00:01.14

vigorbranding

Fantastic hello hey today I am joined by someone I’ve known for ah personally for a long time. His name is Jay Cira and he is the Ceo of broster company Jay say hello and tell us a little bit about yourself.

00:14.42

Jay Cipra

Hey, how are you Mike how you doing um, first of all, thanks for the opportunity one whenever I get a chance to spend some time with you. It’s exciting but also the opportunity to talk about broster is great. So thanks for the opportunity and inviting me on your show here. Um. Groster company. So I’ll tell you a little bit about myself I’ve been with grocester company for 19 years now so long time can never imagine that I was going to be part of an organization this long but it’s it’s been awesome and it’s been awesome run and looking forward to another 20 years or so so it’s ah the broster company. Is actually a very interesting company and something that you know you think of a you know small business within the us. You know you think it’s fairly simple but it’s a little bit more complex than a lot of people think and that’s because we do a lot of different things. Um, broster company started back in 1954 when it was first organized and the way we got. Our started is ah there was a gentleman by the name of Lewis Phelan and Lewis Phelan was basically an inventor turned businessman and he worked for companies inventing products such as Monsanto. Good year. He worked as part of the Panama canal project et cetera and some pretty cool things. Um, but back in the 20 s he found himself running the Taylor company I think everybody here probably has heard of the Taylor company. The softa of ice cream machines that you see at most fast food restaurants et cetera. But.

01:37.99

vigorbranding

Um, and hope.

01:41.93

Jay Cipra

He ran that organization for several years and actually from there also started something I want to say it’s like Zesto zestomatic or something like that which is another custard machine but he started that and it ended up turning into a a franchise drive-in so anyways, with that. In 9052 53 he was in the midwest and anybody who’s in knows in the midwest especially Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Indiana it is supper club country and wherever you go not too many people know about supper clubs anymore. But there’s still are some around. And I tell you I still frequent with them because ah they got great food and talk about comfort food. They got it and a lot of them. There have ah their fish rise and their their fried chicken and while at 1 of these supper clubs Lewis ah decided to come up with his own method and what he did was. You know what we can make a better fried chicken and he took a pressure cooker and an open fryer and in 1953 he patented the first commercial pressure fryer into the us. So that’s kind of where we got our start way back when um, I’m gonna say shortly thereafter. He. I’ll developed his own marining encoding so he had a specific taste profile at the same time I think people may have heard of ah colonel Sanders. He was doing something similar. But yeah and Lewis developed the marinade and codings known as ah chickite marinade and slow bro.

02:58.80

vigorbranding

So.

03:13.83

Jay Cipra

Ah, coding which is still used today to make genuine brocery chicken. So that’s kind of where we got our start and you know we’ve been running our business through a couple different ownerships I’ll just state on that real quick. Ah alco standard company owned us and some other food service equipment companies.

03:16.23

vigorbranding

Very cool. Nice.

03:33.65

Jay Cipra

And then this ownership group. Ah we’ve had it since 1990 1991 yeah

03:38.40

vigorbranding

Wow! Very cool. So I mean I’m going to back up a little bit because it’s intriguing to me First of all I mean you know we always talk about restaurants or cpg and the combination thereof So yours is is ah is a piece of equipment and it actually kind of.

03:53.66

Jay Cipra

Um, even.

03:54.53

vigorbranding

Transcends and kinds of slides around into it’s not a franchise but it kind of becomes a program and we’ll talk about that in a second I want to go back to supper club. So like what’s the difference between a supper club and a restaurant like tell me more I’ve never been to a supper club I’ve heard about them. You know, um what? what is it is it actually a club I mean as crazy as that sounds.

04:10.70

Jay Cipra

Will know it. It is just it is the old school um restaurant in the Midwest and basically it’s ah if you want to go in if you go in hungry, you’re not going to come out hungry. That’s for sure. It’s just an old school restaurant.

04:12.99

vigorbranding

Ah.

04:16.94

vigorbranding

Okay.

04:23.16

vigorbranding

Got you.

