Business

Spicy Organic LLC: Modern Day Spice Merchants

Published

4 years ago

April 21, 2021

When sprinkling red pepper on a pizza or indulging in a cinnamon roll, most people probably don’t give a second thought to the spices on their food and where they originated. Often taken for granted in modern times, spices were extremely difficult to obtain at one time, and the measures taken to secure them played a profound role in shaping human history. Some spices were once more valuable than gold and gems. Pepper was even used to pay Roman soldiers or rent in ancient times. Although spices are extremely affordable and accessible today, the undertakings that made this possible shaped economies and cultures, even leading to the discovery of new continents.

In Ancient times, Arabian spice merchants would tell stories of the mythical origins of the cinnamon and cassia they sold to maintain an aura of mystery surrounding the origins of their products and keep their foothold on the market. They dominated the market for 5000 years until the Middle Ages. In modern times, however, the spice trade looks different. One family whose story began in India and has crossed the globe, are extremely transparent about the origins of their products, making it a point for them to be traced back to the source.

What began as a small spice shop opened by Sunil Kumar and his family in 1980 in the Village of Lisora in Uttar Pradesh, India has since become a transnational company and the largest supplier of wholesale and bulk organic spices in North America. Just like the explorers and spice merchants of the times gone by, the Kumars help distribute spices across land and water, always maintaining their mission to provide organic and sustainable products. They have relationships with over 10,000 organic farmers and growers, and their legacy spans over 40 years.

How the Spice Trade Shaped History

Spices were the first globally traded product. Archaeologists believe humans have been using spices to season their food since 50,000 B.C. Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, turmeric and cassia were some of the first to be traded across different lands. Records show cinnamon and cassia arrived to the Middle East more than 4000 years ago. Ancient Arab traders would tell stories of cassia growing in shallow lakes and guarded by winged animals.

Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) and the Spice Islands (modern-day Indonesian Moluccas) served as important trading points at one time. Later on, Alexandria, Egypt became the world’s largest center of trade when it fell under Roman rule. Indian spices traded in Alexandria reached other territories of the Greek and Roman empires. For 300 years after Ptolemy XI gave Alexandria to the Romans in 80 BCE, trade between India and the Romans flourished.

In the 10th century, the trade rivalry between Venice and Genoa led to the Naval War of Chioggia in 1378. Venice emerged as the victor, which allowed them to dominate trade in the Levant for the next 100 years.

Age of Exploration

As shipbuilding technology evolved, the British, Spanish, and Portuguese sailed in search of the fabled spice lands, with the goal of finding alternative trade routes and eliminating the middleman. Christopher Columbus, sailing for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain, famously failed to reach the Spice Islands but discovered the Americas instead. Portuguese explorers successfully found a route to Asia and reached India in 1498. For the next century, they dominated the market.

Fleets from Holland set sail for the Spice Islands in the late 1500s, which led to the establishment of the Dutch East India company in 1602. Other European countries soon followed and established their own East India Companies. Although Portugal dominated the spice trade at one point, it was surpassed by the British and Dutch. The pursuit of spices fueled globalization, technology, and established empires. There was a dark side to their success, however. During this period, European countries established their colonial presence in Asia and other parts of the world at the expense of indigenous peoples, leaving a legacy marked by violence and oppression.

Evolution of Tastes in the Western World

Some may wonder why spices were in such high demand in Europe. Modern European cuisine is not known for incorporating many different spices. Other cuisines, such as Chinese or Indian, are known to be more layered and complex, with contrasting flavors, whereas western European dishes combine similar flavors. One example is the use of cinnamon; its sweet aroma is typically used to enhance sweet dishes in the west, whereas in India and the Middle East it is common to use in savory dishes. Western food is known for being less seasoned than other cuisines. However, this was not always the case.

At one time, Europeans incorporated more spices in their dishes. A beef pie recipe from 15th-century Germany, for example, includes meat, butter, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves.

A 16th-century English recipe for custard- a savory quiche with meat, includes veal, red wine, parsley, sage, hyssop, savory, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, mace, saffron, salt, dates, prunes, and ginger.

So what changed? How did European access to spices change their palate? While affording spices was a status symbol at one time, as spices became increasingly common, it became more elegant to do the opposite of what the masses were doing. So instead of masking food in spices, it became popular for the upper classes to bring out the natural flavors of foods by using minimal seasonings. This is why European food tends to uses fewer spices, preferring herbs, salt, and pepper instead to enhance the natural flavors. However, in the last few decades, the popularity of spices have made a revival as a result of globalization and immigration. One prime example is chicken tikka masala, which is considered to be the national dish of England and a symbol of its multiculturalism.

The Kumar Family’s 40-year legacy

As the largest wholesale and bulk distributor of organic spices and herbs in North America, the Kumar family delivers the tastes of India to North America. They allow Indians abroad to enjoy the tastes of home and non-Indians alike to discover the flavors of India without compromising on quality or price. They help people across the globe continue their family culinary traditions by bringing organic, high-quality spices, making them affordable and accessible.

Since 1980, Sunil Kumar and his family continue their spice trade across land and sea and show us what the modern-day spice trade looks like. So although we may take the accessibility of spices brought to us by companies like Spicy Organic for granted, they helped shape much of history, making huge impacts on economies, cultures, and history. Wars were fought, empires gained and lost power, technology improved, and society became more interconnected.

