it in, putting it on the shelf myself, sampling the product every weekend, giving out, giving out little taste and samples of it, and have learned the retail trade truly that way by just doing it myself until I understood what, what type of business we were growing.

Customers. Customers loved it, and that, that's what gives me, that's what drives me.

Ewell: So is that, to get it going, I mean it was a lot of boots on the ground, a lot of sampling at, at events. I mean, I saw you everywhere it seemed like when I was in the seafood board. Um, I'd run into you at the trade shows, did the LRA shows and, and in live events around the city. What other tactics did you use to get it going? Were there other tactics or was that the, the, the grassroots.

Kristen: I mean, I laugh, um, because my now husband who I'm, I met the month that I started my business. He has only known me as Jambalaya Girl professionally, and he, we laugh about how for the first few years of us dating every single weekend, I personally was in a grocery store with a little four foot table and cooker giving out samples.

I mean, it was very grassroots. the start and getting to know the retailers, getting in. Also, a smart move on our part that still sticks with us today is working with other authentic Louisiana brands. One of the early ones that I just did my first big ad campaign with is Abita Beer.

Ewell: Great. Great.

Kristen: Oh my gosh, Leo with Abita sat down with me one day and just, you know, I've had so many people help me just to understand the business, to advance further. We just had this fun brew meets  Jambalaya Girl Gumbo and Abta Amber ad campaign that came from that initial relationship of just trying to help each other out. And I'll tell you what, a lot of Louisiana food brands stick together like that. Even if we're in competition together, we, work together with it.

Ewell: You know, the restaurant guys do the same thing. They're fierce with each other, competition, but I've never seen a tighter group than the hospitality group and the food. I think it just connects everybody, right? It pulls everybody together 

Kristen: Absolutely.

Ewell: Do you remember the first retail store you were in?

Kristen: Yes. It was the, at the time it was on Magazine Street. It was Breaux Mart was my very first one.

Ewell: Breaux Mart. Okay. So that's a nice sized store. How many stores are you in today? And is it just, is it regional and state statewide, or is it bleeding in other states yet? Or, I know you wanna go 

Kristen: We're, we're growing. So, um, gosh, a recent count. I mean, we're over a thousand stores now, but recent count. We stretched from Texas into Florida across the Gulf Coast in the southeast, and our most recent two, two big pickups. This year, Walmart has given us a trial, almost nationwide. They're giving us a trial right now, and then Meyer Grocery Store is up in the Midwest, just gave us full distribution.

And that, I mean, that's, that is testament there to just to be able to go up in Mississippi River and any store following that river We're in now.

Ewell: that's enormous. Congratulations. That's, that's incredible. Now what keeps, okay, so, you know, the value. Cause I used to do sampling. Uh, I used to, I had, I, I test marketed beer. Early in my career, before I knew you, for Miller, when, when the microbrews were coming out, um, I worked for a company called GMR Marketing, and that's all they did.

Test market. I mean, they promoted Miller products and, uh, but I know when I would leave a venue, the sales would drop. And you probably saw that, which I'm sure when you've done sampling that you, you get a spike in sales. How do you keep the sales growing? To keep growing? Is it people just love your product that much?

They keep coming back. Or is there, what do you do to nurture that?

Kristen: you do everything you can from, I mean, the, the in in retail marketing, especially in food marketing, marketing people, they have to hear about it. They have to see it, and they have to try it.

The secret ingredient

So to the best thing for us to do when we were in the stores. We're supporting a ton of community groups, which we still do today.

To get people to hear about it, they gotta see it so, Our team, full-time team of three, or I mean, checking stores, making sure that they had plenty of stock on the shelf, making sure we get those displays and everything for people to be able to see it. Getting our name out there at different community events and getting 'em to try it with those demos.

Or if you did a coupon or a discount to encourage people to pick up the product and try it. And then the packaging too. mean, I've gotta share. When I started my company, it was not called Jambalaya Girl.

Yeah, it was called Cook Me Something, Mister,  cute little ode to “Throw me something, Mister” from Mardi Gras.