04:27.42

Jay Cipra

White tablecloth restaurant. So back in the day they were the higher end restaurant which has since been replaced by a lot of the different you know che steak place et etc but people would go out there for big celebrations and when they were going to go out in the town and they wanted to have a good dinner. They went to the Supper Club but the thing that’s interesting about the supper clubs in the Midwest is you would walk out there and or sit down and immediately you would have a relish tray which would have everything you would have crackers you would have cheese and then everything you ordered would come with a soup a salad the meal.

05:03.12

vigorbranding

Wow.

05:03.88

Jay Cipra

And a deserve. So and everything was included and it was basically you pay for that and that’s what you get and you basically would look around and all your neighbors would be there for their big meals of the week as well.

05:07.97

vigorbranding

He.

05:15.72

vigorbranding

Very cool Next I’m in the Midwest you know how next time I slide into Boyoid I’ll have to find a a supper club. So that’s that that’s ah.

05:19.50

Jay Cipra

We got 1 right there called the butterfly club and we like to take people there. It’s awesome. Absolutely.

05:25.20

vigorbranding

Ah, and I assume they they sell broasted chicken of course of course. Excellent. Okay, so you know ah the the other thing that’s really intriguing to me is and and I kid you not like you know, um um um I was a kid I grew up in Hershey Pennsylvania and somehow I knew the broster name I mean. You know there’s there’s baked chicken. There’s fried chicken. There’s but somehow I knew broasted and I mean how did it permeate like how would I know that like you know were restaurants serving it. How did that all kind of come to be.

05:54.51

Jay Cipra

Well, you know it’s interesting and again it all gets its stem from the midwest or I’ll say the ah ah the what do I want to say up upper central part of the US so if you were to take the dakoas over to Ohio go down probably to Kentucky that is where the broster market is.

06:07.84

vigorbranding

Um, got you.

06:11.82

Jay Cipra

And what’s interesting is we’ve really found is people have moved moved outside of the midwest. That’s how the name spreads and while that is our strongest market that we have um what we see are people start to move outside of the us and that’s where the brand starts to build and the brand recognition starts to build. Actually what’s interesting is we had a partnership with a larger chain restaurant and they were selling and I’ll just jar it. It was called Bob Evans roasted chicken. We did a branding thing and we were in all their stores and what was interesting is they did their studies.

06:41.65

vigorbranding

From her.

06:51.28

Jay Cipra

They found that when they had broasted on the menu compared to just Bob Evans chicken on the menu. There was a lot more market recognition and brand recognition and people were going into the restaurants more where they called it broasted so it’s got a name. It’s good. There’s something about that name broster that.

07:03.91

vigorbranding

Here.

07:09.70

Jay Cipra

Not everybody can really put. Ah you know, get a handle of what it means or what it stands for but they know it and that’s what drives people to try it.

07:17.90

vigorbranding

Now are there are are restaurants using that name now to to to enhance. Ah I mean we see like ah co promos with like say a Jack Daniels chicken or things like different things on menus or you know ribs or whatever you mean are people using roasted as a as a marker and paying for a trademark there.

07:24.31

Jay Cipra

That.

07:31.46

Jay Cipra

No absolutely they are using it as a marker and we we like to call that as grocery chicken is a a champion menu item and what a lot of people will do with that is they’ll take a section of the their menu. And they actually describe the cooking processt etc and what it means and then they’ll have whatever meals that they serve there but they will use broster on their menu once like so I’m from you know I live in Chicago land area. Our our companies inloit. But um, you know a lot of people have Vienna beef for hot dogs on their signs in Chicago.

08:02.67

vigorbranding

Here.

08:06.45

Jay Cipra

And for the same thing at these restaurants and the way we’ve always sold 2 restaurants is this is your champion menu item and it’s worked for people.

