Robbie Shoults of Bear Creek Smokehouse On 5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Quality and shelf life are top priorities for a successful brand. Make sure your products are made with the best ingredients available and have an over-the-top taste. Next, make sure you choose the best packaging to ensure the maximum shelf life possible.
As a part of our series called “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Robbie Shoults, Celebrity Chef and the Third-generation owner of Bear Creek Smokehouse.
Robbie Shoults is the third-generation owner of the Shoults family business, Bear Creek Smokehouse in Marshall, Texas. His ingenious ideas keep the 79-year-old business evolving. Robbie’s leap of faith in 2018 to build the General Store, has put Bear Creek Smokehouse on the map. Robbie is known for his ever-emerging, compelling projects that hold the attention of both employees and customers. The community is always eager to see what he will come up with next. The “Head Honcho” is not above any task here at Bear Creek. Need a spill mopped up? He’s your man. Need to negotiate a business deal? He’s your man. Robbie takes the time to speak to every single customer in the store and find out where they are visiting from. There isn’t a day that goes by where he isn’t working on something Smokehouse related. Although Robbie has become a Nationally-Recognized Personality, Chef and Third-Generation Owner of The Award-Winning Bear Creek Smokehouse– he humbly refers to himself as the “Head Mop Pusher’’. Robbie Shoults has been featured on Huckabee, The List, WGN’s Lunchbreak, the TODAY show, Rachael Ray, and as a five-time guest judge on The Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, etc. Robbie’s recipes have also been featured in national publications such as Taste of Home, Meat + Poultry, and Yahoo.com, to name a few.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I was raised on the family farm about 10 miles from the closest “small town.” There were not a lot of other kids growing up out here, so I really didn’t have a bunch of friends to interact with often. The school bus would pick me up before daylight — since we were the farthest point on the route — and I would be the last to get off every afternoon. I believe growing up and working on a bustling farm helped shape and mold me through the years in a very positive way, as I learned things like responsibility, work ethic, accountability and how to have a good time without TV, video games, computers and other distractions. We fished, hunted, had family cookouts and did all sorts of activities together as a tight-knit family.
Can you share with us the story of the “ah ha” moment that led to the creation of the food or beverage brand you are leading?
Our company had already been in business for quite a while by the time I was born, so I grew with it and observed our process through the years. I guess my “ah ha moment” was when I realized that with some affordable equipment and upgraded vacuum bags, we could cut some major losses on leaking packages and increase shelf life significantly. I believe this made us more profitable in the long haul.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Probably one of the funniest mistakes I have ever made was when I decided to build our new 10,000 sq ft general store and event center. For years, our retail outlet was only about 1,000 sq ft and you could hardly turn around in it– especially during our holiday rush. I had been thinking for a while about building a new store and along with it including an event center for weddings, anniversary parties, or whatever someone wanted the space for– sort of a multipurpose building. Oh, and while we’re at it, we’ll serve food in the space too. Once we got started on construction, I saw just how big it was and thought we’ll never be able to utilize all this space, and now I’m worried about being able to pay for it. After we opened in November 2018, I realized very quickly that we had not built the building big enough! The business was booming and my wife and I were rearranging displays and merchandise and setting up tables for weddings and events on a regular basis. I told Tracy that we were going to get exhausted, and we needed more space. In October of 2020, we opened up a 6,600 sq ft addition to the building that was a dedicated space for events and serving food. Even now it’s like a rodeo here everyday as we have people visiting from all over the country, as well as overseas, and it keeps growing. I’m sure we’re not done adding on. If we continue to grow at this rate, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned through it all, it is don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith. If your business is near and dear to your heart and you have a great team of passionate employees to help implement your ideas, I believe you can accomplish anything.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a food or beverage line? What can be done to avoid those errors?
Two big problems business owners can face is lack of demand for the product and ineffective packaging. Be sure to do your research to determine if there is actually a demand for your product, and if so, get some help from a professional on packaging– as you will be up against lots of national brands.
Let’s imagine that someone reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to produce. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
Make sure the product makes sense to the consumer, and that there is a demand for it. Ask yourself: is this a product that will be sold everyday, or is this a seasonal product? Look at the competition if there is any, and study their packaging and labels. Also, I would recommend attending a trade show in that particular industry and visiting with professionals in the field. You can learn alot from others if you take time to listen, and sometimes a person may say something that sparks a thought that could take you on a different journey with your new product.