The obvious and organic name change

But there was always the caricature of me with the fork earrings on the package and I had. So many business resources, uh, took advantage of every free, free business resource. One of them being, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.

They had me go up to New York to do a case study and focus on my business.

And I'm in Bloomberg's headquarters and they're looking at me and they're saying, why is your company not called Jambalaya Girl? So, I mean, eight, eight years into it, I rebranded my company, redid all of my packaging because that was the limitation. People just, they outside of New Orleans, they didn't get it.

They don't know what cooked me something mister was. So

Ewell: Well, you know what? that's... 

Kristen: said, sign 

Ewell: resonating with me cuz I remember because eight years is later.

That's, that's just a few years ago. I, I remember cooking something missed. I also remember something else you always said. Cuz folks, I haven't seen Kristen in what, probably 10 years. This has been a long time.

This is, this is a reunion for us. But there's something else. You also have a saying and I'm sure, do you still say,  "Yum Yum.. ."

Kristen: Yum. Yum. Come get some...

Ewell: There you go. All right.

Kristen: Yeah. You don't say dinner served you, you, you call 'em to the table the right way.

Ewell: All right, folks. We get a break right here. We we're gonna come right back in a second and we are gonna find out a little bit more of the marketing and then why she does what she does. Uh, I think we got kind of a sense for it. But I wanna break that down just a little bit more and to see where the vision is going further.

So we'll be right back. 

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Kristen, welcome back to the Closethedeal.com podcast. Well, first of all, I'm having a ball with you. This is a lot of fun. Okay, so your tactics today, you've grown the business, you've done trade shows. Do you do trade shows a lot? Is that, I mean, cause I remember seeing you at the LRA show.

Do you go other parts of the United States?

Marketing tactics - and making adjustments for survival

Kristen: Yes, yes. We're actually, we're going up to Michigan I

Yeah, we do, we do trade shows for the grocery warehouses or the distributors. So necessarily a public trade show, but more of a retail focus show.

Ewell: Okay. And what other marketing methods are there? Do you ever, you've collaborated with a Abita Beer, do you do paid advertising or social? What? What do you...

Kristen: do And I'll be honest that is something, that really I had to shift my focus in 2020 cuz hello Covid could not do product demonstrations in stores. 

And I have just been throwing a lot of stuff up on the wall to see what sticks to still move my product. Cuz I had brand new distribution with some major retailers and I was, that, that tactic was taken off of my plate. 

And we have tried a lot of different things. We do some paid advertising, a lot of digital, combination of social media and Google ads. But what we've really like, we just did one this weekend. The best form of marketing is being able to know what keeps your brand authentic, know what that messaging is, know what that experience is for your customer and.

For me, I go into a grocery store and it's so cool, like 12 years in business now. People know my brand, they tell me stories. I went to a store this weekend and a family came up to me. Oh ,my goodness. We love your stuff. We keep your picture stocked in our pantry. We made it for, uh, a, our, our daughter's wedding, and everyone at the wedding wanted to know what was that recipe.

And we're telling 'em all about jambalaya girl. So, what I did while I was there, I was smart enough to have my social media girl with me, and she's capturing all this on film. Like,

I want to simply take that early experience of demos in the store and, and direct connection with my customers, and I'm giving that a virtual voice.

I'm giving that a digital platform to get to the market so people can see, hey, if this family in New Orleans loves this stuff and loves it enough to use it at their wedding and share with their guests, I'm up in, you know, in the Midwest, if I'm up in in Cincinnati and I wanna give somebody an authentic dish, I can give them not only a delicious.

Jambalaya Girl recipe, but I can tell 'em the story. I saw the girl in the package and she's from here, and here's her story. So whatever tactic it is, whether it be digital or print or an in-store, ad campaign, it's all about connecting to that experience and that story. So, I've, um, we're, we're still, we're still figuring it out, but the bottom line, I told you this before, my job is to tell everyone, so.

I mean, just tell everyone about my brand. Tell, tell our story, and find different channels to make that happen.

