May’s Unique Vinaigrette Expands Market

The Challenge
Sharon May, owner of Hennessy’s Restaurant and Lounge in Columbia, SC, knew she had a hit with her signature house dressing/marinade. She was selling an average of 80 bottles a month out of the restaurant to her clientele. However, May was interested in finding markets outside of the restaurant. She needed assistance with everything from selecting a name to marketing the product.

The Solution
ECI conducted research on the U.S. market for specialty foods and salad dressing. The research focused on qualifying and measuring the potential demand for specialty dressings/marinades in the United States, identifying appropriate distribution channels, and business development opportunities through trade shows, trade associations and agents/distributors/brokers.

ECI helped May with the overall process of marketing her product including:

• Creating an overall look for the dressing, including the bottle and label design
• FDA requirements
• Contacts for product testing
• Design and development of a Website with an ecommerce component (www.maysdressing.com)

The Result
May's unique vinaigrette is now available in 18 retail locations in South Carolina and Georgia.
Expanding the market has produced additional sales of the dressing and generated word-of-
mouth. An online presence has given the dressing national exposure.

May has made contacts throughout the Southeast and plans to visit more stores in the region to continue to expand distribution of her dressing.

What They Had to Say
“After seeing that there was such a popular demand for the dressing I thought maybe there’s a larger market for it. I was referred to ECI and they helped me through the whole process of expanding from making contacts down to the details of designing the bottle.”