The Snack Captain

BY SIMON VAN BOOY

Ahoy, mateys!
Climb aboard the ship of Robert Ehrlich, founder and CEO of Robert’s American Gourmet, as he reveals the keys to his treasures.

Until one day, the shy and eccentric Long Island-based entrepreneur found what he was looking for: The opportunity to build a snack food empire.

Before founding Robert’s American Gourmet in the mid-’80s, Ehrlich did a stint as a commodities trader on Wall Street. “It seemed like fun; people were screaming at each other. What kid wouldn’t want to do that at 20?” Ehrlich says. He admits that life on Wall Street was mundane. “I wanted to be in control of my destiny and do something that wasn’t dependent on other people,” he says.

When Ehrlich decided to change careers, he got little response to the 150 resumes he sent out. Soon, he found himself peddling olive oil. Once, he walked into a gourmet market in NYC and didn’t even make a sales pitch; the frantic manager just barked his order and went back to what he was doing.

“From that moment on, I realized if you have a great product that’s unique, it speaks for you,” he says. “Look at any artist today or businessperson, they put their track record, their products ahead of them—they don’t have to say anything when they enter a room.”

Ehrlich’s first idea for his own product was a line of salad dressing. Sales were good, but one morning in the supermarket, he saw empty shelves in the chip aisle and had an epiphany. “It’s a party business,” Ehrlich says. “You don’t take dressing to a party.”

Pirate’s Booty wasn’t long in coming, and Ehrlich’s ideas for launching his snacks included donating his products to celebrity-laden events. He put the product in the hands of people who were being photographed by magazines. “That’s an industry now, but nobody was doing it when I did it,” Ehrlich says.

While the company supplies 90% of US supermarkets, Ehrlich is no stranger to failing. “I’ve probably had two thousand ‘nos,”’ he says. “I’m not afraid of failure, but I’m not afraid to succeed either. Success or failure is a movement, and most people don’t like movement. It’s tough for people to break out of that mold of depending on other people for success.”

Ehrlich describes the process of selling to distributors as both unique and frustrating. “I knew I had really good products and ideas, but there were buyers who didn’t represent the consumers, but who were deciding for hundreds of thousands of people— they didn’t get it,” he says.

Today, Robert’s American Gourmet carries about 20 kinds of snacks; many are made with organic ingredients and all are kosher. The bags, with cartoon characters, are unmistakable. Snacks have names like “Pirate’s Booty,” “Smart Puff s” and “Chaos.” The caricatures (a few, Ehrlich says, are his alter-egos) draw consumers in with exclamations like, “Good for you.” Ehrlich is aware of the playful ambiguity of the products’ claims, and insists that humor is part of his recipe for success.

Last June, the FDA notified Ehrlich that Veggie Booty was suspected to be the cause of salmonella cases.Within an hour, the company contacted distributors and recalled the snack. For many companies, such a catastrophe would spell major trouble, but Veggie Booty is already back on the shelves— and selling well. This experience tested Ehrlich’s abilities as a businessman.

“The experience is part of my journey. You have to put the businessman aside and act as a human being responding to the needs of… consumers,” he says.

Despite having excellent people around him, he knew that everyone was looking to him for strength. He even wanted to speak directly to the affected consumers, but the FDA wouldn’t release their names.

How did the product bounce back so quickly? “We make sure that our ingredients are only domestically sourced, and we test several times before the product is produced and shipped and have retention samples that are tested aft er,” he says. “We were able to reformulate Veggie Booty and make it more consumer friendly and tasty.”

The dedication he showed throughout this ordeal proves Ehrlich is sincere when he says that staying close to customers is a priority. He knows about every email that comes in, whether it is a compliment or a complaint.

Ehrlich admits to finding some people’s vision of business—and their idea that it’s just a way to make money—restrictive. For Ehrlich, enjoying the journey and the sense that he is helping people has maintained his level of commitment. He thinks of his snacks as a form of therapy.

“Happiness through the taste, the humor, the psychology of the crunch—food doesn’t necessarily have to be for your stomach or your taste buds; people eat for different reasons,” Ehrlich says.

Another key to his success is not thinking in terms of a bottom line. “I don’t think in terms of money at all,” he says. “I have people around me who I trust to run the business, so I’m free to do the creative, visionary side. My mind is 10, 15, 20 years from now.”

Stressing that some things are much more important than money, he recalls an email he received from a boy with leukemia. “His favorite food is Pirate’s Booty,” Ehrlich says. He pauses, then continues quietly, “Don’t lose touch with the human element that wants, desires, has feelings—it’s much more important than money.”

EHRLICH’S ADVICE

WHEN YOU WAKE up in the middle of the night with ideas, write them down.

LOOK AT THE RHYTHMS OF NATURE. Business also has a rhythm, and there’s a rhythm to what’s in and what’s out. Those who understand these rhythms will be more successful.

STUDY OTHER CULTURES and the products those people are buying in relation to their environment, their lives and their needs.

TAKE MONEY OUT OF THE EQUATION to find out what makes you happy, whether it’s a product, a service, [something] artistic or creative—then do it. If you’re happy, you make other people happy around you.

DO ONE THING, FINISH IT AND MOVE ON. Most people can’t finish things. Even if it’s a small thing, do it and move on. People go 90% and stop—that last 10% is fear.