"Here's how to use it," says Marcel Tripe), counterman, D'Agostino Bros. market, Stuyvesant Town, New York City, pointing to the text on side of new package r For their prize Appetizers. .. Why Tabasco's a hot item Mcllhenny company steps up advertising, and sales pop 360% by Victor J. Dallaire, Associate editor ....................TABASCO . 1F YOU LOOK on the back of the Tabasco tion with long-hardened arteries, the :TABAUO aEuCHtIHr :.,,, sauce carton, you'll find the familiar slo- pungent sauce brought in a nice piece : Blend wcu togrchcr one ha pkp : gan, One drop of Tabasco works won- of change to the McIlhennys year in and : chcae, 1 tap. CCIUT ue4 PP : - ders. year out. : riL.PdTabaeotoran,.sdrpcdmud : WtOsr(~ . If you had the chance to look over the The original big question then before : AVOC*DO Dl?: . Tabasco sales record of the past few the McIlhenny family council down on kbh 1 avo& to polp, add 3 cbtp. : years, you'd probably invent a slogan of Avery Island in Louisiana's bayou coun- ~~yonda,I to 1 miad omloa, . : jdcedHle&ulttot..o,lsd1 : your own: A little bit of advertising and try was: "Should we do anything about : dmpT.bUca Bkrd rrU Sem la f promotion in the right places for the Tabasco? After all, we've got oil, salt, 'dumki.~' chip., ; timber and other things to think about. shrimp. ctc right product uorb uonders. Thae reme appmo- : Tabasco sauce, a product of the Mc- Why bother as long as it's doing all maaly 4 Mvkiply fa Ilhenny Co., Avery Island, La., is one of right?" those rare specialties for which there is But the upshot of the council was to a historic (and automatic) demand. go after business more aggressively. This All over the worid, decision was reached in the early war Tabam is the Angostura bitters is another. So the Ta- seasoning d basco sales story even before its new years when people (as distinguished conJteun Try a drcg or two uith: deal wasn't bad at all. With only token from gourmets) began using more con- diments to flavor drab ration diets. ~nd .Tomrto juice advertising and a distributing organiza- .Scalds it was made at a time when several more .C h disks competitive products appeared on the Meats World-wide acceptance, human . market. -Egk interest and recipe appeals are Swps So the McIlhenny Co. set out upon its SIuas packed into this current column new deal for Tabasco at a time when Have Tabon advertisement of Tabasco pur trbltrsk tor - fl when dining art. people wanted more spicy sauces and These advertisements are run in class cartons; they are so small that no special also had more brands to choose from. weeklies, network Sunday newspaper containers are necessary. The new program got rolling a little over supplements and local newspaper Sun- Both the shipping cartons and tb a year ago when Irving MacPherson day magazines in markets the network individual bottle carton have bee,, came over from Angostura-wupper- pi~l~licntionstlou't reach. Wherever pos- changed. The shipping box has an ovm. mann as national sales manager. sihle, Tal~asco atlvertise~nents adjoin all outside container and four inner How has the new deal paid off? For editorii~lfoot1 columi~s;at least, they are dozen-bottle boxes to facilitate less-than. reasons of its own, the YIcIlhenny com- on the foot1 pages. Orlly aclditional color case order handling for a good deal of pany doesn't want to disclose dollar sales used is Tabasco rerl. the sauce is brought in small lots. The figures, but it is willing to reveal that Tie-in promotiolls \\.it11 other food individual bottle carton design has been Tabasco sales in 1949 were 360% higher rnunufacturers constitute a new and vital simplified so that the colored bottle re- than in 1942. On the basis of sales in- part of the Tabasco program. Success- production will stand out better. .Irecipe creases for the first few months of this fill tie-ins \rith tu~lufish canners, mayon- folder now goes with each bottle. The year, 1950 sales will beat those of last naise 1nakel.s ant1 other noncompetitive folder soon will have recipes in both year by a margin that would satisfy the foods already have lxen carried through most sales hungry. from pill~lic;~tioi~alliances to point-of- What about the increase in advertis- A program of consumer education ing expenditures? In 1942 the company publicity directed to food writers of spent only $9,000 for