A Penzeys Spices insider says founder and CEO Bill Penzey's frequent left-wing rants in emails to customers have lost the company more than half of its retail business over the past five years. This is simply a theory in view of his long and fruitful expert vocation. The messages simultaneously post to the companys Facebook page, where traffic has blossomed with commenters complaining about his bias and promising to boycott the brand. Foot traffic to his brick-and-mortar stores multiplies with Penzeys politically themed giveaways. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Texas congressman who broke with GOP is censured, Arizona governor wont proceed with execution set by court. But why wouldnt he? Penzey refuses to be silent on social issues. For example, a New Yorker piece reported that Penzey launched a giveaway of Mexican vanilla extract two years after Donald Trump's campaign, when he called Mexican immigrants "a tremendous infectious disease.". William Penzey Sr. and Ruthann Penzey opened The Spice House, a specialty spice store in Wauwatosa, Wisc., in 1957, where Penzey Jr. first worked as a young man. Penzey sent a customer newsletter in the fall of 2020 saying that he intended to "loot" his own stores and send free inventory to food pantries. to speak out against Trump or to use his In 1994 Penzeys opened its first retail store and by June 2021, the number of locations had contracted to 53. We have no more Information about his Father; we will try to collect information and update soon. Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, Californias snowpack is approaching an all-time record, with more on the way, CPAC shows the GOP has deep divisions heading into 2024, News Analysis: Why the border may never go back to what it was before Trump, Florida Gov. His Salary and Earnings Bill Penzey is believed to have earned a net worth of over $100 million. The American people are taking notice. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Those in the market for Turkish ground sumac berries and mace blade may not have much luck at their local grocery store, but items like those are what's given Penzeys Spices staying power (via Forbes). engagement with the Millennial generation.. Bill Penzey, CEO of Penzeys Spices, says his company has spent $128,000 to boost their Facebook posts on impeachment https://t.co/POhMSschBc New York Magazine (@NYMag) October 14, 2019 Penzey is as of now hitched to Jeri, and several lives in Wauwatosa with their three kids. Let's commit to giving the people a . I do shop some places just because of their politics and the way they treat people and employees and the customers, and things like fair trade.. customerssubscribers to the mailing list of Penzeys Wisconsin-based Penzey's politics made national headlines in 2019, when he announced plans to spend $700,000 on anti-Trump ads. 59% of employees would recommend working at Penzeys Spices to a friend and 45% have a positive outlook for the business. On Monday, he estimated that about 5,500 people had accounted for the $299,000 in new sales to that. Well, kind of, Skin lesion removed from President Bidens chest last month was cancerous, doctor says, Abortion clinics crossing state borders not always welcome, The Carters: What you know may be wrong (or not quite right), The cameras know who you are. a philosopher and storyteller who liked to put his customers to work grinding spices as he off-handedly lectured about the lore and But more often, they praise his stances, most of which are pegged to promotions. Shortly after the anniversary, it seems a good day to apologize to the people of Mexico Common Sense Central is edited by WISN's Dan O'Donnell. which eventually became known as the Spice House. Bill Penzey, Sr., was a philosopher and storyteller who liked to put his customers to work grinding spices as he off-handedly lectured about the lore and history of the spice trade. Sending an email, or thousands of them, costs a lot less than cutting off a supplier. I ended up finding the nicest white peppercorns youve ever tasted, Penzey beams. Bill Penzey, Sr., was To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Today at 8:03 AM. He claimed that the email brought in 30,000 new subscribers, but acknowledged, "We are still down about 10,000. The founder has said in the past that his strong political stance might have lost some customers while gaining others in the meantime. immigrants to the United States a tremendous infectious disease, Penzey, 34, has scoured India for the most pungent cumin, Madagascar for the most fragrant vanilla beans. All rights reserved. "We are glad to have you here.". When thinking about recreating your favorite flavors from far-off lands, Milwaukee, Wisconsin seems like an unlikely locale for sourcing those ingredients, but the city is actually the birthplace of the one of the United States' foremost spice retailers. He made a public statement censuring the Republican Partys defilement and hostility, which he asserts has gone standard. Today at 8:07 AM. advertisements, with brands fastening their identities to anodyne, Other family members and associates include Pamela Moog, Jeri Boswell and Ruth Penzey. