Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Mullaney.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Raised on the Chesapeake, our family loves seafood. It’s been a part of our lives forever. The Mullaneys owned and operated a hunting farm on the Bay for 15 years. We leased 10 acres of Bay bottom to grow and harvest oysters for our family events and hunting guests. They were always a hit. Along the way we grew tired of eating oysters with the same old sauce made of ketchup and said let’s reinvent it with something exciting, fresh, improved consistency and a taste that is unforgettable.
After dozens and dozens of iterations (some good and some not so good), we landed on something that enhanced the flavor of the oyster and offered a unique taste that was somewhere in the middle of a cocktail, mignonette, salsa and hot sauce. Our captive audience raved about it.
Brothers, Brendan and Ryan Mullaney took on the effort to make it legitimate. FDA approvals, bottling, artwork and marketing to get it to the masses. Each step was new to us and came with a unique set of challenges but with help from industry leaders, consultants, family friends and complete strangers willing to lend a hand, we got it done.
The unique branding is spearheaded by beautiful artwork done by Eastern Shore native, Michael Rosato.
The next question was how do we get as many people to try it as possible. With the name Chesapeake Oyster Salsa, it had to start with a regional focus. We attended as many major seafood and oyster events as possible around the Bay. We say regularly that when we started this, if 70% of people that tried it were fans, we would consider it a win. As a vendor at these major events, tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people tried Oyster Salsa and we could count on 2 hands the number of people that shook their heads or reacted negatively. It was incredible. We knew we had a winner.
The MD Dept of Agriculture invited us to the Boston Seafood Expo in 2022 to be one of the vendors representing MD seafood which was an incredible opportunity. Through networking, samples and a lot of shucked oysters, we found our way into Harris Teeter; a significant grocery chain, owned by Kroger.
With about 70 local fish markets, small grocery chains and gift shops, the roughly 300 Harris Teeters have all helped us continue to get the word out. Between our direct to consumer sales on our website and the retailers, we continue to grow in leaps and bounds, changing how people eat seafood (not just oysters but shrimp, fish, clams, crab) and other foods like eggs, pastas, tacos etc.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Every step in the process has come with its own challenges. From idea conception to a product sitting in a customer’s refrigerator, there are maybe a hundred different steps and decisions that have to be made. We think of any business endeavor in simple terms; we have a product that people want, everyone involved in helping get from A to Z should be successful and make money and by doing what you say, you will enjoy the work.
With a food product, your customers expect 3 things to be the same, no matter where they taste the product; consistency, color, taste. Working with a copacker or multiple copackers who help source ingredients, cook, bottle and label the product, there are a few potential points of failure. We’ve learned the vital steps where we have to pay attention to ensure a consistent, delicious product every time.
Finally I would mention packing glass bottles for direct to consumer shipping isn’t an easy task. For a small company, this is primarily done in house. For us that is literal. For the first few years, my dining room was our shipping hub where we ate family meals. Shipping supplies were stacked to the ceiling and for a while, our pregnant wives would spend evenings filling boxes of salsa with shipping peanuts, writing personal messages to customers and applying labels. We transitioned to a custom box that eliminated the need for peanuts and has streamlined our shipping of those orders.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We make sauces and spices that enhance the flavor of the foods they are applied to. Originally, we were tired of the status quo for seafood sauce options and wanted to create something new, exciting, more flavorful. It turned out that seafood wasn’t the only thing our Oyster Salsa improved. Feedback started to roll in about the different foods people were eating with Oyster Salsa. (pork tenderloin, fish tacos, coconut shrimp, pastas, Arby’s sandwiches)
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Oyster Salsa is a labor of love and started as a side project as I work for a technology company and my brother is a lawyer. We continue to grow the spice company because the product has been so well received and we are passionate about building something that we and others love and are excited about.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blackpearlspiceco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackpearlspiceco?igsh=MTEzdTN0bTh6N2g3dg==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackpearlspiceco
