Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Good Day.
After five years and hundreds of recipes, I have developed a fabulous new pizza sauce as a tasty alternative to traditional tomato sauce.  For you who immediately ask why we need an alternative to traditional tomato sauce, I ask why we need flavors besides vanilla and chocolate for ice cream?  For nearly six decades, billions of tomato sauce pizzas have been made and consumed as if there couldn`t possibly be an alternative to tomato sauce.  Last year, 3 billion (pizzeria) pizzas were consumed in the United States ($32 billion).  Of these, 99.99% were made with tomato sauce. Based on these statistics, don`t you think it`s time for a change?

I did and the effort was worth it.  After perfecting my sauce I began trying it out on pizza lovers.  Many were skeptical and many came to the tests with their minds made up they weren`t going to like it.  After eating the new sauce, they couldn`t wait to eat it again.  Almost to a man/woman/child, they preferred the new sauce to the old tomato sauce. (FYI, this isn`t pesto or any other pizza sauce you have tried before)

The reason it took so long to develop the sauce was because of the ingredients and processes it took to make it the same as tomato sauce EXCEPT in taste.  In order to be an alternative to tomato sauce, it had to be usable in the exact same way as tomato sauce.  So, it had to spread the same, cost the same, cook the same, interact with traditional spices, toppings and herbs the same, spread the same, interact with pizza dough the same and not require any new equipment or handling in the average pizzeria kitchen.  As I said, it took a while but the result is fantastic.

Here is my question.  Originally, I intended to open a proof of concept restaurant and then open new restaurants from there.  But as I talked to business people about my plans, several suggested starting out with one restaurant might not be the way to go.  They said by the time I could open a couple of pizzerias, my competitors would have a similar sauce and my chance to be the BIG DOG in the new sauce arena would be gone forever.  Some of them suggested I should partner with someone with the money and expertise to exploit the sauce quickly to become the BIG DOG in the new sauce market.  Others suggested I license the sauce to an existing pizza company.

Unfortunately, I don`t have the contacts to do either.  All of my attempts to contact pizza industry execs have been fruitless.  Until I figure out what is the smartest course to take, I can`t really move forward.

So, I wonder if any of you who have been in a similar position (with another product) have any advice as to what I should do next?  Any thoughts or comments will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, by the way, the sauce is exquisite on pasta.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Daniel Adams

-------------------------

Business Growth Masters, LLC -
Capital Catalysts for Entrepreneurs
Home of the Scalable Business Plan and QuikStart Capital Programs
http://www.bizgrowthmasters.com
info@bizgrowthmasters.com

Why not go to a trade show where the people you want to meet are and get a booth and give out samples of your pizza sauce there. 

Or better yet, host a lunch event at said trade show and invite only the people (companies) that you want there, serve your pizza, give a 5-minute pitch and then have a presentation on something these people care about (i.e. not you and your business).

Along the same lines, who in the overall world is a direct competitor with tomatoes? In other words, the pork industry is directly competing these days with the beef industry. So if you have an alternative to beef, you would approach the pork industry to buy into your product.

Is there someone competing with the tomato industry? Why is there a market for an alternative? Whomever or whatever is driving that need for an alternative, pretty surely has some sort of organizational system you likely could approach, right?