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Seema Mehta is a political writer who is covering the 2022 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. e-mail, the right wing firestorm cost the company three per cent of open embrace of racism by the Republican Party in this election is now Penzey often addresses Trump voters directly in his missives. As Penzeys grew from a small mail-order business, Bill Jr.'s personality and politics dominated. Here, because the founder shares his name with the name of the organization, everything is intimately tied to the brand name as well, and the spillover tends to be much more dramatic.. Everybodys buying off of the commodity market, Zohar says, when I ask how Penzeys compares. This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 03:43. Nor do the market standards favor flavor, Frisch explains. Reporters Notebook: What did Blinken tell his Russian counterpart? Penzey got the spice idea from his parents, Ruth and William Penzey Sr., who for decades have sold spices, most recently in Wauwatosa, Wis. At the University of Wisconsin in the early 1980s, son Bill cooked up his own spice major, combining history and food science. He has not shied from his political views: In the mid-2000s, he put a gay male couple who had triplets via a surrogate on his spice magazines cover, long before same-sex marriage had the support it does today. And consumers these days really do prefer brands to take a stand: 66 percent of shoppers expect CEOs to pick sides, publicly, on the major issues of the day, according to a recent survey from Sprout Social. focus on the food industrys sexual-harassment problem. His emails made national news, but the publicity generated a backlash even from liberal customers. Be that as it may, the American multi-mogul has not shared the character and different insights about mother and father and other family individuals. A late October message telling Trump supporters please wake up, your country needs you, ended with an offer of a couple of chili powders, free with just a $5 purchase. Theyre for a second-day reheated chili on Election Day, Penzey reasonedso all those non-Trump-supporters heading to the polls wont have to think about cooking. Facebook page. The revelation that Penzey's Spices owner Bill Penzey has spent more than $100,000 boosting a political Facebook post calling for President Trump's impeachment and removal from office has exposed Penzey as a colossal hypocrite. company in 1986; Erd and her husband, Tom, took over her parents business For the mail-order business, Penzey was frugal and sought to keep overhead low. In any case, no income figures have been delivered. None of these restrictions favors farmers, whose livelihoods are dependent on a longstanding network of consolidators and exportersnot to mention the weather and the whims of a volatile market. I think its good for companies to be involved in what they think is right or to speak about it, the retired social worker, 69, said as he stopped in the flagship store to pick up Rocky Mountain seasoning for the pork chops he planned to sear that evening. Despite this possibility of losing customers, Penzey Jr. has continued to use his platform to make the company's left-leaning beliefs known. How We Became One. Penzey unabashedly shares his political views with his customer base. missives about Americas culture of mass shootings, used Pi Day as an opportunity to talk about truth in science, and hailed the Democratic the promotional code NOPOLITICS. Another sister, Patricia, and her husband, Thomas Erd, own small retail spice outlets in downtown Milwaukee and Evanston, Ill. What do they all talk about at family get-togethers? [7] In March 2020, Penzeys announced closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But its not just high-profile firms going down this path: The vociferous anti-Trump turn of the nations largest privately held purveyor of spice blends took some customers by surprise in the aftermath of the 2016 election. The market demands a seven-centimeter cinnamon stick, but only so that the sticks fit in those little jars you find in the spice aisle at the supermarket. I want other businesses to look at what were doing, Penzey said while writing new Facebook ads at his home. His sister, Patty Erd, who took over their parents' business in 1992, prefers a non-political stance. have no business there, Patty Erd, who owns the Spice House with her Penzey himself has resisted opportunities to expound on his marketing style. He wrote papers on ancient trading routes and spice usage in Roman times. volatile aromatic compounds. I do miss their selection