08:15.54

vigorbranding

And it’s Amazing. So I Want to talk about sort of that that brand that Trademark. Ah, it’s a piece of equipment. It’s a broster so we have broasted chicken I can’t really think of ah and maybe I just I can’t think of another brand tied to a machine that is part of like the trademark. So for instance. Ah, we we have you know kettlec cooked Chips. We don’t It’s not ah Trademark Kettle. It’s just they say they’re kettle cook obviously in in food marketing when you have a descriptor with it. It just makes it better I mean you know you know healay and sea salt or whatever you know like it always sounds like it’s Better. So.

08:43.72

Jay Cipra

Um, right.

08:50.60

vigorbranding

Um, is there something else out there that that has like ah is like a broster or that we would know that you know you hear a name tied to it. It just seems so unique to me.

08:56.59

Jay Cipra

Well, it’s a little bit different and I want to take a step back here because it broster isn’t tied to the equipment alone. Okay, and like I said when it was a personally when we were you know incorporated 1954 it wasn’t just the equipment. It was the equipment and the marinities and codexs.

09:03.58

vigorbranding

Okay.

09:14.84

Jay Cipra

So Basically what it is is if you want to call yourselves or say that you’re using Broster chicken or serving broster Chicken. It has to have this it starts with the marinades and the coatings actually uses the fryer and then you have to use the process that we dictate. On that to actually call it genuine Brocester Chicken. So It’s not just the fryer you want to call it brocester chicken you have to use our Marin needs our coatdings our equipment and cook to our process then you’re able to call Gender Brocester chicken.

09:34.46

vigorbranding

Gotcha.

09:43.76

vigorbranding

Very cool nice that makes a lot of sense then I know it’s it’s interesting because ah because that name is so like I don’t know it’s almost like Kleenex and people just know it. It’s the the brand is is sort of like the product.

09:53.16

Jay Cipra

Um, yeah.

09:57.45

vigorbranding

Um, there’s trademark issues I mean people tried to use your name and I know that you have to track that down sometimes in fact I remember there was a time I was driving in the back waters of New Jersey headed to the beach and I saw this big sign. It said the guy said you know I said broasted chicken. It looked like he was handmade so I reached out to you. And I know you’d looked into it so talk about that the trademark protection process and all that kind of thing.

10:20.11

Jay Cipra

So You know it’s It’s interesting and it’s It’s actually ah, there’s quite a bit of work there and protecting the Trademark. So We do have something that’s out there and like you said earlier a lot of people know what it they know the name but they’re not really sure what it is. And one of the things we found is people have tried to say that broaster chicken is tied to the pressure fryer as you mentioned earlier not only the brocester pressure dryer but any pressure fryer that’s out there and actuality like I said it’s tied to the marinates. It’s tied to the coatings is tied to the pressure fryer and our equipment.

10:46.11

vigorbranding

And.

10:51.32

Jay Cipra

So people out there and actually some of our competitors will even say well you’re using fresh fryer just go ahead and call it broaster chicken. You can’t do that. We have broster broasted Genuine Broster chicken and anything around the name Bros Broaster etc is been trademarked by the broster company. So we own all those trademarks.

11:08.31

vigorbranding

Me.

11:10.72

Jay Cipra

So as people go in and may oh let’s just say ah we’ll we’ll be. We’ll be nice, accidentally use the name or sometimes accidentally on purpose use that name. Um, we’ll hear about it and the interesting thing is originally when I first got in the business I’m like So what are our distributors tell us about it.

11:21.49

vigorbranding

Ah, yeah.

11:29.98

Jay Cipra

Our operators tell us. But how do we hear? we actually get more call from Consumers. Um, than we do from the actual restaurants and our distributors because they go in and said hey we went in for a genuine broaster chicken and it wasn’t general Roaster Chicken I Want to let you know because you don’t want them using their name. Ah your name. Because it’s not the same quality Chicken. So Our consumers are our biggest ah police for monitoring our bread.

11:56.29

vigorbranding

That’s fantastic. That’s very cool and look. You said it started in the Midwest Wisconsin to to be precise supper clubs all that. But you you have a business that’s actually building outside of that I mean Middle East india can can you talk about that a little bit.

