|
|
|
Macon Ridge Foods, a brand new business with headquarters in Bastrop, kicked off this week by giving its first shipment of sweet potato dough to nonprofits in northeast Louisiana.
Founders Ben Erwin and Josh Raley said they just picked up the first shipment of packaged Dezzie Dough -- about 1,000 pounds worth -- and were in the process of distributing their unique product from the warehouse in Bastrop’s Industrial Park all day Wednesday.
“Right now, we’re picking them up and storing them in the freezers here,” said Erwin. “As we grow, we’ll probably contract local distributors.”
Dezzie Dough is a sweet potato muffin and biscuit dough, named for Grandma Dezzie Raley, who made sweet potato bread products in Epps to feed her family during the Great Depression.
Erwin said Macon Ridge Foods has contracted Chef John Folse & Co. based in Gonzales to manufacture and package the dough before it is stored at the Bastrop warehouse for distribution.
Erwin and Raley said they looked at several different forms of packaging for the dough, and decided on the eco-friendly “spout-pouch” package. The package makes it easy to put the dough into muffin or biscuit tins, and it can be re-capped to refrigerate the unused portion.
“You just let it thaw, and squeeze,” said Erwin.
It takes about 12 minutes to bake the dough into delicious, nutritious breakfast or snack items.
Another innovation is a portable demonstration booth that can be set up in grocery stores with a built-in confection oven, so customers can sample Dezzie Dough muffins on site.
“We want to create the best possible demo product so people can experience Dezzie Dough,” said Erwin. “We’ll be looking to hire people to do the demos in the future.”
Macon Ridge Foods has also been working to establish a marketing presence on the Internet through the official business Web site, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Special recipes for the dough will be posted on-line in the future.
Aaron Moore and Alvin Jordan, who are majoring in communications at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, have been helping market Dezzie Dough as a college project.
“Basically, we’re just interns right now,” said Moore. “We’re working on coming up with good, creative ideas for marketing.”
By way of introducing the product to the region, Macon Ridge Foods gave away its first batch of Dezzie Dough packages to nonprofit organizations Wednesday.
Macon Ridge Foods, a brand new business with headquarters in Bastrop, kicked off this week by giving its first shipment of sweet potato dough to nonprofits in northeast Louisiana.
Founders Ben Erwin and Josh Raley said they just picked up the first shipment of packaged Dezzie Dough -- about 1,000 pounds worth -- and were in the process of distributing their unique product from the warehouse in Bastrop’s Industrial Park all day Wednesday.
“Right now, we’re picking them up and storing them in the freezers here,” said Erwin. “As we grow, we’ll probably contract local distributors.”
Dezzie Dough is a sweet potato muffin and biscuit dough, named for Grandma Dezzie Raley, who made sweet potato bread products in Epps to feed her family during the Great Depression.
Erwin said Macon Ridge Foods has contracted Chef John Folse & Co. based in Gonzales to manufacture and package the dough before it is stored at the Bastrop warehouse for distribution.
Erwin and Raley said they looked at several different forms of packaging for the dough, and decided on the eco-friendly “spout-pouch” package. The package makes it easy to put the dough into muffin or biscuit tins, and it can be re-capped to refrigerate the unused portion.
“You just let it thaw, and squeeze,” said Erwin.
It takes about 12 minutes to bake the dough into delicious, nutritious breakfast or snack items.
Another innovation is a portable demonstration booth that can be set up in grocery stores with a built-in confection oven, so customers can sample Dezzie Dough muffins on site.
“We want to create the best possible demo product so people can experience Dezzie Dough,” said Erwin. “We’ll be looking to hire people to do the demos in the future.”
Macon Ridge Foods has also been working to establish a marketing presence on the Internet through the official business Web site, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Special recipes for the dough will be posted on-line in the future.
Aaron Moore and Alvin Jordan, who are majoring in communications at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, have been helping market Dezzie Dough as a college project.
“Basically, we’re just interns right now,” said Moore. “We’re working on coming up with good, creative ideas for marketing.”
By way of introducing the product to the region, Macon Ridge Foods gave away its first batch of Dezzie Dough packages to nonprofit organizations Wednesday.
Marketing consultant Cindy Ingram said Wednesday’s delivery schedule included the Ouachita Council on Aging, a children’s workshop at the Strauss Theatre and Rays of Sonshine, a faith-based organization in Monroe.
In the afternoon, the team delivered Dezzie Dough to the Friends of Bastrop Main Street for visitors to the area, and to the Morehouse Humane Society for use in an upcoming bake sale. The Starr Homeplace in Oak Ridge will also receive Dezzie Dough for guests of the next Community Day.
Macon Ridge Foods anticipates hiring employees for the distribution warehouse as the business expands to larger markets in the future.
“The next step will be getting our inventory into stores,” said Erwin. “Mac’s Fresh Market has committed to carrying the product, so we’re starting right here in northeast Louisiana and we will grow from there.”
Visit the new Macon Ridge Foods Web site at www.dezziedough.com to learn more.