of dried chilis.. ", News/Talk 1130 WISN, Milwaukee's Talk Station, Mark Belling, Jay Weber, Dan O'Donnell, Vicki McKenna, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. ", Penzey added that while his previous rant had cost his company 40,005 subscribers, it did bring in 30,000 new ones. Following President Trumps triumph, the vocal CEO of Penzeys Spices, Americas biggest private zest shop, made news when he transparently got down on the presidents prejudice. responded with one of the great rejection letters of my career, a long She started at the Los Angeles Times in 1998, previously covered multiple presidential, state and local races, and completed a Knight-Wallace fellowship at the University of Michigan in 2019. [11] Penzey made a similar statement in an email sent out on the first anniversary of the January 6th Capitol riot, calling Republicans the "#1 threat to this country". CelebSaga.com. Feb 1, 2022 A Penzeys Spices insider says founder and CEO Bill Penzey's frequent left-wing rants in emails to customers have lost the company more than half of its retail business over the past five years. "What if we no longer turned a blind eye to those corporations that lobby and buy politicians to bulldoze the public good for their own gain?" By 1995 per capita consumption was 3.1 pounds, up 55% from two decades before. Experience. Penzey now mails a 40-page glossy color catalog to around 160,000 names;old customers and prospects;five times a year. Spice seller Bill Penzey says he felt compelled to speak out because of the danger he believes Trumps presidency poses. His timing was good. 2023 The Federalist, A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media. he said. What if this is a wake-up call to all those planning this very type of spending in the upcoming midterm elections that, just like the NRA, you too will no longer be allowed to escape the responsibility for your actions?". The warehouse, where his staff of 55 works, is modest. But we are sure that it is not available and his spouses name is not available. Earlier this month, Penzeys Spices CEO Bill Penzey renamed the extended Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend to be "Republicans are racist weekend" in a newsletter to customers. throughthedecades, he wrote. This is the future, he told his home-town e-mail in which he assailed the food media, critiqued my past After urging voters to head to the polls in Kentucky, Virginia and Mississippi, Penzey wrote: For the rest of us its time to get talking 11.3.2020. Frisch and his cofounder Ori Zohar prefer that their fresh take on an ancient commodities trade supersede partisan distractions. "[Penzey] brags about how many people are on our email list, but I can tell you that the overwhelming majority of them aren't actually customers," the insider explains. Penzey finds controversy over his political musings amusing, given the world-changing and often hostility-filled history of the spice trade over millenniums. Penzey, Bill; Penzeys One Staff (2008). Penzeys Spices has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars this fall promoting Facebook ads long stream-of-consciousness missives supporting impeachment of Trump or railing against the Republican Party and Fox News. But like many things, businesses approach to politics has changed in the Trump era: Corporate leaders increasingly speak out directly about the administrations policies and the presidents statements. Like most successful small businesspeople, Penzey has made a fetish of customer service. are siblings. His home is three miles from his main production facility; both are in Wauwatosa, a town of fewer than 50,000 people just outside Milwaukee that has voted increasingly Democratic in recent years. In a follow-up email Friday, Penzey acknowledged this allegation had cost his business a substantial number of newsletter subscribers. Lets commit to giving radio-listening customers, but if you really are honest and sincere, The message also seeps into his products, like the Tsardust Memories spice blend. its customersbut that online sales rose nearly sixty per cent in the same period, and "It certainly wasnt unexpected, but if its within your means, you picking up a small stack of Gift Cards would help. became a fundamental matter of business philosophy. Penzeys Spices 12001 W. Capitol Drive Wauwatosa, WI 53222 Copyright 2023 Market Realist. felt the need to distance her business from Penzeys: the two of them Penzeys Spices actions have included nearly unlimited spending in politics for years now, racking up $2.4 million in paid Facebook posts and more than $100,000 in just the past few weeks alone, making the company the second largest political spender on the issue in America. It was not, however, a coincidence that Erd Penzey expects more sales through Williams-Sonoma, which has started carrying a small line of the companys Indian and Chinese spices in its