Business

Transform Your Expertise into a Profitable Online Coaching Business with Jon Penberthy

Published

3 weeks ago

November 3, 2024

Matthew Wiles

Transforming your expertise into a successful coaching business requires a strategic approach to monetizing your knowledge, with a strong emphasis on client satisfaction and adaptability to their evolving needs. By prioritizing these factors, you can build a coaching practice that flourishes, provides long-term value to your clients, and supports sustained growth for your business.

The potential for this growth is underscored by the global online coaching market, which was valued at $3.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $11.7 billion by 2032, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% from 2023 to 2032.

Jon Penberthy, founder of AdClients and a leader in online coaching, highlights the significance of the knowledge economy in today’s marketplace. He notes, “The knowledge economy is now worth over half a trillion dollars a year. That means every year, people like you and me are paying others—not for physical products, but for the exchange of knowledge.” This shift presents a compelling opportunity for those willing to leverage their expertise in this evolving market.

Penberthy’s philosophy emphasizes the power of positive thinking and challenges traditional views on credentialism and rigid professional roles. He asserts, “Nowadays you only need to be one step ahead of someone else for them to be willing to hand back some money to learn from you.” His success as a how-to coach exemplifies this approach, showing that with the right mindset, anyone can turn their knowledge into a flourishing business.

Essential Steps to Starting Your Online Business

At the heart of any business plan is the decision about what type of product you will provide in the online marketplace. Jon Penberthy explores various possibilities, from relationship counseling to pet care, ultimately settling on a widely sought-after internet offering: personal health and fitness.

“Let’s say you do not have a personal trainer certificate, but you have figured out a specific nutrition and exercise regime that works,” he states. “There are people out there who want to look how you look and are willing to pay you for your knowledge … the opportunities are endless – you just have to ask yourself what you know that is a little bit more than those around you. That’s the starting point for your own training program.”

The next step involves packaging your training for an online audience, and Penberthy recommends creating a series of recorded videos as an effective approach. This leads to the question of how much to cover in the initial video and the order of presentation.

He suggests finding friends and family who are interested in your topic and willing to learn more. By selecting a few volunteers and teaching them over several weeks for free, while taking diligent notes on what works and what doesn’t, the teaching process will gradually reveal itself.

Build a Sales Funnel

Regardless of how your business attracts customers, potential buyers often follow a similar path, asking common questions and taking comparable steps when deciding whether to make a purchase. A sales funnel is an effective way to visualize this journey, offering valuable insights into the customer experience. It helps you see the sales process through their perspective while also serving as a practical training tool for your sales team.

Penberthy highlights the importance of this approach, “A sales funnel helps transition potential customers from being strangers to ready-to-buy clients,” he explains. By breaking the process into a series of steps, the sales funnel gradually informs and engages potential customers, guiding them toward a purchase decision without overwhelming them with information.

Attracting Attention—The ‘Eyeball’ Factor

Once you’ve understood the initial steps for setting up your online coaching or course, the next challenge is attracting people to your funnel, often referred to as the “eyeball” factor. “Bringing traffic to your site involves content creation and deciding between organic (unpaid) traffic through various social media channels or, if your budget allows, paid traffic,” Penberthy explains.

Penberthy explains that with organic traffic, individuals will be active on social media, creating content designed to build an audience interested in their topic. He adds that if one can invest some funds, paid advertising—especially on YouTube—can be an excellent starting point, as it delivers instant traffic compared to the uncertain outcomes of organic posts.

Once the advertising strategy is established, the next step is to continually refine and enhance the course, making it more concise, message-rich, and easier for potential customers to understand what is being offered.

He emphasizes that this process isn’t just about feeling good about one’s work; it’s about boosting conversions. The more effective the campaign, the more referrals satisfied customers will provide when recommending the program. A stronger program also allows for higher pricing for the services offered.

After refining your online advertising strategies and advancing your course or coaching development, the next step is to scale up. Penberthy suggests that this may initially involve what he refers to as “the pop-up offer” or one-on-one coaching, enabling you to start selling your course in 48 hours or less.

He notes that this phase requires a significant investment of time but is crucial for growing your business with clients who will not only pay for your expertise but also recommend your courses to a broader audience. However, he emphasizes the need to leverage your time effectively, as there are only so many hours in a day.

The key to success in online courses lies in combining “low-ticket” (mass appeal) content with “high-ticket” one-on-one training. “I take the stand-alone low-ticket coaching and wrap it around the one-on-ones to create the concept of “high-ticket” group coaching, which is a limited-subscriber webinar-based training pitched at high-end clients who are willing to pay a premium to overcome their seeming lack of success in the online marketplace,” Penberthy says.

By implementing this strategy, he adds, you can not only maximize your time in the business space and free up energy for friends and family but also potentially increase your monthly income to four or five figures, ultimately leading to an annual income of six to seven figures.

Jon Penberthy’s insights provide a clear roadmap, emphasizing the importance of understanding your audience, leveraging effective marketing strategies, and continually refining your offerings. By combining low-ticket and high-ticket training approaches, you can maximize your reach while delivering exceptional value to your clients.

As you embark on this path, remember that your knowledge and passion can not only lead to financial success but also empower others to achieve their goals. Embrace the opportunities ahead, and watch as you build a thriving coaching business that makes a lasting impact.