Curtice Brothers – This is the taste of Ketchup
Our tomatoes are a natural product. Just like the grapes harvested each summer to produce those famous Italian wines, their quality and availability depends on the weather. Winemakers need to modify and improve their recipe from year to year to compensate for the moods of nature and provide wines of consistent quality.
We face a similar challenge when we go to harvest the best tomatoes from our organic farms at the end of a warm Italian summer. To get the best out of each season’s tomatoes, we cook the fresh tomatoes and develop our recipe – nature is the chef. That is how we create ketchup – never the same but always perfect. No compromises.
In life only two things matter: love and food. And both should be approached with reckless abandon, Albert Einstein said, in order to make the most of them. So we began to cook, we experimented with the wildest recipes, tasted the worst and the best outcomes, drank too much wine, danced around the kitchen and learned how to squeeze more than 15 tomatoes into one small bottle.
The Curtice Brothers – our brand – originates from Rochester (New York), our tomatoes – and the final product for that matter – come from Italy, but our team grew together in Vienna. This will be our ‘home-base’, and from there we will conquer the world.
Without any particular intention apart from learning more about ketchup’s history, we followed this nostalgic reference to the Curtice Brothers and found old marketing material with a very romantic touch. We are convinced that Odo Marquard’s exclamation “the future needs the past” very much describes our consumers’ motive behind their curiosity for a particular brand.
A product’s quality, functionality and price matter to all customers. Its origin and the story behind it matter to our customers, because by buying a product, one always purchases an experience, too.
Although we cannot, with utmost honesty, pretend to be looking back on a 146 year old company history, we may very well foster the fantasies and provide for the nostalgic needs for traditional values, authenticity, orientation and stability.
Naturally [our Values]
· Our ketchup is hand-made.
· We use Italian tomatoes – “La Dolce Vita” in a bottle.
· The vintages vary in flavor like the weather and the seasons.
· We approach love and cooking with the same reckless abandon.
· Natural ingredients dictate flavor.
· No Compromises
Ketchup for Sleeping Beauty. [our business model]
We believe that the ketchup market is waiting to be kissed awake – just like the bottled-water market, which had been dominated by a few large French bottlers just 10 years ago and is now stirred-up by creative, marketing-driven companies. A similar turn of events could be observed in the ice cream market, which was revolutionized in 1977 by the two friends Ben & Jerry from Vermont, who began their operations in a converted gas station with just USD 12.000 seed capital.
Curtice Brothers ketchup is the alternative for those, who do not want an interchangeable, generic product. Our customers are proud of their produce, they insist on fresh ingredients of the highest quality to be used in their kitchens – abiding by the same principles, Curtice Brothers’ ketchup is the perfect fit.
Our target group are hedonists who acknowledge and appreciate good food. They love to cook and they know that the right combination of patience, passion and good ingredients are necessary to create a great meal, a delicious condiment, a real ketchup. We don’t want our ketchup to end up on some dull Big Mac but on a freshly prepared burger or a good steak; our ketchup comes with food that you eat for fun, not on the run.
Our customers love life and food. They like to pamper others, but also themselves. They live healthy and are mindful of the quality and origin of their food. They are conscious of their own culture and cherish “old” values. They recognize the contra- diction between high quality and low price and buy their vegetables from the farmer, not the discounter. They don’t follow trends but create them.
Growing Ketchup [the production]
Our recipe requires processing of fresh produce and whole herbs and spices – opposed to conventional ketchups made with concentrated tomato paste and pulverised flavorings – and relies on complex processes. Not many producers of tomato-based products are willing to take this extra step in order to achieve a superior product, but we found a few that would. In late summer 2014 we visited several organic agricultural cooperations in northern Italy to learn more about their operations, meet people face to face and discuss our venture. And we found our partner: La Dispensa di Campagna. We met the owner Vittorio and the team around Sophia and Luca and learned everything about Tomatoes.
La Dispensa di Campagna guarantees to source all required raw materials locally and in organic quality – from an area close to the open sea with sandy, mineral-rich, sub-alkaline soil which generates a great balance of sugar and acidity in their tomatoes.
The Brotherhood [revival]
Mario C. – a modern Nomad with Passion & Love for great food.
Philipp is a foodie, he loves cooking – some even say he’s pretty good in doing that…
Ever since I was a boy we were travelling a lot and no matter if it was in the southern part of Austria were my mom comes from or on the other end of the world, my parents always made me try wired groceries and dishes so I soon realized that food gives a wide variety for tastes and expectations. So I happened to end up in a tourism school in Vienna to get more insights into the business. A two years stay in US after graduation allowed me to get a totally new view on the burger and condiments scenery. After doing a little excursion into the bagel business with Mario about 10 years ago where a real friendship developed I thought it was a fantastic idea from him to create our own natural ketchup and to revitalize this old brand. My strictest reviewer in all circumstances is my son Sammy who would never sugarcoat something and to my surprise he absolutely supports the idea of creating a pure, good tasting and authentic product. So the Curtice Bros are back to life and keen to get your feedback on THE KETCHUP.
Enrico, the “real Italian” in the team … who enjoys food with friends and family
“When Mario told me about the idea to produce organic ketchup with friends he would go on holidays with, I got a flashback to my childhood. My father comes from Naples (Italy) and we went every year in the summertime to my Nonna (Grandmother). During this 3 Weeks she bottled 200 bottles with fresh tomato and basil to take back to Germany. She always said “so you can have the whole next year the Italian sun and the taste of the summer from the bottle and don’t need to suffer in the cold north”. Now we produce our own Ketchup with real Italian tomatoes to share with everybody who loves “La dolce vita” the whole year.
Andreas, Swedish & living in London…..who loves a sneaky burger with a good tomato sauce….
“It was easy saying yes to join my fellow brothers on the journey of bringing the Curtice Brothers ketchup back to life. With a genuine, deep rooted and strong passion for quality, we all share the vision to create a better ketchup alternative to likeminded people wanting an honest, quality product.
Living in Tunbridge Wells, UK since 1995 with Anna and daughter Maya and in the little spare time I have, I watch West Ham United play ‘innebandy’ and go to rock gigs. I’m quite handy in the kitchen and cook some mean dinners for family & friends, which is the best way to relax after hectic days running a group of Japanese restaurants
Ehren – keeps way too many condiments in his refrigerator and needs one perfect ketchup.
“I am a wine and beverage professional who grew up and currently reside in New York City. I am passionate about all elements of taste and a firm believer that pairing the right condiment, like the right wine, can enhance one’s experience with food. When choosing to represent a certain wine in any of the restaurants I’ve worked, it has to meet 3 criteria: a) it must evoke a sense of place, b) it must be crafted by individuals who are both authentic and passionate about how they approach their craft and c) it must have typicity and taste great! Bottom-line, ketchup should taste like tomatoes. With Curtice Brothers, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to craft a product that speaks of its origin while working alongside like-minded hospitality professionals and friends. The end result is something unique and delicious!”