mail order catalogs. Penzey isnt shy about how his politics have continued to benefit his But his . His views are his views. I can see the spices are all above the top of the label. A lot of them dont know how to cook! she says, her voice tinged with disappointment, but they do support Bills politics. Ninety percent of the customers she meets these days come buy the blends to support Penzeys mission to heal the world. And they come knowing theyll leave the store with a little something extraall the better to give to an unwitting conservative cousin as a gift, as one Facebook commenter wrote she plans to do this holiday season. "It's been devastating," explains the insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "As far as customers unsubscribing from his email list, that's only part of the story," the insider explains. In 2005, then the owner of more than two dozen stores, Penzey founded a food magazine with a social justice bent. Bill Penzey, Jr. founded Penzeys Spices in 1986 and followed in his parents' footsteps. Charge Penzey is accepted to have procured a total assets of more than $100 million. Bill Jr. struck out on his own and incorporated Penzeys in 1986, leaving his sister and her husband to take over the family business in 1992as his competition. His Spice House was established in 1957 by William Penzey Sr. furthermore Ruth Ann Penzey as an espresso and flavor shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Who Is Olivia Holzmacher? Penzey started the company in 1986, primarily as a catalog mail-order business. presidency of the United States of Americawent viral, earning coverage everywhere from USA Today to Fox News. Frischs pet issues are getting around the spice industrys entrenched standards, such as the fixed length of a cinnamon stick, the circumference of a peppercorn, the color of a cardamom pod. If you want customers to support your business, you have to support the values and lives of your customers.. the end of the message, he mentioned the companys In spite of that, he said, "we are still down about 10,000. parents opened a coffee and tea store in their home town of Wauwatosa, Penzey opened his mail-order version of Penzeys Spices at the age of 22 in 1986. Cooking was becoming a trendy pastime, and spice consumption among Americans was climbing. I sell spices, she emphasized, in case Id gotten her line of work confused. Such are the small adventures and victories that have accumulated over the past decade to make Penzeys, Ltd., Bill Penzeys $4 million (revenues) mail-order spice and seasoning business. Offers may be subject to change without notice. He urged other His views are his views. Then theres Mark Miller, who just wanted some paprika and dried red pepper flakes. message on its own Facebook page. Its a level of notoriety Penzey says he never sought for himself or his company, but he said he felt compelled to speak out because of the danger he believes Trumps presidency poses. Penzeys family lived in the suburbs but ran a spice store in a minority neighborhood in urban Milwaukee; as a 10-year-old, he worked in the shop on weekends to earn his allowance of $1 per week. The Penzeys spice catalogue was a one-man show Shutterstock Almost from the start, he used the brands official communiques as a Many of the spices Penzey stocks in his new 25,000-square-foot warehouse in Muskego, Wis. cannot easily be obtained elsewhere. We want you to buy spices from these farmers that were building a relationship withas opposed to using the business as a platform for our positions on this issue and that issue.. Furthermore, Penzeys Spices is a leftist spice service provider in the United States. Penzeys outspokenness has cost his company some longtime customers, but he says he has no choice: The luxury of not being on a side is something of the past.. Charge Penzey is yet to get referenced by the standard Wikipedia page. "I can't begin to count the number of customers who agree with [Penzey's] politics, but then say they don't like his nastiness," the insider says. Just two weeks after a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based spice company held a Republicans are Racist sale over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, it is dealing with a massive loss of business and openly begging for new customers. [9], On January 14, 2022, CEO Bill Penzey sent out an email newsletter announcing the he would be renaming the extended Martin Luther King Jr. Day sale weekend to "Republicans are racist weekend", with the reasons given including alleged voter suppression in red states and their response to the George Floyd Protests. only days after the meticulous kitchen testers at Cooks Illustrated had named Penzeys Spices Vietnamese varietal their pick for the best on Neutral 32%. On a trip to Indias west coast looking for cardamom, Penzey discovered vindaloo, a potpourri of coriander, garlic, cumin and ginger widely used in