Tabasco: How the coffee boy increased sales (or so the story goes)

10th Mar 2005 @ 12.00pm

Apparently, the executives in charge of Tabasco for the McIlhenny Company in Louisiana were pondering how to increase sales of their famous product. They had called a meeting of their top brains, from sales, marketing, development, and the agency. Flip charts were used up with diagrams, projections, and ideas for ads and promotional offers.

Coffee break came around, and being a friendly kind of company the local lad who delivered it to the meeting asked what they were doing. When explained, he immediately said that he knew how to increase sales of Tabasco and that it was obvious. With a smile, the VP asked him what idea this was.

“Simple”, said our coffee boy, “increase the size of the hole”.

They did just that, and sales increased for the first time in a decade.

posted by Alison Esse
filed under Stories