Partner & I are splitting up. He is taking recipes and opening another store while I keep the current one. Feel like if I change the pizza sauce I will loose the customer base (or at least a significant part of it) we have built up. He has always made the spices off site in portion bags. Anyone know of a way to figure it out? A company to analyze it? A way to come close?
When we stopped making our spice recipe in house, we had one of the spice companies bag it for us. Their 1st attempt (using our exact recipe) was wildly off because the spices they used were so much fresher than ours. So, the woman working on the mix asked to let us give her a chance to just “match the flavors.” We couldn’t tell the difference between the new sample and our stuff when tasting it side by side.
I think it’s SpiceTek that did that. There should be plenty of other companies out there that could do the same. Although, I have no idea what they would charge if you don’t plan to order the finished product from them?
Is your partner just leaving or are you buying his share?..
If he is leaving and taking the recipe with him get a lawyer and call the police because he is taking something that belongs to your store…If he is convicted of a crime he can get serious time…Just look at the Coke recipe deal a while back…Perhaps you need an injunction to prevent him from using the recipe in his new store…
If you are buying him out, do not complete the deal until he gives up the goods…Obviously the recipe is a vauable asset of the existing business and it belongs to who ever ultimately ends up owning the existing business…
At the end of the day this situation could turn ugly so good luck…RCS…
Lesson I’ve learned form this is: make all recipes proprietary to the business and have the formulations placed in a safe deposit box or something like that.
Our business is a little different. I’ve shared our sauce spice blend pretty often. I just let them know that there is one ingredient they won’t be able to find, and I leave it off. It is a black pepper subsitutue that doesn’t kill the sauce . . . just add extra black pepper. I don’t broadcast it out on forums liek this, though, where god and everybody takes it . . . don’t need any surprises here in my market.