Ewell: That is probably one of the most important things you've said just now, cuz I see this with so many businesses and sometimes the entrepreneur loses sight that the most important job they have is to promote their business. Cause if people don't know about the business, how are they ever gonna buy from you?

Right.

Kristen: Right, right. No. So we, we've done that I really had a tough time like any other entrepreneur or business in the 20, 20 20 was connecting with my customers. So, I even came up with another tactic. I launched a cooking club. said some about these earrings.

Ewell: People get a pair. They get they, oh, they initiated it. Oh, they do?

Kristen: You guys can't see this. I'm showing you a picture right now in the video of these little packaged mini jumbo eye girl fork earrings, and I offer these to customer. This is my proof of purchase campaign. I don't want, I don't want your UPC code and your receipt and all that. No. I want you to send me your proof of cooking.

Send me a photo, send me a video, that you really cook my product, and then I mail you a free gift from Jambalaya Girl, the one we have right now with the little fork earrings. But I got, you know who I got that idea from?

Um, Joe Kahn. Do you

Ewell: No kid. Yeah. The guy who used to be the tailgating guy, right?

Kristen: Commissioner of Tailgating, but before he was Commissioner of Tailgating, he was the founder of New Orleans School of Cooking when I was in he Riverwalk. 

And that was when it, when be before social media and everything. His tactics. So, he'd give the customers his experience to come in and learn these New Orleans recipes, but to build his mailing list, would ask the customer to mail them like when you finish the cooking class didn't, you weren't, you didn't graduate yet. 

You had to go home, cook the recipe you learned for your friends, take a picture and mail your picture to Joe and he would send you an official certificate, you know, the grand graduation certificate for, for finishing the New Orleans School of Cooking.

And that was his mailing list tech technique. That was his way of knowing where his customers were coming from. And this has been tremendous for us to be able to see who our customers are, how much they love our brand, because we've given this arena. It's just they love the space that we've created for them, and it's been so fun to connect with them.

Ewell: So, you hit, you're hitting on all the cylinders. What about, or are there any other tactics you're gonna try that, that you say, okay, this is something I wanna do that I haven't done yet. Or do you just kind of stumble these things and they work brilliant brilliantly for you?

Kristen: Oh no, I Do. They all work brilliantly? Absolutely not. No. I mean, look, but here's, here's my job. I'm talking to you. I'm telling everyone. 

Um, but no, I truly, my next step is how do I give that early grassroots experience to a customer? That's gonna find my product at Meyers. You know, that's my newest, my newest distribution or Walmart.

Why she loves what she does - another name for Kristen - Ambassador

This nationwide trial, they're given us, you know, I, our top store right now is in Anchorage, Alaska. How about Yeah. I mean, people love, uh, that, that goes back to why I do what I do. I love New Orleans. I grew up here. I love our culture. I love the people here. I've always wanted to be an ambassador.

My, some of my early jobs, I was an intern at the Superdome with Bill Curl and know, my dream job was to work at the Convention and Visitors Bureau and, and here I am being my own version of an ambassador with our culture, with my, with Jambalaya Girl. So being able to, Be that representative through the packaging, through the marketing and the follow up, wanting to stay connected to those customers.

You know, who knows what the next digital social media thing will be, but the message is always gonna be the same.

Ewell: Yeah. And you're consistent. You've done, you've done a great job with that. Okay, so you alluded to, you have three people, is that right? A team of three that do all this?

Kristen: No,

Ewell: You got a production team.  But from the management of the business running the business, it's you and two other people.

Wow.

Kristen: Yeah.

Ewell: That's unreal.

Kristen: Yeah. 

Ewell: A thousand stores, how do you keep up with all that...

Kristen: And I have a two-year old and a four-year old. And you asked earlier just too about like what being grateful, what are we grateful for? And for it's also the village that it takes. Professionally and personally to be able to run a business and to have a family.