Many people have good ideas all the time. But some people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How would you encourage someone to overcome this hurdle?
Don’t be afraid to run your ideas by family and friends– no matter what. You should be able to count on them for an honest evaluation or opinion. Maybe they help you see your idea through a different set of eyes and think of something you haven’t. Next, I highly recommend the services of America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) located all across the country. They have offices in most cities, and the service is absolutely free. Many times, the SBDC connects you with seasoned professionals or past business owners that can help with growing an idea all the way to a thriving business. They will help work out sales projections and forecast expenses, and even do a mock up P/L after some consultation. Some may even be able to help secure financing. They are a great free resource!
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
I have never personally hired a consultant, but I’m not saying don’t do it. Be careful and make sure you feel comfortable in sharing your idea with a consultant. You might also consider a non-disclosure agreement before getting started. If you have the money to spend, and you feel that you found the right consultant, they may be able to save you thousands on typical mistakes that others make. Personally, I love keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive and well inside, and am always up for the adventure!
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
I think it depends on how big the idea is, and how much capital may be needed. Is this an idea with international or domestic appeal? Could it be bootstrapped through a bank? These are all questions that an SBDC consultant could help you answer, and I highly recommend starting there.
Can you share thoughts from your experience about how to file a patent, how to source good raw ingredients, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer or distributor?
Honestly I have never filed for a patent, but I have trademarks through our company attorney. I suggest finding a good patent lawyer to help with this one. Raw ingredients, manufacturers and distributors can all be found at trade shows that are held all around the country showcasing a variety of industries. I highly suggest attending one and networking with professionals in the industry. If you source a manufacturer first, they will most likely already have raw ingredient suppliers and be able to suggest some potential distributors for your new product.
Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand” and why?
- Demand- you must determine if there is a demand for the product you want to create or produce. Without demand, there will be no sales.
- Packaging and Labeling-It have always been, and remains to be, my thought that people buy impulsively. Most first-time purchases of a product are because of the way it is packaged and labeled. I also think consumers buy the second time around if the product is fantastic. All of that has to be spot on when you’re on the grocery store shelf competing with national brands with deeper pockets. Funny story– we compete with national brands every day. Years ago, we had one company visit our plant from a Fortune 500 company, wanting us to co-pack for them. They stayed here several days looking at our processes, taking notes, and asking lots of questions all in what we thought was good faith. We didn’t know it was an information-seeking mission, not only did they copy our procedure to make the same product, they even made their label the same bright primary colors as ours! It was a low blow, but beware– it happens.
- Quality and shelf life are top priorities for a successful brand. Make sure your products are made with the best ingredients available and have an over-the-top taste. Next, make sure you choose the best packaging to ensure the maximum shelf life possible.
- Having a great marketing team is essential to long-term success with your new brand. We use a network of brokers across the country that already have great relationships established with buyers at huge retailers near them. Brokers are responsible to make initial contact with the buyer, show them the product, and ask for the sale and facilitating order and shipment flow and any other order of business that may arise.
- Distribution is also a key element to help keep freight costs down. We actually ship to dozens of grocery distribution centers across the nation that feed their own stores.
Can you share your ideas about how to create a product that people really love and are ‘crazy about’?
First, it has to be a product that consumers need — such as food — or a product they want that enhances their quality of life. After that, one of the most important things in my book is packaging and labeling. Spend some time on this one and get it right the first time, because you can surely make some expensive mistakes. Again, use your family and friends to get honest feedback, as they may have input that would help you tweak your product. If it’s food, it needs to be top notch on taste and convenience in today’s fast-paced world. Remember– after researching good ideas and getting feedback from others, a few adjustments could turn a good idea into the next big thing!
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
We love to give back to the community through worthy fundraising events as often as possible, and we love supporting our local law enforcement and honoring them. Bear Creek strives to be a light on our hill that emits a positive influence to all, near and far. I’ve always thought that life is short and we have opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others in all sorts of ways on a daily basis. We try to embrace those moments and make things happen that will produce long-lasting positive results.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Robbie Shoults of Bear Creek Smokehouse On 5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.