America Loves BBQ
IF YOU'VE LIVED IN CHICAGO, IT'S LIKELY YOU'VE HEARD OF MOO & OINK. I'm not originally from here, so I remember laughing hard when I got here & first heard their name, which is both silly and unbeatable for telling you exactly what kind of stuff they sell: SOUL FOOD! (chitlins, collard green, ribs, short ribs, rib tips, catfish, hamhocks, beans, cornbread mix, etc). And all things BBQ.
One thing I discovered that separated them from every other local store - REALLY forward-thinking marketing, including the early adoption of online video, jingle contests, branding, private labeling. Miles ahead of even the big corporate chains, very impressive to me.
WELL, last month I had the pleasure of meeting the man behind that great great marketing - Mr. Barry Levy (admittedly, a cultural disconnect/surprise for that kind of store & target demographic... but talk about iron-clad street cred). I was videotaping a food show for the Illinois Dept. Of Agriculture at Drury Lane in Oakbrook, IL, and Barry was there with his family, rolling out his new venture: America Loves BBQ and Love Me Tenders. Without going into the bloody details, there was a falling out at Moo & Oink and, after 30 plus years, Barry went his own way, and has now moved heavily into the retail & wholesale business with all kinds of tasty stuff (his "Super Sausage" is somewhat addictive; Chip Znuff and myself have been testing various recipes with it). Barry & I hit it off immediately, as I told him how much I loved their marketing & online video, and the things he had to say about BBQ & ribs being a national passion mirrored what I've been saying and doing with RibfestUSA.com.
From there, I had the chance to produce more video at Barry's house (LOVE that 24 p film look), and we got some nice photos... and I then plugged all that in over Barry's 90 second blurb I shot at the trade show (below). I think it tells his story pretty well pretty fast, makes his stuff look big-time, and pretty much shows anyone who's interested what his brands are about.
Something else about Barry: Looks can be deceiving, because there's probably not many people in the USA who know more about soul food than him (and the manufacturing, packaging, distribution and in-store promotions of those foods, too). Based on the wide variety of folks he's befriended from all walks of life, he's no snob either. More, during his time at Moo & Oink, he got to know the owners of more Chicago rib & bbq places than probably any other single person. In my world, that's real cool (and maybe invaluable - can you say Jack Daniels, Green Egg & qualifying event for the JD national event?). Stay tuned & enjoy Barry and his tasty products.
One thing I discovered that separated them from every other local store - REALLY forward-thinking marketing, including the early adoption of online video, jingle contests, branding, private labeling. Miles ahead of even the big corporate chains, very impressive to me.
WELL, last month I had the pleasure of meeting the man behind that great great marketing - Mr. Barry Levy (admittedly, a cultural disconnect/surprise for that kind of store & target demographic... but talk about iron-clad street cred). I was videotaping a food show for the Illinois Dept. Of Agriculture at Drury Lane in Oakbrook, IL, and Barry was there with his family, rolling out his new venture: America Loves BBQ and Love Me Tenders. Without going into the bloody details, there was a falling out at Moo & Oink and, after 30 plus years, Barry went his own way, and has now moved heavily into the retail & wholesale business with all kinds of tasty stuff (his "Super Sausage" is somewhat addictive; Chip Znuff and myself have been testing various recipes with it). Barry & I hit it off immediately, as I told him how much I loved their marketing & online video, and the things he had to say about BBQ & ribs being a national passion mirrored what I've been saying and doing with RibfestUSA.com.
From there, I had the chance to produce more video at Barry's house (LOVE that 24 p film look), and we got some nice photos... and I then plugged all that in over Barry's 90 second blurb I shot at the trade show (below). I think it tells his story pretty well pretty fast, makes his stuff look big-time, and pretty much shows anyone who's interested what his brands are about.
Something else about Barry: Looks can be deceiving, because there's probably not many people in the USA who know more about soul food than him (and the manufacturing, packaging, distribution and in-store promotions of those foods, too). Based on the wide variety of folks he's befriended from all walks of life, he's no snob either. More, during his time at Moo & Oink, he got to know the owners of more Chicago rib & bbq places than probably any other single person. In my world, that's real cool (and maybe invaluable - can you say Jack Daniels, Green Egg & qualifying event for the JD national event?). Stay tuned & enjoy Barry and his tasty products.
Labels: america loves bbq, barry levy, bbq, love me tenders, moo and oink, soul food
