Susan Knapp

Spring is here

2007-04-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Napa Valley is absoultely beautiful today and it feels more like summer than spring! It is amazing how many new things I continue to learn every day as we continue our growth.

We have expanded into Canada with a new distributor and product is moving very well. We have added a new east coast distributor and a new sales rep group that covers 6 states in the south.

Martha Stewart Living and Bon Appetit magazines brought us lots of new customers which just keep on coming. Our new Organic Extra Virgin Pear Olive Oil is a big hit. The olive oil comes from Tunisia and we infuse with pear. It is extraordinary for dipping, as a dressing or just a drizzle.

We have introduced a special gift set for Mother's Day which includes the following;

5 qt (4.8L) EZ Grip Melamine Batter Bowl
12 fl oz Cinnamon Pear Maple Syrup (Pure Vermont Grade A Medium Amber)
1lb 5 oz Buttermilk Pancake Mix
13.5 oz Cinnamon Pear Jelly
Stainless Steel & Nylon Flexible Spatula,

Heat resistant to 450 degrees
Autographed copy of

"Dear Mom I've Always Wanted You to Know"

by Lisa R Delman

Cello wrapped with bow & gift card

Place your order soon as quanities are limited.

Price is $60 plus S&H

All this is possible with the amazing team we have in place. 2007 we welcomed 2 new employees that are incredible. We look forward to a very busy year ahead.

Happy Holidays

2006-12-11T18:09:00.000-08:00

November just sailed by and here we are 2 weeks until Christmas. In early November we participated in the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland Ohio. This was a consumer show featuring Food Network favorites; Paula Deen, Tyler Florence, Cat Cora and Ted Allen. We had a great show and were able to introduce our product to excited foodies. We are very busy filling corporate gift orders and internet orders in addition to keeping our customers shelves stocked. We developed some nice gift sets this year to make gift selection easy at any price point. This is our Chocolate Lovers gift set that includes our Chocolate Pear Cabernet & White Chocolate Pear Chardonnay Sauces for $22.00. Our most popular sets have been the sampler set which includes 3 oz jars of our award winning Pepper Jelly and Cinnamon Pear Jelly and a 3.5 oz bottle of our Pear Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil for $25.00. Our Cheese Lovers Set which includes and 16.9 oz bottle of our Pear Balsamic Vinegar, Award winning Tomato Cinnamon Clove Preserves, Pepper Jelly, Pear Fig Jam, Pear Chipotle Grill Sauce and 2 cheese spreaders for $50.00 has been a tremendous hit as well as our Breakfast Gift Set which includes our Buttermilk Pancake Mix and Cinnamon Pear Maple Syrup. This isn't just any Maple Syrup, it comes from a small farm in Vermont and in extrordinary!

You will see us in the December issue of Martha Stewart Living, Bon Appetit and Taste of the South Magazines.

Because of our name, A Perfect Pear, we have had many requests for Bridal Favors and we were eager to accomodate! Our most popular items are our 3.5 oz bottle of our Pear Balsamic Vinegar & Extra Virgin Olive Oil with custom labels with the bride & grooms name and wedding date. A recent bride placed one of each inside a cello bag along with a card "Recipe for a successful marriage" and a thank you to each guest for being part of their special day.

The New York event was a great experience and it was most inspiring to hear Hilary Clinton and Suzy Orman speak. I would like to welcome our new members and thank our sponsors who put together a First Class Event!!

We are also preparing for the Fancy Food Show that takes place in San Francisco January 21st, 22nd & 23rd.

It was an

We wish everyone a very Happy Holiday Season and a Prosperous New Year!!

Announcing New Product

2006-10-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

This month we are releasing our new Organic Extra Virgin Pear Olive Oil. We are using an extraordinary organic extra virgin olive oil from Tunisia. The best way to describe it is; smooth, buttery with a hint of pear and a slight peppery finish. We are packaging it the same as our 2 vinegars pictured here. Sales are already brisk with the backorders stacking up!! This was not a planned product, however our customers were asking for us to bottle an olive oil to pair with the vinegars. So as with all our products, if we were to create it, it had to be exceptional.

