Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Yones.
Hi Courtney, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was working at a large corporation in the sportswear industry in product marketing and had a moment of, I don’t want to do this, anymore. But I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was interested in going back to my roots in food – I grew up with my parents owning a restaurant where everything was made from scratch with the best ingredients that were always as local as possible as often as possible. I also knew I wanted to stay in product creation but didn’t know how to or what I would even create.
One night when my husband was mixing some yellow mustard with relish for our little mustard loving 8 year old, he said “what if you start a mustard brand?” My immediate reaction was “that’s a horrible idea” but the more I looked at the market, the more I realized it was a sea of the same…. what could I create that would look different and taste different. SO! I started experimenting. I had never made mustard before so there was ALOT of test batches that went straight down the sink. It was when I started cooking the mustard and adding loads of spices that I started tasting something special and different. I am a HUGE fan of feedback (borderline obsessive) so I took my mustard batches with me everywhere to get feedback (I even stopped people walking their dogs past my house to get their opinion) one consistent piece of feedback I kept getting was, I’ve never had a mustard so good I want to keep dipping back into it. This mustard was becoming the star of the plate instead of the side dish and that’s when we knew we had something special.
I called on an old college who had started an addictively delicious pickle business brand called Dukers Dills who told me to take my recipe to the PCC course called Getting Your Recipe To Market. I took the class which taught me absolutely everything from scaling my recipe, to managing costs of goods to the capstone presentation to the head buyer of Local Finds at New Seasons Market. They happened to be looking for a local condiment brand and were thrilled with my product so launched three months later at all 22 New Seasons doors!
Fast forward to today – my very smart and talented husband Jon has joined as my head of sales and we have grown from 22 doors to over 360 doors across the nation in just 14 months.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. Though I grew up in kitchens and was comfortable in kitchens, I had never mass produced a product before. I had no idea that the recipe you use for a mason jar of mustard in completely different than my 30 gallon recipe!
We also have 8 flavors, all very unique which is fun, and helps set our mustard apart but developing recipes that don’t use artificial or “natural” flavorings is hard when your two main ingredients are pungent vinegar and mustard powder. We’ve created very special and delicious flavors but not without lots of struggle and research for the most premium herbs we can get our hands on.
Every month presents a new challenge or obstacle we’ve never faced before which is both fun and challenging but also relentless so we are not blind or naive to the fact that the road ahead will be just as bumpy as the one behind us.
As you know, we’re big fans of We Must Mustard. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We cook our mustard (most mustard is cold mixed) in small batches with the highest quality ingredients we can get our hands on.
Our mustard in developed to have a layered flavor profile rather than the usual hit of vinegar you get from mustard. Our Mustard is perfect for pairing on charcutier boards but versatile enough to cook with.
We work with a local tattoo artist (Allyn Carpenter at the Gilded Serpent) who does all the artwork on our labels.
We buy all our ingredients, jars and labels locally and cook our mustard right here in Portland.
We believe we must do what is right for our planet, our community and our children. And of course, we must eat good mustard : )
What were you like growing up?
I was a little wild, very loud and fiercely competitive. I loved being outside, didn’t mind getting dirty and loved every sport in front of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wemustmustard.com
- Instagram: @WeMustMustard
- LinkedIn: We Must Mustard
