Interview with Chris Rogers, chef/partner
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
A: In 2007, I was working part time as the chef at Spinelli’s Market and we were selling a lot of our sauces to customers in deli containers. I was also working at Wild Oats market and I knew none of the pasta sauces on the shelf were as good as ours. That’s when we began bottling our recipes and started Spinelli’s Sauce Co.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
A: The quality ingredients we use really set us apart from other sauces. The tomatoes we use are consistently so sweet, ripe and delicious that we don’t need to add any sugar to our pasta sauces. Almost all of the other sauces on the shelf add sugar or some kind of sweetener because the tomatoes they use taste like cardboard. We also use premium extra virgin olive oil and cheeses in our sauces and dressings, and try to source our ingredients locally when we can.
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
A: I love being able to introduce people to the idea that healthy food can also be so delicious. When we go into the stores and sample our products to the customers, it is so great to see how excited people get about the fresh, fantastic flavor of our sauces and dressings.
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
A: Our biggest business challenge is continuing to set ourselves apart from all of the competition. There are so many other sauces on the shelf — how do you get people to notice and buy yours? We use demonstrationss as our main marketing tool. Customers almost always choose our products after they sample them and taste the difference.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
A: Our labels were created from a picture that a local artist and regular customer painted of the front of Spinelli’s Market. She gave it to Jerry and Mary Ellen Spinelli as a Christmas present years ago, and we decided the fun colors and image would make a good label.
Profile
Business: Spinelli’s Sauce Co
Address: 4621 E. 23rd Ave.
Hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. everyday
Founded: 2007
Contact: 720-939-5805, ,
Employees: 6