advertising, little newspapers, magazines and synclicates reminder messages placed here and there has been added. It has provecl itself one whenever it happened to occur to some- of the most useful new activities. Recip body. In 1949, the over-all expenditure development, photo,oraphs and pres for advertising, publicity, selling aids stories are handled by Dudley, Andernon and other related activities came to & Yutzy, New York; Fitzgerald Adver- $140,000. Percentagewise, the merchan- tising Agency, New Orleans, has han- dising expense increase far exceeded the dled Tabasco advertising for the pad sales increase, but many of the things two years. included in the 1949 budget are long- When Mr. LlacPherson took o\.er as term activities-new packaging, for in- sales manager at the request of IValter stance. S. h~lcIlhenny,president, he immediate]!. More important than the budget in- set about overhauling the sales organ;- crease for merchandising- activities dur- zation. He established closer \vorking ing this period was the switch in tactics. ties between the men in the field and In place bf the simple reminder notices, The label retained its the home office. He's weeded out weal; advertising suggesting the use of Ta- identity. Reproduction of the bottle distributors and replaced them with on the old package (right) was basco in specific dishes was used. Thus strong ones. As a result he now has 3 cleaned up for the new package (left, the housewife who may have been a sales organization that takes a real ill- long-time user of the sauce with one or sale material. Still broader tie-ins now terest in the company's advertising and two foods, say Little Neck clams or are in the works. promotion programs and the activities of spaghetti, learned that it improved the The SlcIlhenny Co. also has high competitors and trade groups. flavor of numerous other foods. At the hopes for one of its own point-of-sale So, there you have the trade stor)- same time the recipes offered in the ad- creations, a tiny sample of Titbasco at- the reasons why Tabasco is sellulg 31 vertisements enticed other housewives tached to a card for distribution by gro- more than four times the rate it sold 3 who were not acquainted with Tabasco cers and through a 10-cent coupon offer few years ago. The ~roductstory goes to give it a try. And the ads still ful- in forthcoming advertisements. The sam- back much further. The short pim filled the important reminder function. ples \\.ill be packed iit regular shipping below tells how far. Seed peppers and two wars mixed in captured Southern Louisiana, they alld fabulous history of Tabasco their families were banished to TC.~ until Lee's surrender. They returned When the peace treaty between the 11e:ltlecl 1)nck to the States carrying with Avery Island to find their sugar ho@ United States and Xlexico was signed in hiln sonle pepper seecl which he said salt works and homes burned and most 1848, General Winfield Scott withdrew \rol~ldIxocluce 11 IjelJper pod of espe- of their former slaves vanished. his American army north~varcl,leaving cially fine flavor ancl color. He gct\,e some The austerity diet availnble behind n host of sutlers and other army of tllese in 18.5.' to n Ne\\. Or1e;lns hank- time suited no one used to ~ouisi~ followers who chose to try their fortunes er, Edmund SlcIlhenny. llr. SlcIlhenny in klexico. pla~~teclthem and Inter gave some of the One of these men, named Gleason, plants to his father-in-la\v, Judge Avery worked his way south from hlesico City of Avery Islarld. There they flourished to the state of Tabasco where he stayed without much attention being paid to for a while, changed his mind and them. ninant pic six mac hin ...A. ...A. ,,.,".,....."1L.l* I I - 09. ro.ljr .huudom .rwr anomerdocwd our rnmcnbn. ~ooaprr I m I m Get Skilled Cities Service 1 YO,. ,*m I4 b.l,,ow o, d31.r. 1111 b. .pn, .n n.. Planll ."d 1.r lk WdmdU.lU.rm n. .qu,pnn, i. I9.P. Tk ,rn."", ,"""lrn",you r.n n... ,.,,k nu.nc.".nr. .d p.o,n.on .I,. ",nr.gupm.n, 8. to bltm.~th pdlubnc.clol prqnn .Cts-. h-.01O1-7. I In rnlq up lubnlallon Wulnlor- .guipnuaL ~h)D .....W~Dn-......", I Inr mm(B8.3. IMmnll.ll lob. L.md bv uralClllrbr*n I A ..W.,,., '-8. msd"".."h.,.".,1h. ".,did I r*.-.."--.,..n..l"..~--.-.I*- I -... I 'M.L.'CuE-'- o.Cl,". ,o.,, ."A I*. 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