If they can name an airport after Reagan, they can name a chile after Clinton. How about Willie Nights?
WORLD PEACE THROUGH CHILE - What happens when two Chileheads, friends and entrepreneurs with 50 years of combined sales experience, get together? They form a business and invite other chile maniacs to come on board, of course. Meet Lou Kaufmann, president and CEO and Kent Evans, vice president, of Chile Network International, a new-sprung Las Cruces based company whose upbeat slogan is "Let's Have Fun!" and whose mission is "World Peace Through Chile."
Chile Network International (CNI) is a multi level marketing program that offers "the best in the world" salsa and other chile-powered New Mexico products. It also offers wannabe entrepreneurs the chance to initiate their own business by becoming a CNI distributor, who can earn anywhere from 10 to 45 percent in commissions as well as overrides on sales made by recruitment. Other earnings can be made through bonuses.
Kaufmann, 64, is a real estate broker who shares his sales expertise in his Monday column in the Las Cruces Sun-News business pullout section. He also serves local businesses as a consultant.
Evans, 58, recently retired from NMSU as coordinator of Employee Relations. For the past three years he has chaired the Whole Enchilada Fiesta.
"The trend today is to start your own [home based] business...it's expanding at an unbelievable pace," said Kaufmann. "People are looking for opportunities to increase both their income and freedom...they can work as hard as they want or as little, and at their own pace." And having a fun product like chile to peddle makes the job easier, he says.
The network marketing approach, using only New Mexico chile-related products, came to Kaufmann three years ago after he was contacted by two salsa makers who "were looking for an inexpensive way to distribute their product," he said. After researching the many possible outlets, retailing in grocery stores, specialty stores, mail order retail, and advertising, Kaufmann realized that network marketing seemed most efficient. "It's costly to get a product to the market place [through the normal channels] and the profit margins are low," he explained.
Last spring, the Chilehead businessman tested his idea. Otiska and Cliff Perkins and son B.J., owners of La Fonda Restaurant in Artesia, were searching for an economical way to market their popular restaurant salsa. The condiment, named for Otiska herself, was then sold only in Artesia and the surrounding Eastern New Mexico area. Through CNI and its 70 distributors, the tasty salsa is now marketed throughout New Mexico and elsewhere, including Delaware, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, and North Carolina. Perkins snappy red and green jalapeno jelly, nacho slices and whole spiced jalapenos are also distributed through CNI.
Salsa was the ideal product to kickoff the company, said Kaufmann. "It's the largest selling condiment in the country today and outsells ketchup. And everyone, well, almost everyone in New Mexico eats salsa." For network marketing to be successful, he said, "I needed a product that was consumable, enjoyable and one that the customer would come back for."
Kaufmann and Evans plan to soon introduce additional New Mexico chile-related products of "small manufacturers who encounter the same difficulty, getting their product on the market shelves," said Evans. In capsaicin hot pursuit, the enterprising partners will be on the lookout for prospective CNI products at the 10th Annual National Fiery Foods Show on March 6-8 in Albuquerque. They'll also man a booth at the Family Motorcoach Convention in Las Cruces on March 5-7. Chile Network International will hold their first convention at the Hilton on June 18, 19, and 20. Potential CNI distributors are invited to attend the next CNI training session scheduled in March. For more information, call 505-523-7374 or 800-393-3577 or visit CNI's web site, http://www.chilenetwork.com.
