Mutt’s Sauce expanding across Cincy Kroger stores
October 23, 2018
Dayton’s own Charlynda Scales & her company, Mutt’s Sauce, are expanding into Kroger stores across southwest Ohio.
Mutt’s Sauce was previously a part of Kroger’s Buy Local program, in which local products are highlighted on a single designated shelf in the aisle, Charlynda said. The local program is store-by-store, so Charlynda pitched individual managers to sell Mutt’s Sauce at each location.
The new “corporate planogram” Kroger account was the payoff to two years of work, she said. Charlynda estimates that all four flavors of Mutt’s Sauce will appear on the shelves of about 60 stores in the Dayton & Cincinnati areas by May 2019.
“It’s exciting, and definitely a testament to my team,” she said. “I’m happy to be able to finally provide a lot of locations for people to pick up their favorite sauce.”
Charlynda will be ramping up production and marketing to ensure customers are aware of the new locations. She’ll also be launching an online cooking show — Cooking with Mutt’s Sauce — on YouTube within the next month to help customers learn how to cook with “the sauce for every meal.”
Her advice for other food businesses? Put in the work where you are.
“People notice when you’re working hard to grow your company,” Charlynda said. “You try and try and try, and suddenly you get the email.”
The veteran entrepreneur was stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base when she received her late grandfather’s secret sauce recipe in 2013. Charlie “Mutt” Ferrell Jr., namesake of Charlynda’s company, was also a veteran, serving in the Korean & Vietnam wars.
Charlynda launched Mutt’s Sauce after connecting with a mentor through the Dayton chapter of SCORE, a nonprofit organization that provides free services to small business owners and entrepreneurs.
In the next couple weeks, Charlynda is taking another step to pay out forward — she’ll be sharing what she has learned about building and growing a food business through two free workshops at Spark Fairborn. Check out “How to Grow a Food Business from Scratch” Monday, Oct. 29 or Monday, Nov. 5. Learn more here.
