Entrepreneur Spotlight - Roo!

Roo! is an all natural soup without preservatives that comes in a pouch so its easy to store, carry, heat and eat.  Our pouch technology gives you soup that keeps its home-cooked flavor up to 12 months without preservatives or refrigeration. Tomato-Basil, Chili-Bean, Tuscan, Rice & Beans.

Q&A

Q. Why did you start your business and what niche does it fill?
A.  We were looking for a soup that combines great taste, all natural ingredients, convenience, good shelf life and portability.  All existing products we found made compromises in one or more of those areas.  They don’t taste well, are hard to store or carry, are unhealthy, or difficult to prepare.  So we combined great recipes with innovative technology and created our own product.  Roo! makes no compromises in its ingredients, taste, convenience and nutrition.

Q. How did you finance your business?
A.  We’re self-funded.

Q. Who are your customers?
A.  Our product is aimed at people looking for a healthy, convenient meal without compromising taste, nutrition, quality or the convenience to bring it with you.

Q. What are the most critical things you have done to grow your business?
A.  We combined soup that tastes the way your mom makes it with innovative packaging that keeps it tasting great.  You can microwave it right in the pouch and it

Q. How have you used social media tools like LinkedIn to grow your business?
A.  We’re on Facebook, Twitter and a few other places, but we need to work harder there to get the word out.

Q. What are three pieces of advise youwould offer entrepreneurs starting out today?
A.  1) Pick a narrow niche market and focus on it; 2) Try to be self-funded by changing your product, outsourcing, bartering, whatever; 3) Set up an advisory board with some smart people in relevant functional areas; you may be smart, but you need their honest advise.

Q. How does your business "give back" to the community or to society?
A.  We donate in-kind to the Foodbank and participate in a variety of other ways.  As a soup company, giving back in-kind allows us to be more generous.

Q. How and why was it important to base your business in the Triangle area?
A.  There is a strong labor force here that is well-educated and professional.  And there is good infrastructure and a central location for transportation.

Contact Roo here: Business Directory Listing