Red Duck Foods, Inc. – Teamwork: The Key to Success

In a region that boasts quality food products, it’s no surprise that the team at Red Duck Foods is taking advantage of the support and potential the Eugene-Springfield area holds for startups and small businesses.  After getting their start at the University of Oregon, Red Duck Foods moved into the Sprout! Food Hub kitchen where the business had low overhead costs and was able to expand.

Red Duck recently celebrated their one-year anniversary, moved the operation to a new location, and now has their products in 83 retail locations throughout Oregon and Washington.

They’ve been getting quite a bit of attention lately for their delicious curry ketchup and savvy, sustainable, business practices. The four co-founders, Karen Bonner, Shannon Oliver, Kurt Barajas, and Jessica Hilbert met at the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon and came up with Red Duck as part of a project in a venture business course.

“We were more concerned with building a great team than working on a specific concept,” said Shannon Oliver, co-founder and operations manager, “And most importantly, we have fun! I work everyday with my three closest friends doing great stuff with food. This is the dream.”

Red Duck Foods has hit a new milestone, packaging their ketchup in one-gallon containers for distribution to restaurants. The next step, says Oliver, is to  package the decadent ketchup into single-serve packets.

-Story by Liz Martin. You can follow Liz on twitter: @ForestYoga.