And, and I've built this business in a way that I can spend time with, with my kids at such, at such a, you know, precious age. So, know, from my mom and them and my aunt and, and just all the other colleagues professionally that have helped us along the way and including yourself. Well, I mean, you, you, you're definitely a, an early connection in my business and I did some marketing with the seafood board and, uh, you know, I, I take advantage of every free resource and I ask for help.

I ask help when I need it.

Ewell: That's, that's invaluable. A lot of people don't. Gosh,

Kristen: Yeah.

Ewell: you just got the right instincts. You are built on this.

Kristen: I love it. And that's a, and this, a lot of this is my family too.

You know, my dad still works with me part-time. Uh, my brother is one of my colleagues and we're, we're, as we grow the team beyond family, I just, everyone that works with us feels like family.

Guidance for those considering the retail route

Ewell: So, for somebody looking to go into the retail food business, any guidance you'd given there, cuz you've, you've had some hard knocks, you've got 12 years under your belt, some massive success at thousand stores all the way to Anchorage. What, what's the number one or two things you'd say share with somebody?

Kristen: Oh gosh. Um, first of all, ignorance is bliss. Did I know what I was getting myself into? Uh, no. I did not.

Ewell: A leap of faith.

Kristen: yeah. If you're just starting, if you're just starting out, I mean truly understanding what does set. Your product or service apart and owning that. I mean, practice your pitch. Practice your pitch.

Make sure it's not only in your pitch but it's on your packaging. And, you know, take advantage of every free resource. See if there is a community group or a business resource in your area that, uh, you know, I, I belong to a lot of associations with other food entrepreneurs cuz. You're gonna have more in common with other business owners than you will with some of your direct employees and colleagues.

Um, and then if you're doing a food product, tell you what, you're gonna have to give up a few weekends. More than that, you're gonna really have to get out there and get, create some trial. You gotta love what you do cuz you're gonna put your heart and soul into it.

Ewell: That, and I don't think that comes across at all with you. Just, you know, that comes across, screens come, that screens coming across from you. Um, where can people connect with you, get your product, uh, how do they find your product?

Kristen: Sure. So, the easiest thing to do if you look up Jambalaya Girl, uh, jambalaya girl.com, I,  do have a page on my website. It's called Find A Store, and it's a listing of all of our current distribution.

We do sell our products online. You can, you can order 'em online. Um, but definitely sign up when you go there because that's why you can hear about this stuff with the Cooking Club.

You can hear about new products. We have a whole new division we're getting ready to launch next year. 

Ewell: Can you share what that is or is that a secret right now?

Kristen: Well, I mean, I can share we're, we're getting into prepared foods.

I didn't touch on this, but our products now, they are a dry grocery item in that they are, say they, they're on the shelf stable. They're on the shelf in the grocery store to where you'd have to add your, your chicken and sausage or seafood to it and add the water and cook it.

Uh, but now we've been able to find , some kitchens in the, in the New Orleans market where we can. Safely prepare the products, package it, and ship it out to retailers and online. So, if you want to be the first in the know when those start coming to market, be sure

Ewell: You on the email list jumbalayagirl.com? Correct. All right. Well, Jambalaya Girl, this has been a blast I hope down the road I get to bring you back when you get to 2000 stores. No, we're not gonna wait 12 years. We get …

Kristen: It's not gonna be 12 years for...

Ewell: no.

Kristen: There's enough. There is something to be said about 12 years in business. move a lot faster

Ewell: Yes, yes. So we gonna have you back. I love it. Thank you so much. And I wish you continued success and gosh, what a fun journey.

Kristen: Oh, thank you. It's, it's been a delight. Thank you for having me on. 

Ewell: Thank you. 

That is a wrap with the Jambalaya girl. And let me tell you, her product is fantastic. I love it. And I wanna thank you for being here as part of our journey with the close the deal.com podcast. Whatever play you you're listening to, make sure you like it, comment, whatever. And um, I appreciate you being here.

Really do Last thing, do me a favor. Be intentional about making this a great day for yourself. All right, we'll see you at the next episode. Make it a great day. Bye.

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