12:07.10

Jay Cipra

Um, yeah, we actually we’ve been international business for global business for as long as barster is is been incorporated so to speak. Um, we have distributors I I shouldn’t say as long but quite a long time. We have distributor in the Middle East um that we’ve been working with for I think the past sixty years and we’ve been working in the Middle East I’m going to say internationally we have a strong market in the international in the Middle East we have a strong market in the Australia market and then we have a very strong market in Canada so those are the 3 marks that are really booming for us right now.

12:40.90

vigorbranding

Um.

12:46.51

Jay Cipra

And what we’re also seeing is just like the us as they get outside of the central us we’re seeing them as they gets out of those 3 areas they’re starting to grow different markets as people are seeing people want western brands and we give them opportunity to get in like you said before.

12:57.27

vigorbranding

Here.

13:03.60

Jay Cipra

Ah, with a restaurant brand or something that looks and feels like a franchise but it’s not a franchise and we’re able to get into different food service Menues internationally and as people want this western brand they see genuine broaster chicken and they want it and they want to grab onto it and it’s been working very very well for us.

13:07.16

vigorbranding

Who.

13:21.15

vigorbranding

Very cool. Well I mean let’s but let’s one with that. So ah, you know we we know about restaurant franchises and franchisees franchisors and you know you have Kentucky fried chicken. You have all these but broster kind of goes about it in a different way. So if I have. A bunch of convenience stores I could I could talk to you about a program isn’t that correct.

13:37.98

Jay Cipra

Yes, absolutely so. We sell what we call a licensed trademark program and basically what that means is you can go in if you want to use like I stated early the pressure prior our marinades and codings and cook to our process. We will signed a licensed trademark agreement with you. And you’re able to use that and advertise that um at your facility now what we don’t do anymore is allow people to use broster in their name but we do allow them to use on their menu and say serving genuine broaster chickent etc. But it couldn’t be Michael’s broster chicken ah, ah, for example, but um.

14:06.36

vigorbranding

You. Right? right.

14:15.90

Jay Cipra

Yeah, so we sell it as a trademark program. We renew that every year with them and through our distributors we make sure they’re doing it right? And if they’re following the program and they’re serving quality chicken then we continue on with that agreement as long as they would like.

14:30.52

vigorbranding

Yeah, and you don’t want it in the name because if Mike doesn’t do a good job with the product. All of a sudden it really can affect your brand. Yeah.

14:37.40

Jay Cipra

Exactly right? pull in a product and you know we’ve had the situation where people weren’t serving to our quality or you know and and the other side where they weren’t properly using Genuine Brocester chicken where we have talked to them and they’ve pulled it off their website pulled it off their menu etc because. Again, we want our brand represented correctly.

14:55.10

vigorbranding

Um, yeah, and and it’s amazing because it obviously is a fantastic product so much so that there’s ah, a really large convenience store that really hangs its hat on its chicken I mean. I’m seeing all kinds of advertising about the quality of their chicken and it’s your product Basically right I mean.

15:09.96

Jay Cipra

Yeah, so I wouldn’t say it’s our product but it’s definitely using our our equipment our cooking methodology so to speak. But you know royal farms chicken in the I want to say the Norton I shouldn’t say royal farms chicken but that’s actually how they’re becoming more and more known but royal farms convenience stores. Um, they used to just be in the northeast and basically now they’re going up and down the the eastern coast there but they they’re known for their chicken program and we started working with them I’m just going to say five ten years ago somewhere in there and basically have ah.

15:31.52

vigorbranding

E.

15:47.62

Jay Cipra

Started using our pressure fires and they’re selling more chicken and doing a great job and the partnership that we’ve worked with them and developed with them has been a great partnership because they do serve quality product and as that’s associated with our equipment and what it’s Producing. You know that’s something that we’re we’re proud to stand behind and prior to be partners with people like that now one of the things is we go down this path a little bit. You know as I said before we make our our marinise and coatings we have equipment. Um, we have different food products et cetera. If an opportunity comes up and somebody is serving high quality chicken but they want to use their own recipe so to speak and use their own brand. We do have a strong piece of equipment. We feel. It’s the highest quality pressure out in the marketplace right now.

