Provide a brief description of your company and the products?
The Gourmet Cupboard has great mixes at affordable prices. All our mixes are homemade and most do not contain msg or preservatives. We offer soups and meals, side dishes, sweet and savory dips, coffees, teas, muffins & breads, desserts, and sugar free items.
Provide a brief company history including how long in business and how many consultants in how many countries.
A mother and daughter started this company back in the early 2000s. At first, it was just something fun to do….make homemade food mixes to give to friends and family. Then they started doing craft shows and it EXPLODED from there. We still only have less than 450 distributors for the ENTIRE United States so there is still TONS of room to grow!!
What is the cost to start up? What comes in the startup kit?
Best thing first…Free signup!!! Yes you read that right:) All you do is sign up and make your first purchase within a week and you are an active distributor. Your first order can be just one mix or it could 100 mixes. We have a starter kit for 20 dollars which has 7 of the most popular mixes. That is what most people start off as. When I joined we didnt have that kit so I just purchased 5 mixes that I thought sounded good:)
**Policy change…Sign-up is still FREE but you now have to pay 25 dollars when filling out your application This is due when you first sign on. But wait…..when you place your first order the $25 is applied as a credit!
Start-up Kit includes (one of each of these mixes)
Mexican Meatloaf
Cheesy Potato Casserole
Shrimp/Chicken and Rice Casserole
Peanut Butter Pie
Mexican Fiesta Dip
Taco “Soup”reme
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip
Are there any additional expenses (startup, yearly renewal, website, etc)?
Our quotas. We have to do 200 dollars every six months. That just amounts to 33.33 a month…its pretty easy to do. One thing that I drew me to this company.
Website costs: You have three options with website
No Website: FREE- Send your customers to the company website and as long as they put your name down as rep then you get the credit for it. Company will ship out directly to customers those who order from the company site.
Renting Website: Yearly fee of 100 dollars. Customers will go to your personal site and order. You fill the order and send to them
Owning Website: Costs very from a few hundred dollars (one time fee). Works the same as a renting website except you have more freedom with how the website looks and you can have more than one company products on this.(This is GREAT for those who have mulitple direct sales companies.)
How much is the commission on personal sales and downline? How often are consultants paid?
We earn around 40 percent profits on sales. Technically, we can make our own prices but if you stick close to what the website has you will get around 40 percent. I take the website prices and add 10 percent to cover shipping. Some people charge more than what the website has and then they can earn more than the 40%.
Earn up to 10 percent per recruit. I have around 16 active recruits right now and have been recruiting for less than a year. I joined in Jan 2010 but did not actively start recruiting until Memorial Day 2010. I wanted to know the ins and outs of the company first. Its easy to get recruits when you have such a great product and company behind you;)
Distributors who buy wholesale inventory are paid the moment they sell a mix. You pocket the money right there and then.
What are some of the additional benefits/rewards consultants can earn?
We can sell our products anywhere. Online, parties, craft shows, stores, whatever we want. The company is pretty flexible with how and where we sell the mixes.
No minimum sales per order-Buy one mix or buy a 100 mixes. Plus we have a great forum where distributors can swap mixes instead of ordering.
We have not oversaturated the market- with less than 450 distributors. I can get into craft shows pretty easily
All products are HANDMADE in Texas. They make them the day you order them. No mixes sitting on the shelves waiting to be shipped out
Hostess rewards paid by the comany. Hostesses can earn up to 15 percent of party sales in FREE mixes.
Everyone LOVES food. I get tons of reorders from people wanting to reorder their favorites or try new mixes!!
What is your favorite thing about your company?
We are small enough to still have that family feel. If you have any problems, the company is just a phone call away. And when you do call, you speak to a real person who is actually working at the company and not a telemarketer who has scripts of things to say. I have received tons of emails from Melissa (one of the owners) wrote directly to me. Its nice to know that the owners are just as concerned about making my business successful as I am.
What is your favorite product?
How can I choose!!! Some of my favorite products include
Taco ‘Soupreme’ Soup
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake dip
Mexican Meatloaf
Sugar Free Lemonade Pie
Chocolate Pecan Bars
Mexican Fiesta Dip
Spinach Dip
Dreamsicle Pie
Baked Potato Soup
South of the Boarder Soup
Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate
Wild Rice Soup
Caramel Apple Dip
Pecan Pie Muffins
Have a question? Want more information? Contact me!
Michelle McElyea
Independent Distributor
Peoria, IL
gourmetcupboard@hotmail.com
309-256-3731
http://www.michelle.thegourmetcupboard.biz
Facebook Page: Michelle’s Gourmet Cupboard Page
