Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Eirinberg.
Scott, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was the founder of The Land of Nod kids’ furnishings company. We started in 1996, partnered with Crate and Barrel in 2000 and sold the company to Crate and Barrel in 2010.
One of my responsibilities was running our merchandising department. I traveled the world sourcing and developing products. One of my favorite places to visit was India.
I developed a close relationship with one of our textile suppliers, Mr. Divakar. We remained in close contact after I left The Land of Nod.
In 2012, I was looking to start a new business, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Mr. Divakar asked if I’d be interested in selling a variety of black peppercorns called Tellicherry that grew in the jungles near his home in southern India.
To be honest, I had zero interest in selling spices. I didn’t know a Tellicherry Peppercorn from a telephone pole. I was Reluctant, capital “R” intended.
To get Divakar off my back, I told him he could send me some samples. (You can see a version of the story in a comical video that went viral on our homepage at ReluctantTrading.com. Over 90,000 people watched the video in three days.)
The peppercorn samples arrived at my home in a curious glass jar with a yellow spiral lid. I tossed the peppercorns into a mill and ground them into my hand.
An impossibly beautiful scent of fresh limes filled the air. Until that point, I thought pepper was pepper. I realized I was sorely mistaken.
I took the samples to top chefs in Chicago and I soon picked up accounts from award-winning restaurants including Publican and Lula Cafe.
Somehow, I had made the transition from selling children’s furnishings to premium spices. I often find myself singing the line from a Talking Heads song, “How did I get here?”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
After having success in the kids’ business, I started something in a completely different field. Chefs didn’t much care to hear about the whimsical quilts I had developed for The Land of Nod, LOL. All they care about is the quality of our spices.
I found myself starting a career from scratch again, having to prove myself all over again in a field I knew nothing about. It has been challenging and humbling at times. But I also like being an outsider and trying to approach things from new points of view.
I love building things from scratch and Reluctant Trading has given me the ability to put everything I’ve learned to work again.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We sell a wide variety of spices from India, Turkey and Iceland direct to consumers through ReluctantTrading.com and also to award-winning chefs in bulk.
Each and every spice that we carry has been vetted by award-winning chefs. Rather than try to have a hundred spices, we are satisfied only selling a handful of stuff that our chefs tell us is better than anything else they can find.
Most spices are brought into the USA at the lowest possible price. They change hands many times and sit in warehouses for years before being consumed. The model is broken and we have recognized an opportunity.
We only buy directly in small batches. Never through distributors. And we turn our inventory for freshness. I used to think spices were a commodity business, but no more.
We are doing for spices what the craft coffee roasting companies did for coffee. At one time all coffee in the USA was poor quality.
My partner in India is literally traveling from farm to farm, cherry picking the best lots exclusively for Reluctant Trading.
We are now supplying Michelin star and James Beard award-winning chefs across the country. We’ve been recommended by Chef Joshua McFadden in his best selling cookbook, Six Seasons. We’ve been called one of the top 10 best specialty food stores by Bon Appetit. And we’ve been recommended in the pages of Food & Wine, Sunset and USA Today.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a bit rebellious. Felt like an outsider. And I guess I still am. My tastes always ran a bit counter to kids my age. I liked doing my own thing. I liked punk and new wave music. And I liked to create stuff. I gravitated toward writing, music and creative personalities. I still do. If someone says it can’t be done, it makes me want to do it.
Contact Info:
- Website: ReluctantTrading.com
- Instagram: @ReluctantTrading
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheReluctantTradingExperiment
Image Credit:
Alan Shortall
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