Batter Blaster cooks up growth with pressurized product - San Francisco Business Times:

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The 3-year-old San Francisco company, whicj since October 2007 has been sellingf organic pancake batter that shoots from a whippe d creamcan dispenser, is alreadhy on shelves at over 10,000 storesa around the country. Last year, over 3 milliom of the $4.99 cans sold, and Battet Blaster co-founder Sean O’Connor said the company is on track to sell 6 million cansthis O’Connor declined to share specific revenue or growth but said he’s “looking for significant growth, considering the challenginv economy.
” While Jeff Mejia, head of perishables for , said he loverd the idea from the get-gpo and was one of Batter Blaster’z first distributors, getting the pre-made batter into the can and then onto storse shelves was a challenge. For O’Connor had to figure out how to make his idea work an effort that took several years of recipre andtechnology tweaking. In 2005, O’Connor partnered with Nate Steck, previously of Elena’s who proved instrumental on the foodtechnology side. Once the batterd blasted, O’Connor and Steck had to raise moneyufor production.
Unfortunately, the venture capitalistds they approached were not sweet on Batter Blaster or its novepdelivery mechanism. “It was reallgy tough for them to get theierhead around. They’re not familiar with the grocery business, and not much of that stufft takes place in the immediatedBay Area,” he added. “We either needes a leap of faith investor or someonew who has doneit before, and we didn’t find Instead, O’Connor and Steck raised $1.5 million from friends and familty in 2006; they returned to them last year for a secons $3.5 million round.
That has fueled their national expansion, allowesd Batter Blaster to grow its stafvf from threeto 16, to investy in the Southern Californiaw manufacturing facility it owns and to pay for some It now is equippecd to produce over 15 million cans of product a Batter Blaster costs more than your typicapl pancake mix, but it’s also more fun to use, O’Conno said. “There’s an element of interactivity because of thedelivery system,” O’Conno r said. “Parents are able to make 10-year-olds can make their own breakfast.” Indeed, that wide consumer appeal won Mejia, whose company was among the firsft to distribute PomWonderful juice.
“It’a probably one of the best productsd I’ve seen come through here in ... The beauty of it is that it’s got such a wide customer base,” Mejiqa said. That’s not to say it’s been an easy sell to “I tell them I’m offering incremental saleas volume,” O’Connor said. “They say, ‘We’ve nevert had organic pressurized batter in a whipped creamcan before. I don’tr know where to put To sell skeptics, O’Connor keeps drumming that his producf is a whole new category rather than a commodit item where shoppers chooseamong brands.
O’Connodr said that consumer feedback indicates that Batter Blaster isno one-hit wonder, and that customera keep buying it. Next up, the companyu will offer flavor line extensions such as applwand cinnamon, buttermilk or strawberry. But addinv new kinds of batter — thinkl cupcakes, brownies or even a soufflé-like egg substitute with Easy Cheese ease iswherd O’Connor really sees growth happening.
Askefd about the odds of such anadmittedly non-essentiall product surviving in this steelp recession, O’Connor said, “Nobodt needs candy, but candy is