Wine, Good.
Ice Cream, Good.
Together? For Mercer’s Dairy the answer is yes. Both in
terms of taste and in terms of profits. For owners Ruth Mignerey and Roxaina
Hurlburt and their 25 employees wine-infused ice cream has been their
livelihood since 2005. The small company based in New York offers 6 flavors to
over 14 countries. Their revenues exceed $4 million annually and they continue
to grow. One of the more startling methods to their growth is foreign exports,
which began in 2008 and now account for “about a quarter of annual sales of
more than $1 million. Employment is up from 20 four years ago.” This export process
also assists in offsetting the seasonal challenges with running an ice cream
business.
Mignerey recently told Bloomberg, “We went from being a
local institution with maybe a 100-mile radius of people knowing Mercer to
building a global brand…There are so many people who say something can’t be
done and it can. Just don’t take no for an answer.” The idea of foreign sales
are about as old as commerce itself (just think Christopher Columbus). But
recently, smaller businesses from all over the country have begun to see the
power they could have internationally with the help of a few sales abroad. According
to the Census Bureau, “shipments abroad by businesses with fewer than 500
employees accounted for 32.9 percent of the U.S. total in 2012, up from 29.2 percent in
2005.”
The key to all of the growth is certainly the vision. For
Mignerey and Hurlburt they took the entrepreneurial leap of faith in starting
the company—the key is clearly identifying the need and expanding from there.
They saw the presence of international sales, but for other businesses it could
be something more simple—like a new marketing play or a dynamic press release.
Some companies have also looked to working capital solutions like a merchant cash advance. Regardless of your method—do what Mignerey said—‘Don’t Take No
For an Answer!’
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