Brandy Hutchinson’s goal is to show the world that Louisiana is more than Mardi Gras and more than “a state that hunts alligators.”
Louisiana to Geaux, an online subscription service Hutchinson operates out of a bedroom-turned-home office, does just that. And better yet, Hutchinson focuses on smaller, newer artisans whose products aren’t readily available on store shelves, even in Louisiana.
Hutchinson’s “Bayou State in a box” began when friends from Boston spent a week in Baton Rouge. Shortly after their departure, Hutchinson and her husband shipped them a care package containing several Louisiana products, including Slap Dat seasoning and Hanley’s salad dressings. She later encountered the subscription service concept online and was inspired to start her own to represent Louisiana culture and help foster growth for small business owners.
|
|
“I want to represent things about Louisiana that people from out of state don’t know,” Hutchinson says. “There are a lot of people making really great stuff in small towns—people that don’t have a storefront but that take the time to make quality products.”
About 80 percent of products Hutchinson ships are from companies less than five years in business. That’s a detail she incorporated on purpose.
“The goal of the company is to stay focused and keep expanding but at the same time to promote the smaller, newer artisans,” she says. “I’d like to grow this business as big as I can, to grow with the companies and promote the up-and-comers.”
Louisiana to Geaux offers three different subscription options: one-month, three-month and six-month, as well as one-time special occasion boxes. With each subscription, customers have the option of receiving “The Kitchen,” “Sweets & Such” or “Pamper Yourself” boxes. The Kitchen contains savory cooking mixes, seasonings and preserved foods, Sweets & Such contains signature Louisiana treats like pralines, and Pamper Yourself contains locally made products like bath salts and soaps.
The special occasion boxes are themed by place, season or signature Louisiana symbol. The newest speciality package is the Summertime Box, which includes Baconation barbecue sauce, Mexi-Cajun beer bread mix, Slap Dat seasoning and Louisiana Cajun Deck O’ Meals. Other specialty boxes currently available are the Taste of Baton Rouge, the Lagniappe Box and the Magnolia Box, and Hutchinson is working on creating a Lafayette-themed box.
While customers know what they’re getting in the special occasion boxes, the items in the subscription boxes are unknown to customers until it arrives at the doorstep, much like a subscription to Birchbox or Stitch Fix.
Hutchinson says where Louisiana to Geaux differs from similar local concepts such as Parish Parcel and Cajun Crate is her small but thoughtful additions to the boxes. For each product in a package, Hutchinson writes a short description of the item and its company, plus information on the specific area of Louisiana the product came from.
|
|
“I try to represent four different areas of the state in each box,” she says. “That’s the fun part about it. Louisiana culture is so defined, but each corner has its own personality.”
Louisiana to Geaux launched in December 2014 with a test-run of special occasion Christmas boxes, which Hutchinson says were a big hit. She got the business’ website up and running in summer 2015, and has since shipped several hundred boxes to countries around the globe, including Austria and Germany.
For now, Hutchinson will continue to run the business out of her home with the help of family, but she says she would consider acquiring an office or warehouse if the company grows large enough. More than scale, Hutchinson says she’s looking for longevity.
“I look forward to the day when my grandkids can carry on this business,” she says. “I look forward to sharing our state’s culture for years to come.”