03/11/2024
It’s doubtful that anyone goes into business thinking it will be easy. Back in 2017 when we started this venture, we had no clue how to bring a new product to market. Especially a family recipe that uses sour cream. One passed down from generations and we wanted to share it with the world. We didn’t understand the hot packing packing process, nor how testing gets done. We didn’t understand the structure of a label or how the hell to get it approved by the state. We knew we had an idea and wanted to share it.
Fast forward to 2024, where we have paid for it year after year with our growing pains, personal paychecks from our daily jobs, through the voids of covid and now insane inflation. How we would be able to sustain it.
Truth is we can’t.
There are so many costs and fees of starting a business, to sustaining a business, then scaling into a next level business. Unfortunately, low margins on a family recipe sauce don’t provide enough funds for.
We appreciate everyone that helped us throughout the years. From the beginning with the Pronko family, Fusion Marketing, CRC Thermal Imaging, MDARD, Farmers Bureau, King Reality, Two Way Inn, Tracey, and every single one of our 55 store partners.
Everyone that gave up their days to stand with us at demos, helped get us into a new store, pushed it on their friends personally, or shared a post on social media.
Our friends and family that are no longer here that helped and supported so much will always stay true to our hearts.
For anyone ordering Colleen’s Irish Mustard online or paid your hard earned dollars at a partnering store, THANK YOU.
All of you are what helps small businesses survive and continue to grow and we are lucky to know you. We have met so many great people in this industry that have welcomed us with open arms.
We will miss letting people try our product sampling at stores, Irish Festivals, farmers markets, made in Michigan and charity events. Seeing people’s reactions to a flavor they have never had in their life is what kept us going.
Moving forward, we will be selling off what we have left of our product until it’s gone.
As bad as it sucks to shut it down, there is a sign of relief. In that, we don’t feel like victims or bitter in any way. We have seen the best in the people that we choose to surround ourselves with through the entire process and can’t express enough our gratitude.
In our goodbye, we will look at restructuring and getting leaner to come back in March of 2025 for an annual batch for next St. Patrick’s day. We cannot guarantee it, but if we are in a good place, we will announce it next January.
Thank you for following us on social media and making us part of your kitchen table.
❤️
Michelle and Jesse
Some fun facts & stats:
-Michigan Made Product.
-Our van was given to us by a very close friend.
-We were on Fox 2 in August of 2019 with a store partner of our Leon & Lulu. We thought our orders were going to go crazy. We got 1 order. A great partnership with Hamilton’s in Ortonville. We have been with them since.
-We played with Ghost peppers instead of Habaneros for the Pepper Medley, but Ghost Peppers are seasonal.
-We have yet to see another shelf stable sour cream product on a shelf.
-An awesome friend got us into our 1st store and left a little while later. While that store didn’t work out for us, it was great to have someone in a position willing to do that for us.
-Jesse will go down in the Guinness Book of World Records for most Colleen’s Irish Mustard ever consumed.
-We didn’t notice til a year or 2 after coming out that our label only had 3 fingers on each hand. Attributed it to our version of a leprechaun.
-March of 2017 was our first sample to the public with the annual parade day party at 2 Way Inn in Detroit. They allowed us to give samples with their phenomenal corned beef sandwiches.
-Dumbest thing I have to take credit for since we started this, was paying $600 for 24 hours of 2 digital signs on St. Patrick’s day in 2017, 2 years before we even came out. 94 and North River and 9 mile and I-75.
-Colleen is my moms name, and it was named after her because she made it for us my whole life.
-We contacted DCFC once to see if we could get a banner on the side of the field, but they were starting at 40K for a package. 😬
-The recipe was passed on from my Great Grandma and her daughter (my grandmother) never made it. It could have been lost if never given to my mother.
-Once we made labels with a local sour cream name added to it to entice us to get a better deal on sour cream but it didn’t work. They couldn’t beat the price we were already getting it at.
-Jesse feels the hub caps on the mustard van looks “pimp”.
-There may or may not be a country with Colleen’s Irish Mustard stickers all over the town!
-1 saved picture in a video from the Tiki Barge made the 3 years of marketing worth it. + love the Tiki Barge. Let me know if anyone wants to market with them.
-2 different buildings
-2 years developing.
-3 flavors.
-5 years operating. (7 years total)
-16 revisions of our label to get it finalized, but a great marketing company helped us through it.
-Over 20 states delivered.
-57 total stores shelves sold off of
-Over 180 online orders.
-800 Instagram followers
-Over 8800 bottles distributed since March of 2019.
Here is a list of stores that took us and our product line in. I obviously would suggest the current stores, but one way or another all these stores supported our small business in some way and we are appreciative.
Current Stores:
Alpine Marketplace - Linden
Billy Bobs Country Market -Waterford
Brighton Market - Brighton
Capital City - Lansing
Celtic Sisters - New Baltimore
Colasanti’s Market & Snooks - Highland
Copper Top Country Market - Owosso
Country Market - Lapeer
Dearborn Fresh Market - Dearborn Heights
Deer Camp Coffee - Sterling Heights
Diederich Produce - Williamston
Fick Farms - Lapeer
Hamilton’s - Ortonville
Joes Produce - Livonia
Larry’s Foodland - Livonia
McPherson Local - Saline
Market Fresh - Beverly Hills
MI BBQ - Ortonville
Neimans Family Market - St. Clair
Neimans Family Market - Clarkston
Schotts Market - Fraser
Smoke Haus - Columbus
Srodeks - Sterling Heights
The Market - Brownstown
The Nest Collaborative - Mt. Clemans
Vinckiers - Armada
Vinckiers - Kimball
Vinckiers - Almont
Weeks Meat Market - Richmond
Wesley’s Farm Market - New Haven
Woodward Corner Market - Royal Oak
Zerbos - Commerce Twp.
Former Stores:
Jarzyna Farms Market - Ray Twp.
Leon & Lulu - Clawson
Andy’s Marketplace - Marine City
Cantoro’s - Plymouth
Country Pantry - New Hudson
Devries & Company - Detroit
Fresh Farms Market - Grosse Pointe
Holiday Market - Royal Oak
Village Market - Grosse Pointe
Mike & Tina’s - Stockbridge
Metropolitan Variety Store - Detroit
Scott’s Farm Market - Ortonville
Vedas Uniques - Dryden
Uncle Peters Pasties - Clarkston
Uncle Peters Pasties - Lake Orion
Urban Grocer - Detroit
The Western Market - Ferndale
The Green Barn - Marine City
South Street Exchange - Ortonville
Market Square - West Bloomfield
La Marche - St. Clair
Country Market - Port Huron
Apex Gear Company - Online
Oghamart - Waterbury, CT.
Dusty’s - Front Royal, VA.
