Thursday May 27, 2010

'Take Chances' Says 'Unwrapped' Host

Chicago — Marc Summers, host and producer of Food Network’s Unwrapped series, shared business insight with EXPO attendees when he encouraged small suppliers to be aggressive, take chances, learn from their mistakes and avoid copying larger competitors Wednesday morning.

In particular, he said, zeal for product development and new partnerships fuel the industry.

“You need to find your passion,” he advised. “Because I found my passion, I feel like I have never worked a day in my life.”Summers invited Eddy Rubin, of Wrench Mints, onstage to speak to fellow suppliers about designing his product and marketing it initially to hardware stores, resulting in a 15,000-unit order from one buyer.

But the hit of the session was a clip from Summers’ appearance on The Tonight Show, which ended in a cream pie fight with Burt Reynolds.

Attendees laughed at what Summers referred to as “the most frightening ten minutes of television I’ve ever experienced in my life” at the event.