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Sweet life: Red Lodge couple turn gourmet food passion into booming international company – King’s Cupboard
When Lila Randolph-Poore arrived at the headquarters of King’s Cupboard http://www.kingscupboard.com last week, the sight of two semi-trucks backed up to the loading dock made her pause.
By LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA
Of The Gazette Staff
After 15 years, seven international awards and a staff that ballooned from two to 25, Randolph-Poore still marvels at the company’s success.
"When we first started, it seemed like it would be so easy – just put it in the jar and sell the heck out of it," she said. "Now that I know how hard it is to get to this point, it’s surprising and kind of fun."
Today, King’s Cupboard is known internationally for its fine gourmet products, particularly its decadently delicious chocolate and caramel sauces. Last year, King’s Cupboard’s Dark Chocolate Chunk Hot Chocolate took home the "Outstanding Beverage" award from the International Fancy Food Show in New York City.
"It actually has chunks of chocolate in the mix that melt into the milk," Randolph-Poore said. "You get a really great chocolaty drink."
Several years before, King’s Cupboard’s Raspberry Caramel Sauce won in the "Outstanding Jam, Preserve, Topping, Spread" category. That same year, the company’s Creamy Caramel Sauce was named "Outstanding New Product" – a tough class that pits all new products introduced in a given year.
"Most caramels are made with artificial colors and flavors," Randolph-Poore said, explaining what makes King’s Cupboard’s caramel stand out. "We truly caramelize ours – it’s different. It takes a long time and it’s easy to burn."
That same commitment to hard work and detail launched the business 15 years ago and continues to fuel its success.
"We definitely focus on using all natural ingredients and collecting the best ingredients we can find," she said. "We’ve established a reputation for preparing great gourmet foods."
A gourmet food business, however, was far from the minds of Randolph-Poore and husband Rigger Poore when they first landed in Red Lodge in the late 1980s. The couple – both hold degrees in molecular biology – were just looking for a break before heading on to graduate school.
"This was going to be a temporary thing," she said. "But we loved it and decided to stay."
Staying, however, required them to make an abrupt change in course. Job opportunities in molecular biology are next to nil in places like rural Montana, Randolph-Poore said. So the couple decided to start their own business.
They took a recipe for bittersweet chocolate sauce – a favorite from Lila’s grandmother – and began experimenting. From the kitchen in Rigger’s mother’s house, the two worked to perfect their product. They painstakingly tested dozens of combinations of chocolate liquors (an unsweetened chocolate base) and cocoas, making only one change with each batch.
"You’re only allowed to have one variable at a time," Randolph-Poore said, noting one of the similarities between lab work and cooking.
"It’s true," she said. "It crosses over – just being able to think like that."
Thinking like a business owner, however, took a little practice. Randolph-Poore likens the experience to earning a master’s degree or Ph.D.
"It really was a long learning process," she said.
Along the way, the Poores learned that good reviews at the international food shows were a ticket to success. They also learned the pros and cons of basing a business in Montana.
Some people see "Montana" and buy the product for the Big Sky mystique, but others seem dubious that fine gourmet foods could come from such an out-of-the-way place, she said.
"They relate fine chocolate to Europe," she said. "But, it’s so untrue. This country has incredible food products."
As the Poores refined their recipe for success, the company outgrew Rigger’s mother’s kitchen. Seven years ago, they built a 5,000 square-foot building in a small business park a few miles west of town. Last year, they expanded it by 10,000 square feet. During that same time, the company went from producing two days a week to five and their batch size jumped from five gallons to 150 gallons of product.
"We’re already at the point where we’re bursting out of the seams," Randolph-Poore said, laughing.
Undoubtedly, the building will grow before the work force goes.
"The most important part of our business, we feel, is the group of people," she said. "There’s no way we could do it without them."
Swept up in that harried pace, every once in a while Randolph-Poore pauses to take in the Beartooth Mountains braced against the sky to the south.
"If we hadn’t moved here, I’m sure we wouldn’t have started in this business. We’d have been hanging out in a lab somewhere." Then she hesitated. "But, I can think of no better place to work."
King’s Cupboard’s products are distributed throughout the United States, in Canada, England and Japan. They are available in virtually every retail outlet in Red Lodge and many food stores in Billings. To learn more, call the company at 406-446-3060 or visit http://www.kingscupboard.com.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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