First, tell me how you and the company got started in this business!
It started with my boss, CEO Ty Ballou – he had an extensive career in the food industry – first with Jolly Rancher as an executive then took over Clark Candy, if you remember who they were. After the Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 90’s the got permission to license the Penguins logo on on the candy bars and they sold like crazy.
After that, he saw he was on to something and launched a peanut butter brand with Jaromir Jagr and that sold well. After that he launched Geronimo Salsa and worked with Mario Lemieux on some things.
So he found a lot of success with those player brands?
Yeah – and then he worked with Doug Flutie to launch Flutie Flakes. Those took on a cult following – they sold 2.5 million boxes – they are still sold in Buffalo. That opened up a whole new world of working with other athletes. Now we work with hundreds of athletes across all sports.
Is it mostly food-related projects?
It is mostly, but not just with retail now – a lot is done online – leveraging a player’s social media and fandom and their PR ability. We don’t have much competition – companies like Kellog’s and General Mills are often slow to react and very risk adverse when working with athletes. We found our niche and it’s been fun to work in it.
What have been some of the more fun campaigns you’ve worked on so far?
JuJu has been unbelievable to work with. I just joined the company earlier this year, but before me we worked with Jerome Bettis on a line of condiments. Hines Ward had his own steak sauce – Ty said Hines was one of the greatest guys he got to work with. And we worked with Lynn Swann after his Hall of Fame induction on a cereal too.
What makes working with JuJu so much fun?
Working with JuJu is awesome. The main reason is he’s just naturally excited about this – that it benefits his foundation – he’s very passionate about his foundation. His energy and participation was way past out expectations. And he’s the kind of guy that’s caring and nice to other people – he really enjoys interacting with other people and his foundation.
How does the process work for finding athletes to work with. Do you pursue them?
Before this year we approached everyone. When we worked with Patrick Mahomes on his Mahomes Magic Crunch cereal we sold 3000,000 boxes. We’ve worked recently with JuJu, Josh Allen, Aaron Jones. – what they all have in common is that they are great people to work with and all like to give back to their community.
Doug Flutie wasn’t the biggest name player when we started working with him – but he was passionate about his foundation – he has an autistic child – and we wanted to help support that purpose.
A lot of it is cause-related, We talk to players about how we can help their foundation if they have one, or if they don’t how we can help support another cause.
Do you say no to anyone?
We do say no – it depends on if it makes sense to work with an athlete – depending on their status – some players just wouldn’t make sense to work with if they just aren’t big enough names yet or if there are other issues with the player. We also want to be sure they want to be active and focused on the project.
What do you say to the naysayers who dislike the branding element behind players today – that it serves as a distraction to their ability to play at a top level?
We want to help build an athlete’s brand. I tell people the NFL can stand for Not For Long – careers are limited so it’s important to be able to brand themselves for their post-NFL careers. Our goal is to help guys launch cool products – many are sitting in fan mancaves and being sold on eBay – they are collectors items for many people.
As for the criticism about it being a distraction – I think the common fan has a good BS detector. They can tell if an athlete is sincere or if it’s just a cash grab.
JuJu – I see how much he cares about his foundation – the energy he puts into it. He’s excited and about getting involved in the creative and branding processes. The guys we work with – they want to help others and use this as a vehicle to do so. They have philanthropic passions we help them with. I don’t think that is a distraction to playing a sport.
Ever think about doing work outside of food-related products?
We typically stay in the consumer goods category. We have good relationships with major retailers and a good manufacturer in Illinois who makes most of our programs.
And we are now focusing more on marketing programs for athletes. Before it was more about getting products on the shelf. Now we are thinking more long-term – we’re focusing on building brands, not just getting products out.
As you look at the year so far there, any good stories or memories stand out most to you?
Regardless of industry, 2020 has robbed people of great memories and experiences. I think about what we could have done and it bothers me, but I try not to think about it too much, We still had some unbelievable moments.
JuJu – going to video shoots and events with him – seeing how nice and kind he is and how he interacts with people has been amazing.
And going to the Super Bowl earlier this year – working the media room, talking to folks about what we do was fun. “Oh – you’re the Flutie Flakes guys!” I heard that a lot. That people still remember that is pretty special. It adds credibility to what we do.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
