In 1979, I bought my first 5-gallon container of 5-fold pure Madagascar vanilla from David Michael, a flavoring company in Philadelphia started in 1896.
This high-quality vanilla was one of the secret ingredients in making Rachel’s Brownies, the sinfully delicious baked treat that my wife and I built into a successful business.
Although at least five times the price of artificial vanilla, we only used the best ingredients. Vanilla was probably ten times more expensive per gallon than gas, but it was one of the pillars and foundations of flavor in our award-winning brownies.
So, when I was reintroduced to Skip Rosskam, the President of David Michael company several years ago through my friend Mike Schall, a Whole Foods executive, it was like being introduced to an old friend. Mike sat on Skip’s advisory board for Skip’s Philadelphia-based company and helped provide strategic guidance to this century-old flavor company that served industries making baked goods, ice cream and other food and beverages.
Marketing to Leadership
Early in Skip’s career, he worked as a brand manager and in sales for several consumer packaged goods companies including Gillette, Lincoln Mint, and Enterprise Paint. In each company, his career path always required that creative inspiration a to bring a unique flavor to his marketing efforts.
Once when challenged with creating commemorative coins at Lincoln Mint to celebrate the country’s bicentennial, he produced some excitement by developing coins for each state. With his keen eye for publicity, Skip hired a Wells Fargo Stagecoach and some of the cast from the TV show Gun Smoke to ride to the capital of Sacramento to hand the newly minted coins to the Governor, Ronald Reagan. Skip always had a knack for publicity and tasty marketing. (I too have a Ronald Reagan story from my brownie days)
Skip worked at Enterprise Paint Company, and it was like a precursor to his experience in the flavors industry where instead of blending vanilla and flavors, he was blending and marketing colors in paints. A creative streak ran through Skip’s career.
He left the paint company in Chicago to come to work in his family’s business after his dad suffered a heart attack while abroad. He wanted to work with his father and to get a taste of the family enterprise.
Teacher, Marketer, Flavor Guru
David Michael worked with larger and mid-sized companies to provide custom blended flavors. Not all vanilla is the same. Skip taught students for thirty-one years at Penn State, in a class about how to introduce vanilla flavor into ice cream. Vanilla from Madagascar, Mexico, and Tahiti is all different with each bringing out notes.
He recalled one student telling him that one type of vanilla smelled like Grandpa Elmer. Her grandfather smoked a cherry-blend in his pipe, and that was her memory of him. Tahitian vanilla has a slight cherry-like note.
Another person said vanilla smelled like a Catholic Church, a reference to the hint of cedar and incense found in some types of vanillas.
Skip knows more about vanilla and the subtly of sensory work than anyone I know.
Fair Trade Vanilla
Many years ago, a large consumer packaged goods company asked Skip if he could help develop fair trade vanilla. There was organic, natural and even GMO-free vanilla, but not fair trade. Enter Lulu Sturdy.
Lulu was a Brit whose grandfather had plantations in Uganda.
When Idi Amin took over that country, her family left for the UK. But, after Amin was gone, she went back to Uganda and on her grandfather’s plantation, started to grow a fair trade certified vanilla. Skip befriended her, and they partnered together to bring this product to market. Skip recalled bringing Lulu to meet the senior leaders at this sizeable international food company, to have them connect with the woman behind this world’s first fair trade vanilla product.
Two Secrets of His Marketing Success
Over time, Skip became President of David Michaels, one of the most respected flavor companies in the U.S. In 2016, IFF, International Flavors & Fragrance bought David Michaels and Skip remained for a year in a consulting role.
In a recent call, Skip shared two secrets to his marketing success with his business.
- Strategic Advisory Board: He knew that to stay ahead of the competition and the intense pressures of pricing, he needed a strategic advisory board filled with experienced professionals from various disciplines in the food and beverage industry. This team was not a board of directors but a sounding board of brilliant individuals where he could take a strategic challenge and get ideas, inspirations, and innovative thinking. This team met quarterly and became vital to overcoming the marketing challenges the company faced each day.
- Strategic Planning and Business Development: Skip also established an internal group to help him bring critical differentiation platforms to life. This team helped him execute crazy ideas like his Innovation Road Show that allowed him to take his R&D lab on the road, to show off the latest in flavors. This team helped craft messaging when they had a problematic competitive bid, and they needed an imaginative approach to tell their story.
Extracting Marketing Lessons
Today Skip is a consultant to small to mid-sized starts in the food and beverage industry. He is working with Red Ace Organics to build a company that sells beet-based shots that give long, lasting energy through beet juice. He also works with Madecasse Chocolate and Vanilla Company, a bean to bar business. He works with a range of investors and foodpreneurs looking for a chance to learn from a seasoned professional.
I’m so grateful to be reacquainted with Skip and to learn from his experiences. He continues to flavor the world with his marketing wisdom.
Want some of my seasoned advice? You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free and we can explore if working together makes sense. Try my new chat feature on my site if you have a quick question.
Photo courtesy of Skip Rosskam and https://www.flickr.com/photos/only_van1005/