16:34.16

vigorbranding

M.

16:38.83

Jay Cipra

Um, we will partner with those companies while they can’t call it roaster chicken. They can still use our equipment and prepare. For example, Royal Farms chicken.

16:46.44

vigorbranding

Yeah I mean it’s kind of ah it’s kind of an amazing thing because again, what a great Brand Royal Farms I mean quality product quality stores. Great great ah message and they’re really using your product. Ah, they’re known for your product which is really kind of cool I Just wish you guys could get more halo from the from the.

17:01.42

Jay Cipra

Um, yeah.

17:04.73

vigorbranding

The marketing there because ah you know again, they’re they’re drawing people in with their with their chicken. Um is there is there other products that that I mean I I know that the the machine is not quote unquote pro. It’s ah it. Ah, it’s a pressure friar and it’s a quality product. Is there anything else that you’ve ever heard of people putting in that I’ve I’ve read online of Apple pies.

17:24.22

Jay Cipra

Apple pies um breakfast burritos. One of my favorite products. We don’t have it anymore but we used to have ah a frozen food product. What? Ah, there were many cheesecakes all those are outstanding. But if you just talked. You know those are all the healthy items I’ve heard of people ah pressure frying twinkies hot dogs et cetera so you can almost do anything but some of the ones that kind of stand on in my mind are pork chops. Outstanding fish Friday fish fries you’re using pressure fryer all the time ribs ribs. Some ribs are done in the pressure fryer. And being here on a holiday season. 1 of the favorites is ah is turkey. Ah, ah you can’t go wrong with roasted turkey. Um, there is ah there’s definitely a a big call out for you know, looking to get the larger pressure priors that we have and cooking.

18:01.94

vigorbranding

8

18:16.70

Jay Cipra

You know up to eighteen twenty pond turkey in there and it turns out phenomenal.

18:20.94

vigorbranding

That’s awesome now. Only in the midwest would you consider ah broster chicken cheesecake and Apple Pie Health food but that’s okay I I respect that I respect I respect that.

18:30.70

Jay Cipra

Um, that’s right look look at me. Ah.

18:34.41

vigorbranding

Ah, so ribs I know you so you mentioned ribs I know you guys have a smoke Aama Kima Talka it’s another another device another piece of equipment right.

18:43.12

Jay Cipra

Yeah, we actually purchased this company back probably about ten years ago and it was started bought the same time broser company was down local homeline. It was a company called smoke aroma and they have ah. Really 2 products and the main product that we are manufacturing and selling right now is called the smoke aroma barbecue boss and it is a pressure smoker and what I liked about this opportunity was it has pretty much the the same functionality as what a pressure firering does. But it’s in ah it but it smokes it smokes products so you could smoke ribs in 45 minutes you can smoke a brisket in 2 hours which normally takes 12 hours and basically it does exactly what the broster pressure friar does is you are but you are using pressure and you’re using the heated had to smoke a product.

19:16.62

vigorbranding

You know.

19:35.76

Jay Cipra

Which is going to produce a moisture product and cook it in much less time than you would have to be it in an open fire and with the pressure with the chicken or a you know a smoker on the rib side.

19:45.73

vigorbranding

Now Will you create another again I Love the whole idea the brosure. It’s It’s like kind of like can create a franchise without franchise fees right? You give people a reason to come to your store or their their restaurant. Whatever and the product’s great. Are you going to do the same thing with smoke aroma is that gonna.

19:53.97

Jay Cipra

Many.

20:04.88

vigorbranding

Sort of stand on its own or you just slide and slide it in or how’s that going to work.

20:08.46

Jay Cipra

We we you know that was originally started as an equipment home ah company only and didn’t have a program we have since developed the program for them and that’s called Rock County Smokeouts and we are working with conveence stories I believe we have a couple down in Texas right now.