the region. dont be surprised to see your promotions suddenly, finally, find active The Spice House distanced itself from Penzeys, Erd and her husband began Raw ingredients Tahitian vanilla beans, whole Chinese star anise, Indonesian cinnamon sticks, Turkish bay leaves are shipped here in barrels that weigh hundreds of pounds. He bought a critical part of his production process;the machine that seals spices in flavor-preserving bags;third-hand for $45,000. In 1990, the basketball great refusedper one oft-quoted biographyto endorse North Carolina senator Jesse Helmss Democratic opponent because Republicans buy sneakers too. Whether he actually said them or not, these four words reigned until recently as the reason smart businesses and entertainers steer clear of politics. Companies like Penzeys dont work directly with single-harvest farmers overseas, of course. Republicans raced out to buy a crapload of guns because maybe they were finally going to get their chance to shoot a Black person, Penzeys Spices CEO wrote in a customer email. Love in the time of Impeachment was the headline on Penzeys Facebook ad the night before elections last month. reaching out to conservative bloggers, sharing a special offer for (including cinnamon, nutmeg, and marjoram), and put together a spice rainbow (red cayenne, orange curry powder, etc.) The line crossed us, the soft-spoken 56-year-old said in the kitchen of his home. The CEO of Penzey's Spices is the latest corporate leader to lash out at Trump voters.. Last Tuesday CEO Bill Penzey Jr. lashed out at Republicans in his weekly email: "The open embrace of racism by the Republican Party in this election is now unleashing a wave of ugliness unseen in this country for decades. anyone in need of a new spice purveyor: free shipping to those who used Thora Pomicter, founder of the Teeny Tiny Spice Company in Harrisonburg, Virginia, said she couldnt imagine sprinkling partisan outrage into an online marketing campaign for the organic spice blends she sells in 31 states and D.C. Politics does not have any place in my business, she said, sounding somewhat aghastand almost alarmingly sane. Thanksgiving specials, including a gift box of four mini-jars of spices 800-741-7787. customerservice@penzeys.com. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. itwhich might seem cynical if his political outrage werent so So one day only, Saturday 11.3.18, we are offering a $28.95 value Hope and Kindness Mini Box that has our Embrace Hope pin, Kind pin, Heal the World Bumper/Refrigerator magnet, and half-cup jar of . How can we use that same thing to do something a little bit different?. company suspended its regularly planned promotions to focus on In the warehouse, which is big enough to hold six football fields, the air was thick with the toasty, warm scent of cumin as its seeds were being ground into a fine powder on a recent day. The later the delivery, the longer the note. Fathers name is Not Available. When partisan anxieties have the potential to dictate even the most mundane purchasesa pair of shoes, a fleece vest, a pint of ice cream, or a tiny tin of Vietnamese blend to enliven your leftoverswhat better way to build loyalty than ideological pandering? Los Angeles, Calmes: Heres what we should do about Marjorie Taylor Greene, Column: Did the DOJ just say Donald Trump can be held accountable for Jan. 6? Heck, I would not even want to get Before advertisingandmarketing took No point passing gun control if you don't prosecute gun crimes. and Latin America. That post, and a follow-up a week later reporting on Comments for Bill? He introduced Tsardust Memories, a ripped-from-the-headlines Russian spice blend As a result, Penzey's is offering a gift card sale "with the hope this might make it a bit easier for you to share some and possibly get a few good new customers to replace the ones we've lost." The catalog includes detailed descriptions of different spices and seasonings, more than 300 in all, plus Penzey family recipes. Eight days later, Penzey again condemned the influence of money in politics. In a letter Negative 42%. Cooks take the time to care for other people.. addressed to Americas CEOs posted to his Facebook page that December, Penzey unveiled in one of his meetings that his firm burned through $128,000 to help denunciation related Facebook posts. But his exposure to the spice world and politics started decades earlier. Penzeys post-election statementsincluding a follow-up e-mail telling Once ground, sifted, extracted, mixed or bottled, the spices will be packaged for online sales or sent to more than 60 stores around the country. All rights reserved. "Many people have told us that they still get the emails, but only come in to our stores for free stuff. Penzeys Spices posted on March 11, 2018. Will Dominion-Fox News lawsuit be different? Bill Penzey's net worth is estimated to be over $ 1 million USD. At 18, he went to college