Now just so you know, my process for bringing out a new flavor isn’t quick, but rather is fairly involved and rather time consuming, which is why we only bring out a new flavor every year or so. In a nutshell, (no pun intended) I or my wife Beth or a friend or maybe even one of our customers will come up with an idea for a new flavor. If I like it, I’ll experiment with the concept for a while, using different spices, oils, extracts and flavorings until I either get something that I like, or I give up. That doesn’t happen very often, but there have been a few times when giving up was the right thing to do. Once I get an experimental flavor to where I like it, I start sampling it – first to friends and family, and then I’ll take it to markets, holiday shows, or wherever and have our customers sample it. It is amazing how many of our friends, family and customers are happy to taste test a new flavor! Besides, I learned long ago that just because I like something doesn’t mean that everyone else will!
Once I have gathered some feedback, I’ll either give the new flavor the go ahead or I’ll tweak the recipe at least a few times and gather more feedback after each change. The Lemon Drop recipe, for example, changed twice from the original version I came up with before it got the green light. And once the recipe has been finalized, I roast a batch of cashews just to make sure their unique flavor goes well with the new recipe. This is one of the reasons we don’t do cashews in all of the flavors – sometimes it just doesn’t work with cashews!
Once the recipe gets the go ahead, there’s still more to do! First the labels have to be designed and approved, then sent out to be printed. And while that’s being done, someone (that would be me!) gets to get production going so we have plenty of the new flavor to sell, in all three nut types. And before you ask, yes, the Lemon Drop flavor is great with the cashews! And then, once all of that is done, then the new flavor makes its debut!
So please – order on line or come see us at the markets. Please note, for those of you who buy our products at the Local Stores in Parker on Mainstreet and in the Southlands Shopping area, we’ll try to have the Lemon Drop flavor in those stores as soon as possible – we just have to figure out the new display. And wherever you find them, or us, please feel free to give us an online google review to let us know what you think!
Hope it was fun getting a look at the R&D process, and thanks for reading!
Bruce Telford