Another new item is our "favors" for brides and hostesses. Because of our name, A Perfect Pear, we have had many requests for smaller size items. Always aiming to please we have produced a lovely favor. We can customize the label to include the bride & groom's name and their wedding date. We are also using this lovely set in a sampler gift set which includes our Pear Balsamic Vinegar, Organic Extra Virgin Pear Olive Oil, Pepper Jelly & Cinnamon Pear Jelly. We are packaging it in a lovely box with gold and ivory stripes and ivory ribbon. Thanks to American Express Open we were able to invest in a label printer that allows us the opportunity to quickly and efficiently produce quality labels in minutes.

As we enter the holiday season we are expanding our gift selections to accommodate gifts from $20.00 on up. A great gift that will keep on giving is a club membership. Every other month a selection of products arrive at the recipients door along with recipes. We will be delighted to assist with your holiday gifts and will gladly wrap, enclose a card and ship for you. So let us take some of the stress out of your holiday season! Give us a call, fax or email and we will do the rest.

November 10th - 12th we will be in Cleveland Ohio for the Fabulous Food Show. Celebrity chefs Paula Deen, Tyler Florence & Cat Cora from the Food Network will be entertaining the crowd with cooking demonstrations for the 3 day event. We will be taste sampling our products and selling to the public.

We have a new team member joining us mid October. So for us, it is full speed ahead, new products, new people, new distributors, increased sales and did I say, look for us in Martha Stewart Living & Bon Appetit in the December issues hitting newsstands mid November?

Gearing Up for the Rush

2006-09-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

I'am sure I am not the only one wondering where the summer has gone. . . . but where did it go? August was an extraordinary month for us but kept me away from home almost every weekend. August 2nd we attended America's Best Food Show in Anaheim and was pleasently surprised when we were announced as the Winner of Best Product Line. There were over 900 entries and 300 judges for the event so we are truly honored.

I was then off to Seattle for my Pacific Northwest distributor's show at the Seattle Gift Show. We did outstanding selling product to customers in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The weather was extrodinary, with beautiful sunny warm days and evenings. My hotel was 8 blocks from the convention center so I walked to and from each day to be able to enjoy the weather and find fun spots for dinner. My distributor hired 2 stretch limos one evening to bring the 28 participating vendors to their offices and warehouse for wine, cheese and some of the products we all provided. Standing all day for 3 days directly under an air conditioning vent at the show took it's toll on me and by the end of Monday I had a cold. Well there was no rest allowed as I was then flying directly to Reno for another distributor show. This distributor services my stores in Hawaii and a few central California independents. We did quite well at this show also.
Labor day weekend found my husband and I driving to Medford Oregon for the annual Taste of Harry & David weekend at their Medford store. This is the 3rd year we have participated and this year won a lovely gift basket for the most product sold. We had dinner in Ashland with another vendor and enjoyed the company and the great food.

I have developed a new product which will be released in October. Organic Extra Virgin Pear Olive Oil. The oil come from Tunisia and is wonderful. It will be packaged the same as our vinegars and is highly anticipated with the orders already coming in from sales reps across the country.

August 28th we appeared on the Food Network again, on The Secret Life Of. . series with Jim O'Connor. We filmed this segment the end of January. It was first shown in April and each time the show views we see a large spike in internet sales and website views.

With the help of Libby's comments and Count Me In I am revising my business plan so that I can obtain an equity investor to assist with our growth. Building inventory right now is our number one priority as we enter 4th quarter.