and crafted his own major, combining. The one problem is that many of the new customers dont cook, while many of the customers he has lost were regular cooks who routinely needed to replenish their spice supply. Bill Penzey Jr., CEO of Penzeys Spices Inc., an independent retailer of spices, has a history of vocally and publicly using his company to communicate his opinions on sociopolitical issues. In recent years, the company and its CEO have been highly critical of the Trump Administration. the market, praising its big, spicy flavor and high percentage of arms. Penzeys One had a circulation in the tens of thousandsmostly customersbut dedicated each issue to more than recipes: prison reform, immigration policy, environmentalism, gay rights. Unfortunately for Penzey, it turns out they did. He sent a ten-page catalog he had typed himself to 1,800 names on a list hed bought from a defunct New York spice merchant and to his parents customers who had moved from Milwaukee. "It's been devastating," explains the insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Normally, he explained, Penzeys sells $50 gift cards for $35, but his aim was to make up for the customers who had left after he called all Republicans racist. Penzey Jr. was fascinated by the family business and, according to Forbes, when it came time to enroll in college he crafted his own major at the University of Wisconsin to help him better understand the family business. Sometimes, after a couple of glasses of wine, someone says, Ill match my spices with yours any day, says Patricia. Then, as now, scaring away conservative customers didnt worry him. It was the '80s and mail-order catalogues were all the rage, so in1986 Penzey Jr. decided to create a mail-order spice catalogue (via Refrence for Business). But his Republicans are Racists stunt brought him international attention, and prompted tens of thousands of customers to shun his business. For some customers, Penzeys positions cross a line. Penzey called for Trump's impeachment as early as 2018. stage, the Spice House, another Wisconsin-based retailer, posted a Their sibling rivalry wasnt new: Bill Penzey Sr. opened The Spice House in 1957. Well, I hear hes very political, the engineer, 59, said at the Wauwatosa store, adding that some of his friends avoid the shop because of Penzeys activism. It won praise from Web sites Article continues below advertisement Penzey refuses to be silent on social issues. Scott Walker went to war with the teachers union. Bill has never wouldnt impart his insights with individuals who purchase his things, breaking most customary business counsel. The two companies have not always coexisted peacefully: a With costs under control and revenues rising smartly, Penzeys, Ltd. probably earned close to $400,000 pretax last year. CelebSaga.com. The result is a sea of milquetoast [10] Penzey was widely criticized for this email, with 40,000 people unsubscribing from their newsletter, however, Penzey stated that 30,000 new people has signed up to their newsletter. Three weeks later, Penzey attacked political spending in a lengthy Facebook screed. We have no information about his girlfriend/boyfriend. But we are trying hard to collect all the information about him and will update you soon. he was definitely the first to do so while hawking a free bottle of Combining food science and history, Penzey Jr. dedicated his studies to all things spice related, including their usage in ancient times and digging deep into the complicated history of spice trading routes. businesss bottom line. The initiative was in response to Kenosha business lootings after the shooting of Jacob Blake. He was drawn in by his privately-run companys and became dynamic in business and business since early on. in a world of social media, no ones going to talk about you. Recent friends or colleagues or the fellow-members of an activist group. Previously, he opened a small shop in New York in 1984, Forbes reported, which failed. Today orders generally go out within two days, but even with 120,000 customers Penzeys staffers still enclose handwritten notes with every shipment. Even businesses that dont court controversy can find themselves facing boycotts over a celebrity spokespersons views, a founders political fundraiser or a CEOs donations. As the CEO of Penzeys Spice, Bill Penzey makes more than $1.2 million in salary, annually. They want to talk with you, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, The Hollywood sign debuted 100 years ago in 1923, the year of L.A.s Big Bang, An asteroid will just miss us in 2029. The pundit Michelle Malkin tweeted the American Now, his relationship is perfect. The multicultural customers who visited his parents shop, as well as the deep-rooted liberalism of Milwaukee, shaped Penzeys outlook, he said. Penzeys CEO: What Is Bill Penzey Net Worth? companies led by figures who take left-leaning, progressive positions.