1 min. with a superhero: Lauren from Picnic Company
by Fred Roed on 03/06/08 at 4:15 pm
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This morning we chat to Lauren Rohloff of Picnic Company, which is pretty much what the name says… Picnic Company provides out of this world picnics, as well as anything related to packed foods. In the crowded catering marketplace, Picnic Company has quickly made a name for itself for quality and attention-to-detail. Over the past few years, Lauren and her team have been picking up some highly sought after clients. Ideate spoke to her to pick up a few inside tips.
What makes your business different?
Mmmmm, we offer the best picnics on the market place! What makes us different? Well, we only use the highest quality of food produce around, we have a highly professional team of chefs on board, and we strongly believe in offering our clients brilliant service with a quick response. We too offer a further service to our clients in that of offering the entire set up of there picnic function with all infrastructure, bar, décor and staffing etc. We are also capable of dealing with large numbers, and thus far we have covered 5 000 picnics in one order.
Sound hectic! How did you get into this industry?
Growing up with a father that was involved in the hospitality industry and with a great love of food, it seemed the obvious choice for me to follow this type of career. I am a chef by trade, and have worked in top event management positions – so the natural thing was to start my own business.
Tell us a little about your story, and what made you become an entrepreneur?
I guess I always knew that I would one day own my own business, guess it was in my blood and passed on by my father who today is a highly successful businessman. He has taught me that hard work has never killed anyone and hard work is what it takes to become an achiever. I have had a lot of twists and turns. I’ve learned to take every hardship or misfortune and try and turn it into some form of positive and learn from those hardships as long term it will work in your favour.
What about your job makes you lie awake at night?
Well, that is when I have the luxury to lie awake at night. I guess it would be how we are going to tackle a big order of getting 5 000 picnics out, or dealing with a task of feeding 2 000 Irish Builders a day for 7 days running, the weather plays a massive factor for us and then of course, the smaller things such as: have I booked the refrigeration trucks? – etc. Then the flip side to it all is in the winter months where we are quiet, how am I going to pay all the staff and overheads, eeekkkk, where is the money going to come from…? So yes, all year round, there is always something occupying one’s mind, unless of course you treat yourself to a sleeping pill just to get a solid night’s sleep!
Eish… Again: Hectic!! Tell us your best disaster story and your best success story…
Let’s start with the bad, and calling it a disaster is being rather kind. I recently got awarded a very large contract which I was most excited about. Sadly it turned into an absolute nightmare of a job and that was due to the people on top having no cooking clue what they were doing or what they got themselves involved in, which spiraled down onto me and many more professional companies. They have not only caused my company a massive financial loss but have caused a damage to my reputation. I have taken legal action against these characters and can only hope that justice will be served.
As for a success, I am fortunate enough to have a lot. I would say that the one that warms my heart the most is how I took a very small company with no name on the map and taken to a level where we are talked about in the market place, and it is a name that I can be very proud of.
Your success is great, but it sounds like you’ve had a dodgy client or two along the way. Can you describe your perfect client?
BIG BIG BUDGETS! The ones that know what they want, make a decision fast and can easily enough correspond all the relevant information over to me in one email. However, all clients are perfect at the end of the day as they assist with paying the bills!
Besides dodgy clients and extreme lack of sleep, tell us some pitfalls to avoid in the food industry?
Always ensure that you use high quality food products!
OK, Lauren, crunch-time. What is the secret to success?
Hard work. Trying to remain positive at all time, and providing a service to clients that cannot be faulted. And most importantly, keeping your passion alive and to always create new and exciting paths in order for you to remain loving what you do.
What is your best marketing tool?
Without a doubt – word of mouth.
…and, of course, being interviewed by hot social media forums like Ideate. Destroy a myth about your industry…
That caterers are overpriced. Guys, food is really expensive!
Lauren, tell us something that no one knows about you…
Now that would be telling…
Boring! What is the best business lesson you’ve learned so far?
Don’t take it personally
Describe your average day in the life of Lauren Rohloff…
In season, kitchens open anything between 2am and 5am. Coming in, prepping and getting the daily orders out with assistance of the chefs and kitchen staff. Getting to my office thereafter to respond to all the demanding mails, getting budgets out, sitting in meetings, running around to sites, getting jobs set up, making and taking way too many calls and really just having fun…and of course eating loads, as we love to do that. Day will end when it does, which can be anything from 5pm or way later…So, yes, Red Bull and coffee are our best friends. You so need that to get you through the mad long days.
How many people do you have in your team?
I have 7 permanent staff members and me. The rest of the team is casual based.
What is your BHAG?
To the best at my game, and to maintain the standard and service that I strive for… and mostly to enjoy what I do and love life.
Finally, a word of advice to Ideate readers – is there a lot of money to be made in this industry?
If you clever yes…but stick to catering then, there is sadly a very small margin on picnics due to the cost of the food and packaging costs. Buy smart, prepare smart and eliminate waste.
Thanks Lauren, you’re an inspiration. Good luck with your new big contracts, opportunities as well as legal battles with irresponsible clients. Now, get some sleep!
Ideaters can contact Lauren at 021 706 8470 or email her at info[at]picnics.co.za.
Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.