20:15.35

vigorbranding

Great.

20:25.42

Jay Cipra

That are using the Rock County Smokehouse name and all the products that we have and we ah had the the rubs and the the different marinates and different things that you can use for the smoke product as well. Um, and use that as a license ratemark program as well.

20:40.47

vigorbranding

Very Cool. So what? What do you see as I mean again, we talked about a large convenience store who’s really kind of taken nop pun intended you guys under their wing because you’re you’re promoting their ah I mean they’re promoting their brand through your quality product. Um, what’s what’s what do you see as the future like where where where do you go from here. What’s what’s the the growth opportunity.

20:59.11

Jay Cipra

Well I think the growth opportunity for brosters really focus on Lf Facets of our business Again. We got our start as a program and I still think there’s a there’s a strong opportunity out there for food programs not only in restaurants. So when I say program in a restaurant. Yes, it is a menu item. But it’s kind of you have everything that you need with the broaster name and the broster products to just drop that into your restaurant and you’re going to have a top quality restaurant or top Quality. Ah menu item on your on your menu but food service has expanded so far. Um, that you have convenience stores you have college and universities you have grocery stores, Cetera etc that are looking to put in programs and they’re looking to put in branded programs because it’s something about a a brand that Grabs people’s name. So What were.

21:35.40

vigorbranding

Me.

21:51.50

Jay Cipra

You know one of the main areas of focus is further developing out our programs to truly fit into sea stores grocery stores um college and universities even prisons et cetera different things that we can do to get out there and get out in the food service marketplace and give them an option. The second thing is as we were mentioned before with royal farms we have top quality equipment and our proster proster pressure prior I put against anybody’s out there and so what we’re doing is looking out to and we’re actually I shouldn’t even say looking out people are looking to us.

22:17.91

vigorbranding

See me.

22:28.36

Jay Cipra

For other options for pressure friers and as they look to us. They see what we do on the program side. They know what our quality of the food that it produces they start looking into it so we are innovating not only from a how to go to market perspective to some of these opportunities but also innovating from our equipment side. And for right now. For example, we we’ve just introduced and we’re putting putting out a new um piece of equipment called the eseries e standing for for efficiency e series twenty four and what that is is. That’s the 8 head pressure frier. Um, but it also has an automatic lift as well as automatic oil management system. So we basically you know in today’s market it’s harder and harder to get labor. So we’re innovating by side and how to reduce some of the labor. So what we’ve done is taken out I mean we used to be able to instill to this day we have somewhere. You drop the chicken in a basket and you have to pick pick the basket out of the oil and then dump the chicken on the side. Well in all cases with the the operational conditions that we have from a people perspective. It’s getting harder and harder to retain people. We’re giving an option where basically you load it on a tray and you push a button. And it goes down into the oil when it’s all done. You push a button that comes out of the oil and all you have to do is pick up those trays and chicken and it’s much easier and faster method for the for the operator. So innovation. Um, and then expanding our our footprint into other food service markets.

24:00.94

vigorbranding

That’s super smart I mean I know like just from personal Experience. We’ve been hired by some of the the world’s largest I’ll say food service ah companies and to your point they want a branded program so they can’t just have a coffee shop on campus they want to have like ah. You know, ah you know petes you know,? whatever Columbian coffee or whatever they they want to brand it to it and experience and what I always found amazing about your product Brand is. It’s already Turnkey I Mean there’s a piece of equipment you buy it. You then? commit quality Product. You have the the seasonings you have the program and you have a name and it’s like like you said franchise without franchise fees. It’s like it’s already known and it’s already going to be a quality product and there’s something that that seems so obvious to me about that that that I really feel has a.

24:37.50

Jay Cipra

Yeah.

24:50.63

vigorbranding

Ah, tremendous opportunity. So it’s ah it’s it’s very exciting so all opportunities I mean like you know we to hear about people. You know you said about some people throw the the turkey and into the pressure friar. Um, do you ever consider you know Thanksgiving was just here people were still like burning their houses down and experimenting with ah. Turkeys and and and hot oil I mean do you ever have ah any thoughts on joining for the home is there ever any kind of consideration making sort of a product that that people might want to bring to their house.

