www.ATKFoods.com – New Home for a Three-Generations-New Chicago Legend
Leon’s Sausage Company. Sausages by Amylu. Slotkowski Sausage. If these names ring a bell, may we introduce ATK Foods? Or better yet, ATKFoods.com.
Six months in the making, the company formerly known as any of the above officially launched its new on-line presence, ATKFoods.com.
Decidedly a labor of love, the development of the new site has been nevertheless an eye-opener. The company had experienced tremendous growth since Amylu Kurzawski and her husband took over the company started by Amylu’s grandfather. That growth necessitated the development of an umbrella company under which existing product lines could more readily be housed, and new ones developed without cannibalizing existing success.
“We’re taking real soul-searching,” admits Mike McGuire, the company’s National Director of Sales. “What do we stand for? What’s our lead horse? How are we known to the marketplace? What are the holes in our business plan? Where do we want to realistically be in 10 years? Talk about an identity crisis!”
To help them think things through and provide for its continued growth, the company eventually chose Cyberworks Media, a 12-year-old Chicago web developer with stellar credentials in branding and e-commerce.
What do you want your website to do? The hands-down most difficult question facing any company. Cyberworks’ Creative Director, Lori Erickson and Business Development Manager, Bill Kenefick became part educator-part shrink, eliciting such answers as “ensure a consistent and timely marketing message,” “decrease time to market,” “demo product,” “increase sales or sales support,” “make our consumers and retailers smarter about our products,” “make visitors have fun with us,” and more.
“They have been a dream team to work with,” beams McGuire of his Cyberworks team. McGuire interviewed “Oh, gosh – dozens of web houses,” before settling on Cyberworks. “Each had its own strengths and weaknesses, and we got smarter with each interview and finally were ready with a wish list and budget.” “Cyberworks was not our first choice. They had downplayed their capabilities. But we liked them, so went back and asked more questions. Sure. Of course. All the time. And the price was within our budget. So we signed the contract and the rest is – we hope! – history.”
Cyberworks brought a wealth of personal experience to the functionality of this site. In addition to their new state-of-the-art e-commerce technology, Cyberworks uses Ajax to maximize the visitor experience. In addition, Cyberworks’ proprietary content management system enables ATK Foods to update its content in an instant. Best of all, the site delivers an extremely intuitive shopping experience. “The shopping experience is always changing,” explains Lori Erickson, lead designer. “Consumers who shop on line are constantly pushing the envelope. As shoppers ourselves, our job is to continue to shop so we can bring best practices to our clients. Not a bad gig, eh?”
Features of the site include multifaceted search function that works with product, flavor, or eating occasion; 1-click purchasing; suggestive sell; ample room for the company’s history. “But most critical, I think, is that many of our customers – especially our Sausages by Amylu customers – are label-checkers. Now, they don’t have to take our products on faith. The nutritionals and ingredients are right there – before you purchase our products. Already, we’ve gotten several positive responses on that,” clarifies Amylu, creator of each of the flavors that bear her name.
What was the most satisfying part of building the website? According to Amylu, it’s “Seeing our entire story told in one place.” “Being able to finally offer our customers products they couldn’t find at retail,” says McGuire, always the salesman. “Seeing our beautiful new labels in living color!” “Being able to interact with consumers one-on-one and keep them abreast of what’s going on at ATK Foods.” “Being able to update our message, add new flavors, as things continue to evolve.” How many ways can you say “satisfied?”
Would ATK Foods recommend Cyberworks? “Absolutely – and we have. But we’d prefer to keep them all to ourselves!” admits McGuire somewhat conspiratorially. “If this site does what we think it can, we will be taking over more and more of our sales and marketing functions – and we want to make sure Lori and Bill still take our phone calls!”
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ATK Foods, Inc. is a diversified Chicago-based food manufacturer whose five brands include Leon’s Sausage, Slotkowski, Sausages by Amylu, A.K. Gourmet, and Slotkowski Naturals. An 80+ year old company, its products are sold through catalogs, at specialty retailers, Costco, The Fresh Market, and through Peapod Home Delivery. The company is proudly family-owned: Amylu Kurzawski is the third-generation owner and CEO, and invites you to visit them on-line at ATKFoods.com.
