Nothing Breeds Success like Success

Michael Reese II founded the company, Maison Louisianne Creole Products, back in 1984 to supply the San Francisco area with authentic creole spices and sauces. Since then he has seen his business of manufacturing four core products grow steadily. When the ShutMyMouth website was first launched, in 1996, it seemed to have little impact, but gradually sales grew and now it's annually turning over a six-figure sum.

Part of its success is due to the no frills simplicity of the site. There are few, if any, baubles and bangles, gadgets and gizmos or whizbangs and whirlygigs. In reality the site relies on its characteristic creole content to attract its visitors and their numbers are increasing daily. What Maison Louisianne is doing, is offering the website visitor a unique chance to try a highly specialised product wherever they may live.

Three nights each week, Chef Reese turns an exclusive restaurant, "PJ's Oyster Bed," into 'Bayou By The Bay' in San Francisco. Here he spellbinds the guests with such creole delicacies as alligator, popcorn shrimp, gumbo, jambalaya, remoulade, and "All-You-Can-Eat" crawfish, using his special Creole Mustard, Shut-My-Mouth Spices, and his award winning Shut-My-Mouth Pepper Sauce. Precisely the same products as you can buy direct from the website.

But what do they attribute their success to?

For one thing, they got themselves an Internet Service Provider (ISP) who could "front" their online store. With the peace of mind that the power of secure servers and back end transaction processing provides, ordering Creole Products becomes a painless task and a satisfying experience for their customers.

But essentially, it's the focused content of the site which, uncluttered by whizmos and gizbangs, allows the visitors to browse at leisure and make their choices. And this content is steadily evolving, even though the 4 core products remain the same.

Another feature which has helped drive the site forward is the newsletter that Maison Louisianne sends out every so often. To receive it, all you have to do is state your email address and that's it. Painless! No probing into your demographic profile. They include the latest tasty recipe in every newsletter, so fans of creole cooking are well catered for and many become customers.

Furthermore, these customers come from farther and farther away from Maison Louisianne's traditional catchment area. Today, many of their regular customers come from abroad -- even from the UK and Scandinavia -- and web based sales account for about 14% of total earnings.

But online sales is not the whole story. Lawrence Ames, who is Chef Reese's partner, says that website sales have spurred sales through traditional channels as well. Just the fact that they have become known in ever wider circles means that shops in far flung locations increasingly want to stock the ShutMyMouth products. In most cases, it's the power of word-of-mouth advertising by satisfied online customers which has increased storekeepers' awareness of the ShutMyMouth brand and driven sales up. This alone is testimony to the advantages of having a website.

A popular feature of the website is the section with authentic Arcadian (Cajun) recipes -- just like Great Great Grandma used to make. The free recipes attract visitors from all over the world interested in trying real Creole cooking for themselves. For example, take a look at this recipe for an authentic Creole Gumbo. When flavoured with hot Shut-My-Mouth Spices, the food becomes mouth-wateringly tasty enough to shut your mouth. The recipe section is an example of great customer relations and service.

But why not go and take a look for yourself and pick up a few hot ideas. You'll not be sorry. Or look for this label at your local store.