Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce

Holmes Made Foods, LLC is the manufacturer of Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce, 100% all-natural applesauce, made with only the best Ohio sourced ingredients.

Containing only 13 grams of natural sugars and 40 calories, our applesauce is considered one of the healthiest and best tasting on the market! (2 Smart Points® on WeightWatchers®)

Mouthwatering Products

• Package Types: 16 oz. glass jar + (4) 4 oz. cups
• Case Count: 12 Units
• Shelf Life: 2 years  

From Grandfathers Recipe to Grocery Store Shelves 

Founder/CEO, Ethan Holmes always had a love and interest in entrepreneurship and starting his own business. From the age of 11, Ethan's early developments were starting a seasonal lemonade stand and landscaping business around his neighborhood in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

At the age of 15 years old, Holmes decided to further his interest and launch a legitimate consumer packaged product: "Applesauce" A product loved by many around the world, but typically always made the same...

The goal was to innovate the product and do something different.

With the assistance of his grandfather,  Holmes learned the process of peeling, coring, cutting apples, boiling the fruit and blending it to the right consistency. But the recipe was still incomplete. 

Holmes would then spend the next year on and off in his mother's kitchen, trying new ingredients and formulas to make the perfect applesauce recipe.

Eventually coming up with the following: Golden delicious apples, pears, and apple cider.

The same 3 ingredients we use to this day!

"We launched Holmes Applesauce with a mix of everything"

While a student at Hiram College, Ethan Holmes applied and won numerous student business competitions, utilizing the grant funding for packaging, inventory, product development, and marketing.

In 2014, Holmes began renting space and equipment at the Cleveland Culinary Launch Kitchen, an incubator kitchen located in Downtown Cleveland dedicated to educating and providing resources to small food manufacturers. During this time, Holmes Applesauce maintained a lean model producing small batches for local markets, as needed. 

5+ Years of Market Validation

• 2015 we created a strong presence entering the market. With first-year sales of $54,000.
  
• 2016 served as an experience to learn and improve our model, with sales of $30,000.
• 2017 was the year to create and serve new customers, with sales of $40,000.
• 2018 we received our largest investment and acquired distributors, with sales of $100,000.
• 2019 has been a focus on maintaining current accounts, entering new markets, and raising capital. We project $150,000 in sales by end of the year.

Gaining Traction

Through strictly cold calling, emails and shipping samples, Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce goes from 30 supermarket locations in 2015 to 300!

Our Distribution Partners

Manufacturing & Operations

All items are produced and packaged at Savory Food Systems, A state of the art 13,000 square foot facility that we have leased since 2018. 

Located in Bedford, Ohio. Our operation is as follows: 

• 3 production employees
• $60,000 in automatic/semi-automatic equipment 
• (2) 100-gallon kettles
• (2) loading docks 
• (2) walk-in coolers 
• Warehouse storage
• Electronic forklift

Current production capacity allows us to produce 800 gallons of applesauce per month. 

A value of $20,000/Mo. in revenue.

Cost of Goods Sold

Profit margin ranges from 35-60%. B2C and selling direct is more profitable. 

High revenue achieved through volume/large purchase orders.

Market & Competition 

Since the early to mid-1900s, the U.S. applesauce market has consisted of major brands such as Mott's (Dr. Pepper/Snapple), Musselman's (Knouse), Vermont Village, GoGo Squeez (Materne), and Grocery private label brands.

These brands offer commodity and specialty applesauce products. Prices ranging from $2-$3 per unit (Motts) to $4-$5 (Vermont Village).

Our applesauce is the ONLY option on the market with NO artificial additives and that contains a homemade taste, quality, and flavor.

With the proper capital, we plan to expand our product line and brand recognition in the marketplace, continuing to disrupt the fruit snack market and offer only the best quality items.

Going To The Next Level

With your help! We can begin to scale, increase our sales channels, and revenue to $1M by 2021. Our plan of action is as follows:

• Marketing/Promotions/Demos: Increase store movement and sell through the product in current warehouses. (Minimum of 24 demos per month)

• Sales: Acquiring more retailers that are serviced by these distributors and in other markets (B2C) to sell through the product in the warehouses and create consistent sales. B2B Food shows and additional sales personnel will help us achieve. 

• B2C/Direct: Providing our products directly to local retailers and online customers, our gross margin can increase by 15%. This can be achieved by taking advantage of farmers markets and e-commerce outlets.

• Broker/Consultant: Managing distributor policies, fees, free fills, and promotions. Allowing us to focus on production and sales, and not lose money.
• Product Development: Accredited certifications on all items: Non-GMO & Kosher. New package options: Squeezable pouches. R&D for new product offerings.
  

Usage of Funds

Community Outreach

As an opportunity to serve our community, the Holmes Entrepreneur Initiative was created in 2015 in partnership with Youth Opportunities Unlimited. Allowing students the chance to learn and earn a stipend by working with a small business.

Students undergo a 12-week program sampling and pitching our products in local grocery stores and monthly workshops on entrepreneurship. 

Since 2015, over 20,000 jars of applesauce have been made and sold with the assistance of high school students. 

We look forward to having you a part of our family!