25:19.11

Jay Cipra

I will say we’ve been asked to come up with something but when you’re speaking of 360 degree oil under about £12 of pressure. Yeah, that’s ah, it’s a little bit scary I will be honest I got to share a little secret. Not everybody knows.

25:33.14

vigorbranding

And.

25:33.58

Jay Cipra

Um, at my house I do have a broaster pressure fryer in our garage I do wheel it outside but it cuts it cooks a mean turkey on the holidays. But yeah, right now we don’t have ah anything for the home use at this point um and a lot of that’s just from the liability perspective is, but.

25:40.76

vigorbranding

How back.

25:48.30

vigorbranding

Sure.

25:52.80

Jay Cipra

It sure wouldnt be great I can tell you when I do roll that out of the garage people drive by are placing the orders and I become the ah ah the the chef of the of of the town to produces whatever they want I give me so it’s it’s a lot of fun.

26:00.38

vigorbranding

Um.

26:07.65

vigorbranding

That’s fantastic. Well in a way I’m kind of glad you’re not going to make it because my wife personally always ah, whatever, kind of new gadget thing. That’s out there. She buys So I’m gonna have to put an additional my kitchen for all the stuff that we bought and don’t use because we have all these. Sort of things that are supposed to quote unquoteealype your Counter. We don’t enough counter space for all the things that are you know, making stuff. So ah, that’s but that’s probably good news. Well I think that’s the you know it. But it is very cool I guess that that led me to another thought though is ah you know because again I feel like it’s a No- brain or this program.

26:24.42

Jay Cipra

Yeah, oh I get it.

26:39.53

vigorbranding

Is it is the whole idea of this hot oil pressure cooker is that is that a bit of a hurdle you have to overcome you know, let’s say I have I don’t know maybe I have ah 20 convenience stores. You know I’m not part of the the big chain the national chains I want to put a program in I mean is that ah is that a hurdle for some folks. Do they get nervous about that.

26:55.81

Jay Cipra

You mean as far as the oil and just the.

26:59.31

vigorbranding

Yeah, just because it is what it is I mean is it ah is a thing you have to like explain to people because I’m sure I know I’ve seen your products. They’re very safe and and they’re very well manufactured.

27:03.85

Jay Cipra

Yeah, yeah I mean to say you know for some of the the smaller operators that are new to food service on the convenience store side. It may be something and maybe a hurdle that they have to get over a bit but once they see us operate once they get their hands on it.

27:12.73

vigorbranding

Okay.

27:19.63

vigorbranding

Um, evening. Yeah.

27:22.88

Jay Cipra

We do demonstrations we do tests and evaluations we do different things like that once they get their hands on. It’s extremely safe look at the end of the day if I can operate one anybody can operate one. But no, it’s something you know if they’re not in food service. It could be a hurdle but you know we work with them. We have a. Ah, great team that can really walk them through the process and we have a great training program not only on their site but also in bulllight Wisconsin where we invite in operators. We invite invite in new distributors and we put them through a extensive training class so they can really learn exactly.

27:47.11

vigorbranding

He.

27:58.30

Jay Cipra

Not only how to produce the best product that possible but also how to operate as safe as possible and you know at the end of the day. there’s there’s there’s 1 thing that we’re brought of we’ve never had a situation where anything’s been at the fall of broster and that’s because we build them safe.

28:02.89

vigorbranding

Vehicle.

28:16.97

Jay Cipra

And we build the top quality piece of equipment.

28:17.50

vigorbranding

Very cool I mean is there anything else, you’d like to talk like what? what’s your vision for say the next ten years or I mean what are you thinking where what would you like to see happen I mean what where you know where’s your head at what? what are you looking for coming into the new year now what what are you hoping for here.