Here is something fun I must share. When we did the Fancy Food Show in July in New York I had hired a local chef to work in our booth. Her fiance, also a chef, went to work for Balducci's recently and requested I forward samples so that Matt could personally hand them to the executive chef. Here is how it went -
1. Chef first grabs Pear Chipotle Grill Sauce. Opens bottle, sticks finger in bottle and tastes it. Says it's good.
2. Does it again. Claims it's REALLY REALLY good.
3. Starts DRINKING Pear Chipotle Grill Sauce directly from bottle. Matt offers to make him a pork chop with it. He refuses and continues to drink form bottle.
4. Puts products back in box, seals up without trying any other product and requests it be shipped immediately to headquarters in Maryland with a full endorsement to carry our entire product line.

This is one of our best sellers. One of my favorite ways to use this product is with salmon. Saffron Risotto with asapargus and Pear Chipotle Grilled Salmon. Yum!!

Thank you to all the staff at Count Me In for your support and guidance and each of the ladies for your questions which benefit us all. I am enjoying my coach and her insight. What a great group we have and I look forward to seeing everyone in October in NYC.

Where oh where did July go??

2006-08-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

July was an action packed month for us. We displayed our products at the Fancy Food Show in New York City July 9th, 10th & 11th. We hired a local chef to demonstrate a few of our products for buyers to sample. Allison, our guest chef made our famous Napa Cole Slaw with our Ginger Pear Salad Dressing and Buttermilk Pancakes topped with Balsamic Poached Pears and our Cinnamon Pear Maple Syrup (recipes available on our website). These selections were a huge hit. The show was very successful for us. We had the opportunity to meet new customers, write lots of orders and visit with existing customers, some of which we had only spoken with on the phone.

I am working with my coach and focusing on raising capital to assist in our expansion and growth. We experience approximately 7 months from purchasing of goods, selling and then recieving payment. This has become an increasing challenge the larger we become. You know what they say, Cash Flow is King.... and then some!

I am so enjoying the support and acknowledgement and the creative energy from all of my fellow Make Mine A Million winners. I recieved several phone calls of congradulations from people that had read Newsweek Online whom I never met. The opportunity to share ideas and ask questions from such outstanding women is so empowering! Unfortunately I will miss the luncheon in August but I will be in Reno at one of my distributor's shows which is back to back with my Seattle distributor's show. The following weekend after that is Harry & David's annual Labor Day event so I will definately be putting a lot of miles on this month!

We entered America's Best food competition earlier this year. The America's Best Food Show was held in Anaheim California August 4th, 5th & 6th and to our delight we WON BEST PRODUCT LINE! This was very exciting as they had over 900 entries and 300 judges.

2006-06-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

WOW! Has this last month been a whirlwind or what?! Things are moving right along here at A Perfect Pear from Napa Valley. This past month has been a month filled with excitement, anxiety and anticipation.

The beginning of June started with the launch of our much anticipated Napa Valley Gourmet Club. Similiar to a "wine club", a selection of season-specific gourmet products are shipped to our members doorstep, alleviating the hassle of fighting the crowds at Whole Foods. Members of the Napa Valley Gourmet Club receive a 10-15% savings per shipment off of retail as well as receive some sort of new, innovative kitchen gadget with each shipment. Other benefits include a 10% savings off future internet orders, special offers and promotions and first opportunity for limited edition and new products. You can view the details of the club on our website at http://www.aperfectpear.net/clubs.html Go Gourmet!

June was also the opening of our annual recipe contest. We have invited our customers to submit their favorite recipes (using A products from A Perfect Pear, of course!) to win prizes. We will feature the winning recipe on our website and in our next newsletter. The Grand Prize is $100. 2nd place winner to receive six items of their choice from our product line and 3rd place winner receives one of our Perfect Pear Chocolate Sets. We want to welcome you to submit your recipes to info@aperfectpear.net or mail to Recipe Contest, 1283 Monticello Road, Napa CA 94558.

As of next Friday, July 7, we are off to the New York Fancy Food Show. The NY Show, for the first time in many years, is completely sold out!! So we anticipate having a great show. Talk to you all next month!

Have a "Perfect" day!
Susan Knapp
President
A Perfect Pear from Napa Valley
www.aperfectpear.net