FROG RANCH PRODUCTS Salsa kicks up the competition

A dicey venture produces a different kind of product.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
A new brand of salsa, made regionally, will be competing against national and other brands in local stores.
Craig E. Cornett, president of Frog Ranch products based in Glouster, said he believes his salsa, boasting 80 percent diced tomatoes, will be the choice over better-known but tomato-paste based competitors.
Those with discerning palates may select from salsas in mild, medium, hot and chipotle made from a combination of tomatoes, onions, seasonings and Hungarian and jalapeno peppers.
Others who like to support causes benefiting other creatures may want to try Frog Ranch because 5 percent of the profits go to "Five for the Phibs" amphibian research, Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force.
How this Ohio business came to be involves a family recipe and a bargain rate on Hungarian pepper plants. It led entrepreneur Cornett out of the drywall business and into an unfamiliar realm of food processing and marketing.
It all started 10 years ago when Cornett bought 40 acres with a dilapidated homestead in Millfield. One day he and some friends were sitting outside listening to the chirping of young frogs called "spring peepers." One remark led to another. "Someone suggested I had bought a frog ranch," Cornell said. The name stuck and eventually came in handy.
Cornett decided to plant a garden late in the growing season. Some Hungarian peppers for buy one, get one free at the bargain-rate price of a dollar a flat caught his eye. The garden yielded about 600 plants, which flourished. Cornett worked on the project with a friend, Kristi K. Hewitt, who was initially involved in the business and now is a minority partner.
First creation
Cornett, who had grown up on a farm, decided to preserve his harvest and make pickled peppers using a recipe from his grandmother, Anne Porter, a first-generation Hungarian immigrant. About 300 quarts was the result. "It was the most amazing thing I've ever tried," Cornett said.
Cornett said he shared the pickled peppers with family and friends. They raved about the peppers and their word of mouth spread until some local restaurants ended up offering the peppers with some menu items.
The positive response, Cornett said, motivated him to think beyond the home-canning process, and as a result, Frog Ranch was born in 1994. Reality eventually set in. Cornett said that producing pickled peppers was an involved process; and sales weren't what he had hoped. The first year the company produced just 2,000 jars and the next year about 30,000.
Cornett said he knew he had a good product but "no idea how to sell it." So, he took about 100 cases in a pickup truck and hit the road. Along the way he learned how to market products and develop contacts. In addition to Giant Eagle, Frog Ranch products are available at Kroger, Heinen's and Meijer stores and online at frogranch.com.
Cornett said his farm background moved him to think about making a less-involved product, and he decided on salsa. "It's relatively simple to make," he said. And so he did. The pickled peppers were eliminated and salsa was produced starting in 1997.
"We patronize Ohio growers," Cornett said about the salsa ingredients.
Food contest
The decision to go with salsa might have been shaken a bit when Frog Ranch entered the 1997 Fiery Foods Challenge in Albuquerque, N.M., and won nothing. But the next year, the company claimed first prize for hot salsa. And every year since, the company has won a first prize.
Cornett said he started the Ohio Chili Pepper Festival to showcase Frog Ranch and other local and regional products. This year's event will be Sept. 23-26 on the grounds at Trimble High School in Glouster. There will be a chili cook-off, hot-pepper-eating contest, music and crowning of a queen.
The festival helps develop "awareness of products," said Cornett. And that includes Frog Ranch Peppered Pickles and Zesty Bread & amp; Butter Pickles, which the company also offers. Frog Ranch had sales of $800,000 in 2003 and projects $1.2 million in 2004, Cornell said.
Cornett said other products are being developed. "There's barbecue sauce, sauerkraut with garlic and jalapeno peppers, and eventually, salad dressing," he said. Frog Ranch has a new cannery under construction in Glouster, where another cannery is located. A third is in Millfield.
"I want to make products with unique flavors," Cornett said. He said the emphasis is on preservative-free, all-natural and minimally processed foods.
XContact Frog Ranch at (800) RIBBITT (742-2488); order online at frogranch.com.