28:32.25

Jay Cipra

Ah, you know I’d like to see proaster everywhere I think you know the the opportunity’s truly out there and we’re talking a little bit about it before is you know how do we take the innovation and and really taking our innovation I should say how but taking our innovation out um in the different areas and really focusing. If. There is a true equipment opportunity. Let’s let’s show them what we’ve developed. We’re proud of what we’ve done since 53 or 54 I should say it’s developed in 53 but like next year seventy years seventy years of groaster is pretty exciting. So as we look into 2024. There’s not a whole lot of ah companies that have been around that long.

28:52.58

vigorbranding

Any.

29:02.83

vigorbranding

It is.

29:10.11

Jay Cipra

We want to get broaster everywhere. We want to continue to expand our footprint into different areas of food service and we want to take the innovation we have from the food, the equipment side and get it in as many kitchens as possible and really just show off roaster. You know one story I Want to share two stories I Want to share is you know.

29:22.40

vigorbranding

Yeah.

29:28.19

Jay Cipra

1 of the cool things about roaster you mentioned earlier not a lot of people know exactly what it is that they heard about it. We’ve also had people who basically as people move especially now more and more are starting to move to the Southern States because they want to get on the cold or let’s just say the snowbirds that are going down the Florida. You know they’ll map out their trip and ask where the roaster operators are and that’s where they can go on our operator locator and find that but another one is we just had somebody who was doing a special on a pvf station in which they were going through supper clubs of the Midwest and the person said she had to do Roaster. We said how did you hear about roaster. She goes I grew up on roaster because as a matter of fact, my husband didn’t know what roaster chicken was but that’s what they served at their wedding so we want to continue to build those stories and we want to continue to build the traditions with families. So ah, you know, centered around the broster products.

30:20.30

vigorbranding

Very cool all right? So I’ve got 2 questions left very simple I’m always fascinated by ah how often people consume their products so number one how often do you eat broasted chicken or turkey I guess in your case and then the other question is if you had 1 final meal.

30:22.98

Jay Cipra

Okay.

30:34.55

vigorbranding

What would you eat and where and why and you can’t say Bros did both.

30:37.54

Jay Cipra

Well I’m gonna so I’ll obviously I’ll start with no I won’t say both I’d like to but I won’t but how often do I eat brocester chicken we have a test kitchen. We’re constantly doing different things to either test our equipment or test product. So I’m going to say it’s at least weekly if not more.

30:56.82

vigorbranding

That’s great.

30:56.95

Jay Cipra

I will also say because I’m in the chicken business. Um I do like to taste other people’s chicken just to see what it’s like and so wherever I have the opportunity to stop it and try somebody else’s chicken I definitely will my wife looked at me once and was surprised because we’re at a steak restaurant. And I ordered fried chicken I said he got it test out the competition. So I’ll have it often. But as a matter of fact I just had a piece of chicken broster chicken as I was leaving office yesterday. So I have it quite frequently. Um, as far as my last meal that’s a tough one and I just say it’s a toss up so I’m gonna throw it too. Um, I used to spend a lot of time. My daughter went to northeastern university in Boston and she played ice hockey for their team and while out there I fell in love with 2 restaurants. So I just say there’s 2 places that I would go ones probably would be my you know if it would be my last meal. It would be aben Lewis.

31:35.44

vigorbranding

Are.

31:51.83

Jay Cipra

Aben louis steak place and I would start with their onion soup. Get a good New York strip and some cream corn to to acompy that. But so there’s also some great restaurants in the north end. But I get just gonna say you know Aben Louis by far is my favorite.

31:52.14

vigorbranding

Um, any.

32:07.92

vigorbranding

Awesome! Very cool Jay. Thank you so much. The broster story is an awesome one I mean the the challenge is not challenged, but the the goal is just to get the product in people’s mouths because they do. Obviously that’s why people want to copy you. That’s why people talk about you and that’s why people are building their their convenience to our brand around you so that’s congratulations on all the success and 70 years is quite remarkable. So thank you for your time appreciate it. Awesome talk soon.

32:32.92

Jay Cipra

Thank you very much like this is great. Thanks again.